The Rutherford Bulldog Mighty Mites (7 year olds) battled Saddle Brook in a tough, physical matchup—starting slowly but responding with poise. After halftime, the defense made sharp adjustments and shut the door, stacking stops and flipping momentum. On offense, the Bulldogs were patient and ran hard behind Bryson Wilson at center and a determined front with Matias Leon, Sean Ryan, and Tommy Rose. Kaiser Day steadied the huddle and kept drives alive, while Jordan Antiorio and Vinny Oszmanski churned out tough yards. A highlight came when Paul Rood took his first carries of the season, running hard and energizing the sideline. Late in the game, John Rocco Della Fave capped a gritty march by breaking the plane for a touchdown—a well-earned finish to a sustained drive. The defense answered the bell after the break. On the edges, Sean Ryan and James Schmeding contained and finished tackles, with Ryan also pouncing on a fumble to swing field position. Inside, Bryson Wilson and Vincent Fuccilli clogged lanes, and Paul Rood battled at nose guard. At corner, John Rocco Della Fave paired with Kaiser Day to squeeze outside runs, while Finn Innis patrolled at safety with sure tackling. Stephen Rusignuolo and Tommy Rose provided reliable help over the top, Cameron Hennie was active to the ball at linebacker, Kiaan Kachhadiya and Bradley Rocha added sturdy snaps on the edge. The Rutherford Peewee Bulldogs (8-9 year olds) faced off against a talented Saddle Brook Falcons team this weekend in a hard-fought matchup. The Bulldogs came out strong, opening the game with an impressive drive sparked by a great throw and catch from quarterback Emmet Bohan to tight end JJ Bohn, pushing deep into the red zone. Despite the early momentum, the tough Saddle Brook defense held firm and kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard. On the defensive side, Rutherford showed grit and heart all afternoon. Leonard Puglisi made a big play by forcing a fumble, while the linebacker group of Jeremiah Roman, JJ Bohn, Tommy LaGreca, Gregory Fletcher, and Cubby Byrne led the way with several hard-hitting tackles and relentless effort. The Bulldogs’ defense continued to fight, making Saddle Brook earn every yard and refusing to back down against a powerful offensive attack. Offensively, Rutherford kept pushing behind strong runs from Puglisi, LaGreca, Dean DellaFave, and David Zurla, with the offensive line — Vincent Centrella, James DePutron, Byrne, and Luke Ruffins — battling in the trenches against an aggressive front. The highly anticipated clash between two undefeated powerhouses ended with the Rutherford Junior Bulldogs (10-11 year olds) taking their first loss of the season, falling 27-0 to the Saddle Brook Falcons in the final regular-season game. The hard-fought, physical contest saw the 7-0 Southern Division Champion Bulldogs stumble against the 7-0 Northern Division Champion Falcons. The game started as a defensive struggle, but untimely turnovers and missed opportunities plagued Rutherford. The Bulldogs committed two costly first-half turnovers, which helped Saddle Brook build a lead. Rutherford went into halftime trailing 12-0. Despite the deficit, quarterback Wyatt Bohn and the offense battled to move the ball, putting the ball in the air 12 times. Bohn found several reliable targets, completing passes to running backs Luke Barnes and Charlie Lagreca, as well as tight ends Brendan Caughey and Luca Ventura. Both sides of the line were anchored by the steady play of Jackson Condon and Harry Adams. Ultimately, a combination of missed penalties and crucial turnovers contributed to the lopsided 27-0 final score. The loss snaps the Bulldogs' perfect record, moving them to 7-1 on the season.

However, the season is far from over. As Southern Division Champions, the Rutherford Bulldogs have earned a home playoff game. They will host the Harrison Blue Tide next week in the first round of the MFL playoffs, looking to immediately bounce back and begin their playoff run. The Rutherford Senior Bulldogs (12-14 year olds) lost a tough game to the Saddle Brook Falcons by a score of 14-8. The Falcons received the ball first and were forced into a turnover on downs.  Rutherford took over and had a nice drive going until they turned the ball over themselves at midfield to give Saddle Brook good field position.  The Falcons got into the endzone first and took an early 6-0 nothing lead.  The extra point attempt was wide left.  Both teams were battling it out for the remainder of the first half which ended 6-0 in favor of the Falcons.  The Bulldogs recovered an onside kick to open the second half and marched down the field behind the running of Tyler Griffin and the blocking from Jake Barnes, Austin Villa, Joey Urgola, Lucas Schmidt, Declan Moran, and Gavin Nimmo.  Griffin was able to punch it into the endzone to tie the game at 6-6.  Schmidt was able to knock the extra point attempt through to give Rutherford an 8-6 lead.  The Bulldogs played good defense for most of the game, but Saddle Brook was able to find the endzone once again in the fourth quarter to take a 14-8 lead.  This is the way the game ended and dropped Rutherford to 5-3 to end the regular season.  The RJF&C program will all look to rebound in the first round of the playoffs next weekend.