November
20, 2005
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| Dan D'Angelo caught the two-point conversion pass late in the fourth quarter that gave Sparta a 15-14 win over Pascack Valley in the North 1, Group 2 state sectional semifnals. | |
HILLSDALE – One more first down would have done it, or one defensive stop with the ball resting on its own three-yard line would have been enough, but it was not meant to be for the Pascack Valley football team in Saturday afternoon’s North 1, Group 2 state sectional semifinal.
Leading by seven points when it took possession on its own 26 yard line with 3:11 to go in the fourth quarter, PV had a chance to put the game away if it could have just moved the chains one more time. But a three-and-out and a punt return by Dan D’Angelo that brought the ball into PV territory gave the Sparta offense, which had been held in check all day, one more chance to make some headway.
Two plays later, and after a 24-yard screen pass to Ryan Skorupka, Sparta quarterback Tyler Reese looked to his left and saw Russell Mastriani running free up the sideline, the result of two Indian defenders jumping a receiver in the flat. Mastriani hauled in the 21-yard throw for the touchdown that left the Spartans behind by a single point with 1:36 to play.
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| Kevin Gray scrambled for a 13-yard score that gave PV the lead with 17 seconds left in the third quarter. |
Rather than risk overtime, Sparta head coach Rob Ambrosino decided to go for the win right then and there.
“I’ve been watching too much NFL. They have been doing that the last few weeks, going for two,” said Ambrosino. “We took a timeout and I told the kids we are going for two, I didn’t give them an option. They weren’t even considering going for one, they were fired up.”
Reese then rolled to his right and stuck a dart right in the chest of D’Angelo, who held on for the two-point conversion in the front corner of the end zone. PV’s final chance ended in four fruitless plays from deep in its own territory and its 15-14 loss ended the Indians’ playoff run on the short side of a heartbreaking loss in the sectional semifinals for the second straight season.
Sparta will move on to an all Sussex County sectional final where it will look for its second championship in the last three years against Hopatcong, which eliminated Westwood on Friday night.
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| Russell Mastriani hauling in the touchdown pass with 1:36 to go in the game that set up Sparta's game-winning two-point conversion. |
“With three minutes to go all we needed to do was get one first down and that game was over,” said Pascack Valley head coach Craig Nielsen, whose team suffered its first loss of the season after nine straight wins. “What happened was they out-executed us. Not that they outplayed us, but they out-executed us.”
Pascack Valley’s defense dominated the first three-and-a-half quarters. Sparta’s first two drives ended in a fumble and a missed field goal and PV took advantage of another miscue to score the lone points of the first half.
A muffed punt that was recovered by Luis Garcia set PV up with a first-and-goal on the Sparta 7. Joe Platyan went off tackle on the next play for the touchdown with 1:08 to go in the second quarter. The extra point sailed wide and the top-seeded Indians settled for a 6-0 halftime advantage.
PV’s defense held Sparta to just four offensive plays in the third quarter, but one of them put the Spartans ahead. After Alexander Rubino recovered a fumble at the PV 33 on the third play of the second half, Sparta used a little trickery. Reese handed the ball to D’Angelo, who then threw a halfback option pass to Derrick Freligh, who outjumped a defender in the end zone. The extra point gave Sparta a 7-6 lead.
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| PV's Joe Platyan scored the lone touchdown of the first half. |
The teams then traded interceptions and PV turned the first of Tyler Beh’s two picks on the day into the go ahead score. On a third-and-3 from the Sparta 13, PV quarterback Kevin Gray scrambled his way into the end zone and then hit Joe Chirchirillo for the two-point conversion that gave the Indians a 14-7 lead after three quarters.
Beh almost put the clamps on the game with his second interception off a tipped ball late in the fourth, but PV went three-and-out and Sparta responded with Mastriani’s TD and the gutsy two-point conversion shortly thereafter.
“I give [Ambrosino] a world of credit for that call. That was a great call and I don’t know what I would have done,” said Nielsen, who will try to rally his troops for its Thanksgiving Day game against Northern Highlands that could give PV the NBIL-Division 2 title all to itself. “We have a lot of character on this team and we are going to need it this week. We are playing for the undisputed league championship and to me that is something to shoot for.”
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