November 13, 2010
Late-second heartbreak
Senior Eddie Delgado had two rushing touchdowns for Secaucus in defeat.
Click Here for more photos from Verona at Secaucus.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
SECAUCUS – In the end the Patriots were one trick and two yards short.
Trailing by as many as 15 points, a frantic Secaucus comeback full of big plays and trickery died at the 2-yard line as time expired in the Patriots’ 28-20 loss to Verona in the opening round of the NJSIAA North 2, Group I tournament last night.
“We had our chance,” Secaucus head coach Charlie Voorhees said. “We fought until the end. There’s certainly no reason to hang your head if you fought to the end. I can’t say enough about how hard these kids tried.”
Trailing by eight, the fourth-seeded Patriots (7-3) got one final chance to tie the game from the Verona (7-2) 46-yard-line with 1:54 left and no time outs. First down runs from Matt Traynor and Eddie Delgado brought Secaucus all the way down to the Hillbillies’ 4 with 0:38 seconds left.
The Patriots got called for an intentional grounding after spiking the ball out of the shot gun and a Delgado run was halted at the 5. On third-and-goal, Traynor looked for an open receiver then scrambled to his right, making a sprint towards the sidelines. He was wrapped up by Verona’s Colin Farawell and Taylor DelColle, two yards short of the end zone and even less than that from the out-of-bounds marker with six seconds left – not nearly enough time to get off of one last shot to tie the game.
“I’m watching that play, hoping (Traynor) didn’t get out of bounds,” Hillbillies head coach Lou Racipone said. “I saw the official (signal he hadn’t gotten out of bounds) and that was quite a relief because I didn’t think they’d be able to get that play off with six seconds to go.”
Earlier in the fourth quarter, another potential game-tying drive from Secaucus was extinguished in the red zone when Verona’s Billy Meade jumped in front of pass intended for Al Krause at the 10-yard-line with 3:06 left.
“We had two opportunities at the end,” Voorhees said. “I really think towards the end we really dug in and gave it a shot. It was a valiant effort. I’m really proud of them.”
With the fifth-seeded Hillbillies leading for virtually the entire game, Secaucus went deep into its bag of tricks. The Patriots used a hook-and-ladder play with Matt Roman taking a Rich Rivera lateral and racing 35 yards for their first score of the game.
Down 21-6 after Verona’s Bobby Kaslander took the second half kickoff 87 yards for a score, Secaucus continued to use the unconventional to claw its way back.
On a fourth-and-one Traynor was somehow able to pitch the ball as he was being brought down to Delgado for a 15-yard touchdown. Still reeling from the improbable scoring play, Secaucus stunned them again by recovering the ensuing onside kick.
“We came in doing everything we had to do,” Voorhees said. “We’ve got great coaches here and everyone chipped in. Our staff really knows how to pick it up in these types of moments.”
“Their pace is unbelievable,” Racipone said. “They just put so much pressure on you. Their athletes, their formations, they’re so diversified running and throwing the ball. If you’re in cover, they’ll run. If you’re in run defense, they’ll throw it. They’ve got some good players.”
Secaucus was unable to capitalize on the onside kick and Verona struck right back as Kaslander scored his third touchdown of the game, this one a 50-yard scoring strike from Matt Rosenfeld.
“We knew we had to make a play,” Rosenfeld said. “They had all the momentum right there. It was 3rd-and-10 and I saw Bobby one-on-one. You don’t play Bobby one-on-one and get away with it.”
Kaslander caught four passes for 91 yards and added 112 return yards. Rosenfeld completed 12-of-20 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
Delgado, who ran for a 4-yard touchdown to make a one-possession game with 10:28 left, finished with a game-high 141 yards rushing on 24 carries. Traynor had 100 yards rushing on 16 carries, completed 9-of-12 passes for 52 yards and had a 41-yard reception in the third quarter. Sean Egan, who was limited by a hamstring injury, completed both of his passes on the night for 68 yards.
Secaucus LB Matt Roman scored a touchdown and had an interception.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verona Hillbillies (7-2) | 7 |
7 |
14 |
0 |
28 |
| Secaucus Patriots (7-3) | 6 |
0 |
8 |
6 |
20 |
| Ver: Bobby Kaslander, 2 pass from Matt Rosenfeld (Kaslander kick) | |||||
| Sec: Matt Roman, 35 run (run failed) | |||||
| Ver: Colin Farawell, 7 pass from Rosenfeld (Kaslander kick) | |||||
| Ver: Kaslander, 87 kickoff return (Kaslander kick) | |||||
| Sec: Eddie Delgado, 14 run (Matt Traynor run) | |||||
| Ver: Kaslander, 50 pass from Rosenfeld (Kasalnder kick) | |||||
| Sec: Delgado, 4 run (pass failed) | |||||