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Torres propels Pompton Lakes in final
Nieko Torres did it all for Pompton Lakes, scoring two rushing touchdowns and pulling down an interception on defense in his team’s 20-0 victory over Glen Rock in the North 1 Group 1 championship at MetLife Stadium on Friday evening.
The top-seeded Cardinals clinched their first crown since 2005 and ended the spectacular season with an 11-1 record, using a suffocating defense to pave the way.
"It's incredible," Torres said. "We worked for a year to get to this point. We had an awesome game plan an we executed on defense and offense."
Pompton Lakes defeated No. 8 Hawthorne in the opening round and then bounced dangerous Saddle Brook, the fifth seed, 17-14, in the semifinals to reach the campaign’s final day.
"We knew what we had coming with these guys," Pompton Lakes coach Scott Mahoney said. "They have battled for the past couple years and we told them if we dedicate ourselves and worked hard, they'd have this opportunity.
Larry Gelok got the offense rolling when he snapped a scoreless tie with a 29-yard touchdown catch with 5:53 remaining in the second quarter.
With 1:30 left before the half, Torres doubled the advantage with a scoring run from 13 yards out.
Torres made a splash on defense, too, as he intercepted a long pass on Glen Rock’s opening drive of the third quarter. With 36 seconds left in the session, he inflated the Cardinals’ cushion to 20-0.
"I can't wait to get in that locker room," Torres said. "We reached our goal."
Contact Brian Fitzsimmons at bfitzsim@cablevision.com. Follow him on Twitter: @FitzWriter
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