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GLEN ROCK − Alex Caserta began throwing the ball down the field in the second half and Waldwick/Midland Park broke open a scoreless season opener.

The junior quarterback threw touchdown passes of 30 and 65 yards in the third quarter and the Warriors pulled away to a 26-0 victory Thursday night over Glen Rock in NJIC football.

“Opener, we’re on the road, nerves, whatever, and we took care of what we had to do in the second half, cleaned up some stuff," Waldwick/Midland Park coach Greg Gruzdis said.

Caserta threw a 30-yard TD pass to senior Charles Schierloh for a 6-0 lead, and it came one play after Waldwick/Midland Park gambled and turned a fake punt into a completion and first down.

Caserta tossed a 65-yard TD pass to junior Ryan Fleming to extend the lead to 19-0 at 3:01 of the third. It was the longest play of the game.

“It was an amazing ball from my quarterback, and I was just glad to be put in a position to where I could make a play for my team,” Fleming said.

Caserta scored on a 1-yard run for a 12-0 lead, and it came one play after his 43-yard completion to Fleming. Senior Bryce Hamilton closed the scoring on a 63-yard run in the fourth.

Waldwick/Midland Park's defense was excellent. In the second half, Hamilton had an end-zone interception, while Schierloh had a key tackle for no gain on a fourth-and-2 at the 7-yard line.

“Our defense is always great,” Hamilton said. “If we don’t shut them out in the first half, who knows the way the game goes. Defense wins championships.”

What it means

Waldwick/Midland Park is a run-first team, with Glen Rock stuffing that run in the first half, and Caserta showed the passing game can provide a dangerous alternative. The Warriors’ might have the balance to make a run in North Group 1.

“My line did great in the second half. They stepped it up,” Caserta said. “We were having trouble in the first half, but they had my back, and my receiver had my back, and we just made plays. We have a good connection.”

If teams are going to load up the box to stop the run, we’ve got to be able to throw, and that’s what broke it open for us,” Gruzdis said.

Key play

Waldwick/Midland Park’s decision to call for a fake punt on a fourth-and-5 from its 42-yard line on its first possession of the second half was a game-changer and set up the first score.

Hamilton, the punter, threw a 28-yard completion to sophomore Brian Rock for a first down at the 30-yard line, and Caserta’s 30-yard TD pass to Schierloh came one play later for the 6-0 lead at 9:07 of the third.

“It’s great to be able to make plays that turn the game around like that, and I’m glad that the coaches trust me to make them,” Hamilton said.

By the numbers

Waldwick/Midland Park had 290 of its 357 total yards in the second half. Caserta was 9-for-13 for 196 yards, two TDs and one interception.

Glen Rock had 201 yards, with junior quarterback Nick Atme’s scrambling keeping alive several drives.

They said it

“The defense was phenomenal,” Gruzdis said. “Going in, we knew they were going to run the ball with [Atme], so that was the game plan, stop [Atme]. And I think we really did a good job with that.”

“They’re a good team, and we made too many mistakes, but you tip your hat to a team like that,” Glen Rock coach Jim Kurz said. “They played hard, and we have a lot that we can learn from, though, and that’s a positive.”

Whenever he was shopping locally, Dan DiStasi was always struck by the number of people wearing Waldwick or Midland Park athletic gear.

Now, he will have some of his own to wear.

The 34-year-old longtime assistant was approved as the new head coach of the Waldwick/Midland Park football program Monday night, taking over for Greg Gruzdis. The Bogota native and Township of Washington resident is honored to be handed the reins to what they call Warrior Nation.

“I am very excited, it’s an opportunity I have been waiting for a while,” DiStasi said. “I have a ton of experience and I am excited to give myself to a program and give my all to make it as successful as possible. Everything we do will be based on character, preparation and hard work. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you those are my three main focal points.”

A three-ring résumé

DiStasi was a two-way player for Bogota’s 2006 sectional championship team, playing under current Don Bosco coach Dan Sabella. He played center and defensive tackle.

He volunteered as an assistant coach at Elizabeth High School while attending Rutgers and worked his way up to coaching both the offensive and defensive lines with the Minutemen.

When there was a coaching change at Elizabeth, DiStasi joined up with Sabella for two years at Paramus Catholic and won a Non-Public Group 4 state title there in 2016. He followed Sabella to Ridgefield Park for a year and has been a special teams and tight ends coach at Don Bosco under Sabella since 2019.

