Lyndhurst head football coach Rich Tuero wasn’t initially sure how his team was going to initially react after the Golden Bears’ hopes for a division title and a spot in the NJIC playoffs with a season-opening loss to Becton before Labor Day.
Those concerns were dashed just as quickly when he saw his players’ mood in the locker room following the 14-7 defeat.
“I was a little concerned,” Tuero said. “But when I got in the locker room I saw their faces and their demeanor. I knew we were going to be okay because they showed how much they actually care and want to win and want to get better.
“There were some growing pains that we had to fix up and get right. And the kids really took what we were saying to heart and it has shown since.”
To say Lyndhurst has looked like a different team since then would be an understatement.
Not only have the Bears won their last five games, they’ve utterly dominated their competition. On Saturday, Lyndhurst went to Garfield and posted its fifth consecutive shutout, a 49-0 dismantling of Garfield.
It was just the latest in a five-week demolition of the teams on their schedule. During this winning streak, Lyndhurst has outscored its opposition by a margin of 244-0. That’s not a misprint, Lyndhurst is beating teams by an average of seven touchdowns. The closest of these games was a 45-0 win over Elmwood Park where the Bears had the game comfortably out of reach before halftime.
The five game winning streak is the longest Lyndhurst has enjoyed since the 2019 state sectional championship team opened the year with 11 consecutive victories.
“We are a team,” Tuero said. We are playing complimentary football like a team.
“These guys are working their butts off. They’re listening, they’re learning the game, they’re learning what we’re supposed to do and they’re executing. We’re taking a lot of pride in what’s going on here. So hopefully we can keep it going this week and keep rolling on through the playoffs.”
The formula to Lyndhurst’s dominance has started on the lines. Veteran center Michael Longo and junior left tackle Shadeed Smith have been a dominant duo on the offensive line. Longo and Smith, along with tackle Ziad Selim and guards Omar Ali and Jonathan Rodriguez have powered the way for a rushing attack that is averaging 9.0 yards per carry and has run for 22 touchdowns. Nine different Bears have run for a TD, led by Roddy Morinho, who has nine with 439 yards on just 60 carries.
The line has also allowed senior QB Shawn Bellenger to throw for 1,023 yards and 10 touchdowns. Sophomore Allen Frias has emerged as Bellenger’s top target, catching 20 passes for 354 yards and three TDs.
It’s been a similar cast setting the tone for Lyndhurst’s three-man defensive front as Smith, Logan Stitzer, Salim, Rodriguez, Longo and Thomas Awida have rotated across the line.
Stitzer, Viktor Kanjuk and Naim DAvis are tied for the team lead in sacks with four apiece, while Abraham Martinez (65 tackles) and Morinho (47 tackles) have been tackling machines at linebacker.
For as dominant as Lyndhurst has been, it’s done so in relative anonymity. The Bears are in no one’s local rankings nor are they in any statewide Group 2 rankings.
Which is why this winning streak hasn’t led to inflated egos, but rather a large chip that remains firmly on their shoulders heading into two critical crossover games – at Pompton Lakes this coming Saturday, Oct. 19, followed by an Oct. 25 home game with Park Ridge.
For Lyndhurst, currently seeded 13th in the North Jersey, Group 2 United Power Rankings, it will likely need to win both in order to have a first round home game in the state tournament for the first time in five years.
“We feel like everyone thinks that we’re not really that good because the teams we’re playing (during this win streak) aren’t necessarily the greatest, but we’re ready to prove everybody wrong because no one’s even talking about us,” said Tuero. “No one thinks anything about Lyndhurst right now even though we’re doing what we’re doing. We’re not playing like we’re the greatest team on turf. We got a chip on our shoulder.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)