The Pascack Hills Broncos (5-1) bounced back from their first loss of the season a week earlier to Fort Lee and secured a playoff spot with an 18-16 win over the Ridgefield Park Scarlets (3-3) at Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.

Pascack Hills kicker George Harcher drilled the game-winning 24-yard field goal with 1:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, putting the Broncos up 18-16.

Broncos head coach Matt Marini discussed the significance of the victory and Harcher’s field goal.

We lost a tough game last week to Fort Lee, a hyped, big game with a lot of playoff implications and one of the best high school football games I have been a part of, and we came up a little short and lost two guys to brutal injuries. Back here on a short week, but the guys in this locker room and their makeup of 16-, 17- and 18-year-olds is unbelievable, and they’ve been through more adversity than any group I’ve seen dating back to losing our quarterback in the summer, and we’re happy just to come out on top.

“My first year as head coach and back in the Ivy, the goal was to win the division, but Fort Lee did, and everything is still in front of us, and that’s what our focus is.”

“We talked about it hard, and the offensive coordinator wanted to go for it because it was fourth down and we lost a couple of yards on third down, so it was a little longer. But I trust George, and he’s got a great mental makeup. He’s been kicking for us for two years, and every day in practice he makes those. We told him to go out there, do it again, get air on it, and we were able to execute the good snap and kick.”

The first half was low-scoring, with the only points coming when Pascack Hills running back Andrew Hamilton took a direct snap and plowed ahead for a 1-yard score on the Broncos' first offensive possession.

“My message at halftime to the team was that we needed to calm down, reach out, grab each other, and just find a way to grind out a hard-nosed, physical football game,” Head Coach Matt Marini explained.

After a scoreless third quarter, the action picked up early in the fourth as Ridgefield Park quarterback Jalexander Pimentel took a direct snap in shotgun formation and drove straight through a heap of players into the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown.

The Scarlets went for the two-point conversion and converted it, with Pimentel lined up in shotgun, taking the snap, faking the handoff, and driving to the right side of the muscle line across the goal line to make it 8-7 with 11 minutes left.

Pascack Hills responded by carving out chunks of yardage on the ground, running the ball seven consecutive times, and Andrew Hamilton scored his second touchdown of the game by spinning, bouncing off defenders, and bolting into the end zone. Hamilton finished with 137 rushing yards on 15 carries.

“Andy Hamilton is unbelievable, one of the hardest-working kids and best genuine dudes I’ve ever been around,” Head Coach Matt Marini said. “He’s a hell of a football player, and his best friend broke a leg last week, so he was very upset and playing for a little bit more tonight.”

The Broncos also went for the two-point conversion. Once again Andrew Hamilton played a pivotal role, taking the handoff on the jet sweep, darting left before cutting up the middle, and powering across the goal line to put Pascack Hills up 15-8 with 6:30 remaining.

Ridgefield Park answered as Jalexander Pimentel flashed his speed on the kickoff return and took it all the way to the Broncos' 40-yard line.

The Scarlets offense quickly moved deeper into Pascack Hills territory as running back Keino Marriott ripped off a 35-yard run to the two-yard line.

On second and goal, Jalexander Pimentel showcased his elusiveness after taking the snap, faking the handoff, and cutting through a maze of players into the end zone. Pimentel wasn't done, as he completed the drive by running the ball untouched into the end zone on the two-point conversion that put Ridgefield Park back in front 16-15 with 4:41 to go.

The Broncos benefited on the following kickoff from a huge 71-yard return by Ray Maradiaga, setting up the game-winning kick by George Harcher.

“We fell, and they (Ridgefield Park) came back with the two-point conversions, which were huge plays and got the better of us, and we answered back,” Head Coach Matt Marini noted. 

The Scarlets had one last chance to win, but the Pascack Hills defense tightened up, allowed minimal yardage, and forced a turnover on downs.

“Our defense in the second half didn’t look great on the first couple of possessions, and Ridgefield Park went right down the field on us, but when the game was on the line, we trusted them, and they made a couple of tackles inbounds and they had to use their timeouts. We didn’t let them go on the last drive and were able to shut it down, and I’m proud of the group,” Head Coach Matt Marini stated.