Old Tappan 28 Ramapo 24
Old Tappan scored a touchdown with less than two minutes left to go in front, and held off a last-ditch Ramapo drive down the field on the 3-yard line to win, 28-24, in a great high school football game.
First Quarter: Ramapo opened the game with a 14-play drive that consumed over five minutes, but their drive ended when Aidan Nally intercepted for Old Tappan in the end zone, returning it to the 11. After picking up a first down, Old Tappan punted. Ramapo started on the Old Tappan 38 and went seven plays behind the running of Gino Gorga, who scored on a 3-yard run through the middle.
Second Quarter: Old Tappan bridged the two quarters, going thirteen plays and consuming six minutes. A 22-yard pass from Zach Miceli to Shane Small brought the ball to the 39 of Ramapo, and the two connected again for a 27-yard score to tie the game. After exchanging punts, Ramapo took over on their 45 and went eleven plays to go ahead when Liam Hayward scored on a 3-yard run with 24 seconds left in the half. Old Tappan came right back on a 22-yard pass to Joe Crescitelli, but Tyler Ramiccio intercepted for Ramapo to end the drive and the half.
Third Quarter: Old Tappan came out with the ball and drove seven plays, scoring when Miceli found Small over the middle for another touchdown just past the goal line. The Knights went for the two-point conversion, but the run was short of the goal line, with Ramapo still leading, 14-13. Ramapo did not waste any time when Casey Grusser ran 56 yards on the quarterback keeper down the right sideline for the score, extending their lead to 21-13. OT answered back on a 10-play drive with another Miceli-to-Small score on a fade in the right side of the end zone. Miceli found Devyn Radoian for a successful two-point conversion pass to tie the score at 21-21 with 31 seconds left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: The teams exchanged punts, and Ramapo started on their 10-yard line. Grusser ran for 18 yards to the 30 on second down to give the Raiders some breathing room. Two plays later, he connected with Joe Yessis for 29 yards, followed by a Hayward run of 16 yards, setting Ramapo up on the 24. A penalty brought the ball to the 12, but Small blocked a pass on third down, forcing Ramapo to kick a 34-yard field goal by Devin Hunt to go in front, 24-21. Old Tappan’s first play was a big one with Miceli finding Christakis Nicolaou for 48 yards down the right sideline to the 17-yard line. Six plays later, Miceli rolled out to the left, then right, and found Small in the end zone running across in the same direction for the touchdown to go ahead, 28-24, with 1:29 remaining.
Ramapo again started on their 10-yard line, but five plays brought them to the 26 of Old Tappan. A sack by Old Tappan’s Ryan Miceli on first down lost eight yards for Ramapo. A third-down pass to Yessis was caught just outside the end zone to bring up fourth-and-9 on the 25 with ten seconds left. Grusser was forced from the pocket and ran 15 yards to the 10, diving out of bounds to stop the clock with four seconds remaining. Grusser went back to pass, was flushed out of the pocket, slowed by Radoian, and tackled by Leo Etter on the 3, as time expired.
Comments: This was an outstanding game in a great atmosphere, and this is why I watch high school football. Two strong teams battled back and forth, but only one could emerge victorious. The crowd was charged up on the game’s last drive, with the OT fans chanting “defense!”
The story for Old Tappan was Miceli and Small. The pair connected nine times for 126 yards and four touchdowns. Miceli completed 17 of 25 passes for 250 yards and the four touchdowns as mentioned above, while rushing for 74 yards. Radoian rushed for 68, while he, Crescitelli, Nicolaou, and Etter had two receptions each.
Ramapo had a good performance by Grusser, who was 13-16-144 yards passing, and rushing for 118 yards and a touchdown. Hayward had 97 yards rushing, Gorga had 47, while Yessis had five receptions for 75 yards.
I have been to Old Tappan for a game numerous times, and it dawned on me what a good atmosphere they have, especially when the game is close. One game with such an atmosphere was the 2010 sectional semifinal against Paramus. It is what makes seeing a game a positive experience.