With only the final seconds separating
Wallington (N.J.) from a long-awaited state championship,
Charles Vellis settled into the victory formation and took a knee.
Once the Panthers' senior quarterback rose, his teammates and virtually the entire small, Bergen County town filling the stands behind their team's New Meadowlands Stadium sideline erupted in a joyous celebration, Wallington had officially ended the longest winning streak in New Jersey, snapping
Mountain Lakes' 35-game victory run with a 23-21 triumph in the North 1, Group 1 title game Friday night.
In the process, the Panthers (11-1) earned just their second state title and its first since 1991. Before his current senior class entered at Wallington High School, the program had won just nine games the previous four seasons.
"This is great," said Vellis, who finished 12-for-24 for 211 yards and two first-half touchdowns as Wallington seized a 20-0 halftime lead. "I couldn't dream of anything better than this. It's all I could dream of."
"I can't put it into words," Wallington coach Barry Blauvelt said. To see this community, to see kids playing football in town since they were little, it's just a great feeling. This is a family. Family isn't just our football players, it's our whole community."
Before the Panthers could stage a proper celebration, they needed to stave off a strong second-half charge by the two-time defending sectional champions from Mountain Lakes (11-1).
After Marcin Koc's 21-yard field goal put Wallington ahead 23-14, Greg Cuccinello clicked with
Lukas Marker on the second of his two touchdown tosses from 30 yards out, pulling the Lakers within 23-21 with 6:54 remaining.
An ensuing three-and-out gave Mountain Lakes a final hope of extending the Garden State's longest streak, but a pair of penalties and Wallington's tight defense forced the Lakers to turn the ball over on downs four plays later.
From there, the Panthers ran a play and Vellis took two knees before storming the field after giving Wallington its second state title this fall. Its boys soccer team won its first-ever Group 1 state crown last month.
"We all work together," said senior tailback Criss Sullivan, who rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown and also caught a 7-yard scoring pass. "We're all family in this town."
