Getting a good mix of their running game with their passing game, along with a solid defensive effort to stop a potentially dangerous running game was the focus of the Cranford High School football Cougars when they faced the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders in Scotch Plains on October. 10. All engines were running smoothly as the Cougars did just that for a 45-13 victory.
The 4-2 Cougars chewed up 219 yards on the ground that produced five of their touchdowns. Sophomore running back Gabe Worrell carried 15 times for 112 yards, which included touchdown runs of one yard and 14 yards. Senior Dylan Jones had five carries for 44 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown. Senior Amari Petgrave carried twice for 20 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown and sophomore quarterback Aiden Capizzi carried three times for 10 yards, including a touchdown. Junior Joey Acinapura had five carries for 42 yards and senior quarterback Tyler Veltre was thrown for a nine-yard loss.
Veltre took to the air 11 times and connected on six of them for 55 yards, including one interception.Acinapura had two receptions for nine yards and senior wide receiver Luciano Fiorenza had two grabs for 17 yards. Senior wide receiver Niko Aloi had a 20yard reception and junior Ryder Connors had a nine-yard reception.
The Raider big senior running backs of TJ Rasberry and Jaden Richards, along with junior quarterback Callum Fynes were held to negative yardage in the first half, while the Cougars were sitting on a 31-0 lead. All of the Raiders’ positive yardage came in the second half once the Cougars took their 38-0 lead and brought in their reserves. The 2-5 Raiders would finish with 154 yards in the second half, which included a 75-yard touchdown run by sophomore Jaliyah Richards as time ran out.
The Cougars put points on the board on every series except one and held the Raiders scoreless until well after the Mercy Rule clock started ticking after grabbing a 38-0 lead. Their first score was a 33-yard field goal by Cristiano Ambrosio, who would also kick six points after. With less than two minutes left in the first quarter, Worrell would score on a one-yard plunge to give the Cougars a 10-0 lead.
Cougar Head Coach Erik Rosenmeier explained, “The first drive, we had a holding call and that kept us out of the end zone but then we scored and moved the ball after that. Only punted one other time, so I was happy. We wanted to control the ball up front. We wanted to run it. We wanted to work on passing game and I thought we were able to do both of those. The defense did a nice job early of holding them without a first down. That was good. We thought that we could have success defensively and we expect a lot from those guys.”
Junior Mike Tripodi would set up the Cougars’ next score when he returned a punt 34 yards to the Raider 41. Six plays later Worrell sprinted 13 yards for the touchdown. The one series that the Cougars failed to score on came next when Xavier Vega picked off Veltre’s pass at the Raider 32. On the second play, Cougar senior linebacker Justin Hoeffler picked up a fumble and returned it 24 yards to the end zone with 4:34 left in the half.
After a kickoff return from the three yard line to the 23 yard line by Matteo Barcellona, the Raiders’ series went backward and a bad snap on fourth down gave the Cougars possession on the 12 yard line. On the second play, Jones darted into the end zone for a 31-0 score with 1:39 left in the half.
In the third quarter, the Raiders gambled on a fourth-down pass and failed, so the Cougars took over from their own 37. Seven running plays and one incomplete pass later, Petgrave galloped 18 yards for the score for a 38-0 lead with 4:55 left in the third quarter. With the Mercy Rule in effect, the Cougars brought in their reserves and the Raiders managed to engineer a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive when Zacharie Derosier scooted in from the five-yard line with 7:58 remaining in the game.
After a great 33-yard kickoff return by Fiorenza, the Cougars had the ball at the Raider 42 and took eight plays to answer when Capizzi pushed in from the one with 1:50 showing. The Raiders had one last chance and Jaliyah Richards broke through the middle and sprinted 75 yards for the touchdown as time ran out.
As to the negative yardage in the first half and stopping Richards and Rasberry along with Fynes, Coach Rosenmeier cautioned, “We have been very good against the run all year. As we tell then all the time, there’s always room for improvement and to work to be better because more and more people are going to try different things to move the ball on us. We are going to have to be solid if we want to go where we want to go.”
Cranford 10 21 7 7 45 Sc Pl-Fanwood 0 0 0 13 13
