A season that began with great hopes came to an end Friday night when the Glen Rock football team lost to Westwood, 23-13, in the opening round of the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 playoffs. The loss was the third in a row for the Panthers, who finished the season 5-4.
Glen Rock, which turned the ball over six times, fell behind 20-0 in the first half but fought hard to come back and gave themselves a chance. Quarterback Greg Schlett scored on a one-yard sneak to get the Panthers on the board with less than a minute left in the first half and then sophomore Ty Scherer recovered an onside kick to start the second half to give Glen Rock some momentum. The Panthers cashed in when Schlett hit Ashton Dalessio on a 13-yard touchdown pass to pull Glen Rock within one score, at 20-13.
On the ensuing kickoff, a hit by senior Andrew Sarna forced a fumble and junior Jackson Paige recovered, giving the Panthers the ball in the Westwood side of the field, but a turnover stopped Glen Rock from taking advantage, and the Cardinals (7-2) were able to hang on the rest of the way.
The Panthers looked like they were headed for big things when they won five of their first six games, but when senior captain Seve Bilbao suffered a season-ending injury, Glen Rock lost a big part of its offense and defense. The Panthers blew a 14-0 halftime lead in losing to Lyndhurst in their next game, then were dominated in a loss to neighboringHawthorne in the last game of the regular season. They made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed and traveled to No. 2 seed Westwood for the first round.
Glen Rock will say goodbye to 10 seniors, including captains Bilbao, Pierce Tuttle and Ashton Dalessio. Those three, plus kicker/punter/receiver/defensive back Justin Douenias, running back/linebacker Sam Pintel, receivers Aedan Clark, Pat Cappello, Billy Vasoll and Naz Brady, and linebacker Sarna all will graduate next summer.
Next season’s team will return six of 11 starters on offense, including Schlett at quarterback and four members of the offensive line.
