The Rutherford Bulldog Mighty Mites battled Manchester in a hard-hitting, physical game that showcased grit across the roster. On offense, Bryson Wilson steadied the unit at center, with Paul Rood and Matias Leon bringing muscle up front. Quarterback Kaiser Day was dynamic in the first half—powering in for two touchdowns on keepers and connecting with Vinny Oszmanski on a well-timed screen that Oszmanski turned into a touchdown. Day also found Vinny Oszmanski for another reception that moved the chains for a key first down at the end of the opening drive. Jordan Antiorio sprung two big blocks from the backfield, while Vincent Fuccilli delivered punishing lead blocks at fullback. Tommy Rose sealed edges from tight end with strong blocks, and on the game’s final snap Sean Ryan hauled in a 10-yard reception to cap the night. Defensively, Rutherford’s front was relentless. Cameron Hennie opened at nose guard before a smart halftime adjustment moved him to middle linebacker—he responded with several clutch solo tackles. At defensive tackle, Bryson Wilson and Vincent Fuccilli plugged interior gaps, while defensive ends Sean Ryan (a constant disruptor) and James Schmeding set firm edges. On the perimeter, cornerbacks Kaiser Day and Kiaan Kachhadiya shut down outside runs. Jordan Antiorio and Matias Leon flew to the ball, and the safety duo of Stephen Rusignuolo and Tommy Rose erased would-be big plays. Bradley Rocha logged valuable snaps at end, and Finn Innis started at linebacker before shifting to safety to steady the back line. The Bulldogs continued to rally around teammate John Rocco Della Fave, who remained injured but supported the squad from the sideline. The Rutherford Bulldog Peewees (8-9 year olds) were on the road this weekend, taking on a tough Manchester Falcons team. Despite a hard-fought effort, the Bulldogs came up short, falling 27–6 and moving to 2–2 on the season. The first half was competitive, with Rutherford’s offense moving the ball well behind the leadership of quarterback Emmet Bohan, who guided the Bulldogs into the red zone multiple times. However, the Bulldogs were unable to finish drives, and the Falcons capitalized on a few big plays to take a 13–0 lead into halftime. Coming out of the break, the Bulldogs showed fight and energy. On Manchester’s first offensive play of the second half, the defense forced a fumble and recovered it. Led by Tommy LaGreca, Leo Puglisi, Luke Ruffins, Cubby Byrne, and Vin Centrella, the defense played with relentless effort throughout the day. The Bulldogs capitalized on the turnover when Bohan connected with Dean Dellafave for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 13–6. The offensive line—anchored by Marcelo Debari, Centrella, Ruffins, Byrne, and Jameson Bohn—battled hard against a strong Manchester front. Rutherford forced another fumble later in the game but was unable to turn it into points. Despite the final score, the Bulldogs showed heart, toughness, and growth in all phases of the game. The Rutherford Junior Bulldogs (10-11 year olds) faced off against the Manchester Falcons in a battle of 3-0 teams at Manchester. The Bulldogs dominated from the opening kickoff winning 27-6. They only gave up a late game TD, to remain undefeated and in 1st place in the Meadowlands Football League Southern Division. They started their dominance on defense as linebacker Charlie Lagreca forced two Manchester fumbles on their 1st 2 possessions, recovering both. They had many tackles for loss and a few sacks. On offense, they wore the Falcon's defense down with punishing runs and timely passes all game. The offensive line of the bulldogs, featuring Kevin Farrell, Jackson Condon, Harrison Byrne, James Connallon, and Harry Adams along with Tight Ends Luca Ventura and Brendan Caughey used quickness, technique, and teamwork to consistently open up holes against the bigger, stronger Falcons defensive line. They started the game with a 12 play drive and a 6 play drive before turning the ball over on downs. They then scored on their 3rd drive with a 2 yard TD plunge by Kevin Calabrese. They also scored on their next 2 drives. The 1st was a pass from quarterback Wyatt Bohn to Charlie Lagreca and the 2nd came with 8 seconds left in the 1st half with another pass from Wyatt Bohn, this time he connected with tight end Brendan Caughey. Caughey also kicked 1 extra point and had another extra point run on a broken play. The Bulldogs took a 19-0 lead at the half against the previously un-scored upon Falcons. After they fumbled on their opening drive of the second half, they got the ball right back and continued their dominance by scoring again for their final time. This time it was Luke Barnes with a hard downhill TD run. To closeout the game, Kevin Calabrese recovered an onside kick and the bulldogs ran out the clock to get the win. The Rutherford Senior Bulldogs (12-13 year olds) lost a hard fought game by a score of 20-6.  Both teams were undefeated coming into the game, but Manchester was able to take home the win.  The game started off in Rutherfords (3-1) favor when they recovered an inside kick, but they would turn it over on downs six plays later.  Manchester was able to run in two scores of their own and took a 13-0 lead into halftime.  The Bulldogs had plenty of chances to score in the first half, but came up short every time.  Rutherford received the second half kickoff and once again turned it over on downs.  Manchester ran in one more score and started to really pull away from the Bulldogs.  Rutherford wouldn’t go away without a fight and finally got on the board when Ryan Wilton hit Mason Colon on an out route and Colon did the rest.  He took it sixty yards down the sideline to the house to pull the Bulldogs within fourteen points.  The extra point was unsuccessful and the score would remain 20-6. After a few back-and-forth drives Manchester was finally able to run out  the clock for the victory. The RJF&C program will be home versus Wallington next Saturday.