BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
Above, RBC’s Tom Cooney runs past a diving Raritan defender during Friday night’s thriller in Hazlet. At left, RBC quarterback Ryan Kalish gets rid of the ball just in time. As soon as the ball left the foot of Raritan’s Andrew Mandeville, all of the coaches and most of the fans on the Red Bank Catholic (RBC) side of the field screamed in unison, “Let it go!”
Unfortunately for the Caseys, Greg Geran didn’t hear them.
Instead, Geran, standing just a few yards in front of his own end zone, attempted to field the Mandeville punt, only to misplay the ball. Raritan’s Rick Jaeger then pounced on the ball in the end zone, giving Raritan a 35-34 lead with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Mandeville then found the end zone on a two-point conversion try for a 37-34 lead, and after the Rockets’ Chris Mooney picked off a pass from RBC quarterback Ryan Kalish with just over two minutes to go, the Rockets were celebrating a hard-fought victory that kept alive their hopes for a share of the Liberty Division title.
“We definitely let one get away,” RBC head coach Frank Edgerly said. “You can’t take anything away from Raritan, because that’s a very good team, but we should have won the game.”
In what was being billed as a battle of two of the Shore’s top offenses, neither side disappointed on Friday night in Hazlet. Both teams displayed the type of offensive prowess that has earned them their reputations — Raritan led by the two-headed monster of Mandeville and senior tailback Matt Fitzpatrick (270 total yards and three touchdowns), and RBC under the confident guidance of Kalish, a first-year starting quarterback who plays like a seasoned veteran.
The teams traded punches from the first quarter on, with Raritan jumping out to a 10-0 lead on a Jaeger 24-yard field goal and Fitzpatrick’s first touchdown of the night on the ensuing drive, a 33-yard scamper that capped a five-play, 89-yard drive.
RBC responded with an 11-play, 64-yard drive of their own that was culminated by a five-yard touchdown pass from Kalish to junior tight end Harry Flaherty on a bootleg.
Raritan answered that score with a vengeance. After recovering a squib kick on their own 39, Mandeville (8-for-10, 149 yards) hit Fitzpatrick on a screen to the left and the senior tailback raced 61 yards for the touchdown. After the point-after-touchdown (PAT) kick was blocked, Raritan led 16-7 with about nine minutes left in the half.
RBC put together another strong drive, going 59 yards in nine plays, before Kalish (11-for-17, 182 yards) hit tight end Michael Kelly with a seven-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 16-13.
After forcing Raritan to punt on its ensuing possession, RBC was in position to take the lead before the half. Starting at their own 16, RBC moved the ball to the 33-yard line before a fumbled snap turned the ball over to Raritan with 1:42 left before the half. It took the Rockets just three plays to capitalize, as Mandeville hit Michael Thaner with a 15-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 22-13. Raritan went for two, but did not get in.
The third quarter belonged to the Caseys, as they scored 15 unanswered points on a 38-yard touchdown reception by Flaherty and a 16-yard scoring run from Kalish. After a successful two-point conversion, RBC led 28-22 with 5:56 left in the third.
“We came out hot on offense. I think we refueled the tanks a little bit at the half,” Edgerly said.
The RBC defense, which struggled throughout the first half, then held, and the Caseys got another touchdown on their next possession as running back Taso Fotinos capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion again failed, leaving the score at 34-22 with 11:21 to play.
The Rockets did not waste much time closing the gap, as they went 60 yards in two plays. Mandeville started the drive, completing another screen to Fitzpatrick, a play that went for 40 yards. On the next snap, Fitzpatrick raced up the middle to the end zone, and with the successful PAT kick from Jaeger, it was 34-29 RBC, with 10:50 remaining.
The Caseys were finally stopped on their next possession and punted, giving the Rockets the ball back with 7:57 left on their own 41-yard line. But the RBC defense then held again, forcing a three-and-out.
That’s when the botched punt return gave the Rockets the go-ahead score. RBC tried to rally, but Kalish was pressured into throwing the interception, and the hometown fans could finally relax.
Now that both Raritan and RBC have losses in the division, this Friday’s RBC-Manasquan game could decide the championship. If RBC can find a way to defeat Manasquan, the three teams could share the title. With a win, Manasquan puts itself in the driver’s seat the rest of the way.
Following the loss to Raritan, Edgerly said his team knows exactly what it needs to do to beat Manasquan.
“We were not getting a consistent effort defensively [against Raritan],” the coach said. “We played better in the second half, but we really played a poor first half defensively, and it came back to bite us.”
As far as his offense goes, Edgerly was not at all surprised with the squad’s effectiveness against the Rockets.
“We’ve done pretty well on offense the past couple of years,” he said. “But with what we were able to do — 25 first downs, 450-plus yards of total offense, five touchdowns — that should have been enough to win.”
As for the play of his quarterback, Edgerly continues to be impressed with Kalish’s leadership and knack for making the big play.
“He certainly gives us another dimension,” he said. “We’ve always had good passers, but his ability to run with ball opens things up.
“When you play in the same division as Mandeville, with all that’s he’s accomplished, it’s easy for a lot of kids to get lost in the shadows,” Edgerly added. “But [Kalish] has played very well and is starting to get the attention he deserves.”
Kalish, who has already accepted a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Virginia, has proven to his coach that he is better than most people thought coming into the season.
“I think he has the ability to play football at the next level,” he said. “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of that happening, but it’s unlikely at this point.”
For now, the Caseys will take another monster performance from their QB tomorrow night. They’ll need it too, as the Big Blue Warriors’ defense has been rekindling memories of past championship squads.
Edgerly thinks his team is ready to rebound.
“I think getting back on the practice field [on Monday] was the best thing for us,” he said.
RBC can’t help but feel like they let a great opportunity slip away last Friday night in Hazlet. But fortunately, they have a chance for redemption.
Tomorrow night’s game can’t come soon enough.

