Both offenses came out trading touchdowns, as Randolph scored a late touchdown to beat Colonia, 34-27, and advance to the sectional semi-finals in Group 4 to face Irvington.
Both offenses came out trading touchdowns, with Randolph scoring on the game’s opening drive on quarterback Anthony Sofia’s 4-yard run. Colonia answered them on a 53-yard touchdown pass from Eric Hamilton to Kenny Shinski. Randolph came right back when Matt Kuntz went 51 yards for the score.
Hamilton and Shinski connected again, this time an 18-yard touchdown, but the extra point failed and Randolph led 14-13, one minute into the second quarter. Minutes later, Sofia found Jimmy Pepe, who raced for a 45-yard touchdown. Things settled down a little and Randolph added to the lead when John Rodriguez kicked a 35-yard field goal for a 24-13 lead with 23 seconds left in the half.
Colonia made things interesting when Justice Harris scored off-tackle on a 5-yard run. They went for two and Hamilton successfully ran into the end zone, making it 24-21. Randolph drove again and Rodriguez hit his second field goal, a 23-yarder with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Harris scored on a 27-yard run, but the extra point was blocked and things were tied at 27. Colonia had the chance to go ahead for the first time when Hamilton found Shinski for 35 yards to the 50, but Hamilton fumbled with Justin Moreno recovering for Randolph at their 31. The Rams drove and went ahead when Sofia scored on a 21-yard quarterback counter with three minutes left. Colonia returned the kick to their 45, but on fourth down, Hamilton was stopped short of the first down marker and Randolph ran out the final minute.
It was a very good game with a lot of excitement and big plays from both sides. Both are good teams, but in the end, Randolph made two key plays on defense: the fumble that led to the winning score and stopping Colonia short of the first down marker with a minute left.