By Andy Loigu

The Hackettstown football Tigers practiced all week without knowing if they’d play a game on Friday or Saturday and who their next opponent would be.

It wasn’t until Friday at 1 p.m. that they knew they’d take the field at Sussex Tech in Sparta at 1 p.m. the next day. Without the benefit of a scouting report or so-called “game plan” the Tigers won in dominant fashion, 28-7, to even their record at 1-1.

When asked about the craziness of practicing all week without knowing where or when they would play next, two-way lineman Will Peterson answered that all the Tigers could do was work on playing Hackettstown football and doing it well.

It soon became apparent that the Sussex Tech Mustangs were not prepared to defend against the intricacies of the triple option. Hackettstown came out on fire, rattling off a 21-0 lead before you could say Chot Morrison.

Andrew Carida scored twice in the first quarter on runs of 54 and 15 yards. He finished his day’s work with 177 yards on 13 carries. Mike Van Ness scored an eight-yard touchdown in period one, as the offensive line continued opening big holes one could drive the proverbial truck through. Quarterback Devin Feeney expertly maintained the drives. Van Ness was the “deep back” while two other backs kept lining up on the wings.

Jaiden Liferiedge scored on a 12-yard run for Hackettstown in the second period.

Van Ness and Evan Hatten made open field tackles out of the Tigers’ flex defense which closed down virtually everything, while Peterson and Jarrett Waiters limited what the Mustangs could do inside the tackles. Tech tried different formations and blocking schemes, but to no avail.

The only score for Sussex Tech came in the fourth period. Since the Tigers had not needed to punt all day, the long snapper was obviously out of practice and made an errant snap. The Mustangs were presented a short field and plowed in from the one-foot line. Tech kept playing hard, flying around trying to make a big play to turn things in a positive direction and their punting and return squads gave it all they had.

An apparent 95-yard touchdown run for Sussex Tech was taken off the scoreboard by a holding penalty. I know how the guy who got flagged feels. It has happened to me. You’re out there trying to keep your friends from getting hurt, and sometimes your thinking gets discombobulated.

Sussex Tech had halftime ceremonies, making for a long intermission. Players were escorted onto the field with their parents before a small crowd limited by social distancing restrictions. It reminded me of a game in which the public address guy announced that a player was escorted by his mother, Theresa.

Many “old school” guys believe such ceremonies should be conducted before the game, that all the players belong in the locker room at halftime.

Although teams are scrambling to find opponents and the schedule remains muddled for now, the Tigers do expect to play at Lenape Valley (always a worthy opponent and then some) on Friday evening. In this odd season, playing three weeks in a row would be an accomplishment in itself.

Hackettstown is celebrating the 40th anniversary of  Morrison Field, which opened in September of 1980 with a 34-0 win over North Warren. The Tigers went 7-3 that year and made the North 2 Group 2 playoffs. The following year they went 8-2-1 and won the playoff championship with wins over Clifford Scott of Essex County and Dayton Regional from Union County.

Hopefully they have similar success in their near future as life returns to some semblance of what we’ve gotten used to as being “normal.” It is good and most important that our youths have the benefits of sports which my generation may have taken for granted when I was young.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.