“It’s a bittersweet decision leaving him,” DiStasi said of Sabella. “There are a lot of things he taught me and they are things that will show up in our program, but I’m excited to put my own spin on things and use some of the skills and knowledge to make the program as successful as possible.”

DiStasi has three championship rings, one from Bogota, one from Elizabeth and one from Paramus Catholic.

Crafting a new style

DiStasi is still working out his staff and hasn’t set an official meeting with his players. He plans on keeping his teaching job in Elizabeth for the time being.

Waldwick/Midland Park went 6-3 in 2023 and has made the playoffs nine of the last 11 years (there were no state playoffs in 2020 due to COVID). The Warriors have run a variation of the Wing-T, but DiStasi sees them switching to more of a spread style attack. He plans on being hands-on with the Warriors defense.

“My first coaching job in Elizabeth was in a Wing-T system and it has it’s positives, but I think we will be more of a multiple spread style team that takes advantage of the space defenses give you,” he said.

Making the connections

DiStasi said he recently made the drive from Waldwick to Midland Park and it only took four minutes.

“It was a lot closer than I remember,” DiStasi said with a laugh.

The co-op program has been one of the most successful in North Jersey. DiStasi knows that it comes with certain challenges that are different than one school, one team, but he’s eager to jump in to the athletic communities in both.

“I think there is a similar mindset in each community when it comes to athletics and that appealed to me,” DiStasi said. “The program has had success. They’ve had great seasons. It’s just a matter of how we can get it to the next level.”

Game Leaders

Points

Omer Tal

Cresskill

19

Rebounds

#11 Jack Hayward

Cresskill

6

Steals

Marko Radovich

Cresskill

2

View Bracket

Thu, February 22, 2024, 7:00pm

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Greg Patuto | For NJ Advance Media | Feb 22, 2024

Player Stats

MIDLAND PARK – It was a milestone that showed patience, perseverance and sportsmanship.

And it puts Midland Park girls soccer coach Jeff Yearing in elite company.

Yearing earned his 500th career win on Tuesday when the Panthers soared past Paterson Charter, 7-0, on home soil. The victory came about three miles from Ridgewood High School, where his soccer odyssey started as a goalie and longtime coach.

Yearing, 74, is now in his fourth season with the Panthers and continues to battle an uncurable case of multiple myeloma. While there is some neuropathy in his legs, Yearing still lifts weights three times a week in the makeshift gym at his Warwick home. His wit is sharp and his soccer appetite hasn't dulled.

"These last four years have been great for me," Yearing said. "Just from the standpoint of my mental health and outlook on life. I live one day at a time. That's the way I have to look at my life and I do. But one of the greatest joys I have is coming down here with these young ladies and doing something I love."

The love was reciprocated by the Panthers, who signed a team photo after the game and unfurled a banner near midfield. The match was called five minutes into the second half due to a conference mercy rule.

Yearing agreed to play 10-on-10 after being notified hours before the game that Paterson Charter could not field a full lineup.

"He's a consummate professional," Midland Park athletic director Pat Clark said. "He's someone who comes in with a very clearly defined practice plan with what they are going to do and what they are going to work on. And very even-keeled."

A 'Year' to remember

Yearing is only the second girls soccer coach in Bergen County history to reach the milestone. Former Ramapo coach Paul Heenehan leads the county and the state, with 747 wins.

In some ways, the record book is symbolic. The two men who stand on top would often stand feet apart as division rivals in the Big North Freedom.

"He was extremely prepared," Heenehan said. "Very current with systems of play and defensive organization. (Ridgewood) was always a much improved team by the end of the season."

Yearing built a legendary career at Ridgewood, winning 15 league titles, four sectional titles and two county championships over 31 seasons. But it looked like that career was all but over when Yearing resigned after the 2017 season. He had to deal with a serious medical battle from cancer to a collapsed lung to atrial fibrillation.

"For three years I was in full remission and then I had a relapse," Yearing said. "So I've been on an oral chemo now monthly for three years. My doctors just say keep doing what you're doing. It's going great."

Getting back in the game

Yearing laughs that he needed to have a long conversation with his wife, Barbara, before getting back into coaching. He eased his way in as an assistant at Indian Hills and the experience gave him the confidence to go for more.

"I'm never pleased with what I do," Yearing said. "I'm always a perfectionist. I think a good coach is never satisfied with the learning process. I'm always looking to learn from anybody."

