The West Essex Knights varsity football team defeated the Voorhees Vikings 28-14 to win the North 2, Group 3 State Finals at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on Dec. 2. It was the first state championship win for West Essex since 2011.

“It was a very exciting day for every player and coach involved and to play as well as we did on the biggest stage meant everything to us,” Head Coach Mr. Benaquista said. “I was extremely proud of the team and all the coaches”.

The game got off to a quick start for the Knights, as on the third play of the game quarterback Zachary Lemanski fired the ball deep to Will Perez to put the Knights up 7-0 on the 64 yard touchdown reception. Six minutes later, Voorhees quarterback George Eberle threw an interception to junior Joe Dalbo who runs it to the West Essex 45 yard line. At the start of the second, Lemanski launched a deep pass to senior captain Vincent Scaglia who caught it for a 25 yard touchdown, putting West Essex up 14-0 early into the game.

“Once our team hit the score 14-0 we knew the game was on our side and the momentum changed,” said junior Billy Garofalo, “We all had a new mindset while playing.”

The third quarter started with a 46 yard touchdown pass by Philip Lutz only three minutes into the half, which gave the Knights a commanding 21-7 lead. The last score of the game was a touchdown by William Perez in the fourth quarter, giving the Knights up 28 – 7 with just 2 minutes left in the game.

“Playing my final high school game at MetLife Stadium will forever be one of the greatest moments in my life and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anyone else,” Scaglia said, “These men will forever be apart of my life”.

One key player of the game was Lemanski, who returned for his first game only 5 weeks after breaking his hip. Lemanski finished 5-of-8 for 161 yards and four touchdowns throughout the game. The Voorhees secondary was not expecting his return, making him a secret weapon for the Knights. Juniors William Perez and Phillip Lutz were also strong assets. They had a combined total of 18 points scored in the game.

“My offensive line definitely deserves a lot of credit,” Lemanski said. “They helped carry the team to success and without them none of the magic that happened on the field would have been possible”.

Fans from every grade, parents, and teachers came out to support the Knights. The crowd was full of excitement as they cheered on their favorite players.  The crowd got louder as the game went on and you could feel the  connection between the players and crowd when the final whistle was blown.

“Everyone was full of spirit and excited for the game,” Student Council President Evin Lathrop said, “You could feel the energy rushing through the crowd”.

“Playing our state championship at MetLife was everything I could have dreamed of and more,” junior Luke Dignazio said, “Can’t wait to do it all again next year!”.