NORTH CALDWELL—The emotional significance of the moment seemed to hit West Essex senior quarterback Gaetano Iavarone all at once, tears mixing with drops of rain on his face. Notwithstanding the physical, bruising NJSIAA North 2, Group 3 championship game he had just finished playing, it might have been the hardest hit of the night.
“To be a senior and know how much work we’ve put in, all the things we’ve overcome, all the injuries we’ve faced…” Iavarone said, watching his teammates celebrate the school’s first sectional title since 2023 before trailing off. He then nodded in the direction of younger brother Frank Iavarone, a junior who was one of the Knights’ top linebackers before suffering a season-ending knee injury in October.
“My little brother, No. 44, man. I did this for him tonight. I’m wearing his name on the backplate of my shoulder pads, and I dedicated this game to him. All he wanted was to be out here playing in this game, and it means so much to go out there and win this one for my brother.”
Passionate yet focused, intense yet precise – that was Iavarone in that moment. It’s also how you could describe the proud West Essex program in 2026, as it returned to the state championship winners’ circle by defeating an excellent Wayne Hills team, 17-14, Friday night at Travis Field.
“This team is so damn tough,” said jubilant second-year head coach Dan Fulton. “We’ve battled injuries all season. We’ve had seven guys undergo eight surgeries since the season started. But they keep showing up every day and working. Our coaches show up every day and do an incredible job. This is a special group, and I’m so proud to be able to lead these young men.”
Iavarone carried the offensive load for top-seeded West Essex (11-1), rushing 28 times for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also passed for 68 yards, and even caught a 32-yard pass on a trick play in the third quarter.
Wessex will travel to powerhouse Old Tappan (11-0) in the NJSIAA Group 3 state semifinals this Friday, Nov. 20. The Knights of Bergen County won a hard-fought 22-8 victory over Shabazz in the North 1 title game Friday night.
Against the second-seeded Patriots (10-2) Friday night, West Essex put on a ball-control clinic, particularly in the second half. Iavarone and senior running back Michael Lozito (9 carries, 45 yards) found plenty of success running behind a youthful-but-powerful offensive line featuring four underclassmen along with imposing seniors Rocco Maglione and DJ Fiore.
Though very few of their runs led to explosive gains, Iavarone and Lozito kept the Patriots’ defense on their heels and consistently set up short 3rd- and 4th-down situations. Wessex controlled the clock for more than 16 of the game’s final 24 minutes, including two offensive drives lasting more than six minutes – the second of which was a 12-play march that drained the final 6:12 of the fourth quarter and clinched the championship.
“I can’t say enough about our offensive line,” Iavarone said. “They were just too big, just too strong tonight. The way they’ve been working since summer workouts, you saw it pay off the way they dominated. There’s no group of guys in the world I’d rather be playing behind than ours.”
Meanwhile, on a dreary, cold night with steady rain and temperatures in the high 30s, the West Essex defense made life tough for Wayne Hills, limiting one of the state’s top offenses (35.1 points per game prior to Friday) to just 190 yards of total offense and 11 first downs. The visitors had just six total possessions in the game, and went three-and-out on half of them.
“We’ve been battle-tested,” Fulton said. “Some of the teams we’ve seen this year, you know, Weequahic had a number of guys who can hurt you. Newark Central, West Morris, teams like that.
"We’ve had to prepare at a high level all season, and our defensive staff has done a phenomenal job.
"We were doing everything we can to keep the ball out of the hands of [junior 1,000-yard rusher Ethan Zacharski] tonight, because he’s the kind of kid who can score a touchdown on any given play.”
Early on, though, it looked like neither defense had an answer as both teams easily marched downfield for touchdowns on their opening possession.
