The usual adage in football is when your team is playing two quarterbacks it’s because you don’t know if you have one.
For Old Tappan, that is the complete opposite of the case. The Golden Knights are playing two quarterbacks because they are both elite talents.
The production through two games for senior Alex Orecchio and sophomore Zachary Miceli cannot be argued. Old Tappan moved to 2-0 on the season with a 44-13 win at River Dell on Friday evening.
“They’re both really good athletes,” Old Tappan head coach Brian Dunn said. “Alex is multi-talented, and we have to get our best kids on the field. Zach is really talented. He’s a young kid who will be really good. Alex and Zach are two of our best players, so moving them around and using them the right way is the smart thing.”
Orecchio threw 1,532 yards and 21 yards as a junior in leading Old Tappan to the North 1, Group 3 title game. Not all seniors with that level of success would be comfortable giving up quarterbacks snaps to a sophomore. Yet, Orecchio has been a model teammate and has been able to be used all over the field as an offensive weapon.
“Alex is a great teammate,” Miceli said. “He just wants the ball. He’s an athlete who can do anything. We have great chemistry, so when I get him the ball he can make plays. We can score touchdowns anywhere.”
It also takes a special talent to get on the field at quarterback with Orecchio still on the team, which Miceli clearly displayed against River Dell. He went 10-for-12 for 189 yards and three touchdowns. Miceli not only showed off an excellent arm; his movement in the pocket looked very smooth and his eyes never dropped to the rush coming at him.
“Every day in practice my coaches are preparing me for scramble drills,” Miceli said. “In the offseason, my trainer coaches me for all those pocket movements with people coming out of nowhere. That has helped me out a lot.”
On his second pass of the game, Miceli threw a picture perfect go ball down the sideline to Ronan Malady for 42 yards. The drive ended with Nick Rossi running like a bowling ball up the middle for a 20-yard touchdown, his second of the game to give Old Tappan a 16-0 lead with 7:28 left in the second quarter.
The power running of Rossi is a great complement to the dangerous Old Tappan passing game.
The third score of the game for Old Tappan showed off just how dangerous Miceli and Orecchio can be together. Miceli pitched the ball back to Orecchio, who slung a sidearm pass to Aidan Nally for a 19-yard touchdown.
Two plays later, Old Tappan forced and returned it to the River Dell 30-yard line. It only took the Golden Knights two plays to score from there as Miceli hit Robert Agans for a 11-yard touchdown and a 30-0 lead.
“We just started a little slow from a speed and physicality standpoint,” Dunn said. “I wasn’t really thrilled with ho we warmed up. The kids realized they had to jack it up and that we have a legit opponent here. We stepped it up, obviously.”
Miceli finished off the first half with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Troy Essman. River Dell dropped to 1-1 with the loss following a 42-7 win over Nutley in Week 1.
