Roxbury 10 Mount Olive 7
September 30, 2023
Roxbury recovered a Mount Olive fumble with 35 seconds left to win, 10-7, in a battle of 5-0 teams in front of a packed house on a rainy night in Mount Olive.. As good as Ramapo-Northern Highlands was last night, this game was even better. The game featured hard, physical defense by both teams all night, including the late fumble.
I am doing this a day later from the broadcast on YouTube by Morris Sussex Sports.
First Quarter: After picking up a first down, Roxbury lined up in punt formation three plays later, but once the ball was snapped, Gavin Haysinger threw to Elijah Kali for 10 yards and a first down at their 48. The Gaels ended up punting three plays later, but they sent a good, aggressive message with the fake punt. That put Mount Olive on their 13 and Nick Edelman intercepted for Roxbury two plays later on the 27 and returned the ball to the 15. On second-and-4, Matt Rattay scored on a sweep from 11 yards out to put the Gaels in front, 7-0. Rattay followed the blocks of guards Nick Riska and Josh Rivera to run into the end zone. Mount Olive picked up a first down on two runs Tyler Cumming and appeared to go for it on fourth down on their 39, but the quick punt rolled down to the 6-yard line.
Second Quarter: There was an exchange of punts until Mount Olive took over on their 28 with just under six minutes left. The Marauders went 13 plays and turned the ball over on downs with 19 seconds left. After reaching the 21, nose guard Liam Aretz came in with a sack to the 30 to make it fourth-and-21 for Mount Olive. Two key plays for the Marauders in that drive were a physical, 11-yard run by Cumming to give them a first down and a 16-yard completion from Jake Asbury to Adam DeCristofaro to get them to the 19.
Third Quarter: Yards were hard to come by in the quarter’s first seven minutes with both defenses bringing their A-game. Mount Olive began a drive on their 23 with five minutes left and went on a march. Asbury went 12 yards to the 35 for a first down, followed by his 12-yard pass to Rondell Derrick to the 50. Asbury went 7 yards to the 39 for another first down, followed by Cumming reeling off runs of 8 and 25 yards, giving the Marauders a first-and-goal on the 6. Two plays later, Asbury scored from two yards out on what looked like a read-option, tying the game with two minutes left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Roxbury replied with their own drive that went three minutes into the fourth quarter. The key plays on this drive were two passes from Anthony Skawinski to Connor Patton. The first went 18 yards to the Mount Olive 43 late in the third quarter and the second was on the fourth quarter’s second play that went 22 yards to the 18. The second one was caught by Patton and the Mount Olive defender also had possession, but Roxbury kept possession. The Mount Olive defense stiffened and Haysinger kicked a 30-yard field goal with nine minutes left. Mount Olive was moving on a 12-yard completion to Derrick and a 9-yard run by Asbury netted another first down, but Skawinski stepped in with an interception to give Roxbury the ball on their 47 with 6:52 left. The Gaels ended up punting, giving Mount Olive the ball on their 23 with five minutes left. DeCristofaro picked up two first downs on runs, the second where he dragged tacklers, bringing the Marauders to the Roxbury 34. A third-and-9 pass to Jack Mullery gained 11 yards and a first down on the 22 with 1:28 left. A 7-yard pass to DeCristofaro gave Mount Olive a fourth-and-4 on the 16 with 42 seconds left. Asbury kept the ball and was stopped a yard short of the first down and fumbled with Roxbury recovering on the 12 with 35 seconds left, with the Gaels running out the clock.
On that last fourth-down play, I watched a video by Robert Aitken Jr. on Twitter, who was covering the game for the Daily Record. Asbury appeared a yard short of the first down, but one can hear some Mount Olive faithful saying he was down and had the first down. But after playing/pausing several times, I saw the ball fall from Asbury’s underarm and again, he looked short. If his knee was down, Patton blocked the view by being on the ground. Also, Rattay did a good job of keeping Asbury’s body upright to prevent any body lean forward. Nonetheless, the official made the right call in my opinion.
Comments: Before discussing the players, I tip my cap to all who attended the game. They filled the stands and lined the fences in less than ideal conditions with rain and wind. They brought enthusiasm and added to an already great game. It’s what high school football is all about.
Both teams played their hearts out and both defenses were outstanding. They were rough, tough, and physical. Yards were well earned for both teams. Some look at a low score and say it’s a boring game, but games like these show the beauty of good defense.
Roxbury came out with a win. One key was the punting and kicking of Haysinger. Not only did he kick the game-winning field goal, his punts and kickoffs gave the Gaels a field position advantage, especially in the second half. He successfully completed a pass for a first down on the opening drive, which led to another punt pinning Mount Olive in deep and the ensuing interception set the Gaels on the 15 and their lone touchdown.
Mount Olive kept battling throughout the game. Their defense held Roxbury to 120 yards of total offense, but field position was a big difference. Eight of their nine drives did not start beyond their 28-yard line. Meanwhile, Roxbury’s touchdown drive began on the Mount Olive 15 and their second-half drives started on the Mount Olive 49, their own 39, their own 40, and their own 47. And that may have decided the game.