A Valley Indian For Life

I can't believe this is all coming to an end. 

It feels like just yesterday when this all started. It was the summer and I had covered Boys Basketball and Lacrosse the previous year. I thought to myself, "If I could cover two sports, why not try to cover them all." Of course, before planning a method of attack, I had to consult the audience. I decided to get to twitter and asked if people would be up for me starting a PV Sports twitter account. After the countless positive feedback and encouragement, @Feartheindian was born.

Many people ask where the name @Feartheindian actually came from. To be honest, not a lot of thinking went into it. When making a name, I wanted to make something that resembled our mascot, the Indian. The first thing that came to my mind when I thought of Indians was fear. I mean, if you were walking around and you saw an Indian tribe, you're going to tell me you wouldn't be scared? Didn't think so. 

Once the twitter account was in order, I decided that it was only right that a blog go with it. I decided to start feartheindian.blogspot.com to go with the account I had created. On the site, I decided there would be Daily Recaps, Feature Articles, and Analysis pieces. If I am going to be a sports journalist in the future, why not write about my high school sports teams too?

After everything was in order, the journey was set to begin. Since I started this all in August, I had to anxiously wait until September for the Fall sports to begin. After the first set of games on that Friday, everything started rolling. I had Allison Schramm help me with Tennis. Nick Sunseri and Cory Gottlieb had me covered with Boys Soccer. Alexa McManus loved giving me updates for Girls Soccer. I would receive texts from Kelly Bischoff after every Volleyball game. Olivia Cassano had Gymnastic updates for me whenever I needed it.  As for football, well, football kind of spoke for itself.

It was actually football that really got the twitter account into full swing. Because of the success on the field, the students and faculty were filled with school spirit. Once the hashtag #feartheindian started being used by others, I knew that I had founded something special. 

Side story: The reason I decided to hashtag #feartheindian after every tweet was because no matter what the final result, the opposing team learned to "Feartheindian".

The fall season was over and the winter season was set to begin. Since I would be covering Boys Basketball, there were many other sports going uncovered. I reached out to several individuals who helped me during the long winter months. Cory Gottlieb got me caught up in Wrestling. Jamie Saslaw had me for Bowling. Jenn Ianello would text me for Swimming. Nicky Tintle went to almost every hockey game, helping me out immensely. Last but not least, I had a parent give me maybe the greatest help of all. Susan Liebeskind would always keep me updated on Girls Basketball when I couldn't make it and I cannot thank her enough. There were some great moments during the winter season and I will always remember them.

The last season to cover was the spring and wow was it busy! I followed the tradition by covering Boys Lacrosse and witnessed the best season in program history. For the games I couldn't attend, Allison Schramm kept me updated on baseball. Kyle Schneider had me for Softball. Sam Komrower was the man for the job for Golf. Jamie Saslaw controlled Girls LAX. Greg Gottfried gave me tennis updates.  Kayla Begen and James Almeida had me updated on everything related to track.

Before I knew it, the school year was over, @Feartheindian had blown up, and I had covered every sport that Pascack Valley had to offer.

This has truly been a remarkable thing for me to be a part of. We have truly bonded over something that means so much to our school: athletics. Our school spirit is incredible and our blood truly runs green in white. I wouldn't want to be anything else but a Pascack Valley Indian.

I don't know if you know, but I will be handing off @Feartheindian to Kyle O'Connor next year. He is going to be a senior and I have full confidence that he will continue what has been started here at PV. 

Before I hand the baton over to my man Kyle, I would like to thank a few special people that made all of this possible.

First, I would like to thank my Aunt Patty for continuously bugging me to start writing about sports. Without her, none of this ever would have been possible.

Next, I would like to thank Mr. DeMaio. He always promoted me and gave me positive feedback on what I was doing. He truly is a role model for our school.

Finally, I would like to thank the athletes and the fans. My twitter account would be nothing if I had nothing to tweet about or no one to follow me. You guys are the ones who really made this experience special and I cannot thank you enough for that. You have given me a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Schools are usually defined by their traditions and hopefully I have started one that will live on for years to come. 

One last time, this is Kyle Stackpole and never forget to...

#feartheindian

Top 10 Moments

My name is Kyle Stackpole. I am a senior at Pascack Valley and run the twitter account @Feartheindian if you didn’t already know.

There have been so many great sporting moments throughout the year that it was hard to narrow it down to just 10.

