Saturday, December 5, 2015

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Tommy DeVito finished 8 of 13 for 145 yards with two TDs, for Don Bosco Prep, which won its first state title since 2011 with 21-10 win over rival St. Joseph in the Non-Public Group 4 final.

EAST RUTHERFORD – When Don Bosco Prep walked off the field after losing its season-opener to rival St. Joseph's of Montvale something had to change. The Ironmen had to get back to the fundamentals that made Don Bosco Prep the pre-eminent program in New Jersey for the better part of a decade.

To truly restore that pride though, this season had to end with a state title. Fittingly with another shot at St. Joe's in the Non-Public Group 4 state final, the Ironmen were more than happy to show their opponent and everyone else who doubted them just how far they had come. No player displayed that more than junior quarterback Tommy DeVito.

DeVito tossed a pair of touchdowns, including a perfect strike on a deep out to Ray Conley that gave second-seeded Don Bosco some breathing room as the Ironmen won their first state title since 2011 with a 21-10 triumph over top-seeded St. Joe's last on Friday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

“All the hard work, all the conditioning, it's all worth it when you win a state title,” said DeVito. “The first game of the season when we lost to St. Joe's was really rough for us. We all came together and made this happen.”

In their first meeting, Bosco's offense never really got going in a game they lost 17-7. It was a much different story this time around as tailback Malik Bakker gained the tough yards inside that put DeVito in advantageous positions. He hit John Bowen down the sideline for a 42-yard gain. Two plays later, Kevin Brennan took the snap from the wildcat formation and ran it into the end zone untouched from two yards out that gave Don Bosco a 7-0 lead.

Nick Patti threw for SJR's lone TD, a 6-yard toss to Michael Carfagno.

An interception by Austin Triglia deep in St. Joe's end of the field snuffed out a Bosco drive. DeVito was undeterred and came out firing on the ensuing drive. He threw one up towards the back of the end zone with a St. Joe's defender able to get his fingertips on the ball. Bowen showed great concentration in a mid-air fight for the ball and came down with the 32-yard TD catch that put Bosco in front 14-0.

Freshman Angelo Guglielmello booted a 32-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the first half to get St. Joe's on the scoreboard and give the Green Knights a little momentum going into the locker room. It did not last long though as Bosco's Harran Ransom recovered a fumble at the Green Knights' 20. Then on a third and nine from the 19, DeVito took advantage of a nice pocket and an easy throwing lane to hit Conley in stride on a deep out route at the pylon for a TD that padded the Ironmen's lead to 21-3.

“I knew Ray could get open and when I saw that window, I just made the throw,” added DeVito. “It's a high-low play where I'm actually looking in the flat first and there is a deep out down the field. When I saw the flat was covered, I wanted to make a throw where either only my receiver could catch it or the throw would go out-of-bounds. I'm glad it worked out the way it did.”

St. Joe's showed some fight late in the third quarter by driving down the field with Nick Patti hitting tight end Michael Carfagno on a crossing route for a six-yard TD to make it 21-10.

John Bowen (right) was a big play guy in the Bosco passing game.

The Green Knights had one last chance to get back in the game but was robbed of that opportunity. On a fumbled punt, there was a scrum for a ball that was clearly still loose. The Green Knights scooped it up and would have scored to make it a one-possession game, but the play was blown dead. To boot, the Ironmen were able to keep the ball and essentially run out the clock to break a four-year drought without a state title.

Brandon Simon was all over the field for Don Bosco (9-3). He finished with seven tackles and three sacks, including back-to-back sacks in the fourth quarter. DeVito finished 8 of 13 for 145 yards with two TD's and one interception. Bakker was the workhorse with 99 yards rushing on 21 carries. Patti, a sophomore, completed 10 of 21 passes with one TD and one INT for St. Joe's (8-4).

In a loaded Non-Public Group 4 bracket where the teams beat each other up throughout the year, it was Don Bosco that was able to persevere and get back on its state championship perch.

“It's been a long time but it feels nice to be here and get this state championship,” said Simon. “St. Joe's is a running team and our focus was to stop the run. We have a great group of kids here and we wanted to show what we could do. Our goal was to finish on top and we feel happy that we got it done.”

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