HACKENSACK It was a rough week for the Hackensack football team. Coming off a bad loss to Passaic Tech, the Comets were in a funk for most of the week leading up to Saturdays game with Eastside.

They seemed a bit bewildered still as the first half played out. Hackensack was its own worst enemy against the Ghosts through halftime, but it came out for the second half and went to smash-mouth football.

It was just what the doctor ordered, as the offense stopped making mistakes and supported the defense in a 32-6 win that the Comets hope rights the ship and sends them full steam ahead to a North 1 Group 5 playoff spot.

"Im not going to lie to you. We did not practice well this week," Hackensack coach Benjie Wimberly said. "We had a lot of expectations going into the PCT game and we played like deer in the headlights, and everyone was like, What happened? "

The Comets were sloppy over the first 24 minutes despite owning an 11-0 lead. Vinnie Lalumia kicked a 42-yard field goal on Hackensacks first possession, but after that came a pair of interceptions by Eastsides Ramir Tann-Davis.

The second of those came at the Comets 4-yard line, and on the next play, Kaz Simpson broke in and dropped the Eastside running back in the end zone for a safety.

The offense continued to struggle for consistency, with penalties hurting it as well. It wasnt until 4:41 remained in the half that Hackensack (4-1) finally would find the end zone. Asante Dyer scored from 6 yards out after setting up the touchdown with back-to-back 21- and 20-yard runs.

"We knew we had to regroup and come together," Dyer said of the offense. "We had to bounce back and play our hardest."

That late score seemed to get the Comets into the game, and they came out and ran right at Eastside (2-3). They went 91 yards in eight plays, all runs, and Dyer capped the march with a 24-yard burst off right tackle, part of his 159 rushing yards on 24 carries.

"We banded together," Wimberly said. "We just decided, Lets not get cute. I wanted to come out and throw the ball to get my quarterback going, but we just went back to basics."

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Comets offense recovers