Highlanders end season with division title, playoff breakthrough
West Milford. West Milford High School football completed a standout 9-2 season highlighted by a division championship, key revenge wins, and a long-awaited home playoff victory, with strong senior leadership paving the way for a promising future.
| 23 Nov 2025 | 04:01
This season will go down in the history books for all the right reasons for the West Milford High School football program.
The Highlanders won nine impressive overall games and they were 5-0 as champions in the tough Super Football Conference (SFC) Patriot Red Division.
“I would say Nutley (a 7-0 win on Oct 10), Sparta (31-0 on Oct. 17) and Vernon (20-6 on Oct. 24) are most memorable,’’ West Milford head coach Stephen Maslanek said. “These are three games we lost last season. We made it our mission this season to press the rewind button and if we found ourselves in the same spot we were going to win these games. I cannot leave out winning our first home playoff game in 20 plus years over Montville (21-7 on October 31) as well.
Maslanek said the team’s most impressive performance was their win over Sparta for the conference championship. The team’s seniors have played in three playoff games in the past two seasons. They’ve played six total playoff games since 2021.
A number of players on the roster consistently improved in a variety of aspects of the sport throughout the course of the season.
“I would say our first year starters in Tado Kopic (offensive line), Cole Riley (corner back), Blake Tyburczy (free safety), Mason Laneve (wide receiver) and newcomer Dagen Lee Crispin (tight end and defensive line) have been among the most improved players,’’ Maslanek said.
The Highlanders posted a strong overall record of 9-2. The victory over Montville occurred in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA North 1 Group 3 Sectional Tournament.
West Milford was defeated by eventual Sectional champion Old Tappan in the Sectional semifinal round.
There is ample reason for optimism for the 2026 season and beyond for West Milford football.
“The culture that our seniors brought this season of playing tough physical football has trickled down to our younger levels,’’ Maslanek said. “We had a few underclassman start this year and many were key contributors on special teams.’’
