November 11, 2006
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Bogota erases bad memories and gets to Giants Stadium

Sunday, November 19, 2006

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer

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Bogota's Danny Bowen finishing off a 30-yard catch and run in the third quarter that helped the Bucs erase a halftime deficit and get by Hasbrouck Heights, 24-17, on Saturday in the North 1, Group 1 state sectional semifinals.

BOGOTA -- The memories were still there. Even a regular season win had not quenched the thirst for the Bogota football team. The Bucs knew that there was only one way to put last year behind them, and that road would lead through Hasbrouck Heights in a newly-born rivalry.

For the better part of three quarters, it looked as though the Aviators would end the Bucs’ quest once again, taking a 17-8 lead in a game where offense was at a premium.

Suddenly, the breaks started going Bogota’s way. A long pass led to a score, a big break on a fumbled pitch turned in its favor, and when all was said and done, it would be Bogota knocking on the door of Giants Stadium with a 24-17 come-from-behind win.

Brendan Gareffa went 73 yards on the second play from scrimmage to set up Heights' first score.

The Bucs exacted some revenge for a similar circumstance last where, where Heights knocked them off twice in three weeks to dim their 2005 season. Bogota had scored a 36-26 regular season victory three weeks ago, earning them the home field advantage replete with the fire engine horns and the familiar muddy spots.

“This is how we all wanted it,” said Bogota quarterback Jimmy Lynch. “Us and Heights. One of us was going to get it, and we wanted it.”

Lynch was right in the middle of the comeback, finding Danny Bowen with a 30-yard fade pattern to the HH 5-yard line that set up his own 4-yard score on an option to the left side. He passed to Danny Brown for a two-point conversion that had the Bucs within 17-16 with 3:01 left in the third quarter.

Both teams punted twice after that, with Bogota getting the better of the exchanges. Felipe Pena launched kicks of 52 and 37 yards compared to 26 and 23 yarders by the Aviators, shifting the field position drastically.

Bogota QB James Lynch threw for a score and ran for two others as the Bucs knocked off Heights for the second time this season.

That paid off when a second and 10 pitchout from the 19 was fumbled by Heights. Johnfredy Sanchez made the recovery for Bogota at the Heights 12-yard line.

“We got that feeling,” Sanchez said of the turnover. “The crowd knew it, the team knew it, the town knew it, that we were going to come through.”

With most of the town present and rooting them on, Brown had runs of 8 and 3 yards to put Bogota on the doorstep of the lead, and Lynch made no mistake from there, driving into the end zone on a quarterback sneak with 5:38 to go in the game, then adding another two-point conversion on a pass to Ray Carrasco.

“That was the break we’ve been looking for all year,” Lynch noted. “We haven’t gotten too many turnovers. Last game we gave up two turnovers and they capitalized on them. This time it was our turn.”

Hasbrouck Heights still had the chance to tie, but after picking up a fourth down conversion, Bowen intercepted a Jamie Pasqualone pass on second down with 2:14 to go. The Bucs got a first down on a third and 4 and were able to kneel out the game.

Hasbrouck Heights QB Jamie Pasqualone sneaking over the goal line for the game's first score.

The Aviators had a promising start as Brendan Gareffa went 73 yards on the second play of the game before being stopped a yard short of the end zone. Pasqualone took it in on a sneak two plays later, and Brandon Melchior hit the extra point.

Gareffa sacked Lynch in the second quarter, causing a fumble that Melchior recovered at the Aviator 37. Gareffa took a swing pass from Pasqualone for 25 yards to the 12, but a sack by Albert Verona stalled the offense, and Melchior came on to boot a 27-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.

Peter Lynch then took the kickoff back 43 yards to the Heights 44, and on a third and 9 from the 32, Jimmy Lynch found Bowen over the middle for a 32-yard touchdown that put the Bucs on the board.

“It was just a straight go pattern,” Bowen recalled. “We had a cross seam over the middle and they were in man to man coverage. I was able to beat my man and Jimmy put it right in there.”

“That changed the game,” Bogota head coach Dan Sabella acknowledged. “They were sending (blitzes) like crazy from all over the place. It was just a matter of time before we found the matchup that worked. We had to be patient. Something as going to pop the way they were coming after us.”

Danny Brown had 11 carries for 56 yards to give pass happy Bogota some offensive balance.

Lynch went to Shane Stanek for the two-point conversion to make it a 10-8 game at the intermission. Outside of the Bowen catch and the Gareffa run, both offenses seemed mired in the soft field conditions.

“They stopped our run, and it put us in second and long and third and long,” HH head coach Nick Delcalzo lamented. “We couldn’t make mistakes, and then we did in the end of the game. They made the play when they had to. We hurt ourselves.”

“Give them a ton of credit,” Sabella remarked. “We knew they would do something (different from last game), and it took us a little while to figure out what they were doing. We needed to make some adjustments and find some sets we liked and find some success.”

“I have to give credit to them, they got a lot of pressure and took me out of my rhythm in the first half,” Lynch said. “We came out in the second half knowing it was win or go home.”

Even so, it was Heights that scored first, as Pasqualone found Sean Mansfield for a 34-yard completion that set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Dan D’Amato with 5:44 to go in the third quarter.

Sean Mansfield haling in a pass that went for 34 yards and set up Hasbrouck Heights' second score.

Gareffa had a strong game defensively, with 10 of his 12 tackles (including 2.5 sacks) coming in the first half. He added 103 rushing yards on 10 carries, and D’Amato had 52 more on 18 rushes. Heights never got a passing game clicking, though, as Pasqualone was 4 of 14 for 71 yards, with his last toss being the Bowen interception.

Lynch finished 11 of 22 passing for 135 yards, with Bowen (4 catches, 79 yards) and Carrasco (4-35) the main targets. Brown had 56 yards on 11 carries, while Pena and Verona had seven tackle apiece.

“We been close, but since July theme has been Giants Stadium,” Sabella said. “We’ve been going to watch those games, been close, but this is the year we want to finish, and now we’ve put ourselves in that position.”

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