SPORTS

Underdog South Plainfield played like champion in heartbreaking sectional football final loss

Greg Tufaro
@GregTufaro
South Plainfield vs Rumon-Fair Haven Central Group III sectional title game at High Point Solutions Stadium. 
Piscataway, NJ
Saturday, December 3, 2016.
@dhoodhood

A view from the press box, where some media members were discussing whether the heavily favored Rumson-Fair Haven football team could generate a running clock against South Plainfield, illustrated the disparity between the two programs.

The Bulldogs, whose roster numbers 88 players, none of who start both ways, stretched almost the entire length of the sideline as the three-time defending sectional champions lined up for the National Anthem.

Across the field, the undermanned Tigers, looking for their first postseason title since the NJSIAA playoff format was instituted in 1974, were undaunted.

They stood toe-to-toe with Rumson-Fair Haven, even building a two-touchdown lead early in the second quarter, before succumbing to the opposition’s depth and size in a 27-22 Central Group III championship defeat at Rutgers University’s High Point Solutions Stadium on Saturday night.

South Plainfield was limited to six first downs and was outgained 314 to 54 in rushing yards. Rumson-Fair Haven owned a 357 to 157 advantage in total yards from scrimmage.

The Tigers (8-4) were looking to match the undefeated 1965 team’s single-season school record for victories and make it a perfect 3-for-3 for the Greater Middlesex Conference against Shore Conference schools in NJSIAA championship play.

South Plainfield's Rahoen Cohen breaks up a pass intended for Rumon-Fair Haven's Tyler Pierson. South Plainfield vs Rumon-Fair Haven Central Group III sectional title game at High Point Solutions Stadium. 
Piscataway, NJ
Saturday, December 3, 2016.
@dhoodhood

Earlier in the day, also at High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway and Sayreville defeated Manalapan and Middletown North, respectively, to win Central Group V and North 2 Group IV titles.

Senior running back Matt Vecchiarelli single-handedly erased a 14-0 deficit, scoring three touchdowns to give Rumson-Fair Haven a 20-14 lead with 29 seconds left in the third quarter. Vecchiarelli scored on runs of 80, 56 and 2 yards. He finished with 191 yards on 23 carries.

Quarterback Mike O’Connor’s keeper on a fourth-and-goal from the 18 yard line gave the Bulldogs a 27-14 advantage midway through the fourth quarter. The touchdown was his 11th of the season. He amassed 117 yards on 17 carries.

A resilient South Plainfield, squad, however, would not go down easily. The Tigers blocked their second punt of the night with less than four minutes remaining and, after taking possession at the Rumson-Fair Haven 24, scored three plays later on Ryan Marston’s 1-yard quarterback keeper, trimming the deficit to 27-22 on an ensuing two-point conversion pass to Deshai Smith with 3:23 remaining. Smith was on the tail end of a 22-yard hook-and-lateral pass from Marston to Charles Lovett that set up the score.

Rumson-Fair Haven took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the South Plainfield 21 before turning the ball over on downs with 1:12 remaining, giving the Tigers one final shot to rally for an upset. Three plays later, O’Connor intercepted a tipped pass at the South Plainfield 37 to seal the victory.

“My kids didn’t give up and they fought until the end,” said South Plainfield head coach Gary Cassio, whose Tigers warmed up with the Bulldogs in Rutgers University’s indoor practice facility adjacent to the stadium prior to the game. “We were in ‘The Bubble’ with them and they (Rumson-Fair Haven players) were hooting and hollering trying to intimidate us, and our kids were just their mild-mannered selves. Just looking at (the Tigers) I was a little worried. I didn’t know if they were scared or sleeping, but they came out and walked out and said, ‘It’s alright, coach. We got this.’ They came out on fire in the first quarter.”

South Plainfield's Jean Sapini gains yards on the ground. South Plainfield vs Rumon-Fair Haven Central Group III sectional title game at High Point Solutions Stadium. 
Piscataway, NJ
Saturday, December 3, 2016.
@dhoodhood

South Plainfield raced out to a 14-0 lead on Marston’s 1-yard quarterback keeper with 5:09 left in the first quarter and Zach DelVecchio’s 8-yard touchdown run with 8:25 left in the second quarter. DelVecchio finished with a team-high 53 yards on 17 carries.