Still, the program he stepped into at Midland Park was much different than the one he nurtured for more than three decades. He went from a place that routinely had 80 to 90 players to a one that's often in the teens.

While some could see it as a humbling transition, Yearing said he is fortunate to get the position at the Group 1 school. He describes last year as one of the best experiences of his career, even though it culminated with one win in 19 games.

"I'm trying to create that atmosphere now and these kids are starting to believe in themselves a little bit," Yearing said. "That's good. It's all part of the process. If I'm the package that can deliver that, then I'm happy to do that as an educator."

This year, the Panthers are young – only three of their 16 players are upperclassmen – but the wins have come more plentiful. Tuesday was the third straight victory for Midland Park (5-6) and the outcome was never in doubt.

The Panthers put four shots in the back of the net in the first 15 minutes with goals from Alexa Hermanns, Samantha Weston, Samantha Tuozzo and Valentina Vitetta. Tuozzo, whose mom played for Yearing at Ridgewood, buried another goal late in the half.

Yearing pauses during a post-game interview while his players pass by on the way off the field. The perfectionist is ready for the next lesson.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Yearing said. "Same time. Same station."

From 1 to 500

Food delivery startup Wonder Group is continuing its pivot to a brick-and-mortar concept.

After debuting its first physical restaurant in New Jersey last month in Westfield, the Cranford-based venture started by entrepreneur Marc Lore is launching an eatery in Hoboken.

Wonder recently signed a deal to lease a 3,700-square-foot space at Waterfront Corporate Center III, according to SJP Properties, the brokerage firm for the office and retail complex.

Located at the Waterfront Corporate Center, a three-building, 1.5 million-square-foot office and retail complex, Wonder’s eatery is scheduled to open later this year, SJP Properties said.

Featuring a collection of acclaimed chefs and eateries, Wonder bills itself as a “fast fine” option that allows customers to order from multiple restaurants at once for delivery, pick-up or dining in.

The network of partnering establishments includes: Alanza (Italian), Barrio Café (Mexican), Bobby Flay Steak (Steakhouse), Chai Pani (Indian), Chios Taverna (Greek), Chuko (Ramen), Di Fara Pizza (Italian), Fred’s Meat & Bread (Sandwiches), JBird (American), Jota (Spanish), Limesalt (Mexican), Maydan (Middle Eastern), Estelle & Jeanie’s (Caribbean), Table No. 1 (American), Taqueria del Dia (Mexican), Royal Greens (Salads), The Mainstay (American) and Tejas Barbecue (BBQ).

In a statement, Wonder Chief Governance Officer Andrew Gasper said, “As Wonder continues to expand and open new locations across New Jersey and New York, Hoboken was a natural next step for us. With such close proximity to the river walkway, we expect to see a significant amount of walk-in customers, in addition to the regular cadence of delivery customers we see at our locations in Westfield, New Jersey and the Upper West Side of Manhattan.”

“We are excited to become both a lunch and dinner staple within the Hoboken community where residents can enjoy world-class cuisine from chefs such as Bobby Flay, Marc Murphy and Michael Symon, as well as everyday favorites like Fred’s Meat & Bread and Limesalt Mexican, right in their backyard,” added Gasper.

Initially started as a business based on mobile kitchens that prepared celebrity chef-designed meals outside of customers’ homes, Lore announced in January the concept was rethinking its approach and would instead focus on physical locations offering options from restaurants that Wonder has licensing deals with.

After opening its first location earlier this year on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Wonder went on to add stores in Chelsea, as well as Westfield in New Jersey.

By the end of 2023, Wonder aims to launch 10 storefronts, including ones in Midland Park and Springfield, according to the company’s website.

SJP Properties Senior Vice President of Leasing & Marketing Alexander Erdos said, “Wonder is growing in key markets, and we believe their arrival in Hoboken at Waterfront Corporate Center will be a wonderful amenity, further enhancing the tenant experience and the surrounding community.”

He also noted, “Nearly every company we work with is focused on providing new, high-end and diverse dining options for their people.”

Other tenants at the 1.5 million-square-foot waterfront complex on River Street include leading corporations, such as DraftKings, Walmart, Pearson and Newell Brands, as well as restaurants such as Wicked Wolf, Del Frisco’s Grille and Gregory’s Coffee. The property is adjacent to the W Hoboken Hotel, steps away from Hoboken Terminal and offers immediate access to two piers that have been converted into recreational park space.