Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Reminds Investors That Class Action Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against Fulgent, Yatsen, Barclays, and Warner Bros. and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm
By: Bragar Eagel & Squire via Globe NewsWire
November 16, 2022 at 20:40 PM EST
NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, reminds investors that class actions have been commenced on behalf of stockholders of Fulgent Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLGT), Yatsen Holding Ltd. (NYSE: YSG), Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS), and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBD). Stockholders have until the deadlines below to petition the court to serve as lead plaintiff. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.
Fulgent Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLGT)
Class Period: March 22, 2019 – August 4, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: November 21, 2022
Fulgent, together with its subsidiaries, provides COVID-19, molecular diagnostic, and genetic testing services to physicians and patients in the United States and internationally. As a result, Fulgent must comply with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits the knowing and willful payment of “remuneration” to induce or reward patient referrals or the generation of business involving any item or service payable by the Federal health care programs, as well as the federal Stark Law, which prohibits a physician from making referrals for certain designated health services, including laboratory services, that are covered by the Medicare program, to an entity with which the physician or an immediate family member has a direct or indirect financial relationship.
On August 4, 2022, Fulgent released its second quarter 2022 financial results, disclosing, among other items, that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) was conducting an investigation into certain of the Company’s reports filed with the SEC from 2018 through the first quarter of 2020. The disclosure followed the Company’s receipt of a civil investigative demand issued by the U.S. Department of Justice “related to its investigation of allegations of medically unnecessary laboratory testing, improper billing for laboratory testing, and remuneration received or provided in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.
On this news, Fulgent’s stock price fell $11.02 per share, or 17.29%, over the following two trading sessions, to close at $52.72 per share on August 8, 2022.
The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Fulgent had been conducting medically unnecessary laboratory testing, engaging in improper billing practices in relation to laboratory testing, and providing or receiving remuneration in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law; (ii) accordingly, Fulgent was likely to become subject to enhanced legal and regulatory scrutiny; (iii) Fulgent’s revenues, to the extent they were derived from the foregoing unlawful conduct, were unsustainable; (iv) the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to subject the Company to significant financial and/or reputational harm; and (v) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
For more information on the Fulgent class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/FLGT
Yatsen Holding Ltd. (NYSE: YSG)
Class Period: November 19, 2020 – March 10, 2022 or pursuant to the Company’s November 19, 2020 IPO
Yatsen operates in the Chinese cosmetics market, generating substantially all of its net revenue from the sale of beauty products under the Perfect Diary and Little Ondine brands.
According to the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, during the Class Period, including in the registration statement and prospectus used to effectuate the Company’s IPO, Yatsen and the other named defendants misled investors into believing that Perfect Diary and Little Ondine were thriving, thereby driving Yatsen’s “healthy” top-line growth at the time of its IPO and quarter after quarter thereafter. In truth, however, cosmetic and skincare sales of Perfect Diary and Little Ondine products were declining in the period leading up to (and including at the time of) the IPO and throughout 2021. Moreover, as the truth about Yatsen’s business reached the market, the value of the Company’s shares declined dramatically, causing Yatsen investors to suffer significant damages.
By the commencement of the action, Yatsen’s shares traded as low as $0.39 per ADS, representing a decline of over 96% from the $10.50 IPO offering price.
For more information on the Yatsen class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/YSG
Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS)
Class Period: February 18, 2021 – March 25, 2022
Barclays is a British universal bank. Its businesses include consumer banking and payments operations around the world, as well as global corporate and investment banking.
Barclays has disclosed that starting on February 18, 2021, Barclays Bank PLC ("BBPLC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays, issued and sold approximately $17.64 billion in unregistered securities over and above the maximum amount of securities registered in two BBPLC shelf registration statements. Barclays has also admitted that "by virtue of the fact that the over-issuance occurred and was not immediately identified, both [Barclays] and BBPLC had a material weakness in relation to certain aspects of their internal control environment and, as a consequence, their internal control over financial reporting for the year ended 31 December 2021 was not effective." As a result of the over-issuance, Barclays has restated its financial statements included on its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021. BBPLC has also commenced a rescission offer for the unregistered securities.
