Football Scores Playoff Upset, Beats Cresskill

The Verona High School football team was the number seven seed going into the first round of the NJSIAA North 1, Group 1 playoffs on Saturday, but they looked more like number one, especially in the closing seconds of the game. With an Alex Kaslander field goal at the buzzer, the Hillbillies defeated number two seed Cresskill High School, 30-28.

Last week, quarterback Frank Ferrari was using the hashtag #playoffsbaby on his Twitter feed and the incantation worked. He connected with his brother Bill on a 27-yard pass to get Verona on the scoreboard first. Verona led 21-14 at the half, but the big magic–and drama–was to come.

Cresskill caught up, and pushed ahead to 28-21 in the fourth quarter. The Hillbilly offense pushed back, piling up 75 yards in 12 plays and sending Frank Ferrari into the end zone with 3:18 to go. The two-point conversion failed, and the playoff season for Verona might have ended right there.

But Cresskill got nowhere on its next possession and at the 1:47 mark, Verona got the ball back. The Maroon & White wave surged down to the 8 yard line and with four seconds left, Kaslander took the field. He nailed the kick and the crowd, as they say, went wild. Verona faces number 3 seed Pompton Lakes on Saturday. The Cardinals demolished New Milford 55-14 in their opening game.
Photos copyright Bob Misuro. Used by permission.