December 6, 2009
SPP's season ends to familiar nemesis
Tony Jones (26) scored all five touchdowns for Don Bosco to defeat the Marauders.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
EAST RUTHERFORD – St. Peter’s Prep entered Giants Stadium hoping to shock everyone and upset Don Bosco Prep, the nation’s No. 2 ranked team, yesterday in the NJSIAA Non-Public, Group IV title game.
Don Bosco’s Tony Jones had other ideas.
The Ironmen’s senior running back scored five times and racked up 276 yards of total offense and five touchdowns to lead Don Bosco to a 35-15 victory over the Marauders in the snow. It marked St. Peter’s Prep’s fifth straight loss to the Ironmen.
“He’s a great back, he’s a great player,” Marauders coach Rich Hansen said. “I think we slowed him up at times, but it was just too much. He overwhelmed us in the end.”
The combination of Jones and four turnovers proved to be a toxic formula for the Marauders (9-3) as they fell to the Ironmen (12-0) in the postseason for the fourth consecutive season.
Trailing 29-15 early in the fourth quarter, St. Peter’s Prep seemed to have momentum on their side for the first time all afternoon. But a any hopes of a comeback were dashed when a Raphael Ortiz pass was tipped by three different players before resting in the hands of Don Bosco’s Daniel Chun at midfield.
The interception, one of three by the Marauders in the final quarter, led to Jones’ 40-yard scoring run for his fifth touchdown of the game and wrap up the fourth consecutive state title for the Ironmen.
“We battled back,” Hansen said. “We punched and battled back. Our kids battled back and fought, but you can’t (turn it over) against them and expect to win.
“This team never (quit). They’re tough kids, they fight and we’re going to continue that.”
It was a disastrous start for St. Peter’s as Ortiz was picked off on the first offensive play and a pair of 1-yard scoring runs from Jones within the game’s first six minutes.
Facing the possibility of an early blowout the Marauders bounced back with Ortiz hitting Brendan Dolaghan for a 51-yard strike and then three plays later connecting with Sheldon Royster for a 20-yard score.
Trailing 16-7 late in the second, St. Peter’s appeared poised to make it a one-score game heading into the locker rooms. A double-reverse to Royster on 4th down from the Bosco 27 was snuffed out for a loss and the Ironmen responded with a 12-play drive culminating in Jones’ third touchdown of the contest with less than a minute left in the first half.
“It’s the M.O. of (Bosco) scoring right before the half on us,” Hansen said, alluding to previous scores against them before the half in previous years. “There were times in the first half when I felt like we really could have made a move and we didn’t.”
The late score also seemed to energize Bosco’s standout runner. Jones, who was limited to just 3.7 yards per carry in the first half, was unstoppable in the second half as he rushed for 139 yards in the final two quarters.
He also took a screen pass from Gary Nova 41 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter to make it 29-7.
“I thought (Jones) did a good job of breaking tackles and he did a good job of making his reads like he always does,” Hansen said.
Jones, who was named New Jersey’s Gatorade Player of the Year earlier this week, rushed the ball 30 times for 202 yards to go with a pair of receptions for 71 yards. The five scores gave him a staggering 36 touchdowns for the season.
St. Peter’s on the other hand was never able to get Savon Huggins and their running game on track. Don Bosco’s speed up front proved to be too much for the Marauders’ big offensive line, limiting Huggins to just 56 yards on 17 carries. It was a disappointing finale for the junior runner who rushed for 1,544 yards on the season.
With the running game stuck in neutral, Ortiz tried to bring St. Peter’s Prep back in the second half. He found Royster for a 34-yard completion on a 4th-and-7 late in the third quarter. Two plays later, Ortiz ran it in himself from seven yards out to make it a two-score game and keep the Marauders alive.
Ortiz completed just 9-of-25 passes, but five of them went for 20 or more yards to give him 170 yards passing in defeat. Corey Davis and Royster each had three receptions, totaling 54 and 53 yards respectively.
| Editor's Note: Due to exclusivity agreements with the NJSIAA, photos from this game are not available at this time. If you wish to be alerted when photos are available from this game, please send an e-mail at bernstein@hudsoncountyvarsity.com |
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Sheldon Royster put St. Peter's Prep on the scoreboard with a 20-yard touchdown.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Peter's Prep (9-3) | 7 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
15 |
| Don Bosco Prep (12-0) | 13 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
35 |
| DBP: Tony Jones, 1 run (kick failed) | |||||
| DBP: Jones, 1 run (Aidan Murray kick) | |||||
| SPP: Sheldon Royster, 20 pass from Raphael Ortiz (Kevin Cosgrove kick) | |||||
| DBP: Murray, 29 field goal | |||||
| DBP: Jones, 4 run (Murray kick) | |||||
| DBP: Jones, 41 pass from Gary Nova (kick failed) | |||||
| SPP: Ortiz, 7 run (Brendan Dolaghan pass from Ortiz) | |||||
| DBP: Jones, 40 run (kick failed) | |||||