The truth began to emerge on Monday March 28, 2022, when, before the trading market for Barclays ADRs opened for the day, Barclays disclosed the over-issuance for the first time, and informed investors that BBPLC had issued approximately $15.2 billion in unregistered securities in excess of the maximum amount of securities registered in an August 2019 shelf registration statement, that BBPLC would commence a rescission offer for those unregistered securities, and that Barclays expected the rescission losses to be c.£450m (approximately $589.5 million). In response to this news, the price of Barclays ADRs declined 10.61%, or $0.96 per ADR, from a closing price on Friday March 25, 2022 of $9.05 per ADR to a closing price of $8.09 per ADR on Monday March 28, 2022, the next trading day.
On July 28, 2022, before the trading market for Barclays ADRs opened for the day, Barclays announced that BBPLC had also over-issued unregistered securities in excess of the maximum amount of securities registered in a second BBPLC shelf registration statement, and that Barclays had provisioned "£1,592m [approximately $1.940 billion] (December 2021: £220m) related to the overissuance of structured notes and £165m [approximately $201 million] (December 2021: nil) related to liabilities that could be incurred arising out of ongoing discussions in respect of a potential SEC resolution." In response to this news, the price of Barclays ADRs declined $0.41 per ADR, or 5.2%, from a closing price of $7.89 per ADR on July 27, 2022 to a closing price of $7.48 per ADR on July 28, 2022.
The complaint alleges, among other things, that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements or omitted material information (a) in Barclays reported financial statements (which have been restated), (b) by stating that Barclays internal controls over financial reporting were effective (which Barclays has admitted were not effective and had a material weakness), and (c) by failing to disclose the over-issuance, and that BBPLC was violating U.S. securities laws and/or SEC regulations, subjecting Barclays to legal liability.
For more information on the Barclays class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/BCS
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBD)
Class Period: May 17, 2021 – April 8, 2022
The complaint alleges the Defendants made materially false and misleading statements and omitted material facts in the Registration Statement and Prospectus for Warner Bros. common stock. The complaint's allegations related to the merger between Discovery and the WarnerMedia business of AT&T (the "Merger"). The Merger was announced on May 17, 2021 and closed on April 8, 2022. Pursuant to the Merger, Discovery combined its business with WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros.
At the time of filing the Registration Statement and Prospectus, Defendants either knew or had access to adverse information concerning operations of the WarnerMedia business. Among other things, as subsequently disclosed by Defendants after the Merger, (i) WarnerMedia's HBO Max streaming business had a high churn rate that made the business not "viable" unless the churn rate was reversed, (ii) AT&T was overinvesting in WarnerMedia entertainment content for streaming, without sufficient concern for return on investments, (iii) WarnerMedia had a business model to grow the number of subscribers to its streaming service without regard to cost or profitability, (iv) WarnerMedia was improvidently concentrating its investments in streaming and ignoring its other business lines, and (v) WarnerMedia had overstated the number of subscribers to HBO Max by as many as 10 million subscribers, by including as subscribers AT&T customers who had received bundled access to HBO Max, but had not signed onto the service. That adverse information was not disclosed to Discovery shareholders in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or otherwise prior to the effective date of the Merger.
As a result, the Registration Statement and Prospectus and certain of the Defendants' other public statements, contained untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state material facts required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in violation of Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
From April 11, 2022, the first trading day after completion of the Merger, to the date prior to filing of this complaint (September 23, 2022), Warner Bros. market price fell by 52.4%, from $24.78 to $11.79 per share, as the market became aware of the foregoing misrepresented and omitted facts.
For more information on the Warner Bros. class action go to: https://bespc.com/cases/WBD
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.
Brandon Walker, Esq.
Melissa Fortunato, Esq.
investigations@bespc.com
www.bespc.com


Weapons & Guns Attorneys in Orlando, Florida
Issues surrounding weapons and guns are becoming more common every day, and that certainly holds true in Florida. More than 12,000 people every year are arrested and charged with a weapons-related offense in the state. If you are facing such a situation, you owe it to yourself to contact a lawyer and build a strong and ethical defense.
You can do just that by contacting the attorneys at Scott & Medling, PA, today for a full consultation.
There are two charges that are most prevalent in Florida, and each of them is explained below.
