The Cutters snip the Tigers season record in half
WEST NEW YORK, N.J. — (BVM) The 2-2 Fair Lawn Cutters, on a rebuild with a new head coach, Brendan Walis, came into West New York on Friday night, with hopes to continue their dominance over Memorial High School (3-2). Since joining the Liberty White Conference in 2016, the Cutters were 4-0 against the Tigers heading into this crossover match up.
Coming off last week’s 48-3 loss at the hands of Dwight Morrow, Memorial faced Fair Lawn without key injured players Brian Ramirez (OG), Miguel Carambot (TE) and Camil Gil (OT).
To start the first quarter, Memorial went four and out, turning the ball over to Fair Lawn at the 40-yard line.
After a first down holding penalty and a loss of ten yards, Fair Lawns QB Ali Ljapo took off from the 50-yard line, on second down, for the first TD of the game. The P.A.T. by Julian Keylin was good.
On the next play of the game, Memorial responded, as WR Ethan Garcia returned the kick for 85 yards into the endzone. The P.A.T. was blocked by Fair Lawn.
The Cutters took over at their 42-yard line and marched it back down the field. WR Kaniawu and WR Trinidad each picked up ten yards on the ground, and QB Ljapo ran into the endzone for another TD. Keylin’s P.A.T. was good. This gave Fair Lawn a 14-6 lead.
The Tigers were unable to score on the next drive, opening the second quarter after an incomplete pass, a delay of game and an offsides penalty.
A botched kick gave the Cutters possession at Memorial’s 24-yard line for another first down QB run to the endzone by Ljapo, and a P.A.T. by Keylin. This made the score 21-6, Fair Lawn.
On the next return, Tigers QB Juan Donoso ran the ball for 30 yards before being taken down at the Fair Lawn 41-yard line. After a Tiger gain of about 30 total yards on this drive and a loss of 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, the ball was returned to the Cutters on downs at the Fair Lawn 34-yard line.
The Cutters went on to score two more TD’s and one P.A.T. before the Tigers found a bit of a rhythm.
In the middle of the third quarter, Donoso had a second down, 42-yard run, setting up Memorial with great field position. Donoso followed with another 35 yards in the drive, ultimately scoring the TD. The Tigers were unable to complete the 2pt. conversion, making it a 34-12 game.
The Cutters answered back on the next drive with their sixth TD of the night being scored by Jalen Corporan. The P.A.T. was missed.
On the 4th quarter’s opening drive, Donoso threw a first down interception, picked by Fair Lawn’s Kabiawu.
The Cutters were able to squeeze in one more field goal before the end of the game, making the final score 43-12.
Cutter’s QB, Ali Ljapo, ended the game with a total of 61 passing yards and 165 rushing yards.
The Tigers QB, Juan Donoso, had a total of 20 yards passing and 130 rushing yards.
Fair Lawn’s record improves to 3-2, while Memorials drops to 3-3.
Tigers assistant coach Hussein Abdelmaksoud said that they “knew it was going to be a tough game” with the lack of starters, and after Senior William Rodriguez suffered a high ankle injury in the first quarter.
Friday’s game was the last home game for MHS seniors Juan Donoso, William Rodriguez, Radalfi Ledesma, and Brian Ramirez.
The Tenafly (N.J.) Tigers will be hosting the Memorial Tigers this Saturday. Fair Lawn is slated to play Dickinson High School (Jersey City, N.J.) on Saturday.
