North Jersey's No. 19 team expects to bounce back from rare down year | Top 20 countdown

River Dell returns after suffering its first losing season since before this group was born, and a veteran cast is intent on not letting that happen again.

The Golden Hawks return 17 players who have started at least seven games, including a half-dozen three-year starters, and look to bounce back from a 3-8 season. The will begin the season ranked No. 19 in the North Jersey Public Top 20.

“It’s not the norm around here,” longtime coach DJ Nimphius said of the first losing season since 2005, “and it’s certainly not their expectation.”

River Dell had posted 18 consecutive winning seasons under Nimphius. Not counting 2020, when the pandemic canceled the playoffs, the Golden Hawks won at least one playoff game for 15 consecutive years, including three sectional titles. That's quite a streak for a mid-size school with so many multi-sport athletes.

River Dell has 45 varsity players on its summer roster, and, Nimphius said, “It’s OK, it’s not what I’d like.” Every Golden Hawk on last year’s varsity has returned for this season, he said.

“We didn’t have anybody leave, but we didn’t have anybody come out,” said Nimphius, whose roster also has 25 freshmen. “It’s really odd. Usually, you have a little bit of movement.”

The tradition

River Dell has won five sectional titles since the NJSIAA debuted sectional playoffs in 1974.

The Golden Hawks won North 1, Group 2 in 1985 and 1987, won North 1, Group 2 in 2007, and captured North 1, Group 3 in 2016 and 2017.

Nimphius enters his 21 ^st season leading River Dell and his career record is 159-62. He's won at least 10 games eight times − including with a 2007 team that went 12-0, registered eight shutouts, and only allowed 28 total points.

The challenge

River Dell struggled on defense last season, allowing 26 points or more in 10 of the 11 games, including a 34-27 victory over Teaneck in the season finale.

“We expect to be very fast, very mobile in what we do, and play a lot of kids,” Nimphius said. “The experience level is so much different than what it’s been.”

The multiple stack defense has more than a dozen players with considerable game action.

Senior RJ Weiss is a three-year starter in a secondary, and Mason Nagle and Deacon McGovern are three-year starters at linebacker.

Expectations

River Dell expects to contend for a playoff bid with a veteran offense guided by junior quarterback Zion Yoon. He started 10 games last season, threw for 1,467 yards and 16 touchdowns in the multiple option attack, and Nimphius called him “an exciting player.”

Yoon will have plenty of veterans to hand and throw the ball to, including three-year starters Weiss and fellow three-year starters Chris Kelm and Ryan Rossig.

“I would expect that we practice better, and we’ve shown that all summer,” Nimphius said. “We’ve been really consistent, and we expect that to translate to game night.”

Schedule

Aug. 29: at Nutley

Sept. 6: vs. Old Tappan

Sept. 13: vs. Paramus

Sept. 20: vs. Parsippany Hills

Sept. 28: at Morris Hills

Oct. 5: at Bergenfield

Oct. 10: vs. Teaneck

Oct. 18: at Pascack Valley

Oct. 25: at Westwood

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: North Jersey's No. 19 team expects to bounce back from rare down year | Top 20 countdown