Florida is much like any other jurisdiction in that some people are allowed to carry concealed weapons, but anyone who does so must pass strict licensing requirements. If someone is found to be carrying a concealed weapon without the proper license, that person can face a charge that is a third-degree felony, which carries with it a prison term of up to five years with a conviction.
The licensing requirements to carry a concealed weapon, generally stated, include a valid and legitimate reason to do so, and every applicant must pass a background check that will show neither any documented criminal history nor any history of substance abuse. The person must also be of proper age.
If You're Facing a Weapons-Related Offense, Contact Us
Even if someone’s weapon is not going to be concealed, Florida still imposes strict guidelines on gun ownership in general. The Florida statutes expressly prohibit the following parties from legally owning any firearm:
A person who is subject to an active domestic violence injunction or charge;
Anyone found to be a drug addict, a vagrant, or mentally incompetent;
Any party under the age of 16, unless the gun is not loaded and is at home and stored under parental supervision;
Anyone convicted of a felony and who hasn’t had his or her civil rights restored;
If someone is found to possess a gun who has not passed through the ownership registration requirements or who falls into one of the categories detailed above they could be found guilty of illegal weapons possession, and the charges that accompany that situation are severe in nature.
Depending on the specifics of the situation, these charges could be classified as a misdemeanor or a felony. The penalties associated with a conviction under a weapons possession charge range from a stiff fine to several years in prison if convicted of a felony.
If you are facing this situation, you need to make sure that you have an advocate at your side who will help you present the strongest defense possible. Contact Scott & Medling, PA today for a consultation.


Judging Books By Their Covers: An Experiment
Emily Gatlin Jul 29, 2014
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Never judge a book by its cover. We all know this applies to judging people and not actual books, right?
Book blurbs are completely meaningless (and in case you didn’t know that, SPOILER ALERT: the author more than likely shares an agent/editor/plays golf with the famous-name blurber). A few months ago, I realized how much I HATE jacket copy. Big plot points that don’t happen until 100+ pages in are spoilered in those magic three-to-four paragraphs. And sometimes, the jacket copy is a highly-glossed and finely-manicured flap of total shenanigans.
I decided to do a little experiment. For 90 days, I made my reading choices based solely on the book’s actual cover and title instead of the author’s name, what the jacket said the book was “about” (shenanigans, I tell you!), or the author’s photo.
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Here’s a rundown, in order, of how it went:
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez (Hardcover)
Blue is my favorite color and America is my favorite country. Also, “Unknown Americans” gave me a hint that I’d be in for an immigrant story, and after reading Americanah last spring, I fell in love with stories about immigrants. The Riveras leave Mexico and come to America to seek better care for their daughter, Maribel, after a near fatal accident caused her to have a serious brain injury. They move into an apartment complex full of other immigrants, each with their own story of America. A young neighbor from Panama, Mayor, takes to Maribel and sees beneath her damage the way her own parents do not; she is kind, funny, and wise. On the surface, it sounds like a story of young love, but beneath it all is the story of America. If you’re big on marginalia, get your pen ready for gems like, “…when I glanced at the people around us, no one was even looking in our direction. I felt the way I often felt in this country – simultaneously conspicuous and invisible, like an oddity whom everyone noticed but chose to ignore.”
Goodnight June by Sarah Jio (Paperback)
It has something to do with Goodnight Moon, obvi. And I love that book. And I was going to the lake and I needed a paperback. Have you ever wondered if there was a REAL great green room? So this lady named June inherits a dying children’s bookstore (because you know, death of print and book smell) from her great-aunt Ruby. She doesn’t want any part of owning a bookstore, and then she finds all these letters that were exchanged between Ruby and Margaret Wise Brown. Then she has some decisions to make, and there’s a love story in there, too. It was an absolutely delightful book, and ended up being perfect for my lazy lake weekend.
I Love You More by Jennifer Murphy (Digital galley)
Three ladies in black, wearing veils, and one of them has a gun. I picked it because I had the feels that this wasn’t your average love story. And it’s not. Oliver is pretty much the worst man on the planet and married three women, and unlike on the TV… they aren’t all shacking up together. The ladies find out about each other and straight up murder his ass. Great plot twists, fun ending.
Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson (Hardcover)
I wanted to rub my face all over it before I read it (because it feels really good), and then when I finished it I wanted to rub my face all over it so maybe some genius would be absorbed in my pores. Social worker, Pete Snow, tries to help a malnourished boy who lives in the Montana woods. He meets the kid’s dad (total nut job) and tries to help. Pete’s own life spins out of control, and he finds himself in the middle of a manhunt. Not only was this the best book I’ve read all year, it’s one of the best books I have EVER read. I smell Pulitzer.
Love Me Back by Merritt Tierce (Digital galley)
I said it before, and I’ll say it again: blue is my favorite color. I had just finished Fourth of July Creek and I knew I’d need a humdinger of a followup to avoid the slump. I took a chance with Love Me Back, and I’m so glad I did! It’s beautifully DAAAARK. A young single mother becomes a career waitress, and her story is told through phases and time jumps. If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, you’ll appreciate it. If you love ferocious fiction, you’ll really dig it.
Abroad by Katie Crouch (Hardcover)
You can see a sort of pattern developing with my reading habits. This just looked like a good blend of intensity. I was ECSTATIC when I started reading, and it’s a sort-of Foxy Knoxy spin-off from the point of view of the victim! Unlike Cartwheel, (which is really awesome if you’ve never read it) it actually takes place in Italy but Crouch puts her own unique spin on the story. Read it in an afternoon. Good pickin’.
The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob (Digital galley)
I really couldn’t tell what this would be about from the cover, I just thought it looked really cool. And not only was it cool, but it was the first book I ever read that centered around an Indian family (and now I must find MOAR!). See, this is when reading diversely pays off in spades. I learned so much about a culture I thought I was pretty familiar with, got a history lesson, discovered a new writer, AND found a book I can happily recommend to anyone.
The Girls From Corona Del Mar by Rufi Thorpe (Digital galley)
After a lot of dark stuff, I wanted something happy for a palate cleanse. DID NOT FIND IT HERE. And that is more than OK. Great book. Think “exploration of female friendships” meets “how many bad things can happen to one person in a lifetime?” I think its portrayal of the changing friendship and dynamics between two childhood friends is very honest and intriguing, and the beautiful writing is a big fat bonus.
Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story by Rick Bragg (Digital galley)
GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE, Y’ALL! The cover speaks for itself, since it is a big picture of The Killer, and I was interested because I live across town from where The King (that would be Elvis) was born. The Jerry Lee Lewis/Elvis Presley/Sun Studio era of music is SO RAD and I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to read 512 pages of some of the best brand of crazy. It’s as good as it sounds. Look for it in late October.
In Real Life: Love, Lies, & Identity in the Digital Age by Nev Schulman
I love that guy on that show and it’s a giant picture of half his face. I was expecting a recap of the first three seasons of MTV’s Catfish, but that’s not what I got! Sure, there’s a little Cat-splain’, but mostly it’s Schulman exploring modern relationships in this crazy new digital get-down world we live in. I found it absolutely fascinating, and I think people who may not watch the show (whywouldn’tyouwatchitssodamngood) will get a lot out of it as well. Reading about his life before the documentary was a definite highlight, and I refuse to spoil the funny.
A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall by Will Chancellor (Digital galley)
I’m a Greek/Roman history nerd. Enough said. Much to my surprise, this book is about a college athlete, destined to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympics (I love sports). He has an accident and loses his eye, bringing on the expected “WTF do I do now?” conflict. He leaves the country and heads to Berlin to pursue a career as an artist. That’s as far as I got in the book, because my digital galley expired and I couldn’t access it anymore. That’s bad pie right there. The writing is immensely beautiful, and I anticipate hearing a lot about Chancellor in the future! (Also, I must get myself to a bookstore so I can keep reading it until my eyes bleed.)
So what did I learn during my three months of judging covers?
— Wow, my Kobo gets a lot of love.
— I seem to be more drawn to book covers of women writers (I know a girl named Smith and a boy named Merritt, so don’t go throwing “subconsciously picking based on gender” in my face, please).
— Authors of color are naturally and seamlessly included. So let’s stop making it rocket science.
