Prep escapes with win

Savon Huggins, St. Peter's Prep

Savon Huggins rushed for three touchdowns as St. Peter's Prep held off North Bergen.

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By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

NORTH BERGEN – For more than three quarters, all the pieces seemed to be in place for North Bergen to pull off the biggest upset Hudson County had seen in years. The Bruins had controlled the ball on offense and forced a pair of turnovers on defense, leaving St. Peter’s Prep in danger of their second-straight stunning loss.

After plenty of tense moments, the Marauders finally recovered as big plays late from Savon Huggins and Dan Lesce proved to be enough as Prep escaped North Bergen with a 28-14 victory.

“The one thing I tried to tell them is that I didn’t want St. Joe’s Montvale to beat us twice,” said head coach Rich Hansen, referring to last Saturday’s 21-17 loss. “We put the blinders on and tried to look forward and get better. There’s nothing physically wrong with my team right now. Everything that needs to be done, needs to be done from the neck up.”

“It was about us looking deep down at ourselves and coming to realize this was for real,” Huggins said. “No team is going to lay down for us and we have to play hard.”

Huggins, who at times seemed to be a one-man show for the Marauders (2-1), put his squad in the lead for good with his third touchdown of the game. This time it was a 38-yard touchdown run with just 10 minutes remaining to make it 21-14.

Trailing for the third time, North Bergen (1-2) started driving once again. With the ball in Marauder territory, Lesce put the game out of reach when he scooped up a Bruin fumble and raced 50 yards for a score with just 7:34 left.

“It was zone right and I shot early to get the quarterback and then he pitched it low,” Lesce said about the play. “It bounced into the running back’s hands. (James) Fox hit him, it popped up right into my hands and I just ran.”

“We were hoping we’d have a big play,” Hansen said. “Dan has a great nose for the football. He’s got a way about finding the ball and that’s the instincts of a good football player.”

Until then the Bruins had successfully responded from every big play the Marauders had delivered.

Trailing 7-0, North Bergen tied the game midway through the second quarter when QB Peter Ramanand faked a handoff to his right then sprinted left for a 24-yard score.

The Bruins seemed poised to take a lead into the half after linebacker Vinnie Ascolese intercepted a screen pass and returned it 59 yards before being tripped up at the Prep 11-yard line. North Bergen was unable to capitalize on the turnover as Ramanand was stopped at the 3-yard-line on fourth down.

“If (Vinnie) doesn’t fall or trip it might have changed the game a little bit,” Bruins head coach Vin Ascolese said.

North Bergen would have another drive in Marauder territory which stalled at the 27 due to the end of the first half.

Momentum seemed to be in Prep’s favor after the defensive stops. Huggins, who finished with a staggering 267 yards on 27 carries, rushed for 34 yards on his first carry of the third quarter. He followed it up a 25-yard touchdown on the next play.

North Bergen responded to Prep’s quick strike with a 17-play drive which took nearly 10 minutes off the clock. Ramanand, who completed three passes on the drive, capped off the marathon possession with a QB sneak to even the game at 14 in the early seconds of the fourth quarter.

“Our kids played well,” Coach Ascolese said. “I wish they would have played a little bit better, but I think they played well. I don’t think they have anything to be ashamed of.”

Ramanand rushed for 110 yards on 16 carries for the Bruins and completed 11-of-24 passes for 115 yards. Chris Adorno had seven catches for 63 yards and Justin Glennon added three receptions for 52 yards.

“North Bergen has a lot of pride and they have talented skill people,” Hansen said. “I thought they controlled the football and kept the football away from us.”

Despite St. Peter’s Prep having the ball for just eight plays in the second half, Huggins has 108 yards after the intermission on six carries.

The Marauders have their first home game of the season a week from Saturday when they face Wyoming Seminary at 7 p.m. North Bergen will look to snap its two-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon at Memorial.

Chris Adorno, North Bergen

North Bergen's Chris Adorno had a team-high seven receptions for 63 yards.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
St. Peter's Prep Marauders (2-1)	7	0	7	14	28
North Bergen Bruins (1-2)	0	7	0	7	14

SPP: Savon Huggins, 14 run (Kevin Cosgrove kick)
NB: Peter Ramanand, 24 run (Mike Mentor kick)
SPP: Huggins, 25 run (Cosgrove kick)
NB: Ramanand, 1 run (Mentor kick)
SPP: Huggins, 38 run (Cosgrove kick)
SPP: Dan Lesce, 50 fumble return (Cosgrove kick)