Nick Lora's kick return set up the winning score for Rutherford, which held off Pompton Lakes, 22-15, on Saturday.
RUTHERFORD – Euphoric NJIC championship victories, heartbreaking losses, and everything in between; Rutherford’s senior duo of Nick Lora and Chris Gioia have been through it all. Coming off a one-point loss that ended their reign as NJIC champs, the Bulldogs appeared to be back on the right track with a 14-0 lead over Pompton Lakes late in the third quarter on Saturday afternoon.
But before the Bulldogs knew what hit them a whacky play on a kickoff return gave Pompton Lakes the lead with less than six minutes to play. Needing to make a decision after the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, Rutherford head coach Steve Dunn trusted his core guys to make big plays down the stretch.
Nick Lora ran the kickoff back 70 yards and then scored on the next play to put the Bulldogs back in front. Then, with the Cardinals driving inside the final minute on a fourth-down play, Chris Gioia was among a host of Bulldogs who made a tackle just inches ahead of the pilon to preserve a 22-15 triumph over Pompton Lakes on Saturday afternoon at Tryon Field in Rutherford.
“It’s way better to correct mistakes on a win than a loss,” said Steve Dunn. “This is a big step for us, especially for our younger players. This team needed to learn how to win and how to find a way in a close game. They’ve been in close losses to Waldwick/Midland Park and Glen Rock, but to have that feeling of winning a close one like this is huge for them and for us as a team.”
Sophomore quarterback Jonah Fabian had Pompton knockiong on the door of the game-tying TD.
Although the fourth quarter was jam-packed with twists and turns, the first three first quarters are what one could describe as a defensive struggle. Freshman Quinn Weber made a diving play to down a Dmitri Paskas punt inside the Cardinals’ 1-yard line. That helped the Bulldogs to take control of the field position battle, which eventually led to a Nick Lora 8-yard TD run early in the second quarter. Drew Carney kicked the PAT, and the Bulldogs led 7-0 at the half.
Rutherford’s defense stout throughout the first half and that continued to start the second half. Linebacker Andrew Moller was flying all over the field all game and had three straight huge plays on the first three plays of the third quarter. He had consecutive sacks before pouncing on a fumble to give the Bulldogs great field position. Minutes later, Gioia showed his perseverance and grit. After getting stuffed at the goal line on back-to-back plays by Xheledini Redon, Gioia got the same call from the Wildcat formation and scored from four yards out to make it 14-0.
When the Bulldogs took over late in the third quarter at their own 15-yard line it appeared that they were in complete control. However, two straight holding penalties, the latter of which was in the end zone resulted in a safety that got Pompton Lakes on the scoreboard.
Struggling to generate much offensively, the Cardinals used a bit of trickery with Vinnie Stigliano’s option pass dropping perfectly over his shoulder and into the hands of Chris Ahlborn for a 17-yard TD that cut the lead to 14-9. Then on the ensuing kickoff, a huge momentum shift came from a source so unlikely that the player’s number nor name were listed on the roster. However, while going down to make the tackle a player only known at #74 made a clean strip up the Bulldog returner and remarkably never broke stride for a 25-yard touchdown to give Pompton Lakes the lead with 5:42 to play.
Chris Gioia and Rutherford are now 3-2 heading into NJIC crossover play.
“We were shellshocked. We thought, ‘what else can happen?’,” said Rutherford head coach Steve Dunn. “Our defense was playing great, and we felt in control. Before we could look up, we were down and needed to make something happen quickly.”
After the Cardinals’ ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, Rutherford could have taken over with great field position at their own 40. Instead, Dunn enforced the penalty and made Pompton Lakes (3-2) re-kick it. It proved to be a wise decision as Lora hit a crease and nearly went the distance before being caught from behind at the Pompton Lakes’ 9-yard line. On the very next play, Lora bulldozed his way into the end zone to put the Bulldogs back in front and added a two-point conversion run to make it 22-15.
“We had to make a play, I was just hoping it got kicked to me, said Lora. “My team needed me, and I wanted to thrive in crunch time. We knew that if we stuck together and worked together that someone would make a big play, and we’d get the lead back.”
Sophomore quarterback Jonah Fabian drove Pompton back down the field with time winding down. Faced with a fourth-and-goal with 27 seconds remaining, the Cardinals ran the same play they scored their lone touchdown on. With no receivers open, Stigliano took off for the pilon. He gave everything he had in laying out but on the other side to greet were Gioia and a trio of his teammates to keep Stigliano out of the end zone by mere inches as the Bulldogs held on for a victory that they will remember for a long, long time.
Rutherford (3-2) now heads into NJIC crossover play. Regardless of what the rest of the season brings, the Bulldog football program will be a dangerous team the rest of the way and has a bright future ahead for years to come.
“For the past three years, all these young players saw us do was win, win, win,” added Lora. “It’s been a little tougher my senior year, but we’re going to keep fighting. We want to show these guys that when you play with heart and work together that you can win any game. This team is a family and families stick together. A win like this will serve as motivation to play our best for the rest of the season.”
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