Sunday, October 7, 2012

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Ryan Duran threw for a score, ran for another and blocked the game-deciding extra point as River Dell spoiled Ridgefield Park's Homecoming Weekend with a 14-3 win on Saturday afternoon.

RIDGEFIELD PARK – With Tim Barnes and Kevin Barry back for their senior seasons, River Dell was a preseason favorite to at least repeat last year's success where it went to the North 1, Group 2 state sectional final and even surpass that and bring home the state championship trophy. But when Barnes and Barry were lost to season-ending injuries almost before the season even began, what was the best that the Golden Hawks could hope for? A .500 record would certainly have been a respectable goal, considering the talent lost by the second half of the second game of the season. Barnes was the starting quarterback and Barry was, hands-down, one of the best linebackers in Bergen County in addition to a receiving threat.

“We are playing without not only two of our best players this year, but two of the best players ever at River Dell. One guys we had for three halves and the other guy we didn't even have for one play this season,” said Golden Hawks head coach DJ Nimphius. “Without them we are what we are, a team with a bunch of guys full of toughness and desire.”

Toughness, desire and a heckuva football player named Ryan Duran, who has taken over as River Dell's quarterback but has a job description that goes much deeper than that. Duran affected every phase of the game on Saturday against Ridgefield Park. He threw a touchdown pass, ran for a score, handled the punting chores, made a huge tackle on special teams and, when his team needed him the most, he blocked an extra point that denied Ridgefield Park a tie score early in the fourth quarter.

Ridgefield Park quarterback Alex Alberque threw for two scores before leaving with a shoulder injury in the second half.

That one point saved was the difference as, despite the injuries that changed the face of the team, River Dell improved to 5-0 with a 14-13 win over the Scarlets, who fell to 3-2 on the season.

“I just have to worry about trying to play my game. I can't try make up for the guys who are missing, we all just have to pick up our game and we have been doing pretty good,” said Duran, also a standout baseball player for the Hawks. “All we try to do is win the week. We don't look forward, we concentrate on the game we are playing and don't worry about anything else, especially coming in here because it is always a tough game against Ridgefield Park.”

Ridgefield Park scored the game's first points when quarterback Alex Alberque rolled out of the pocket and hit his cousin, Mark Alberque, with a 35-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter as the Scarlets, on Homecoming Weekend, took a 7-0 lead.

The second quarter belonged to Duran as he hit Max Cepeda on a crossing route for a 66 yard gain down to the RP 5 and, two plays later, he hit Shane DiMasso, who curt hard inside a defender, with a 7-yard touchdown pass that tied the game at 7 after Ben Shapiro kicked the extra point with 10:14 left in the first half.

Ridgefield Park's next drive was a turning point as, on a third-and-10 from its own 20, Alex Alberque again kept a play alive with his legs. He evaded at least three clean River Dell shots at a sack and then found Christopher Fitzgerald for what was a 59-yard gain before it was called back by a holding call that was compounded by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Instead of first-and-10 at the River Dell 21, the Scarlets were faced with a third-and-27 from their own 3.

Max Cepeda running free on his 66-yard catch that set up River Dell's first score.

Two plays later, Raul Ferreira was forced to punt and Duran made the fair catch at the Ridgefield Park 32. Duran then converted a third-and-3 with a 13-yard keeper to set up his own touchdown run from the 7 to put his team up 14-7 with 5:04 left before halftime.

River Dell opened the second half with an onside kick that was recovered by Matt Lanza and most of the third quarter was played on Ridgefield Park's half of the field, but the Hawks could not take advantage. RP finally gained the field position advantage when Fitzgerald broke a punt return up the left side. He had only one man to beat, but that man was Duran, the punter, and that wasn't going to happen. Duran got his head across and drilled Fitzgerald into the sideline, but the Scarlets were set up on the River Dell 35.

Facing a fourth-and-3 from the River Dell 13, RP got one piece of good news quickly followed by two negative developments. First, Alex Alberque, under pressure, lofted a pass into the corner of the end zone and Fitzgerald pulled it in to make it 14-13 with 11:03 to play in the game. But Alberque took a big shot on the play and was forced out of the game for good with a left shoulder injury. And then River Dell blocked the extra point to maintain its slim advantage.

“And who blocked the extra point? Duran. What a game that kid played today. Whatever we need him to do, he does and more,” said Nimphius. “I know he wants to go on and play baseball in college, but that kid is a football player by any definition. I hope he goes somewhere where he can do both because he just has the heart for this game.”

Mark Alberque's 35-yard TD catch gave Ridgefield Park the early lead.

River Dell's final two offensive possessions ended in a turnover on downs and a punt, while Ridgefield Park had two drives without its starting quarterback to try to go ahead. The Scarlets switched to the wildcat with Mark Alberque and Fitzgerald taking snaps. They went three-and-out on their first try, but on the second they picked up a huge first down when Mark Alberque hit Connor O'Grady on a screen pass and O'Grady wound his way for a 35-yard gain down to the RD 33 with just under two minutes to play.

Two plays later, Ridgefield Park was down to the 27 yard line and facing a fourth-and-2. It was too far for a field goal try and without his starting quarterback, head coach Tony Gonzalez's options were limited.

“The kids wanted to go for it, the staff wanted to go for it, but I knew were were going to have to run six yards to gain one. Too much pressure came and threw off of the timing and we missed the handoff,” said Gonzalez. “The handoff timing was off because the guys we had back there haven't had a lot of snaps from the quarterback position and that is understandable.”

Instead of a running play, Ridgefield Park wound up with Mark Alberque in possession and in the grasp of three or four River Dell defenders. The best he could do was toss the ball up for grabs and it was taken in. But the receiver was offensive lineman Earl Ab-Zed, it was an 'illegal touching' foul and River Dell needed to kneel down just once to escape with the one-point win.

Shane DiMasso rolling in with the TD that got River Dell even at 7-7.

With Barry and Barnes in the lineup, River Dell might have been expected to be 5-0 at this point in the season. With out them, it is a pleasant surprise.

“I am so proud to be around these kids everyday. We aren't playing with anything other than a lot of valor, heart and desire and that comes from the kids,” said Nimphius. “We know what we are bringing to the table every weekend, but our kids just come out ever game and play their [butts] off.”

Ridgefield Park is going to have to play its butt off to get into the state playoffs. With three games remaining before the cutoff, the road to the state playoffs likely includes a sweep of Cliffside Park, Mahwah and Dumont.

“We gave it our all today, we played with heart and I will go in there [to the locker room] and them that I am sorry I wasn't able to find a way to get it done today,” said Gonzalez. “But we can still make it. We need to win those three games and we have to beat Mahwah to get those power points. It's not going to be easy, but football is not easy.”

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