— I really, really like the color blue.
Spill it. What books have you judged by their covers?


Thrombocytosis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
Thrombocytosis is a bone marrow and blood disease that affects approximately two to three people per every 100,000. Most cases occur in women over 50 the age of 50.
Reviewed and approved by the doctor Leonardo Biolatto.
Written by Edith Sánchez
Last update: 09 October, 2022
Thrombocytosis is a disease that’s characterized by a considerable increase in blood platelets. The normal platelet count is between 150,000 and 450,000 per microliter of blood. If it is slightly above or below, it’s still normal. If they exceed that range by a lot, doctors consider it thrombocytosis.
Cells called megakaryocytes produce platelets in the bone marrow. They play an important role in blood clotting, which is necessary to stop bleeding. Therefore, experts consider thrombocytosis a bone marrow and blood disease.
Too many platelets in the body can lead to serious health problems, such as heart attack or stroke, among others.
Types of thrombocytosis
Basically, there are two types of thrombocytosis: primary, or essential, and secondary. In essential thrombocytosis, the marrow produces abnormal platelets and its cause is unknown. Secondary thrombocytosis, on the other hand, is a consequence of other diseases such as infections, cancer, anemia, etc.
Read this article too: Deep Vein Thrombosis: How to Detect and Prevent It
Another way to classify thrombocytosis is into three groups: congenital, acquired, and pseudo thrombocytosis. Congenital is passed on by a pattern of inheritance and is present at birth. Acquired thrombocytosis, meanwhile, is divided into two groups:
Primary: This classification corresponds to essential thrombocytosis. It’s caused by genetic mutations. In many cases, the reason why the disease occurs is unknown.
Secondary or reactive: This is a consequence of other diseases. It’s the most common, as it corresponds to 85% of cases. More than half of them are due to infections.
Pseudothrombocytosis, meanwhile, corresponds to cases of false positives. There are circumstances in which the person analyzing the cytoplasmic fragments confuses them with platelets which gives rise to a misdiagnosis.
In most cases, the disease does not produce any symptoms. It’s usually detected accidentally when a blood count is performed.
However, when the disease is primary or essential, sometimes there are symptoms such as head or chest pain, dizziness, weakness, loss of vision or seeing spots. Fatigue, night sweats, and weight loss are also common. The suspicion increases if, also, there is a history of spontaneous abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy, splenomegaly or enlargement of the spleen, bleeding or hypertension.
It’s also characteristic that there is erythromelalgia in essential thrombocytosis. This is vasodilation in the arteries of the hands and feet that causes an increased temperature in the extremities, as well as itching, pain, and erythema.
You may also enjoy this article: Nine Foods that May Help Reduce Your Risk of Thrombosis and Stroke
Causes of thrombocytosis
Overall, most current research indicates that an acquired somatic mutation causes essential thrombocytosis. Therefore, it’s not inherited. In 50% of cases, there is a mutation of the JAK2 gene. In another important number of cases, there’s a mutation of the CARL gene. Also, cases of mutations in the MPL, THPO, and TET2 genes have been found.
Several of these genes are responsible for making proteins. These have an important impact on the division of blood cells and, in particular, platelets. Overall, experts believe that the mutation produces the symptoms in essential thrombocytosis. However, they still don’t know how that process is carried out.
Also, there are many cases in which they cannot detect a mutation. Therefore, the cause of the primary form of the disease is completely unknown. As for the secondary form, it’s typically due to underlying diseases.
Essential thrombocytosis does not require treatment, as long as it remains stable and there are no signs or symptoms of the disease. Sometimes, doctors may recommend taking aspirin daily. This is to prevent the formation of blood clots.
However, if the patient has a history or risk of cardiovascular disease, it’s most likely that their doctor will prescribe medications to decrease platelet counts. This is also advisable if the patient is over 60 years old or if the platelet count is greater than one million.
In the case of the secondary type of this disease, the treatment consists in controlling the disease that causes thrombocytosis. In emergencies, a specialist will carry out the procedure thrombocytopheresis or plateletpheresis. This consists of a blood filtrate that’s similar to dialysis.
