Don Bosco 35 St. Joe’s (Montvale) 28
October 11, 2024
Offense ruled the day, as Don Bosco beat St. Joe’s (Montvale), 35-28. There was a combined 851 yards of offense and only one punt (by Joe’s) in the game. Bosco took the lead and never surrendered it, ending a brutal three-game gauntlet of Bergen Catholic, DePaul, and Joe’s.
First Quarter: Don Bosco drove 79 yards to open the game and scored on a 2-yard run by Dante DeLuca, set up on the previous play, a 42-yard run through the middle by quarterback Deven Sisler on fourth down. It was a play where Sisler thought about passing before deciding to run. St. Joe’s had their first possession and picked up two first downs: a 17-yard pass from Lamar Best to Nate Bailey and a 35-yard pass to John Forster, giving the Green Knights the ball on the 19. But a failed 35-yard field goal attempt left them without points. Bosco went on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that consumed more than seven minutes. A 40-yard pass to Isaiah Alvarez brought the ball to the 17. Five straight runs by DeLuca, followed by his 6-yard touchdown reception put the Ironmen up, 14-0, thirteen seconds into the second quarter.
Second Quarter: It did not take St. Joe’s long to respond. With Bailey returning the kick to the 42, the Green Knights had good field position. After a 16-yard pass to Bailey brought them to the 38, Forster scored two plays later on a 35-yard run to cut the lead to 14-7. The Ironmen drove over five minutes on eleven plays. They picked up five first downs, the last being a 6-yard touchdown pass to Zakai Murphy with 4:36 left in the half and a 21-7 Bosco lead. Joe’s drove again, going 81 yards and scoring on a 24-yard pass to Brady Shust down the right sideline with 1:32 left. Bosco struck immediately on a 32-yard strike from Sisler to Isaiah Alvarez, advancing the ball to the Bosco 35. Sisler ran 10 yards to the 19 for another first down. After three incomplete passes, the Ironmen attempted a 36-yard field goal that was blocked with eleven seconds left.
Third Quarter: Joe’s opened the half with two incompletions, a 9-yard run by Best, and the Green Knights punted. Bosco began on their 37, went eleven plays, and scored on a 5-yard run by Sisler. The big play on the drive was a 34-yard pass to Isaiah Alvarez that gave the Ironmen a first-and-goal on the 6. Joe’s consumed six minutes, went ten plays, and scored on a 36-yard pass to Bailey on the first play of the fourth quarter. That was one of four big plays from Bailey on the drive: a 16-yard run and two receptions of 23 and 13 yards were all first downs.
Fourth Quarter: Bosco came right back, picked up a first down, and a 16-yard run by DeLuca picked up another. On fourth down, Sisler found Murphy for a 37-yard score to put the Ironmen up, 35-21 with 7:49 remaining. Joe’s wasn’t done. Two receptions by Bailey sandwiched around a 14-yard run by Best, followed by a reception by Jovon Williams brought the ball to the 19-yard line. Three plays later, Best found Bailey in the left corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown with five minutes left. Bosco moved the ball down the field and DeLuca went 25 yards before stopping on the 1, allowing the Ironmen to run out the clock.
Comments: After two tough losses to powerhouses Bergen Catholic and DePaul by a combined five points, Bosco won a badly needed game. They were unstoppable on offense. They had seven drives that produced five touchdowns, an attempted field goal, and they ran out the clock on the 1-yard line. The Ironmen rushed for 202 yards and added 252 through the air for 454 yards of total offense. And they controlled the time of possession with 30:59 of offense. The credit begins up front with their line of left tackle Matt Maietti, left guard Rhett Morris, center Burke Poulin, right guard Daniel Zenzer, and right tackle Pedro Valdes. DeLuca gained 127 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Sisler was 21-28-252-3 passing and ran for 60 yards and one touchdown on six carries. Murphy had 9 receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown, while Isaiah Alvarez caught 5 for 121 yards. I was impressed with this team two weeks ago against Bergen and thought they had a good chance to win this evening. They knocked on the door the last two weeks and blew it open tonight.
St. Joe’s perspective: Their defense could not stop Bosco, but they had top performances on offense. Best was 15-of-20 for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns while rushing for 47 yards on eight carries. Bailey was a star with 9 receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 40 yards on two carries for 204 yards of total offense; eight of his receptions and the two runs picked up first downs. The Green Knights had six drives plus one when they took a knee at the end of the first half; they ended with four touchdowns, a missed field goal, and a punt – the game’s only punt. They also had 397 yards of total offense. While their defense could not stop Bosco, Bosco’s defense couldn’t stop them except for the one drive that ended in a punt. Credit must go to left tackle Liam Stagg, left guard Elias Martinez-Beasley, center Rob Stigliano, right guard Steele Haubner, and right tackle Cristian Alvarez. While the Green Knights moved the ball and scored, the times they didn’t were the first drive’s missed field goal and when they punted to open the second half, forcing them to play catch up.