In the Super Conference United Red Division, anyone is capable of beating anyone, but Don Bosco dismantled St. Joe’s (Montvale), 35-14, a score nobody expected.
First Quarter: After a St. Joe’s punt, Bosco had the ball on the Joe’s 41 and went for gold immediately on a long pass. But that pass was intercepted but Terrence Spence on the 8-yard line. Joe’s punted again with Bosco set up on the Joe’s 27, but Spence intercepted again, this time in the end zone.
Second Quarter: The Ironmen were on the board when Jake Robbins found Alexander Geraci in the end zone for an 18-yard score with 7:20 left in the half. After forcing another Joe’s punt, Kyle Monangai broke off a 55-yard run to the 26-yard line and extended their lead when Robbins found Jalen Berger to the right side on a wheel route and a 14-yard Ironmen touchdown with 3:57 left in the half. Joe’s drove into Bosco territory and attempted a field goal that was blocked and picked up by the Green Knights Amin Vanover, who was stopped on the 1-yard line as time ran out near the right pylon.
Third Quarter: Bosco came out with the ball and completed successive fourth downs, the second a Robbins-to-Berger pass of 46 yards to the 6, followed by a Berger touchdown run on the following play. Te’rai Powell returned the ensuing kickoff 62 yards to the 36 and scored on the following play when Michael Alaimo found a wide open Najih Rahman for a touchdown. After Bosco went three-and-out, Joe’s had a chance to close the gap, but a fourth down pass at midfield fell incomplete. Bosco dissected the Joe’s defense in three plays: an 8-yard Monangai run, a 25-yard pass to Berger, and a Berger touchdown run of 17 yards.
Fourth Quarter: Bosco put the game out of reach when Monangai scored on a 30-yard touchdown to make it 35-7, one minute into the fourth quarter. After Alaimo was taken out after receiving a hard hit, the Green Knights inserted Justin Mucci at quarterback, who ended up scoring a 15-yard touchdown midway through the quarter.
Summary: As mentioned earlier, Bosco winning was not surprise: the score was. The Ironmen imposed their will on the Green Knights and made them look like an average football team. Monangai had 244 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and Berger had 92 and two touchdowns on 16 carries plus three receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown (stats courtesy of JJ Conrad at nj.com). The Bosco line of Mike Fallah, Chris Moreno, Cooper Stroka, Jake Guy, and Chase Bisontis was outstanding – a team effort on offense. The Bosco defense also did a phenomenal job stopping the running game, led by linebacker Colin Ramos.
Bosco showed great resilience bouncing back from a heartbreaking loss to St. Peter’s Prep last week and are officially a major contender in the Non-Public group 4 playoff race. Before that, they have games left with DePaul and Paramus Catholic, and those games are not automatic wins. Nonetheless, the Ironmen have a chance to make some noise in the playoffs.