A devastating loss for the West Morris Central football team, as their battle against Sparta ended in a 35-28 loss on Saturday, October 22nd. Although this is their first loss all season, newjerseyhills.com stated that the Wolfpack was the first team this season to hold Sparta, with a 6-0 record,  to fewer than 40 points and score four touchdowns against the Spartans’ defense.

West Morris Central’s cornerback, Peter Taylor, said “After the game on Saturday we were happy with the way we competed with a great team like Sparta and showed that we’re a legit team. However, we aren’t happy with losing. Every coach and player on the team expect to compete and win every game we play. This game is in the past and we know what to fix now so can continue to get better.”  

When West Morris Central allowed a touchdown on Sparta’s first possession, they responded by keeping Sparta’s offense out of the end zone for the rest of the half.

According to newjerseyhills.com, senior cornerback, Peter Taylor, had an interception which then lead West Morris to drive 80 yards in 11 plays, with Finlay’s 26-yard aerial to Bryce Sokolowski, finishing the drive. Mike Egan’s first, out of four conversion kicks, gave West Morris a 7-6 lead at the half.

Many students from the Sparta student section followed the Wolfpack toward the locker room while taunting them. The Spartans received a penalty in the opening of the second half. The ’Pack seemed unintimidated by the Spartan fans, and opened the third period with a 51-yard, 3-play touchdown drive to go up 14-6 on Draghi’s 38-yard touchdown run.

The Spartans, facing difficulty for the first time all season, responded with a 59-yard pass and run from quarterback Matt Maute to Rich McDonald. Alex Milliken ran for a six-yard touchdown and the conversion pass tied the game at 14-14.

In response to this close recovery by Sparta, West Morris marched 81 yards in 12 plays to retake the lead 21-14 on Jake Congdon’s seven-yard run.

During a 50-yard breakout, Sparta tied it once again, making the score 21-21. Then to give the Spartans lead, a 10-yard touchdown pass to McDonald gave the Spartans a 28-21 lead with 6:06 remaining in the game.  

With under three minutes remaining, a quarterback sneak came up an inch short and Sparta took advantage of the short field with Milliken’s 27-yard touchdown run that gave Sparta the lead, making it 35-21.

In an effort to make a comeback, West Morris Central quarterback Ryan Finlay made an  11-yard touchdown pass to Chris Colatriano, making it a one-score game again. However, as time ran out the final score ended as 35-28 and the Wolfpack faced their first and only loss of the season so far.

Image:http://www.hudl.com/team/v2/90923/boys-varsity-football