River Dell cruises past Teaneck 27-0 on Senior Night

posted in: Football, Sports Media Blog

The River Dell Golden Hawks(6-1) celebrated Senior Night with a convincing 27-0 victory over the Teaneck Highwaymen at River Dell High School in Oradell, New Jersey.

On a cool and crisp fall night with the Northern Lights creating a spectacular backdrop, a memorable pre-game ceremony with the Golden Hawks 19 seniors walking out with their families under a gold and black canopy of balloons beneath the goalpost.

Once the festivities concluded, it was time for kickoff, and it didn’t pan out well for River Dell. A fumble led to Teaneck recovering the ball at the Golden Hawks’ 17-yard line. However, the defense stepped up and dug a line in the trenches. An incomplete pass on fourth down led to a turnover on downs.

River Dell’s offense went to work immediately. Quarterback RJ Weiss, filling in for an injured Zion Yoon for a second consecutive game, uncorked a 26-yard pass to wide receiver Ryan Rossig.

The Golden Hawks churned out yardage on the ground as they rapidly moved the ball into Teaneck territory. On the second goal at the five-yard line, RJ Weiss took the direct snap and plowed straightforward into the end zone for the touchdown with six and half minutes remaining.

The Highwaymen started their ensuing offensive possession on their 27-yard line and proceeded to advance the ball rapidly by mixing up the pass and running game.

On third down at the River Dell 36-yard line, Teaneck decided to go for the home run by chucking a deep pass. Still, the ball deflected off the wide receiver and into the hands of Golden Hawks defensive back Ryan Rossig, who maintained possession of the ball while falling backward into the end zone for the phenomenal interception.

Late in the second quarter, River Dell’s offense had excellent starting field position at the Highwaymen’s 48-yard line. The Golden Hawks offense excelled on the ground behind a stout offensive line that opened wide running lanes.

On second and goal at the six-yard line, RJ Weiss took the snap in shotgun formation and dropped back in the pocket. Unable to find an open man, Weiss scrambled to his right and rumbled into the end zone for the touchdown with eight seconds left. However, the extra point attempt was no good, leaving the score at 13-0 heading into halftime.

In the third quarter, the River Dell defense made another critical stop, as the Teaneck offense generated a 10-play drive that fizzled out with an incomplete pass on a fourth-down play at the Golden Hawks 28-yard line and consumed over three and a half minutes on the clock.

River Dell’s offense, feeding off the momentum created, returned to its magical formula of running the ball. Running back Cain Lanza broke free for a 29-yard gain. Lanza capped off the drive by taking the pitch from quarterback RJ Weiss and powering his way into the end zone for the nine-yard touchdown. The Golden Hawks widened their advantage to 20-0 with less than seven minutes to go in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, RJ Weiss, playing his last regular season game at River Dell High School, sealed the moment poetically, barreling into the end zone for his third touchdown from one yard out.

River Dell won its fifth game in a row, posting its fourth straight shutout and outscoring its opponents by a whopping margin of 196-14 during the winning streak.