By, David Hashagen

On a cold and blustery afternoon at SHI stadium, Old Tappan and Mainland both sought to finish a special 3-year period.  The Mustangs looked to claim its second straight state title at 2 different levels after capturing the Group IV state title last season.  For the Golden Knights, it would be an attempt to secure its second state championship in 3 years.  In one of the more competitive state finals of the year, defense would be on display for both squads in the first half, but it would be Brian Dunn’s squad who would pull away late to finish the story of the 2024 season by a score of 28-16.

On the opening drive of the game Old Tappan avoided disaster on the first play as Miceli dropped the opening snap but fell on it.  But he recovered excellently driving down the field 80 yards on 9 plays for an opening touchdown.  Alex Orecchio was the key player on the opening drive making a great back shoulder catch for a first down to the red zone, followed by an 18-yard touchdown reception.

After forcing a 3 and out on Mainland’s first drive, Miceli had Old Tappan moving again, finding Orecchio with an unbelievable high-point catch down the sideline.  However, the drive was snuffed out by a great interception by Khaleeb Foster in the redzone which was returned to the 40.  After a big run on a pitch play to Rocco DiBiaso, Franchini hit Jake Blum with his first completion of the game to level the score, with Blum fighting off his defender to score. 

In the second quarter, DiBiaso again set the tone with a powerful run, dragging tacklers with him for a big gain, but again defense reigned supreme as sophomore Leo Etter intercepted a pass in the endzone to give the Golden Knights the ball back.  Following a stint of wildcat offense by OT, the secondary of Mainland stepped up again, first on a great pass defense by Rocco DiBiaso, followed quickly by an interception by Jake Blum, his second in two games.  Miceli’s two interceptions in the first half was the first time this season with multiple INTs for the sophomore.

On the following Mainland drive, Franchini kept the drive alive with his best Patrick Mahomes impression with a scrambling completion.  But again, it was defense that ended the story of the drive as Christakis Nicolaou stepped in front of the pass in the endzone for his 5^th interception of the season.

To start the second half, Old Tappan went to a chip shot kickoff that worked better than expected, bouncing off a couple of Mainland defenders before being covered by Nicholas Blanchard.  After a great sliding catch by Crescitelli on the sideline, Orecchio would cap off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.  The senior would finish the game having scored 16 of his team’s 28 points when all was said and done. On the following drive Mainland knocked at the door driving inside the 10-yard line.  However, the Mustangs were forced to go for a field goal following a tough goal line stand, with Nate Kashey connecting on a 29-yarder to bring the deficit to just four points.

In the fourth quarter, Old Tappan went with some wildcat plays mixed in with Miceli running the regular offense.  It would be the sophomore sparking the offense again with a great pass over Jake Blum to Orecchio to extend the drive.  Then senior running back Nick Rossi would finish off the drive, following some great blocks from his line to the endzone for a 22-yard touchdown.

Mainland needed a big play and in a hurry.  Running back Rocco DeBiaso, who was key in the Group 3 South final win over Somerville, cracked off a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive, breaking 4 tackles as he went to the endzone to keep the Mustangs hope for back-to-back state titles alive.  However, the defense of the Golden Knights would come up big again as Nicalaou broke up the two-point conversion attempt.

With just over seven and a half minutes remaining, Old Tappan looked to run down the clock with just a four-point lead. Zach Miceli orchestrated an excellent drive, calling his own number a few times before connecting to Shane Small.  The sophomore, who had been quiet up to that point, reeled in a 29-yard reception to keep the drive alive. But the tight end wasn’t done on the drive. With Orecchio in at QB, the Golden Knights went to the air out of the wildcat, with Orecchio finding Small for a 14-yard touchdown reception.  It was Small’s first TD since their November 8th win over Cranford, while for Orecchio who threw for over 1500 yards as QB last season, it was his 5th passing score of the year.  It capped off a special day for the senior, scoring a touchdown in all three categories: passing, rushing, and receiving.

It would be Shane Small though, who would put the finishing touches on the game.  After passes by John Franchini to Jake Blum and Rocco DeBiaso, the sophomore would record back-to-back sacks on 3^rd and 4^th down to force the turnover on downs and seal the state title for the Golden Knights.  

The win on Sunday caps the second state title for Old Tappan in the last 3 years. For the program, which had so many underclassmen have major contributions this season, it is not out of the question that Old Tappan is in its dynasty era and could be right back on the same stage in 2025.