BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
Above, South River’s Jarvis Crandell rushes for some of his 101 yards during the Rams’ win over Keansburg in South River on Saturday. SOUTH RIVER – For a while there, it looked like the South River football team might be in trouble.
The Rams were struggling a bit offensively, and found themselves trailing by nine in the third quarter against a Keansburg team brimming with confidence in their Central Jersey Group I semifinal game on Saturday.
But head coach Rich Marchesi had seen this type of scenario from his team before, and knew there was no need to panic.
“This team has fought all year,” the veteran coach said. “It seems like we’ve been behind in every game this year, so I was confident that we’d find a way to come back.”
And that’s just what the Rams did, as the South River defense took over, and after forcing some key turnovers and capitalizing on them, the Rams were able to pull out the 28-17 win and advance to the Dec. 1 sectional final at Rutgers Stadium against defending champion Florence.
At far left, Kwasi Bell hauls in a 12-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, while at left, head coach Rich Marchesi congratulates one his players as time expires in the game. “It’s the case at every level of football, defense is what really wins big games,” Marchesi said.
While the top-seeded Rams were able to jump out to a 2-0 when a high Titan snap resulted in a safety, Keansburg came right back in the second quarter and took a 7-2 lead on a Anthony Bolzen 23-yard touchdown catch. The Rams responded with a score of their own when Brandon Hodges made an athletic catch on fourth-and-12 from 33 yards out to give the home team the 8-7 lead right back.
Keansburg then marched back down the field, and appeared poised to score the go-ahead touchdown before the Ram defense stiffened and (thanks in large part to a false start penalty on the Titans) held Keansburg to a 23-yard Bolzen field goal.
Keansburg took the 10-8 lead into the half, then made it 17-8 on a Josh Bakala 39-yard TD catch on their first drive of the third quarter.
PHOTOS BY JEFFGRANIT staff The Titans weren’t doing anything the Rams didn’t anticipate. Still, South River was struggling a bit to stop the Titan attack.
“It was pretty much what we expected,” Marchesi said. “I think we did an outstanding job against their running game. They can spread you out a little bit, and we found a way to slow them down. It was the look that we practiced against all week.”
The practice paid off, as the Ram defense turned the tide back in South River’s favor. Tyler Christiana intercepted a Keansburg pass at the Titan 25-yard line, setting up a Kwasi Bell 12-yard TD reception from Markeith Dobbins to cut the lead to 17-14.
On Keansburg’s next possession, it was Vincent Mobley who picked off a pass, before returning it to the Titan’s 33. Jarvis Crandell then completed a 21-yard halfback option pass to Josh Williams to get the ball to the Titan two-yard line, before Crandell plunged into the end zone to give South River a lead it would never relinquish.
JEFFGRANIT staff The South River defense came up big time and again on Saturday. Above, Tyler Christiana (l), Brandon Hodges (1) and Dan Litz stop Keansburg QBAnthony Valle at the goal line during Saturday’s state semifinal in South River. Up 21-17, the Rams iced the game with a time-consuming drive that ended with Crandell’s 30-yard scamper down the left side and a 28-17 lead, and Christiana’s second INT of the game on Keansburg’s ensuing possession.
The Rams’ ability to dominate play late in the game speaks volumes for the type of maturity this squad has demonstrated late in the season.
“I tell you, I’m glad we won on Saturday because I really think we still have a little something left,” Marchesi said. “There’s a lot of talent on this team, and I think these kids have learned how to be leaders… They’ve all grown up a little bit this year.”
South River may not have been in control of this one throughout, but they managed to make the big plays when they needed them and advance to the sectional final. Crandell’s rushing prowess continued to be a big difference-maker, as he accumulated 100 hard-fought yards on 29 carries, while Dobbins was effective in the passing game, going 6-for-17 for 109 yards.
The Rams will now have two weeks to prepare for an extremely good Florence team that is coming off a 35-0 rout of Metuchen in its semifinal game. Florence, who earlier this season had a 43-game winning streak halted, has been dominant through the first two rounds of the tournament, having outscore its two opponents (Shore Regional and Metuchen) 56-0.
The Flashes are an experienced team that has dominated this bracket in recent years, and will certainly provide the Rams with one of their stiffest challenges yet. South River cannot afford to get off to a slow start in this one, as Florence has an explosive offensive attack that can score in a hurry.
Marchesi knows his team, despite being the top seed, is entering this one as the underdog.
“They have an outstanding run going,” he said. “That’s an outstanding program down there, and it’s going to take a big effort from us to beat them.
“I think it will be to our advantage that they’ll be playing out of their element a little bit,” he added. “You don’t want to go down there to the Pit, because they’re just impossible to beat down there.”
As for a gameplan, don’t expect anything out of the ordinary from South River.
“We need to do what we did last weekend – play good, solid defense and run the ball,” the coach said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in this team.”