PARAMUS, New Jersey – Iona Prep running back Crew Davis ran for 185 yards and three scores, and added a touchdown reception, as the Gaels outscored Paramus Catholic, 58-48, on Sept. 12.
“He’s our guy,” Gaels coach Joe Spagnolo said of Davis. “Our quarterback (Julian Guzman) is good too, but Crew is our guy. It starts with Crew.”
The game between New York and New Jersey powers was scoreless after the first quarter. After that, the scoreboard never stopped.
The game took more than three hours to complete.
Paramus Catholic quarterback Marco Green threw for 407 yards and four touchdowns. The Paladins never led, but pulled within 10 points twice in the fourth quarter and had the ball with a chance to make it a one-score game before turnovers doomed a possible comeback.
“That’s the part that is encouraging to me,” Paramus Catholic coach Greg Russo said. “We fumbled, they go 95 yards and score, but the game wasn’t over. We get it back, score and have a chance to cut [the lead] again.”
What it means
Week 2 in New Jersey high school football is full of North Jersey vs. New York non-public games. Iona Prep moved to 2-0 with the win, while Paramus Catholic fell to 1-2.
“We love playing Jersey teams, because we feel like playing Jersey teams makes us a tougher program and makes us ready for our New York state run,” Spagnolo said. “We have played one, two or three every year. The more I can play, the more I will.”
For the Paladins, the game was similar to their other games against quality opponents. They have an offense that can put up big points, but the defense has given up 108 points in the first three games.
“I have full faith in the defense,” Russo said. “I thought at the end of last year, our defense was playing great and we weren’t playing well on offense. At the end of the first quarter, it was 0-0, I thought our defense played great in the first quarter and we just didn’t score when we drove the ball.”
A frenzy in the fourth
Iona Prep led 38-14 at halftime, but the Paladins’ offense kept making it interesting.
After a tipped touchdown pass from Green to Anthony Lopez made it 51-41, Paramus Catholic recovered the onside kick and drove inside the Gaels 10, but fumbled yards away from the end zone.
Iona Prep capitalized with a 81-yard touchdown pass from Guzman to Mamadee Sangaray to make it 58-41, but the Paladins scored in seven plays on another Green-to-Lopez connection.
Incredibly, the Paladins recovered another onside kick with 4:26 left. But on the first offensive play, Sangaray intercepted a Green pass and the Gaels ran out the clock.
“I know we have to clean a lot of stuff up,” Spagnolo said. “We have a lot of guys who can make plays. And we ran the ball when we needed to. We don’t get on each other when things go sideways, this team doesn’t fight, which is a good sign heading toward the meat of the season.”
“In this league, offenses are really good and when you’re a little off, it can cost you,” Russo said. “And defense is one of those things, you could be right eight times in a row, and then you make a mistake and it’s a touchdown.”
Paramus Catholic wide receiver Nehki Martin continued his impressive early-season play with four catches for 102 yards. He scored two touchdowns through the air and one on the ground.
They said it
“Me and Russo have known each other for 30 years and we said at midfield before the game, he said you could beat me by 30, I could beat you by 30, we didn’t know what to expect. It’s too early in the season. We’re only on our second game. We’re still trying to figure out what we are and what we are going to be about,” Spagnolo said.
Up next
Paramus Catholic will host St. Joseph on Sept. 19.
Iona Prep will host St. Joseph by the Sea.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Iona Prep football outlasts Paramus Catholic in wild shootout
Reporting by Darren Cooper, NorthJersey.com / NorthJersey.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
