It was a great night for the greats.
Passaic Tech, No. 14 in NJ.com’s Top 20, was dominant in the trenches on both sides of the ball in a 21-3 road victory over Clifton (3-3) on Friday.
The Bulldogs (6-1) were intense from the first whistle, playing with unmatched physicality that led to two rushing touchdowns by the Dye Twins and a fumble recovery in the end zone by senior Omar Kahok, who scored the marker with a ‘gritty’ dance.
“We call it big game football,” said junior Travon Dye, who scored the final touchdown of the game. “Our offensive line comes in day in and day out and works hard. Those guys are dogs and that’s what we’re after. We are resistant to technology.
“We just work to get better every week,” Trashon Dye added. “We have our best performances in practice.”
It’s the first career touchdown for Kahok. He had been practicing the dance lately, but the sheet music came in a rushed play, which is not practiced.
He saw it as a one-on-one moment to get Travon’s back on his fumble. Plays like those have helped define the show’s season thus far.
“These kids love soccer,” head coach Matt Demarest said. “They play for each other. People doubted us because we had a little bump in the road, but we are a pretty good football team. Look at that offensive and defensive line. We were flying off the ball.”
While the Dyes scored two touchdowns, it was fellow junior Cashmere Jones who racked up most of the rushing yards. The sprinter made long runs after the first hit, preparing for the Dyes to deliver the final blows.
Jones hadn’t been as involved earlier in the year, but he is becoming a key cog in the offense with explosiveness from the backfield.
“I don’t think people understand how a football season unfolds because you have different thoughts every week,” Demarest said. “Jones is, pound for pound, one of the best players in North Jersey. It’s a big change of pace. You can’t just punch all the time. You have to add a little bit of speed and Cash is a great player.”
Also contributing to this dominant Bulldogs effort was the lingering stench of the 12-7 loss to Ridgewood two weeks ago. Columbia lost its matchup with Passaic Tech last Friday, so this was finally the chance to put it in the rearview mirror.
While the stench may be gone, the fire is still burning in the locker room at Passaic Tech. With the playoffs just around the corner, they love the football they’re playing and would feel good about another shot at the Maroons.
“That was a tough loss,” Kahok said. “We just had a bad game. After two weeks, we recovered and were hungry. It was worth it. If we played them again, it would be different.”
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Ryan Patti covers the Super Football Conference and NJIC. He can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ryanwpatti.