The Rutherford Bulldog Mighty Mites (6-7 year olds) went on the road to Harrison and delivered a tough, physical performance on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Bulldogs moved the ball with determination. Sean Ryan and Vinny Oszmanski each hauled in big receptions to keep drives alive. In the backfield, Jordan Antiorio ran hard all game, lowering his shoulder for extra yards, and Vincent Fuccilli followed with powerful downhill carries. Kaiser Day led the huddle at quarterback and kept the offense composed under pressure. Up front, Bryson Wilson anchored the line, with strong blocking support from Matias Leon, Paul Rood, and Tommy Rose at tight end. The Bulldogs jumped out in front early with a big 30 yard touchdown run by John Rocco Della Fave that set the tone early on. Vinny Oszmanski added 2 scores later in the day, one on the ground and later through the air on a big reception from Kaiser Day on 4th down that put the game out of reach. Defensively, Rutherford swarmed the ball. On the edges, Sean Ryan and James Schmeding set the tone at defensive end, consistently sealing the outside and shutting down Harrison’s attempts to get around the corner. In the middle, Paul Rood played nose guard the entire game and battled in the trenches on every snap. Bryson Wilson and Vincent Fuccilli held firm inside, while Cameron Hennie brought physical play at linebacker. Jordan Antiorio and Vinny Oszmanski were active in pursuit, closing running lanes and finishing tackles. On the back end, Finn Innis patrolled at safety and prevented anything from breaking loose deep, with Stephen Rusignuolo and Tommy Rose providing steady support. Bradley Rocha gave strong snaps on the edge, and John Rocco Della Fave continued to bring football instincts and energy on defense. The Rutherford Peewee Bulldogs (4-3) were back on the road this week, looking to bounce back after a hard-fought loss. The Bulldogs (8-9 year olds) came out strong, led by the powerful running of Leo Puglisi. The opening drive was capped off by an Emmet Bohan dash to the end zone, giving Rutherford an early 7-0 lead. The momentum continued immediately on special teams when JJ Bohn sprinted down on the kickoff and recovered a loose ball, putting the Bulldogs right back on offense. Behind a dominant offensive line—James DePutron, Jeremiah “Strawberry Jerry” Roman, Gregory Fletcher, Vincent Centrella, Luke Ruffins, Kevin “Cubby” Byrne, and JJ Bohn—the Bulldogs’ offense marched down the field again. The line opened holes for the ground game and gave Quarterback Emmet Bohan time to connect with JJ Bohn on multiple big completions. Leo Puglisi powered his way into the end zone to extend the lead to 13-0. The Bulldog defense came to play, not allowing a single first down in the entire first half. The unit was led by the hard-nosed play of Tommy LaGreca, Gianluca Caroprese, Dominic Williams, and Dean DellaFave. The Blue Tide tried to attack up the middle but were shut down by the interior line of Vincent Centrella, James DePutron, and Luke Ruffins. Attempts to bounce outside were quickly contained by Jeremiah Roman, JJ Bohn, Leo Puglisi, and David Zurla. The Bulldogs’ offense kept rolling, with Emmet Bohan and Leo Puglisi each finding the end zone again in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 25-0 heading into halftime. In the second half, the Bulldogs shifted to a “bend but don’t break” mindset, maintaining their physical play. Drew Bucey, Tiago Serra, Declan Barry, and Marcelo DeBari made key stops on the ground, while Xavion “Sonshine” Evans and Billy Cunningham shut down the Blue Tide’s passing attempts.

On offense, Rutherford focused on clock control, and the offensive line—Charlie Olivo, Phoenix Blackwell, and Joel Velasquez—continued to dominate the trenches, paving the way for the backfield to move the chains at will. The Bulldogs finished strong, shutting out Harrison 25-0 in an all-around team effort. The Rutherford Junior Bulldogs (10-11 year olds) won their game 34-0. No write up was received in time of posting. The Rutherford Senior Bulldogs (12-14 year olds) rebounded nicely after a tough loss by defeating the Harrison Blue Tide by a score of 16-14.  Rutherford won the toss and deferred until the second half.  They forced the Blue Tide into a turnover on downs and went right to work.  The big play on the opening drive came on fourth and long when Ryan Wilton hit Mason Colon down the right sideline for a forty yard completion.  This set up the first score a few plays later when Wilton ran it in to put the Bulldogs up 6-0.  Lucas Schmidt converted on the extra point kick to put the Bulldogs up 8-0 as this kick would be crucial in the end.  That’s the way the first half ended with Rutherford set to receive the second half kickoff.  The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs and Harrison was able to capitalize.  They scored a few plays later to make the score 8-6.  Rutherford blocked the XP attempt to keep the lead.  Harrison kicked off deep to the Bulldogs and Mason Colon broke free for a sixty yard return to set up Rutherford’s next score.  Tyler Griffin found Jake Barnes for a twenty yard touchdown reception as Barnes broke a few tackles on his way into the endzone.  The extra point attempt was unsuccessful, but the Bulldogs were back on top 14-6.  Harrison would also score one more time to make it 14-12, but the Bulldogs blocked their extra point kick once again to maintain the lead.  Harrison had a chance to win the game as they had the ball with twin minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs defense went into attack mode.  The defense was led by Gavin Nimmo, Joey Urgola, Owen Byrne, Austin Villa, Chase Kuenzle, Alejandro Castro, and Brendan O’Rourke.  Rutherford held on for a 14-12 victory to improve to 5-2. The Bulldog program is home versus Saddle Brook next weekend.