FOOTBALL
By: Tim Falls
Tears welled and players pounded the field in frustration.
Shock and disappointment settled in while hope vanished with an interception in the final seconds as the Lawrence High School varsity football team lost its last opportunity to win its first NJSIAA Central Group III playoff game.
The interception, Lawrence’s second turnover in the final minutes, allowed eighth-seeded Moorestown to run out the remaining 15 seconds and upset the top-seeded Cardinals, 19-14, on Saturday.
"I thought we had a really good chance at the end," said Lawrence coach Rob Radice. "We had the ball around the 10-yard line and we didn’t make the play. We didn’t make the big play when we needed to make the big play."
Moorestown led Lawrence by five points going into the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals remained poised to take control with a first down on the 11-yard line with 3:45 left in the game. The Cardinals came within six yards of the end zone, but a fumble gave Moorestown control. Even though, Lawrence’s defense pinned Moorestown inside the 10, the Quakers were able to run down the clock before they were forced to punt and give the Cardinals the ball back with 1:25 left.
"I could have sworn we were going to score down there," said Radice. "We had four downs to get it in and we fumbled on third down. You don’t win playoff games by fumbling the ball."
The Cardinals became more desperate as they took over again near the 30-yard line. Without the time to drive into the end zone with runs, Lawrence tried to make up ground with passes, but only went backwards with a sack and a penalty and a misplayed snap.
"That’s not indicative of how our year went," said Radice. "Typically, we’ve made the big plays. When it came to crunch time against Moorestown, we didn’t get it done. When there’s a chance to win the game at the end, you have to capitalize and get it done. We played hard and we played with a lot of guts, but in the end we didn’t get it done. There’s not excuse for that."
Lawrence suffered its first and only loss of the season after nine consecutive wins against Colonial Valley Conference opponents.
"It feels like last year all over again," said defensive coordinator Anthony Ammirata.
Just like this season, the Cardinals were undefeated and earned the second-seed in the Central Jersey Group III playoffs last season before losing to seventh-seeded Ocean Township, 28-25. Lawrence had that score, as well as the Cardinals’ 20-6 loss to Hillsborough from a prior playoff game, on a poster on the sideline to remind the team of how difficult a playoff game can be.
"They beat us today," said Radice. "It doesn’t matter if you’re a one-seed or the eighth-seed, everybody in the playoffs is good. Anybody can knock anybody off."
Moorestown came out playing for the upset from the start of the first quarter, but it seemed Lawrence’s defense would be up to the task. The Quakers gained some ground on the first possession of the game, but senior Rob Wilborn intercepted the ball on the 3-yard line. Only the Cardinals failed to move the ball and the poor field position led to a safety as Moorestown blocked the punt and knocked it out of the end zone.
Moorestown extended its lead with a field goal after getting good field position by recovering a fumble on a kickoff.
"They covered their punts well," said Radice. "We fumbled the ball a few times and things like that were really unfortunate. It’s all part of the game. You have to play offense, defense and special teams."
Those five points proved the difference in the final score, but mistakes throughout the game kept the Cardinals from catching up.
"We got charged and gained some momentum and had opportunities to win," said Ammirata, "but, bottom-line, we had to many mistakes to win. We didn’t deserve to win with all the mistakes we made."
Lawrence took its only lead in the second quarter on a four-yard run right after he carried the ball 44-yards to put the Cardinals in position. Lawrence’s 7-5 lead evaporated as Moorestown gained a 58-yard run to the one-yard line which was followed by a touchdown to send the Quakers ahead, 12-7, going into halftime.
"I think we made some mistakes and they capitalized on our mistakes," said Radice. "It was not from a lack of character or effort for these kids. These are great character kids and they certainly gave everything they had. That wasn’t even an issue."
Lawrence answered back as senior Jim Gorski scooped up a pass by the tips of his fingers and ran it into the end zone uncontested after the Moorestown defender dove trying to pick off the pass. The 56-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Brian Mills in the third quarter meant the Cardinals only needed a touchdown to take control.
Senior Alex deCasenave gave Lawrence back the ball with an interception in the third quarter after a pass was broken up at the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately for Lawrence, the Quakers returned the favor with a pick off of their own.
Despite stops by the Lawrence defense in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals’ offense was unable to score.
Lawrence still had hope and played like the top-seed as they got into scoring position late in the fourth quarter. In the end, Lawrence beat itself with its own mistakes.
The Cardinals will remember that pain, just as they recalled the loss to Ocean Township the previous years, and put it to preparing for next year. The coaches agreed the loss was tough to handle, especially for the senior, but the program moves on with motivation and the Cardinals know one day their program will get its first playoff victory. "We’ll keep working hard," said Ammirata. "Eventually, we’ll get the job done."

