Hasbrouck Heights 20 St. Mary 16
Hasbrouck Heights scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat St. Mary, 20-16. The winning score came on a hook and ladder play when Brady Shine caught the pass and lateraled to Nick Haines, who went the distance for a 60-yard touchdown with five minutes remaining. Shine also intercepted two fourth-quarter passes, including one on the previous play.
*I tip my hat to the athletic directors of both schools for moving the game up an hour to a 12:00 start. Once the game ended, I made it to my car just as the rain started, before it turned into a heavy downpour five minutes later.
First Quarter: St. Mary marched ten plays into Hasbrouck Heights territory, mostly on the ground. But a fourth-and-5 pass fell incomplete, and Heights took over on their 37. St. Mary had the ball again, making it to the Heights 16. Their threat died when Emil Belyayev sacked Thomas Messina on fourth down, with the Aviators regaining possession on their 23.
Second Quarter: After a Heights punt, the Gaels had the ball on their 48, and James Williams had a 23-yard run to the 29. Two penalties brought the ball back to the 39, and their drive ended when Eoin Maloney and Noel Cruz combined to sack Messina on fourth down. With the ball on their 39, Heights moved quickly, scoring on four plays. They were on the board when Haines scored on a 16-yard run. The key play was a 37-yard pass from Nico Nipitella to Mike Colaneri to the 20-yard line, two plays earlier. St. Mary made it into Heights territory again, but Messina’s run fell short of a first down to end the drive with 37 seconds left.
Third Quarter: After a Heights punt, St. Mary moved the ball again and made it count when Messina scored on a 5-yard run. The two-point conversion was successful, and the Gaels led, 8-7. They forced another Heights punt and added to the lead when Messina had a 74-yard touchdown run, and it was 16-7 with four minutes left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Heights bridged the two quarters, consuming five minutes, and scored on a 6-yard run by Nipitella. The Aviators kicked the extra point, and it was 16-14. The three previous plays that set the score up were a 13-yard pass to Shine and a 15-yard run by Haines, where he kept moving the pile, followed by a 9-yard pass to Shine, getting the ball on the 6. St. Mary moved the ball again, and a fourth-down pass to Jonathan Huertas gave them a first down on the 43 of Heights. But the tables were turned when Shine intercepted and returned it to the Heights 40. On the following play, Nipitella found Shine on the left sideline, who lateraled to Haines. Haines went the rest of the way to put the Avaitors in front, 20-16, with five minutes left.
St. Mary took over on their 20, and Williams ran for 13 yards on the next play, followed by an 11-yard run by Messina. But Shine came through again, as he intercepted a fourth-down pass to allow the Aviators to run out the clock.
Comments: It was a big victory for Hasbrouck Heights after a one-point loss to Wallkill Valley. They were down by nine after three quarters and scored twice to come away with the win. The star of the game was Shine, with two interceptions on defense and three receptions on offense, including the game-winner. Nipitella struggled initially, but completed his five passes when it was needed.
It was a tough loss for St. Mary. They made it into Heights territory on each of their four drives in the first half and came away empty. It looked good when they scored on their first two drives in the second half, but their next two ended with interceptions. They had 324 yards of offense, 231 on the ground. Johnson ran for 114 yards, and Messina for 105. But they were outscored, and that is what matters most.