September 13, 2009
Mateo, Ramanand run wild in win
Peter Ramanand celebrates his second of three touchdowns in a win over Memorial.
Click Here for more photos from Memorial at North Bergen.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
NORTH BERGEN – After missing the playoffs for the first time in 21 years, the Bruins took the first step towards a return trip to the postseason.
North Bergen ran wild, racking up 323 yards on the ground in a convincing 43-8 victory over long-time rival Memorial yesterday at Bruins Stadium.
“It was pretty big to make a statement like that,” running back Carlos Mateo said. “Today showed that the Bruins are back.”
No one seemed capable of slowing down the duo of Mateo and quarterback Peter Ramanand as they combined for 215 yards and five touchdowns to avenge last year’s defeat to Memorial.
“That’s why we went to the shotgun on offense more this year,” head coach Vin Ascolese said. “We have some very quick guys back there.”
Leading 14-0 at the half, Mateo put the game away for the Bruins (1-0) when he dashed for a 51-yard touchdown down the right sideline, just 33 seconds into the third quarter.
Four minutes later, Ramanand responded with a long-distance score of his own. The junior signal caller juked past a couple of Tiger defenders en route to a 60-yard touchdown, his third of the afternoon.
Mateo would add another touchdown late in the 22-point third quarter that turned the game into a one-sided affair.
Ramanad finished with 117 yards rushing on just nine carries in the victory. He also passed for 25 yards and had 75 yards on four punt returns.
Mateo rushed 11 times for 98 yards with a pair of scores. As a receiver, he caught two passes for 25 yards. As a team, North Bergen averaged more than nine 9.5 yards per carry.
The Bruins’ speed proved pivotal on the defensive side of the ball as well. A pair of first half drives by Memorial (0-1) came to a halt thanks to fumble recoveries by the Bruins.
“We really beat ourselves with those two fumbles early,” Tigers coach Brian Meeney said. “It was tough to recover from that.”
North Bergen would force another fumble (recovered by Memorial) in the second half and recorded a pair of sacks on quarterback Ariel Soriano. The swarming defense kept Memorial off the board until the game’s final minute.
“Our defense ran to the ball well with our speed,” Ascolese. “Speed helps overcome a lot of things on the field.”
Following a scoreless first quarter, Ramanand put the Bruins on the scoreboard with a 1-yard quarterback sneak early in the second. He later added a 20-yard run with two minutes left in the quarter.
“I’m very proud of the work effort and what we achieved out there today,” Ascolese said. “This game is a good confidence booster, but we have a long way to go.”
Denssy Portorreal led the Tigers with 107 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown.
Memorial looks to rebound on Friday night when they host Marist. North Bergen looks to improve to 2-0 next week against Bayonne.
Chris Adorno (right) and North Bergen rushed for more than 300 yards.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial (0-1) | 0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
8 |
| North Bergen (1-0) | 0 |
14 |
22 |
7 |
43 |
| NB: Peter Ramanand, 1 run (kick failed) | |||||
| NB: Ramanand, 20 run (Carlos Mateo pass from Ramanand) | |||||
| NB: Mateo, 51 run (Otton Santos kick) | |||||
| NB: Ramanand, 60 run (John Stark run) | |||||
| NB: Mateo, 12 run (Santos kick) | |||||
| NB: Anthony Calabrese, 12 run (Santos kick) | |||||
| M: Denssy Portorreal, 1 run (Memorial run) | |||||