When starting back up again, the Highlanders were unsure what the season would hold after some key starters graduated. However, the team quickly realized that there was a special group of players in the locker room that could lead the team to a successful season. Coach Steve Maslanek is entering his seventh year as the Highlanders head coach, trying to win the school’s first conference championship since 2003. Joining him as leaders of the team are captains Riley Treptow, Marcus Morgan, Owen Ginder, and Jake Kelshaw, who believe that this team has what it takes to get over the hump and win the conference.
The Highlanders started the season off in Week 0 at Paramus on August 30th. The two teams went into halftime all knotted up at 0-0. However, in the second half, the Highlanders exploded as junior quarterback Aydin Deane ran in a 1-yard score and threw two touchdowns to senior captain Jake Kelshaw. The team won the game 21-3, and they ran the ball for over two hundred yards. This was the first time that had happened since 2021 when the team went 4-5 and won its first playoff game in almost a decade.

After the team’s Week 1 win, the Highlanders faced off against the Jefferson Falcons on September 6. The Falcons entered the game 0-1 after losing to Verona 39-6 the week prior. The Highlanders went into the locker room at halftime leading 20-9, but the team wasn’t satisfied. After halftime, they shot out of the gate and won 42-15, propelled by over two hundred rushing yards for the second straight week.
Next up on the schedule, the Highlanders would host the Dover Tigers in its home opener on September 13th.
Before the game, the Highlanders hosted honored local veterans as well as West Point Cadet paratroopers who jumped onto the field. West Milford Hall of Famer and former NFL player Kevin Walker was also invited to the game for the coin toss. Walker gave an inspirational speech to the team before the game, and spirits were high on such a monumental night for the Highlanders.

Amping up the crowd was T-Mobile, taking pictures with fans as part of the athletic department’s quest to earn five thousand dollars in Rob Gronkowski’s Friday Night 5G Lights Competition, which we later found out we won. All of these events served to push the team members to do their best that night.
Going into the game against Dover, the team was looking to turn its strong start into the first 3-0 start since 2006. Dover came into the game with a record of 2-1 after losing to Vernon 27-7 the week before. Dover had a physical group of players, and this was going to be a big test for the Highlanders.
On its first drive of the game, the Highlander offense scored on a 36-yard touchdown run from Aydin Deane. The first quarter ended with the score still 7-0 in favor of the home team. However, Dover was on the Highlanders 6-yard line with on third-and-goal. Fortunately, the defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs. On the ensuing drive, senior captain Marcus Morgan took a jet sweep 20 yards to the end zone. The Highlanders failed the two-point conversion, and the score stayed 13-0.
On the last play of the first half, Deane threw a pass intended for receiver Jeremiah Christman. However, the pass was intercepted by Dover and returned for a 64-yard touchdown to end the half, with the score 13-7. The Highlanders knew that the Tigers would come out of halftime fired up and that they would have to quickly stop its offense. The Highlander defense did just that. Jeffrey Papienuk scooped up a Dover fumble and took it 61 yards to the house, putting the Highlanders up 20-7 early in the third quarter. On the next drive, Deane threw a 29-yard touchdown to Morgan for his second score of the game. This put the Highlanders up 27-7 still in the third quarter.
On a 2nd and 10, Dover’s quarterback dropped back, and under pressure, heaved the ball downfield. The pass ended up falling into the arms of Deane, who then fumbled the ball during the return, and Dover recovered. However, just three plays later, Dover’s quarterback threw a pass that Deane intercepted, taking the ball away from Dover once again. The Highlanders were unable to capitalize on the proceeding drive, attempting a 47-yard field goal that fell just short.

In the end, the Highlanders won the game with the final score being 27-7. The team improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2006 and is currently tied for first in the division. The Highlanders were also ranked #14 in MaxPreps Division North Group 3. Marcus Morgan was awarded T-Mobile Player of the Game and given a plaque and trophy. “At first, coming out in the game, it was rough trying to get my energy up,” Morgan said. “Once the ball got moving and the hits started coming, I was good to go.” He ended his day with over 50 yards of offense, while accounting for two of the team’s touchdowns.
Morgan also gave some insight about the team’s start to the season and how he feels going forward, “[I’m] feeling good. Going into the PV game, we got work to do and we got business to take care of […] I got high hopes for this team. It’s a good group of guys and we work as a team. I think if we keep that up then, I think we’ll be good.”

This past Friday, the Highlanders traveled down to Passaic Valley to play what they considered to be one of the most difficult games of the season. The Hornets lost to Wayne Valley 20-13 and were looking to get back in the win column, while the Highlanders hoped to keep the winning streak alive.
The Highlanders’ second drive on offense saw them marching methodically down the field. However, as the team got into the red zone, a dropped pass kept the Highlanders out of the end zone, and off the scoreboard as they missed the 39-yard field goal. The defense had stepped up for the Highlanders, keeping the Hornets off the scoreboard until late in the second quarter, as the first half ended with the Hornets up 7-0.

Passaic Valley started with the ball in the second half with the football. The Hornets scored an 80-yard rushing touchdown on its first play to put them up 14-0. However, the Highlanders quickly responded as junior Patrick Foley took the kickoff 95 yards to the endzone, and the score was quickly 14-7. On the ensuing drive, the Hornets threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to take a 21-7 lead, the game’s final score.
The Highlanders hosted the Mahwah Thunderbirds at 7 pm on Friday the 27th. . The Highlanders are looking to move on from this loss and start up another winning streak, as the Hornets move on to play Millburn. Mahwah comes into the game with a record of 2-2 after decisively beating Morris Catholic 29-6 last week. The Highlanders expect this to be another tough game but believe that if they execute, they will jump out to a solid victory.
The game started out with the Highlanders forcing Mahwah to punt, however Deane had a pass tipped and intercepted in the end zone. The defense then forced the T-Birds to punt once again. This time the offense capitalized, as Deane rolled out to his right and found Morgan deep down the field for a 40 yard touchdown. Junior Braden Amundson tacked on the extra point, giving the Highlanders a 7-0 lead towards the end of the first quarter.

The T-Birds then responded with a 19 yard touchdown to tie the game at 7. On the third play of the drive, Deane passed to Kelshaw who broke a tackle and took the ball down to Mahwah’s 3 yard line for a 58 yard gain. The next play Deane ran the ball into the end zone for a 3 yard touchdown. Unfortunately, a snap that was difficult to handle led to a missed extra point, making the score 13-7, the score at the end of the half.
Coming out of halftime the Highlanders started with the ball, but turned the ball over on downs. On the T-Birds ensuing drive, Foley intercepted the pass of the Mahwah quarterback to give the ball back to the Highlanders. A few plays later, Deane took the snap and pushed forward for a 2 yard rushing touchdown to give the Highlanders a 20-7 lead.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mahwah ran a fake punt which the team was able to convert into a 39 yard touchdown pass, but missed the extra point to make the score 20-13. However, the Highlanders quickly responded with a 32 yard touchdown pass to Jake Kelshaw. Amundson converted the extra point to make the score 27-13 with six minutes left in the game.
On the next drive, Kelshaw and Chase Tyburczy combined for a fourth down sack to get the Highlanders the ball back. Three plays later, Deane ran 25 yards for the game’s final score, as the Highlanders won 34-13.
This week, the Highlanders will host the Lakeland Lancers for the school’s homecoming game. The game is on Saturday, October 5th at 4pm, and, as always against Lakeland, the theme for the Herd is neon. The Lancers will come into the game with a 3-2 record after beating Dover 29-7 last week. As this is a big rival game, both teams will be coming in fired up and ready to prove something.