September 27, 2009
Prep rallies back for win
Gianni McLaughlin's forced fumble in the fourth quarter helped preserve a Prep win.
Click Here for more photos from St. Peter's Prep at Bergen Catholic.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
ORADELL – For the past two weeks, St. Peter’s Prep had heard all the doubters and the skeptics. But the No. 9 ranked Marauders rose from the adversity, overcoming a fourth quarter deficit to down No. 3 ranked Bergen Catholic 26-23 yesterday at Crusaders Stadium.
“It speaks volume about our character,” Marauders coach Rich Hansen said. “It speaks volumes about the kind of kids we have in our program.”
Trailing by three with 7:08 left in the game, St. Peter’s Prep (1-1) showed their resiliency as they march down the field. A throw from Raphael Ortiz to Sheldon Royster took the Marauders down to the 3-yard line when he ripped a pass out of the hands of Crusaders defensive back Mike Halligan, turning a potential interception into a 36-yard gain. Royster’s reception set up the winning score by Savon Huggins two plays later.
A late comeback attempt by Bergen Catholic (2-1) died on the Prep 26 when linebacker Gianni McLaughlin delivered a crushing hit on John Maughan to cause a fumble that Huggins scooped up and returned 20 yards.
“I just saw him cross in front of my face and I knew I had to make a play on that because the game depended on it and we’ve been working way too hard (to lose),” said McLaughlin, a senior captain.
“He’s the heart and soul (of the team),” Hansen said. “He’s just such a passionate kid. We work on strip drills all the time. It’s good to see it in a game when it counts. We needed a play to be made by our defense and Gianni stepped up and made it.”
Ortiz and the Marauders capped off the upset when he connected with James Fox for a 21-yard pass on third down in the final minute.St. Peter’s Prep entered this game with a chip on their shoulder after squandering a 14-point lead in a season-opening 42-28 loss to St. Joe’s Prep two weeks ago. That chip suddenly grew into the size of a boulder after a series of experts predicted a Crusaders rout, most notably The Star Ledger’s prediction of a 41-6 Bergen Catholic win.
“It was a disrespect to our program and we had to protect the program,” McLaughlin said.
“Anyone who picks us to lose 41-6 to anybody, I don’t care if it’s the Giants, we’re offended,” Hansen said. “That’s just not who we are. Our players weren’t feeling good about that. We take a lot of pride in our program. We don’t like people saying things like that about us.”
The Marauders took their anger to the air early as Ortiz completed passes of 32 and 39 yards respectively on an opening drive that culminated in a 5-yard touchdown from Ortiz to McLaughlin.
The game seemed poised to be a blowout after Ortiz connected with Corey Davis on an 18-yard yard touchdown and Prep received interceptions from Davis and Brandon Napolean.
Ortiz completed 10-of-15 passes on the day for 193 yards. He also added a 1-yard scoring run to make it 20-0 St. Peter’s Prep.
But Bergen Catholic would not go away quietly on their home turf thanks to the duo of Halligan and Tanner McEvoy. After a Crusaders safety, Halligan closed out the first half with an 11-yard pass toMcEvoy to cut the Marauder lead to 12.
In the second half, McEvoy returned a 56-yard punt for a touchdown and later had another potential punt return score called back by a penalty.
The Marauders lead vanished when Halligan capped off a 14-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
“It all came down to heart,” Huggins said. “We had the most heart and we played hard for four quarters.”
Huggins rushed 26 times for 109 yards, including 29 on the game-winning drive. Davis had three receptions for 76 yards, Brendan Dolaghan added two catches for 46 yards. McLaughlin and Kevin Innis led the defense with 10 tackles apiece.
Halligan completed 14-of-20 passes for 164 yards. He also led Bergen Catholic in rushing with 68 yards.
Savon Huggins (left) rushed for 108 yards and recovered a fumble on defense.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Peter's Prep (1-1) | 14 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
26
|
| Bergen Catholic (2-1) | 0 |
8 |
7 |
8 |
23 |
| SPP: Gianni McLaughlin, 5 pass from Raphael Ortiz (Kevin Cosgrove kick) | |||||
| SPP: Corey Davis, 18 pass from Ortiz (Cosgrove kick) | |||||
| SPP: Ortiz, 1 run (kick failed) | |||||
| BC: Safety | |||||
| BC: Tanner McEvoy, 11 pass from Mike Halligan (kick failed) | |||||
| BC: McEvoy, 56 punt return (Halligan kick) | |||||
| BC: Halligan, 2 run (John Maughan pass from Halligan) | |||||
| SPP: Savon Huggins, 2 run (kick failed) | |||||