GMC Football: Middlesex rallies for dramatic 22-21 OT win over Shore

John Kressbach’s fourth-down touchdown pass of 25 yards and his ensuing two-point conversion run lifted the Middlesex High School football team to a dramatic 22-21 overtime road victory over Shore Regional on Friday night.

Zack Godfrey was on the receiving end of the winning scoring strike. He also caught a 66-yard halfback option pass from Devin Lanza with two minutes left in regulation to help the Blue Jays (5-1) forge a 14-14 tie.

Kressbach rushed for 161 yards on 18 carries and completed 4 of 5 passes for 54 yards.

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“I didn’t even know the (halfback option) play was being called,” said Middlesex head coach P.J. Jankowicz, who trusts the play calling to offensive coordinator Bob Doherty. “I was talking with my defensive coordinator on the headset. I saw that Zack came open. Devin runs that play very well so teams commit more than they can afford to to stop it. The corner came up, Devin threw a great pass and Zack caught it. It was a great call by Bob Doherty.”

Shore missed a field goal attempt on the series prior to Lanza’s halfback option touchdown pass. Middlesex also missed a field goal attempt earlier in the game.

Running back Jack McRae’s 3-yard touchdown for Shore Regional, which possessed the ball first in overtime, gave the Blue Devils a 21-14 lead.

“We talked all week about Shore being a great program,” Jankowicz said. “They don’t beat themselves and we knew we were going to have to go down there and beat them. We kept ourselves in the game. We bent (on defense) but did not break. We had a couple of interceptions and some guys really stepped up when their number was called. I’m so proud of those guys.”

Senior quarterback Ryan Morris’ second touchdowns pass of the game on fourth down, a 17-yard completion to Gil Goldsmith with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, gave the Blue Devils a 14-7 lead.

Shore took a 7-0 lead on Morris’ 20-yard touchdowns pass to Terry Carlstrom on fourth down with five minutes left in the first quarter.

The Blue Devils were threatening to score again late in the first half when Josh Ramirez intercepted a pass on fourth-and-goal inside the 10 yard line.

Kressbach scored on a 5-yard quarterback keeper with eight minutes left in the second quarter to help the Blue Jays forge a 7-7 tie.

Middlesex had a chance to take the lead with four minutes left in the third quarter but missed a 23-yard field goal.

Lanza finished with 27 yards on 10 carries. Backfield mate Tom Ray rushed 12 times for 32 yards.

Godfrey had a career-high 95 receiving yards on three catches.