November 8, 2009
Bulldogs run past Kardinals
RB William Peters scored four touchdowns for Ferris in the victory.
Click Here for more photos from Kearny at Ferris.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
JERSEY CITY – Ferris head coach Wilbur Valdez knew that one running back alone could not replace standout fullback Bryant Worts. Fortunately for Valdez, he had a collection of runners to help carry the load.
Five different players rushed for 50 or more yards as the Bulldogs overpowered Kearny 48-26 last night at Caven Point.
“These kids are coached well, they run their offense very well and they’re tough kids at the end of the day,” Kearny coach Oscar Guerrero said. “They come to play, they’re very physical and that’s a credit to coach Valdez and his entire staff.”
Possessing a significant size and speed advantage, Ferris (4-5) pounded the ball against the Kardinals throughout the contest. Even with three new starters on the offensive line, the Bulldogs rushed for 486 yards as a team on 43 carries.
Senior William Peters was at the forefront of the Ferris multi-back attack with 133 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just six carries. He also had two receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown.
“William Peters is a gifted kid running down hill,” Valdez said. “He finds a crease and he has the power and the speed to make some plays.”
Sophomore Isiah Johnson had 129 yards rushing on 11 carries. Patrick Hester had 89 rushed for 89 yards while Terrence Williams and Zikim Williams added 66 and 57 yards respectively.
Even with Ferris’ advantage on the ground, it was Kearny who seemed to control the tempo with a collection of trickery and deception.
“We try to be as creative as possible,” Guerrero said. “We try to put our kids in position to be successful. Whatever that may be, we’re open to anything. We won’t come and just lay down.”
Known for being one of the most unconventional teams in the area, the Kardinals lived up to that reputation. On an opening drive that had already delivered multiple screens and plays out of the “wildcat” formation, wide receiver Kenny Llano was pitched the ball and proceeded to throw it to a wide open Jason Torres for a 27-yard scoring strike to make give Kearny the lead.
Johnson gave the Bulldogs the lead just 35 seconds later with a 41-yard touchdown run, but Guerrero and the Kardinals would successfully reach back into their bag of tricks for another big play.
On the ensuing kickoff, Justin Cieslak returned the ball to the 25 before flipping the ball to Nelson Tavares on a reverse. Tavares raced 75 yards down the sideline as Kearny regained the lead.
“I give their coaching staff a lot of credit,” Valdez said. They’re scary on film. This stuff is definitely hard to prepare for. Their kids do a good job of executing them. A lot of the stuff they did we thought we prepared them for during the week, but kids are kids and it’s tough for them to focus in on it. To see the stuff that Kearny was doing, you can imagine what was going through their heads.”
Peters took over the game at that point for Ferris, which proceeded to score 28 unanswered points in the first half. Peters gave the Bulldogs the lead for good with a 36-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. He followed that up with a 23 yard run on the next drive. Peters then hauled in a Steve Le pass for another score as time expired in the opening half.
During this run, Kearny also saw their magic start to go up in smoke as a fake punt came up short and two second quarter turnovers were converted into touchdowns by Zikim Williams and Peters to put the game away.
Rodriguez completed 8-of-13 passes for 113 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for the Kardinals. Cieslak had 104 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns, the first one coming on a 62-yard screen pass in third quarter. Tavares had 56 yards rushing on 10 carries and Llano had three receptions for 34 yards before being forced out of the game late in the second quarter due to illness.
Justin Cieslik scored two touchdown and caught five passes for Kearny.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kearny (1-8) | 12 |
0 |
8 |
6 |
26 |
| Ferris (4-5) | 14 |
22 |
0 |
12 |
48 |
| K: Jason Torres, 27 pass from Kenny Llano (kick failed) | |||||
| F: Isiah Johnson, 41 run (William Peters run) | |||||
| K: Nelson Tavares, 75 kickoff return (run failed) | |||||
| F: Peters, 36 run (run failed) | |||||
| F: Peters, 23 run (Steve Le run) | |||||
| F: Zikim Williams, 40 run (pass failed) | |||||
| F: Peters, 15 pass from Le (Le run) | |||||
| K: Justin Cieslik, 62 pass from Damaso Rodriguez (Alvin Zhang pass from Rodriguez) | |||||
| F: Peters, 43 run (run failed) | |||||
| F:Patrick Hester, 21 run (kick failed) | |||||
| K: Cieslik, 5 run (pass failed) | |||||