Ramapo pulled away in the second half to beat River Dell, 31-7, in what was one of the more anticipated sectional finals in the area.
Ramapo had good field position on the opening kickoff and picked up a couple of first downs running the ball for a first-and-goal. But the River Dell defense held and Ramapo’s Aiden Labell kicked a 25-yard field goal. The Raiders had a good drive late in the quarter, but Jack Racine intercepted for River Dell on the 4, early in the second quarter.
The Raiders had good field position again on River Dell’s 45 after forcing a River Dell punt. This time they scored when Luke Ragone stretched the ball over the right pylon, just under five minutes left in the half. They had a chance to add to the lead when they recovered a poor punt snap on the 18-yard line, but Dave Fletcher intercepted in the end zone with 51 seconds left.
Ramapo scored on their first possession of the second half when AJ Wingfield ran for a 4-yard score and it was 17-0. Isaiah Savitt intercepted, giving the Raiders the ball on the 33 and Wingfield plunged in from the 1-yard line for the score, with Anthony Sargenti setting it up with a 21-yard run to the 9.
Wingfield had his third touchdown of the half on a 25-yard keeper to start the fourth quarter and it was 31-0. River Dell added a late touchdown on a 9-yard Mike Mellet run.
Ramapo was in control the entire game and left points off the board in the first half. That changed quickly in the second half, scoring 21 points in just over twelve minutes to put the game out of reach. Known for their passing game, Ramapo did their damage on the ground with Ragone and Sargenti getting the carries. The defense dominated, putting frequent pressure on the passer, recording seven sacks with linebacker Mike Connor leading the way. The defense was also effective forcing punts to give the offense good field position.