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Alex Orecchio was told all week how NJ.com No. 16-ranked Pascack Valley was going to out-physical No. 18 Old Tappan for the second time this year.
The Panthers won a 27-21 regular-season matchup between the two sides in Week 8, but the Golden Knights do-it-all senior and his teammates made sure they were the ones flexing their muscles in Friday’s rematch in Hillsdale.
Old Tappan avenged that loss to Pascack Valley in emphatic fashion – a 43-14 rout in the NJSIAA/Xfinity Group 3 North semifinal to reach the state championship for the second time in three years.
“That was the thing coming into this game and that was motivation,” Orecchio said of the naysayers. “We said, ‘We’re going to out-physical you guys.’ We came out and played a really hard, physical and fast game. We did what we were supposed to do and came out with a big win.”
Orecchio ran for three touchdowns, sophomore quarterback Zach Miceli punched in a pair and senior running back Nick Rossi added a score of his own to round out the absolutely lethal rushing attack for the Golden Knights.
In the Week 8 loss to the Panthers, the story was the opposite.
Old Tappan was unable to contain the duo of quarterback Adam Shaw and running back Kevin Regula. Head coach Brian Dunn and company flipped the script on Friday with a combination of Xs and Os and challenging their kids to execute better than they did the first time.
“We learned a lot about not being very good at blocking and tackling,” Dunn said. “It sounds stupid because it’s basic football, but they just whipped our butt up and down the field last time. It didn’t sit well with a lot of kids and coaches on our team. We had to do a lot better. We’re hitting on all cylinders right now.”
Dunn knew months before training camp that he would be using Miceli under center. Orecchio was the team’s quarterback in 2023, but Dunn wanted both of his tremendous athletes on the field at once and he uses Orecchio all over the field.
The John Hopkins pledge is utilized at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, linebacker, defensive back and he’s the team’s kicker.
The saying goes, “When you have two quarterbacks, you have none.” Old Tappan has debunked that theory with the best one-two punch in the state, and perhaps the trait that makes the duo most special is their camaraderie and belief in each other.
“Alex is a great kid and a great leader,” Miceli said of Orecchio. “He trains me every day practice and teaches me the way he was taught growing up in this program. Getting him the ball, it’s a whole different game. No one can stop him.”
“Man, he’s one hell of a player,” Orecchio said of Miceli. “I haven’t seen a sophomore play like him in so long. It’s nice to be able to play with him. I tell him every week that I love him. I always tell him right before games, ‘Hey I don’t want this to be our last because I have a blast playing football with you.’”
Miceli, Orecchio and Rossi combined for six touchdowns and an absurd amount of yardage, but the Old Tappan brass couldn’t stop praising the offensive line on Friday. It was one of the units with the biggest question marks coming into the year as the Golden Knights graduated the terrific trio of Jack Small, Dennis Delaney and Ryan O’Neill in the trenches.
It’s safe to say Dunn has found his next core of people movers.
“My brother [Pete Dunn] does a great job with them,” Dunn said of the offensive line. “They just plug day after day with repetitions. The five guys we’ve had playing have been consistent all year. We’ve had no substitutions or injuries there all year, but it wasn’t the five guys we thought going into camp that were going to be the guys. Some guys stepped up in our sophomore left tackle Caden Pemberton and at center, Joey Puccio has done a fantastic job. Pemberton is athletic and smart as hell and did a great job tonight and Puccio I give a lot of credit because he doesn’t escape getting coached every day.”
This run has come without the services of senior WR/DB Ronan Malady, sophomore TE/DL Shane Small and junior WR/DB Aidan Nally – three very key contributors who got injured earlier in the postseason – which says a lot about where this squad is at.
The Golden Knights draw Mainland in next week’s Group 3 title. They took out South Jersey power Delsea in the 2022 Group 3 final behind a heroic effort from Orecchio in the second half.
Old Tappan hopes to flash some of that same championship grit at Rutgers next week and add to the program’s rich history.
“I told the kids at the beginning of the game I’m most proud of the fact that of all the teams I’ve had, this has been a group contribution,” Dunn said. “It hasn’t been a senior class or a couple of stars – it’s a total team contribution.”
“I’m just happy to play another week of football – to be able to come in tomorrow morning, watch some film and keep the grind going,” Orecchio added. “It’s a great feeling to get back to where we were, but the job is not finished.”
