It’s the old Greg Toal saying, “when we miss the extra point, it’s like we didn’t even score.” Dumont and West Side each scored one touchdown, but Dumont made their extra point and West Side did not. Therefore, Dumont won, 7-6.
First Quarter: On the game’s first play, Michael Gabettie fumbled for Dumont and West Side recovered on the 28-yard line of Dumont. On third down, Nazir Smith connected with Nayad Walker for 15 yards and a first down on the 12, but the Roughriders turned the ball over on downs on the 7. Dumont gave itself breathing room, as an offsides call and the running of Gabettie gave them two first downs, but the Huskies ended up punting.
Second Quarter: Dumont’s next drive picked up five first downs, mostly from the running of Gabettie and quarterback Anthony Piccinich. With first-and-goal, Dumont scored on second down when Grabettie found Josiah Guzman for a 5-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead midway through the quarter. West Side came right back, hitting a big play when Smith found Tylif Gary for 44 yards down to the 2-yard line and Talib McLean two plays later in the left side of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown. The extra point failed and Dumont still led, 7-6, with two minutes left.
Third Quarter: West Side hit the big play when Smith connected with Darrell Barrow for 31 yards to the Dumont 28, but could not get another first down, giving the ball to Dumont. The Huskies successfully moved the ball on the ground, but a third down pass was intercepted by Jayden Robinson, who returned it to the Dumont 46.
Fourth Quarter: West Side had momentum, as Rashaad Williams ripped off runs of 15 and 11 yards and a pass to Nasir Williams netted 9. A 14-yard pass to Walker brought them to the 21, but a fourth down pass fell incomplete. A Guzman run of 11 yards and a 13-yard run by Gabettie brought the ball to the West Side 48, but a fourth-and-2 run by Piccinich was stopped for no gain at the 40, giving West Side a chance with 3:43 left. A pass to Gary gained 16 yards and another to McLean went for 11 to the 39. However, on a fourth-and-12, Smith was hit by Jackson Lockhart and AJ Rosenberger, knocking the ball loose with Paul Sesay recovering for Dumont with one minute left and they ran out the clock.
Comments: It was a good win for Dumont and their defense held off West Side opportunities. They stopped West Side’s opening drive when they reached the 12, taking away any momentum West Side could have had. The defense also found a way to hold off any scoring possibilities in the second half, as West Side had the ball on the Dumont side of the 50 on all four possessions.
Dumont was able to gain yardage on the ground with Gabettie gaining 82 yards on 15 carries and Piccinich gaining 56. Guzman caught the touchdown pass and had some nice runs on the jet sweep.
A West Side fan could be upset over not taking advantage of the opportunities and the missed extra point hurt them. Smith was 17-30-191-1 passing, but only two were big plays: the 44-yard pass that set up their touchdown and a 31-yarder on the opening drive of the second half, but they could not finish it. For a majority of the game, West Side started in better field position than Dumont and could not score. Their only touchdown was a drive that started on their 14.
All of this is why Dumont won and West Side did not. And that missed extra point!