 

10) Baseball: Pascack Valley’s Near Upset of Undefeated St. Joes: Coming into the game, Saint Joseph’s sat at #1 in the county with an unblemished record. No one gave the Indians a chance to win this game. Going against all of the odds, Pascack Valley gave St. Joes one of their best games of the season before falling 2-1. The Indians showed their true potential and almost pulled what would have been the upset of the year.

9) Softball: Pascack Valley Silences Old Tappan: The date was May 7^th and the Indians had gotten off to a great start to the season. However, no one gave them the respect they deserved because their competition was sub par. That all changed after a 9-8 win over a ranked Old Tappan squad. From that point forward, Pascack Valley was looked at as a threat instead of a pretender.

8) Girls Soccer: Pascack Valley Earns State Tournament Win against Paramus: Coming into the game as the 9^th seed, Pascack Valley was the underdog. Because of this being a state game, a loss would have ended the Indians’ season. Pascack Valley refused to let that happen by defeating Paramus 4-3. The Indians were led in scoring by Seniors Dara Liebeskind and Kelsey Witt and Juniors Shannon Evans and Amelia Della Pesca. With the win, Pascack Valley extended their season and lived to see another day.

7) Football: Pascack Valley Defeats Ramapo in the Battle of the Undefeated: Not only were both teams undefeated, but this game determined the league title. The stage was set for it to be one of the best games of the year and it lived up to expectations. After falling behind early, Pascack Valley roared back to take a 10-point lead. However, Ramapo scored the next two touchdowns and the Indians were in trouble. Kyle Schneider would not allow the Indians to lose. He led them down the field to regain the lead. On fourth down and Ramapo driving, the quarterback’s pass was knocked down by Nick Soravilla to seal the victory. This victory was one of the best moments of Pascack Valley’s undefeated regular season.

6) Ben Malone and Mike Manente earn “Athlete of the Week”: Rarely does a school have on recipient of this prestigious award. At Pascack Valley, there were two winners. In the fall, Senior Mike Manente earned this honor with his remarkable game against Wayne Hills in the playoffs. Ben Malone received his accolades in the spring after a remarkable track performance. Both of these athletes deserved of this award and have made Pascack Valley proud.

5) Boys Lacrosse: Pascack Valley Nips Fair Lawn to Enter Uncharted Waters: Pascack Valley had never before made it to the Bergen County semifinals. To accomplish that task, they had to defeat Fair Lawn, a team that gave them a tremendous battle earlier in the season. In the best lacrosse game of the season, Pascack Valley held off a late run by Fair Lawn to win 7-6. Anthony Setola made some unbelievable saves in goal while Mike Buldo Licciardi led the offense with 5 goals.

4) Boys Basketball: Indians stun Don Bosco to reach the Elite 8 of County Tournament: After falling to Don Bosco in the semifinals only two years prior, Seniors Nick Soravilla and Kyle Schneider were determined to get revenge. As the 14^th seed, they did just that; defeating 3^rd seeded Don Bosco 62-51 in what became the upset of the tournament. Throughout the regular season, the Indians have played the top teams tough but could not pull out many victories. This win showed that Pascack Valley was much better than what their record indicated.

3) Ben Malone Wins the Mile Run at the Millrose Games

At the 106^th Millrose games at the Armory in New York, Ben Malone competed in the high school mile. This was a prestigious event, bringing the best runners from around the country to compete. After laying low for the first two laps, Malone began to gain on the competition. By the final lap, Ben Malone cruised by his competitors, winning with a time of 4:12.62. As a student of Pascack Valley high school, Ben Malone was able to represent at the highest level.

2) Football: Pascack Valley Ends the Olsen Dynasty with a Loss

Earlier in the season, Pascack Valley defeated Wayne Hills to cement their place atop the league standings. However, there was a catch. Wayne Hills was without their starting quarterback Kevin Olsen. The two teams met again later in the season, only this time for a chance to advance to the state title game. Before the season, the Indians had never beaten the Patriots. After a 20-11 win, Pascack Valley had beaten them twice and was well on their way to the championship game.

1) Jasper Reaches Incredible Milestone:

I decided to put this as my #1 moment because this achievement is something that Coach Jeff Jasper has been working at for decades. A 63-21 victory over Dumont in the first round of the Bergen County Tournament gave Coach Jasper his 900^th win, a number that seems insurmountable to coaches around the area. Not only has Jasper led Pascack Valley to a successful 2012-2013 season, but has also put in dedication and hard work for so many years and deserved to be rewarded for his tremendous achievements. He truly is the meaning of a Pascack Valley Indian.