Lenape Valley's swarming defense sacks Justin Klamerus in a 24-0 shutout on Saturday afternoon.

HAMPTON -- Despite the fact that it was the first game of the new NJAC conference, you wouldn’t have been able to tell by the two teams squaring off. In a battle of former SCIL foes, Lenape Valley shutout Kittatinny Regional High School, 24-0, Saturday afternoon at Romer Field on the campus of Kittatinny.

Lenape Valley’s defense was the star of the show. From Kittatinny’s opening possession, the Patriot defense won the battle in the trenches and put constant pressure on Kittatinny quarterback Justin Klamerus. This led to five turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles, including a 20 yard fumble return for a touchdown by James LaBell to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead mid way through the second quarter.

Travis Ressa’s 5-yard touchdown run with 1:35 left in the first half gave Lenape Valley a 14-0 halftime lead. The touchdown was set up by a 52-yard run by Ressa earlier in the drive. Ressa led all rushers with 92 yards.

LaBell and Ressa were perfect compliments to each other and had several big plays. LaBell served as the power back, who brought the ball up the middle for steady gains. Ressa’s blinding speed on stretches and sweeps were no match for the Cougar secondary.

Lenape Valley head coach Don Smolyn was very pleased after the game. “It’s a great way to start off the new conference. For the first game it was good.”

Smolyn described his defensive strategy as compensation. “In all honesty, we’re small defensively... there’s no one over 180  ...Read More