Fernández, C. M., Castillo, J. P. M., García, P. G., de Julián, E. C., & Bieler, C. B. (2008, July). Trombocitosis en la consulta de oncohematología. Descripción, diagnóstico etiológico y evolución. In Anales de Pediatría (Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 10-14). Elsevier Doyma.
Carrillo-Esper, R., Garnica-Escamilla, M., & Ramírez-Rosillo, F. (2013). Trombocitosis. Rev Invest Med Sur Mex.
Badell, I., Torrent, M., & López, E. (2006). Alteraciones plaquetarias: Trombopenias y trombocitosis. Anales de Pediatria Continuada. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1696-2818(06)73584-3
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Greatest Moment Of His Life
Categories: All Videos and Articles
Tags: Barack Obama, coffee, comedian, interview, jerry, Obama, President, seinfeld, white house
Corinna Burford: Jerry Seinfeld: Driving A Corvette With Obama Is The ‘Greatest Moment’ Of My Entire Life
Jerry Seinfeld is a world-famous comedian, he starred in one of TV’s most beloved sitcoms, and he’s got a $100 million deal with Netflix. But as he explained at the New Yorker Festival on Friday night, nothing in his long career tops his 2015 episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Barack Obama. “It was the greatest moment of my life,” he told New Yorker editor David Remnick during the event. “Who gets to do that?”
The experience was also plenty nerve-wracking, he said, comparing the feeling to his jitters before his first-ever appearance on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. “It was absolute, sickening nerves. It seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity, that I’m gonna get to be funny with a president in the White House.”
WH Flickr


Wayne Valley football falls just shy of Irvington
Doug Scancarella
Most area high school prognosticators predicted that Irvington’s football team would beat Wayne Valley this week in a cakewalk. It seemed like the right call.
Irvington is widely considered one of the finest teams in the state. The Irvington roster, after all, is graced by six players with Division I scholarship offers already. Wayne Valley, meanwhile, brought an 0-6 record into the contest.
Sure enough, Irvington (4-2) won. But it was far from a cakewalk. Wayne Valley fought valiantly, only to suffer a 30-27 defeat.
“I’m proud of these guys,” Wayne Valley coach Roger Kotlarz said. “We’re all frustrated, but there is no quit in any of them. Our guys are practicing hard and playing hard. They’re also mentally strong. Effort is not an issue.”
“I don’t know what our opponents think about us, but I’m pretty certain that no one is taking us for a pushover. We’ve lost to some very good teams, but we’ve been in every game. We’re not getting blown out. We can’t get over the hump, but we are giving everyone a fight.”
The strength of schedule has been utterly tremendous. The combined record of Valley’s last six foes is a staggering 29-9. That includes Lakeland (5-1), River Dell (6-2), Passaic Valley (5-1), Morris Knolls (4-2), Northern Highlands (5-1) and Irvington (4-2).
“They’re all playoff-quality teams,” Kotlarz said.
Senior AJ Tedesco led the way against Irvington with 142 receiving yards and three touchdowns, including a 63-yarder. Junior Nick Trani ran for 73 yards, had 29 yards receiving and threw the 63-yard touchdown pass to Tedesco. Trani, a running back, lined up in the Wildcat, where he posed a rushing and throwing threat.
“AJ had a great game,” Kotlarz said. “He made some big plays for us. That kept us in it. Nick is as versatile as they come. He ran, caught passes and threw.”
Junior quarterback Ryan Michels threw for 108 yards, including two touchdown tosses to Tedesco. Seniors Shane Connelly and Greg Poloso led the team in tackles. Senior Isaac Rosado and junior Ian Lancelotti added double-digit tackles.
“We had the ball at midfield at the end,” Kotlarz said. “We needed about 30 yards for a game-tying field goal attempt. But we got two penalties. That pushed us back. That put us in a tough spot because Irvington is so athletic up front. They got a good rush on us on that last play.”
Wayne Valley now turns its attention to West Milford (1-5). It will be Valley’s first game against a team with a losing record.
“We really need to get the monkey off our back,” Kotlarz said.
The regular season ends at Wayne Hills on Oct. 28. The season will end with a consolation game. Those are for teams that don’t make the playoffs and count as a regular-season game. Wayne Valley will likely play a team with a losing record.