Ramapo Falls Short of Division Title With Loss to Undefeated Old Tappan

For the second straight week, the Ramapo Raiders faced one of North Jersey's premier playmakers and came up short, posting two tough losses after a 7-0 start.

While last week's may have been a blow to the Raiders' pride as much as their record, Friday's 25-20 loss at Old Tappan (8-0) cost the boys the Big North Division IV crown and potentially set up a series of extremely difficult matchups as the Raiders pursue their second straight sectional title.

"The road looks like Paramus, Old Tappan, Wayne Hills," said coach Drew Gibbs, who projects the boys playing the Spartans in the opening round of the North 1 Group 3 playoffs. "That's a pretty tough road ahead."

Old Tappan's do-everything quarterback, Devin Fuller, didn't post the staggering numbers that Hills' Brian Dowling did last week, but still accounted for all four of the Golden Knights touchdowns and a key interception from the safety spot. Still, the Raiders defense held Old Tappan to its lowest offensive output of the season, and the boys could have been on the other side of the win/loss column if not for a few mistakes that cost them points.

"I don't think you stop Fuller; I don't think you stop Dowling," Gibbs said. "You have to contain those guys... I think we played good enough defense to win tonight.

"We felt like we had to win this 28-24, 31-28," the coach said. "I think we just didn't play good enough offense in the first half."

Ramapo went into the break down 12-0, courtesy of a 25-yard touchdown strike from Fuller to Jeff Pinelli and a 38-yard run from Fuller, both in the second quarter. On the latter touchdown, the 180-pound junior used a great play-action fake to set up his run, slicing through the Raiders' defense for the score.

The Raiders offense again suffered from the loss of running back Jack Bandazian, who Gibbs said is the fastest player on the team. The boys will have to figure a way to win without his punishing rushing style the rest of the way, as the two-way player is lost for the year with an ACL injury.

Senior wideout Tyler Speziale, already a focal point of the Raiders offense, saw his number called even more often with Bandazian on the sidelines. The standout gave the running game a boost Friday in addition to being a frequent target of quarterback Tyler Ward, although a bobbled reception at the pylon in the closing seconds of the second quarter cost the Raiders six points that could have been the difference in the game.

Ramapo's halftime adjustments made the game much more competitive, with the offense playing with a sense of urgency. The defense provided the early momentum in the third, with junior Doug Norkett intercepting a Fuller endzone pass to set up a long Ramapo drive down the field. Perhaps fittingly, Norkett would get the Raiders 6 on the possession on a 13-yard run, capped by a Tim Sternfeld PAT. 

The 12-7 deficit would be widened by Fuller only moments later, as he took a keeper 62 jaw-dropping yards for a touchdown. With a successful PAT, the Raiders were down 19-7.

There was no quit in the Raiders, who got two receptions from Speziale and a great grab from tight end Mat Laducer in traffic downfield to close out the third. Speziale would cap the drive with an 18-yard run for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, followed by a Sternfeld kick, to narrow the Old Tappan lead to 19-14.

Old Tappan would punt on the next possession, and momentum seemed to be swinging the Raiders way as they headed toward the endzone. The drive was aborted, though, by Fuller, who intercepted Ward to get the Golden Knights the ball back. He would add another touchdown run on the ensuing possession to seemingly put the game out of reach at 25-14 with under three minutes to play.

The Raiders weren't finished fighting, however. A furious drive marked by the play of wideouts Matt Bunting and Speziale led to a quick touchdown by Bunting, who recovered his own fumble after what would have been a scoring catch. With only eight seconds left, the Raiders had no choice but to try for two and go for the onsides kick, but fell short on both counts.

Despite the disappointing end, Gibbs was proud of how the boys battled in the second half.

"We took one on the chin last week (against Wayne Hills). Sometimes when you take a loss it knocks your confidence a little bit, but I didn't think we really played the way we're capable of in the first half, and you saw who we were in the second half.

"I'm proud of our kids," Gibbs said. "We got a couple of stops, and not a lot of teams have stopped these guys this year."