Rahoen Cohen set up the first score with a blocked punt that gave the Tigers possession at the Rumson-Fair Haven 10 yard line. The Bulldogs could not extricate themselves from horrible field position, due in part to the fact that they did not have a deep man to field a South Plainfield punt minutes earlier when the Tigers, on fourth-and-4 from near midfield, lined up in a formation suggestive of a fake before altering their alignment and indeed punting the ball.

Marston’s keeper capped the four-play scoring drive, which included a pair of runs for three yards from Zach DelVecchio and Charles Lovett’s six-yard pass to Ben Lundy.

South Plainfield doubled the lead on its ensuing possession as DelVecchio bulled his way into the end zone, barreling over two defenders for his touchdown. The bruising running back’s scoring jaunt capped a 61-yard march during which Marston completed two clutch third-down passes to tight end Jean Sapini, who ran a 14-yard stick route for just enough yardage on the first grab and who ran inspired on the second grab to gain extra yardage on a 24-yard reception that set up a first-and-goal. Marston completed 6 of 12 passes for 86 yards and was sacked twice.

The Bulldogs answered immediately as Vecchiarelli, who entered the contest with a team-leading 1,080 yards, scored his 13th touchdown of the season, taking a toss right and, after receiving a seal block, racing 80 yards as Rumson-Fair Haven closed the deficit to 14-7 with 8:07 left in the second quarter.

Rumson-Fair Haven had an excellent chance to knot the score when its late second-quarter punt bounced off the turf and hit a South Plainfield player in the leg. Pat Russo recovered the free ball at the Tigers’ 30 yard line. The Bulldogs drove to the South Plainfield 19, but Charles Lovett sacked quarterback Mike O’Connor for a five-yard loss before Mike DeAngelis made a spectacular pass breakup with a big hit on a throw down the middle of the field intended for tight end Colin Pavluk with 51 seconds left in the half.

Rumson’s Trevor Caruso misses a reception as South Plainfield’s Rahoen Cohen breaks up the play. South Plainfield vs Rumon-Fair Haven Central Group III sectional title game at High Point Solutions Stadium. 
Piscataway, NJ
Saturday, December 3, 2016.
@dhoodhood

Vecchiarelli evened the score at 14-14 on his 2-yard touchdown run with 6:45 left in the third quarter. He gave the Bulldogs a 20-14 lead with 29 seconds left in the third quarter on his 56-yard scoring jaunt.

“We owned the line of scrimmage in the first half and in the second half I think we got worn down going against kids twice the size of us,” Cassio said, noting he believed the Tigers surprised everyone but themselves. “No one picked us to be here, but at the end of the season we are playing in the state final at Rutgers against one of the top programs in the state.”

Lovett and Dillon Harris anchored South Plainfield’s defense with eight tackles apiece, while teammates Sapini (seven), DelVecchio (six) and Michael Lampasona (six) were among the Tigers’ other top defensive players.

The Tigers, who became only the second team in school history to win two playoff games in the same year, outscored their two previous postseason opponents 53-6 but were coming off a disheartening 39-21 Thanksgiving Day loss to a 2-7 North Plainfield team for which it had just three days to prepare.

South Plainfield, which Cassio believed could play with anybody when his coaching staff had time to prepare for an opponent, regrouped and fulfilled its goal of going to the wire for a sectional title.

“We’ve been playing together since we were young,” Marston said. “This was the goal. The fact that we made it here is very special. That’s the one thing – we all came together and we all had that one team goal. That’s the difference between a lot of teams. There’s no better group to play with. I love these guys.”

Unlike the Bulldogs, who became the third team in Shore Conference history to win four consecutive sectional titles, South Plainfield had been outscored 50-0 in three previous championship game appearances.

A challenging regular-season schedule in the Shore Conference’s A Central Division prepared Rumson-Fair Haven (9-3) well for its fifth overall title.