St. Joe’s (Montvale) beat St. Peter’s Prep, 16-7, on a raw, rainy, and windy day. The game wasn’t pretty with both teams struggling to move the ball, but St. Joe’s took advantage of their opportunities.
After a St. Joe’s punt pinned Prep deep in their own territory in the first quarter, the Green Knights took advantage when Gavin Sharkey returned a punt to the 2-yard line and scored on the following play, a run by Audric Estime to make it 7-0.
Prep moved the ball down the field behind the passing of Maasai Maynor, but their field goal attempt was no good.
In the second quarter, Joe’s moved the ball and Angelo Guglielmello kicked a 22-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. St. Peter’s Prep struck when Maynor found an open Ben Silver for a 74-yard touchdown, as Silver raced all alone down the field. Prep had a chance to take the lead just before halftime, but the 33-yard touchdown pass to Ayir Asante was called back for holding.
Joe’s added to the lead in the third quarter when Michael Alaimo found Sharkey in the right corner of the end zone near the hill for a 31-yard score. From that point on, the Green Knight defense held off Prep’s chances to come back.
As I said earlier, this was not a pretty game and big plays were few and far between. In the end, it was Joe’s taking advantage of their opportunities more than Prep did and their running game, while not great, was more productive – especially in the third quarter to set up their final score.