November
18, 2006
RAMSEY -- It has been on their minds since the final whistle last December. It has been the constant motivator for 12 months, the thing that pushed them through the hot steamy days of summer workouts and the arduous practices of August.
It has been creeping in the shadows before, during and after every game, just enough but never too far away to be forgotten. It has been the single biggest driving force for the Don Bosco football team.
It is December 1, 2006, a date with their destiny. It is on that Friday night in front of a crowd that could reach or exceed 20,000 that the Ironmen will play what undoubtedly is the most important game they have entered into in three years, a game that holds the legacy of an entire senior class, provided of course that St. Peter’s upholds their end of the bargain against Seton Hall Prep on Saturday afternoon.
Even before the final minutes of their 56-0 defeat of Paramus Catholic in the Non-Public Group 4 semifinal had elapsed, the Ironmen were well-braced in the knowledge that this time around, there is no tomorrow. This time, there is only December 1, and the opportunity to exorcise the demons that have been a part of their football existence for the last 50 weeks.
To a man, there is a confidence among the Bosco players, but it was one of their leaders who spoke the thoughts that have been on the minds of many.
“It’s the whole senior class,” DB quarterback Matt Simms said. “We realize that this is our last chance to come out with a championship, and if we come up short, then all of this is just a waste of time.”
“It is now or never, and that statement has never been truer,” Notre Dame-bound Justin Trattou said. “It’s we win a state championship or I walk out of high school without a ring on my finger.”
“I don’t buy that,” DB head coach Greg Toal said of the win-or-bust idea. “Obviously, that’s our goal, to win it. They’re a good football team, we’re a good football team. Somebody’s got to lose, we hope it’s not us.”
They were well prepared for a Paramus Catholic team riding an eight-game winning streak and coming in with nothing to lose. Even when they took the opening kickoff and went 13 plays to the Don Bosco 15, the Ironmen weren’t panicking. A Dan Marcoux sack on second down effectively ended that march, and the Dons came right down and scored on the first of three Guy Germinario 1-yard TD plunges.
“Our defense has been great all year,” Simms remarked, “and once they stopped them and gave us the opportunity, we came down the field and seized control.”
“It would have been 56-7,” PC head coach John Whitehead said half-heartedly. “That’s a good football team, they’re very good. Our kids played hard, we never quit, but they’re very good.”
Things quickly went against PC (8-2) from there, as a fumble at the Paladin 47 was recovered by Germinario, who turned it into a touchdown with 10:11 to go in the second period.
Paramus Catholic then went for a fake punt at its own 32, only to have the pass go incomplete. What seemed to a big gamble was more a stab at creating something positive.
“They had 10 men up on the line of scrimmage,” he alluded, “and I thought our kid got held up, but even if we hit that and go down the field, it’s 56-14.”
Instead, it was turned into a 10-yard scoring run on an option to the right side by Simms, who made an awkward leap over the goal line and stumbled to the ground.
“I thought they were going to crush me, so I was going to jump and try to get over them, but they let me go,” Simms recalled. “I tried to stay on my feet, but I fell.”
Another fumble, this one stripped by Steve Pedhoretzky and recovered by Germinario, was converted into a TD on a 25-yards Simms to Steve Proscia pass. Brian Hanley’s fourth of seven extra point kicks made it 28-0 and game all but over.
“It’s the first time we turned the ball over like that all year,” Whitehead said. “We tried the fake punt, it didn’t work. As soon as we blitzed, he (Simms) hits the open seam.”
At that point, the attention turned to the big one. Simms (11 of 17 passing, 222 yards, 2 TD) hit Brandon Boykin on the third play of the third quarter for a 57-yard score, then spent the rest of the game watching backup Brett Knief run the team. While he didn’t close out this game, he is definitely looking for some closure in the near future.
“This time, it’s really just finishing for the first time,” Simms assessed. “We’ve been there plenty of times, and we haven’t finished, and that’s the one thing that I’ve been pretty disappointed with myself about. I’m looking forward to getting there and trying to finish it.”
Tony Jones scored from a yard out and Knief hit Ken Prior with a 9-yard touchdown pass, and Pat Murray added the final PAT for Bosco (10-0), which got 90 yards on 4 catches from Alex DeSanzo, another senior with a mission.
“We can’t let up for a minute,” DeSanzo commented. “We let up for a minute, we’re going to get beat. This whole team, this whole staff, we’ve been playing for this since July, since last December, even.”
Pierre Fils topped Bosco with 9 tackles, Proscia added 7 and Germinario 6 as PC could not establish any kind of interior run game. Middle linebacker Ike Garrow and the defensive line were staunch, racking up five sacks and 12 tackles for losses overall. It is that kind of effort that has them believing in their December chances.
“We have a sour taste in
our mouth, losing a state championship (last year),” Ike Garrow said.
“We’ll be working as hard as ever to get ready for this game,
and we’re looking
forward to a great matchup. If we play like we did tonight, we can win.
“It’s pressure that we want. We want to be in the big show. This is what we came to Bosco for, to win a state championship. We haven’t done that. This is our last shot, and we’ve got to do it.
“I’ve gone as a sophomore and lost, I’ve gone and started as a junior and lost. I refuse to lose again,” Trattou stated. “There’s a bit of pressure there. We’re going to work hard and I’m confident we have the chance to win.”
“The past few years, we’ve felt like that,” Simms said of the notion, “but this year we have to have a different mentality to us. That (old) mentality last year and the year before didn’t work for us.”
Mitch Bennett had 8 catches for 72 yards in defeat, and QB Wayne Mack was 13 of 18 passing but had only 78 yards. Connor Smith had 47 yards rushing on 10 carries and seven tackles for Paramus Catholic, which must now return to Ramsey on Thanksgiving Day for Round 2 with the Ironmen, this time with the NNJIL Division C crown on the line.
That isn’t the crown that Don Bosco is relishing, though it would be foolish to think they will put up a lackluster effort on Turkey Day. They’ll be workmanlike before turning full attention to St. Peter’s and the Meadowlands and December 1.
“The game won’t be won on that day, it will be won over the next two weeks,” Trattou said. “We have to get out there and work hard in practice. Now, it’s all about effort. We have the talent, we have to give a lot of effort and we’ll come out on top.
“They’re going to put pressure on themselves, but this is an opportunity,” Toal countered. “If you worry about losing, you’re never going to win. You have to think about winning. We’ve been there enough, and we’ve won there (2002 and 2003 most recently). It’s going to be a great game. Preparation is going to be key.”
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