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Remaining Unbeatens Stay Perfect

Unblemished trio of NJAC teams wrap up Week 9 with a win.

With the regular season wrapping up for most teams–sans for a few Thanksgiving matchups–three NJAC teams headed into Week 9 with the hopes of avoiding adding a blemish to their perfect records.

This week we focus on the three remaining unbeatens:

Delbarton Stops West Essex 45-0

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There's been a pretty simple recipe to Delbarton’s success on the football field this season: run the football, play good defense, and avoid turning the ball over.

And with ingredients like quarterback John Shaffer, running back Jamie White and linebacker Dennis Bencsko–a trio that accounted for five touchdowns in the Week 9 win–it’s no surprise that each weekend has resulted with big-time success for the Green Wave in 2011.

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On Saturday Delbarton continued the trend, as the Green Wave pummeled previously unbeaten West Essex, 45-0, in its final power point relevant game of the season, according to the Daily Record.

After last weekend’s pre-Halloween snowstorm postponed Delbarton’s game against Randolph, the Green Wave headed into this significant Week 9 game against a what appeared to be a well-matched opponent, following a two-week layoff.

But the time away didn’t seem to have any ill effects on Delbarton, who ran up a 38-0 lead by halftime against the Knights, seeded No. 1 in the upcoming North 1, Group II tournament.

Delbarton, which was positioned with the No. 2 seed in the Non-Public Group III playoff picture heading into this game, was relentless on both sides of the ball–playing the entire second half with a running clock, something that may have lessened the severity of the brutal beat down for West Essex—even just a little bit.

On offense, White continued running the ball with consistency, racking up 115 yards and two scores (both in the first half), while Shaffer connected with receiver Cole Riccardi for two scores, on his way to 99 yards passing.

Defensively, Delbarton was as solid as its been all season, shocking some of those in attendance with its complete dismantling of a West Essex offense that had averaged just over 40 points per game heading into Saturday, according to NJ.com.

As has been the norm for the past three seasons, Bencsko was a key factor, finishing with one sack and three tackles for loss, along with a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown—all in the first half.

The interception returned for a touchdown was Bencsko’s first of his career.

Sparta Stops West Morris

Another unbeaten team looking to seal up a perfect regular season was National Division leading Sparta, who hosted West Morris is yet another game featuring two top teams in their respective playoff groups.

It’s not very often that a team will come out of a game with a win after seeing the opposing running back rush for over 100 yards and four touchdowns–which is exactly what West Morris running back Jon Ciccone did–but Spartan quarterback Jake Melville & Co. were able to counteract the one man onslaught,

Melville, who finished the day 13 of 17 for 213 yards and two touchdowns, also racked up 80 yards on the ground and caught a 47-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Hutchison. That score put Sparta up 24-14 in the third quarter.

Running back Codie Aromando carried the ball 18 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns for Sparta, who is now guaranteed a home game in the upcoming playoffs.

Madison Cruises to 8-0

The third and final undefeated NJAC team playing to stay perfect this weekend was the Chris Kubik-led Madison Dodgers, who headed to Sussex County for a matchup against the struggling Wallkill Valley Rangers.

The outcome was one that many expected, as Madison dominated its Freedom Division foe, 41-0, earning its 21st straight victory dating back to 2010.

In yet another defensive masterpiece for Madison (which has yielded just under 10 points per contest this season), the Dodgers got up seven sacks from seven different defenders, while allowing Wallkill Valley to just two first downs all game—one of which came on a pass interference call in the first half.

The Dodger defense also added six three-and-outs in the win.

Junior running back Justin Goodwin carried the ball eight times for 97 yards and two scores, while quarterback Carson Lassiter was 2 of 4 for 56 yards and one touchdown for Madison, who are tentatively scheduled to host Hackettstown in a North 2, Group II first round game.

Division Standings

Standings are a combination of Patch records, as well as from NJ.com. Coaches are required by the NJSIAA to submit results to NJ.com in order to be eligible for the postseason, due to a contract between the two.

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference–American Division

Team Division Record Overall Record Delbarton 6 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 - 0 West Morris 6 - 1 - 0 7 - 2 - 0 Parsippany Hills 4 - 3 - 0 6 - 3 - 0 Randolph 3 - 3 - 0 4 - 4 - 0 Roxbury 3 - 4 - 0 5 - 4 - 0 Morris Knolls 3 - 4 - 0 5 - 4 - 0 Morristown 2 - 5 - 0 3 - 6 - 0 Mendham 0 - 7 - 0 0 - 9 - 0

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference–National Division

Team Division Record Overall Record Sparta 7 - 0 - 0 9 - 0 - 0 Vernon 5 - 2 - 0 5 - 4 - 0 Pope John 5 - 2 - 0 5 - 4 - 0 Morris Hills 4 - 3 - 0 5 - 4 - 0 Jefferson 3 - 4 - 0 4 - 5 - 0 High Point 3 - 4 - 0 4 - 5 - 0 Mount Olive 1 - 6 - 0 2 - 7 - 0 Montville 0 - 7 - 0 0 - 9 - 0

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference–Freedom Division

Team Division Record Overall Record Madison 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 - 0 Lenape Valley 7 - 1 - 0 8 - 1 - 0 Chatham 5 - 3 - 0 6 - 3 - 0 Hackettstown 5 - 3 - 0 5 - 4 - 0 Hanover Park 4 - 4 - 0 4 - 5 - 0 Kittatinny 4 - 4 - 0 4 - 5 - 0 Wallkill Valley 2 - 6 - 0 2 - 7 - 0 Newton 1 - 7 - 0 2 - 7 - 0 Parsippany 0 - 8 - 0 0 - 9 - 0

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference–Independence Division

Team Division Record Overall Record Mountain Lakes 7 - 1 - 0 8 - 1 - 0 Butler 7 - 1 - 0 7 - 1 - 0 Pequannock 6 - 2 - 0 7 - 2 - 0 Hopatcong 5 - 3 - 0 6 - 3 - 0 Kinnelon 4 - 4 - 0 5 - 4 - 0 Dover 3 - 5 - 0 4 - 5 - 0 Boonton 2 - 6 - 0 2 - 7 - 0 Whippany Park 2 - 7 - 0 2 - 7 - 0 Morris Catholic 1 - 7 - 0 1 - 8 - 0 Morristown-Beard 0 - 1 - 0 2 - 7 - 0
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