By W. L. Bill Allen Jr.
Special to the Leader

After the Wood-Ridge Junior Blue Devils youth football organization Seniors (seventh- and eighth-grade) squad lost to Rutherford, 30-0 in the season opener for both teams back on Sunday, Sept. 10, few would think that in a rematch, the outcome would likely be any different.

In that lopsided lambasting, the game had ended with about two minutes left to play due to what the officials deemed to be an unsportsmanlike attitude on the part of some players and coaches.

Photo by Bill Allen-NJ Sport/Action They are the champions! — Members of the Wood-Ridge Blue Devils youth football Seniors Division team revel in the rhapsody of earning the Meadowlands Junior Football League Super Bowl championship by upsetting archrival Rutherford, 13-8, on Saturday, Nov. 18, in North Arlington.

While, at the time, any sort of rematch seemed unlikely, the reality is that, from that point on, neither club suffered a loss and the two ended up on a collision course for a rematch in the Meadowlands Junior Football League Super Bowl on Saturday night, Nov. 18, at Rip Collins Field in North Arlington.

And, in the final irony, it was not those Junior Bulldogs who blew out W-R in the opener that came home with the trophy. Instead, it was the team that lost its opener, 30-0, that left the field with the prize after posting a stunning 13-8 victory over archrival Rutherford.

Subsequent to suffering through that stinging season-starting setback, the Junior Blue Devils coaching staff “changed things up a bit,” according to veteran head coach Ralph LaTesta.

“We made some big changes on defense; we moved some kids to different positions and changed some of our schemes,” LaTesta recounted.

Whatever the Li’l Devils coaches did worked like a charm, as the blue-clad club did not allow another point to be scored on them until the semifinal round of the playoffs.

The Devils’ win skein began with a 6-0 overtime victory against Saddle Brook on Sept. 16, with Wood-Ridge going on to ember Elmwood Park, 20-0, on Sept. 24, prior to haranguing Harrison, 39-0, on Sept. 30, handing Hasbrouck Heights its first loss, 8-0, on Oct. 7, nuking North Arlington, 27-0, on Oct. 15, lashing Little Ferry, 45-0, on Oct. 22 and roasting Ridgefield Park, 34-0, on Oct. 28, to close the regular season as the MJFL’s Northern Division champs at 6-0 in the division and 7-1 overall.

As the North winner, W-R faced the North’s fourth seed, 3-5 Ridgefield Park, in the first round and sacked the Scarlets, 14-0, on Nov. 4, in Hasbrouck Heights despite having starting halfback/free safety Nick LaTesta sidelined with a knee injury.

Next, in the semifinals, the locals faced the South’s third place finisher, Wallington, after the Junior Panthers had upset the South’s second seed, Carlstadt/East Rutherford, 20-6, in the first round.

Wood-Ridge edged Wallington, 18-10, in the semi’s on Sunday, Nov. 12, in Saddle Brook.

Meanwhile, Rutherford, the defending Seniors Super Bowl champ, was slicing its way through the league, and was unbeaten and unscored upon, as the Junior Bulldogs earned their way into the 2006 Super Bowl.

In the W-R vs. Rutherford rematch, the Li’l Devils tried an onsides kick to open the game, but the Li’l ‘Dogs recovered the ball at midfield and then marched 50 yards for a TD, with that drive culminating in a one-yard scoring surge by Rutherford QB Bryan Gaschke and a two-point PAT kick, giving the ‘Dogs an 8-0 lead.

In the second stanza, though, a 30-yard TD run by W-R QB James Potchoiba on a sweep to the right got W-R back into the game and the Devils trailed, 8-6 at the half.

“That’s when we lost Anthony Montufar, our kicker, fullback and outside linebacker,” explained LaTesta. “He had a bad asthma attack and had to go to the hospital.

“So, we went into the second half without Anthony and with my son, Nick, still basically working on one leg.”

In the third period, though, Wood-Ridge’s shorthandedness notwithstanding, the Devils recorded what proved to be the winning TD on a QB draw that went for 60 yards.

LaTesta then ran the rock in for a one-point conversion and W-R led, 13-8.

In the fourth frame, the two talented teams traded field position, with each being stopped on fourth down at least once.

Finally, with about four minutes left and Rutherford starting a drive at its own 40, outside linebacker Danny Tattolli caused a fumble and defensive end Potchoiba recovered the loose pigskin, ending any chance for a Rutherford win.

Potchoiba ran the rock 10 times for 123 yards and both W-R TD’s, while the Devils’ defensive leaders included end Patrick DiMase (five tackles, one sack) and middle linebacker Steve Bakalian (eight stops).

“As far as we were concerned, what happened in week one was water way under the bridge,” emphasized LaTesta.

“This group of kids has been together for seven years, and we lost two Super Bowl games along the way. When they were Pee-Wee’s, we lost to Elmwood Park, 7-6, and, last year, we lost at the Seniors level to Rutherford, 26-14.

“So, our goal was to finally win a Super Bowl, and winning was satisfaction enough.

“It really didn’t matter that we beat the team that we lost to in week one. It really didn’t matter that it was Rutherford,” LaTesta insists.

“Sure, losing, 30-0, to Rutherford in week one was a tough way to start the season, but our kids hung in there, never gave up and knew that they had only one goal, to win a Super Bowl championship. That’s what they did, and we couldn’t be prouder of them.”