The Colts kept going with pure momentum coming into their next game against Brearly. The Brearly team had a rather successful 9-0 regular season record including a forfeit. The teams met at Brearley High School and the Colts knew what they had ahead of them. A heated matchup was ensured with a National Blue Championship under their belts, states were the next goal for Kinnelon! The Kinnelon Colts have had a fantastic season, with new Head Coach Dustin Grande leading the team all the way through their division and into the state tournament. The first game of states was always the Colts as they performed an absolute underdog story. The boys were all hungry for more.
Kinnelon’s last appearance in the state championship was in 2012 when Kinnelon made it through states. Kinnelon beat Elmwood Park and then went to play North Warren and won both times. In the 2012 championship matchup against New Milford, Kinnelon took home the win in a 26-14 which capped their magical championship season.
However, this year, the boys are coming back with a vengeance into this postseason. In the 36-34 win against Park Ridge, the Colts took down the No. 1 seed in a crazy game. Running back and linebacker, Lex Lucas had this to say about that game. “We came out with great intensity thanks to Coach Grande getting us fired up in the locker room. We stuck to the game plan and came out victorious.” Lucas had a fantastic game against Park Ridge putting up 21 rushes for 183 yards, 3 touchdowns, 8 tackles, and a sack.
With a packed student section on both sides and students from both schools hyping their teams up. The Colts walked out and electricity flooded the air around the field. It was time for the Colts to show what they can do.
The Colts arrived at Brearly high school and came out to the field with enthusiasm. With great conditions for football and a throwback to playing on a grass field, the boys were excited to play and ready for kickoff. The ball came Colt’s way first and the ball was quickly given to the back to the other team. The ball went back and forth and at the end of the quarter, the game was 16-7 Brearly. Later in the second quarter, Brearly gained two more touchdowns and converted on one of their two, two-point attempts.
Starting cornerback and junior, Troy Schneider had this to say about the first half of the game. “I feel like we were still in it, we still had a fight in us and we weren’t gonna go down without a fight. This was the last dance for our seniors and we wanted to put everything that we had left out on the field for the last game of their high school careers.” Schneider walked on to play football for the team this year and has solidified his role as a starting cornerback.
As the game continued, the Colts could just not keep up with the Brealey offense as the Colts were defeated 45-14. The win would send Brealy to the sectional final while Colts were sent home. Although the Colts lost, it does not put any shame on the stellar season that the Colts had this year. Coach Grande obviously wanted to keep the dream of a state title alive but was proud of how far the team made it this year.
This whole season for the Colts was a huge change. Not only did they transition from 2-8 last year, to 6-4 this year, but players had to adapt to a huge change in their coach and playstyle. The team can recognize that making and winning a game in the sectional playoffs is something everyone should be proud of. It’s an accomplishment for everyone on the team no matter how the season ended. The Colts are ready for another season with Dustin Grande and they are ready to do anything to bring home another winning season.
