October 17, 2009
Douelfakar scores twice for Tide
Walter Sessoms rushed for 104 yards in Harrison's first win of the season.
Click Here for more photos from Weehawken at Harrison.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
HARRISON – How do you counteract an aggressive defensive front? For the Blue Tide, the answer came in the form of the screen pass.
Using a series of short throws, Harrison was able to use Weehawken’s aggressiveness against them in a 21-12 victory last night.
“They’re a very aggressive defensive line, especially the defensive ends,” Harrison head coach Dave Nankivell said. “We saw them coming and running up the field a little bit, trying to get some pressure on the QB. We just tried to slow them down and the screens were just golden for us. It was a big play for us to run. We just tried to use their over-aggressiveness against them as an advantage to us.”
“They just got the matchup that they wanted and they took advantage of it,” Indians head coach Chris Johnsen said. “We didn’t take advantage of the matchups we wanted to. That’s what it came down to.”
It didn’t take long for the Blue Tide (1-4) to put their strategy to work. On Harrison’s opening drive, quarterback Danny Nankivell connected with Rahim Douelfakar on an inside screen pass that Douelfakar took 12 yards for a touchdown.
Douelfakar and Nankivell would join forces again on this next drive. Like the first drive, this one ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Douelfakar on a screen pass.
“We felt that the two ends (on Weehawken) bit really hard so I would conceal and then go out for a pass,” Douelfakar said. “I was wide open and I got good blocks from Ricky Touzet and scored.”
Douelfakar, who missed all of last year due to injury, finished with three receptions for 31 yards.
“I anticipate (Rahim) having that type of receiving day, every time he steps on the field,” Dave Nankivell said about his team’s leading receiver. “The kid is one of the best athletes in the league. He’s an enormous sized kid, he’s athletic. I think he’s going to be a tremendous asset for us.”
Luis Aviles caught three passes out of the backfield in the win. Aviles and Walter Sessoms gave the Blue Tide a one-two combination at running back.
At 6-foot-1, the powerful Sessoms set the tone early with a 33-yard run on his first carry. He added a 1-yard score in the second quarter to make it 21-0. Sessoms finished with 104 yards on 19 carries in a breakout performance by the senior.
“Walter is slowly, but surely becoming more of the power back,” Dave Nankivell said. “He’s very athletic, he’s very fast, if he gets outside he’s gone. We just thought that his size is a presence on the field against a team that was pretty evenly matched up size wise with us. He was one of the biggest kids on the field and when he’s in the backfield you have to account for him.”
While Sessoms brought the power, Aviles added finesse and quickness, rushing for 42 yards on eight carries and adding 60 receiving yards. Danny Nankivell completed 6-of-10 passes for 91 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the victory.
Harrison was up by three scores early, but Weehawken (1-4) and running back Damian Corredor would not go away quietly. Corredor put the Indians on the board with a 17-yard score late in the second quarter.
In the fourth, when Harrison tried to put the game away, Corredor returned an interception 43 yards into Blue Tide territory. After five straight carries by Corredor, Jason Pineda capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown with six minutes left in the game.
Weehawken recovered a Harrison fumble with four minutes left, but was unable to get any closer.
Corredor had 84 yards rushing on 19 carries. Between rushing, receiving, returning kicks and interceptions, the freshman had 164 total yards.
Pineda, a sophomore, threw for 50 yards and added 16 yards rushing. Will Grier added 41 receiving yards.
Both teams are on the road next week as Harrison travels to Wood-Ridge and Weehawken squares off with St. Mary of Rutherford.
Damian Corredor scored one touchdown and set up another with an interception.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weehawken (1-4) | 0 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
12 |
| Harrison (1-4) | 14 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
| H: Rahim Douelfakar, 12 pass from Dan Nankivell (Ricky Touzet kick) | |||||
| H: Douelfakar, 12 pass from Nankivell (Touzet kick) | |||||
| H: Walter Sessoms, 1 run (Touzet kick) | |||||
| W: Damian Corredor, 17 run (pass failed) | |||||
| W: Jason Pineda, 1 run (run failed) | |||||