Kearny holds on to top Marist

Eric Greenlee, Kearny

Kearny's Eric Greenlee rushed for 58 yards and forced a fumble late in the game.

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By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

KEARNY – Disappointed with some of his earlier mistakes on the defensive end, Eric Greenlee was looking for a chance at redemption. With a single hit, the Kardinals’ QB/CB accomplished that goal.

With Kearny’s lead in peril midway through the fourth quarter, Greenlee’s forced fumble provided a much-needed boost as the Kardinals held off Marist 21-16 last night at Kearny Stadium.

“I just knew I had to get the ball back,” Greenlee said. “I made a couple of mistakes on defense earlier in the game and I knew I just had to come out and fix those mistakes.”

For Greenlee and Kearny (4-3), it couldn’t have come at a better time. Marist (1-6) had driven the ball deep into Kardinal territory. But the potential game-winning drive for the Royal Knights came to a stunning halt when Greenlee delivered a crushing hit on Troy Garland, flipping the Marist receiver over in the air and forcing the turnover on Kearny’s 27 with 5:57 left in the game.

“My coaches kept telling me that I had to get off the receiver and make the play and get the ball back,” said Greenlee, calling it one of the hardest hits he’s ever had. “I saw him coming at me, stayed low, made a hit and the ball came out.”

Marist would get one last chance in the final minutes, but were turned away when Michael Fernandez and Richard Henry teamed up for a sack on third down and a desperation pass from Aaron Smith fell incomplete.

The two late defensive stands allowed Kearny to preserve a lead which went from a comfortable 21 down to a stress-inducing five.

“We had them on the ropes when it was 21-0,” Kardinals head coach Pete Llaneza said. “We still have a ways to go as a football team and being able to finish is one of those things we had to do.”

Kearny seemed to be in complete control thanks to a big opening half from RB Nelson Tavares. The diminutive senior scored three times in a span of four minutes early in the second quarter.

Tavares’ speed and power was on the display with a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown to make it 14-0. His returned was sandwiched by rushing scores of 4 and 15 yards to make it 21-0 with 7:04 left in the first half.

“I know that I worked for it,” said Tavares about his physical rushing style. “I’ve been in the gym for four years. I pride myself over it because it’s not just talent, but what I worked for.”

Looking to revive a stagnant offense, Marist head coach Larry Arico inserted Smith into the game at quarterback. The decision instantly paid off as Smith completed three-straight passes, capped off by a 17-yard scoring strike to Daryl Black to make it 21-8 at the half.

“(Aaron) lit the team up and did a great job,” Arico said. He played hard and took some hard hits because we were running him a lot.”

The sophomore signal caller showed his running ability in the third quarter. Facing a 4th-and-3 in the period’s final minute, Smith ran a bootleg to the left and scampered into the end zone to turn what had been a blowout into a nail-biter at 21-16.

“He seemed like a tough kid who was able to run the ball hard and was just looking to make plays,” Llaneza said. “It almost seemed like it was sandlot football, backyard football. To his credit, he’s a football player. Guys like that make something happen.”

Smith led the Royal Knights with 58 yards rushing on 11 carries. He also completed 7-of-11 passes for 104 yards. Smith teamed up with five different receivers, led by Garry Merrill who had two receptions for 49 yards and also caught a two-point conversion in the first half.

Tavares had 80 yards on 18 carries for Kearny, while Greenlee added 11 carries for 58 yards and 21 yards passing in the win.

Marist is home next week to Hudson Catholic on Saturday afternoon, while the Kardinals travel to Hoboken next Friday.

“It’s all right there in front of them,” said Llaneza about his club’s chances at a winning record. “If we want to come and really work and get better, there’s a lot of things that we can accomplish this year.”

Aaron Smith, Marist

Sophomore Aaron Smith ran for a touchdown and threw for a score for Marist.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Marist Royal Knights (1-6)	0	8	8	0	16
Kearny Kardinals (4-3)	0	21	0	0	21

Kea: Nelson Tavares, 4 run (Michael Fernandez kick)
Kea: Tavares, 59 punt return (Fernandez kick)
Kea: Tavares, 15 run (Fernandez kick)
Mar: Daryl Black, 11 pass from Aaron Smith (Garry Merrill pass from Smith)
Mar: Smith, 13 run (Isaiah Berryman run)