Why not us?

That was the mantra at Lenape Valley all week – and there were plenty of reasons why the Patriots should not have beaten Newton leading up to the game. 

There were certainly more reasons why they should lose, and not win.

But coach Wade Pickett, doing his best Norman Vincent Peale power-of-positivity impersonation, somehow convinced his team that it had a shot to surprise Newton.

That’s why he kept hammering home the rallying cry in Patriot Land all week, right up until kickoff. The why-not-us theme was uttered during practice, in the film room, in the locker room, in the library, in the cafeteria, in the men’s room, in the hallways, and on the bus going up to the game.

And it was at its loudest in the locker room credo after this surprise:

Lenape Valley 19, Newton 7.

Why not us?

Why not, indeed.

“It was great to see the bright, smiling faces in the locker room after the game,” Pickett said. “They repeated what we had talked about. I told the kids, ‘Why not us?’ They repeated it at the end of the game. ‘Coach, Why not us?’”

It was Lenape’s first win against Newton since 2019.

On the surface, Pickett’s team appeared to be headed for dreary-land after its first two games. That’s where winless teams go to die as the season drones on.

The Pats came into the game with an 0-2 record – and one loss away from perhaps seeing the 2024 season wither away. 

And with formidable Newton on tap.

Quick question: Where do oh-and-3 teams usually end up? With kids dying for the season to end, that’s where.

But the Pats regrouped, got the better of the Braves, posted the victory – and maybe saved the season.

And now they are a team on the march now.

Coming into the game, the Pats were looking like a team to forget.

In Week 1, Kinnelon beat Lenape Valley, 32-13, and literally overpowered the Pats in the process with almost 400 yards of offense.

Getting sand kicked in your face is exactly the way to kick off the season, but that’s where Lenape was. 

Week 2 was not much better (four turnovers, three in the red zone) in a 20-6 loss to Kittatinny. 

So that’s two ugly losses leading up to the game against a dynastic Newton program that has won four straight division titles (two in the American Blue, one in the National Red, and one in the American White). 

Want more? The Braves beat Lenape the last four times by a combined 114-27 (including 104-20 the last three years). 

Translation: Newton has owned the Patriots since 2019. All Newton, all the time.

Then Friday night came.

This is why coaching staffs scout and make adjustments. Pickett and his staff switched defenses after Week 1 (going from a three-man front to a four-man). 

Their spread out Wing-T variation helped them move the ball against Newton.

And Colby Van Tuyl stepped up in a huge way and returned an interception 50 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Hey, why not Lenape Valley?

“One of the biggest wins since I have been here,” said Pickett, a longtime assistant who took over for legendary Don Smolyn in 2021. “It was a real nice program win in all aspects.”

Newton took the lead in the first quarter when Braxton Guerra caught a 9-yard TD pass from Matt Ellsworth before Lenape’s Jakob Bell ran in from 3 yards out in the second quarter to bring his team to within 7-6.

In the third quarter, Tanner Gaboda ran in from 1 yard out to put the Pats ahead, 12-7.

Van Tuyl’s Pick-6 all but clinched the win and brought the team new hope.

Hope wasn’t in the team’s vernacular after the first two weeks, which didn’t exactly go as planned for what has been one of Sussex County’s best programs down through the ages. 

The Patriots defense was so Swiss cheese-like that the coaching staff decided to make a major change. Something just had to be done.

“(Lenape assistant) John Groome has coached almost 400 games,” Pickett said. “He said, ‘Hey, what are we gonna do? We cannot have this.’ So in three days practice (leading up to Kittatinny) we went from a 3-man to a 4-man.”

So the staff inserted Hollis Hoffer, who didn’t play in the first game, up front and that has made all the difference. Hoffer, Chris Zander, Matt Ackerman and Jack Phelps have been solid up front the last two weeks.

Van Tuyl, Bell, and Kevin Giusti have gelled at linebacker and the secondary (Tyler Brennan, Chase DeOliveira, Stephen Moodie, and David Holeman) has played well.

“Defensively, we kept Newton in check and limited them to under 200 yards,” Pickett said. “The kids rose to the occasion.”

The offense, meanwhile, simply held onto the ball better than it did against Kittatinny. Lenape moved the ball against Kittatinny but couldn’t finish drives due to that dreaded disease known as fumble-itis. 

But the offense held onto the ball against Newton and had some success with the line (Phelps at center, Chase Grant and Jack Kopich at guards, Ackerman ad Zander at tackle, Ben Sumski at tight end) creating running room for the backs (Bell, Giusti, Brennan, De Oliveira, Holeman).

It all added up to a win and a newfound look to the 2024 season. 

“I liked how we all came together,” Giusti said. “We started 0-2 but kept fighting. We haven’t beaten them in 5-6 years, so it meant a lot. It’s a big confidence boost going into Mountain Lakes next week.”

The after-game mood couldn’t have been more different compared to the first two weeks.

“After the Kinnelon game, you could hear a pin drop on the bus going home,” Pickett said.

The noise in the locker after their first win could practically be heard all around Newton. What a contrast.

“It was so perfect,” De Oliveira said. “Coach gave a really good speech at halftime. Why not us? Why can’t we be the ones? We shocked the world and shocked the conference. Everyone is ecstatic, so excited.”

Optimism has replaced pessimism – and with winless and struggling Mountain Lakes on deck, there is reason to believe. 

“I hope it carries into next week,” Pickett said. “Hopefully, one win becomes a tidal wave.”

A tidal wave would mean more wins … and qualifying for the playoffs … and maybe even more beyond that.

That’s not too far-fetched anymore in Patriot Land, which landed its first win and mantra for the rest of 2024, thanks to Pickett.

Why not us?