Resilient Ramblers Find A Way To Win In Battle Of Unbeatens, 27-19
COLONIA, NJ–In a game that matched two undefeated teams having memorable seasons, the third ranked Carteret Ramblers found a way to win against a Colonia team that came out fired up in the second half, and used the no huddle offense along with an uncanny ability to draw the Rambler defense offsides, and wear it down enough to score three second half touchdowns to tie the game at 19-19 early in the fourth quarter. Carteret got a two yard touchdown run from Jerod Johnson on 2nd and goal late in the game and Tyler Rodriguez completed a pass in the end zone to convert a two point play to take a 27-19 lead, and then the Rambler defense came up big on a 4th and 4 play on its five yard line to come away with the win.
Both teams showed great resiliency in the contest, and moved the ball well. The game was essentially a tale of two halves with Carteret dominating much of the first half while Colonia controlled much of the second half. The Ramblers helped contribute to the Patriots rally in the third and early fourth quarter with an interception that helped set up the second score on a pass from Trent Barneys to Al Bethea to draw the home team within 19-13 after trailing 19-0 at the half. After yielding the tying score on a short run early in the fourth, Carteret put itself in a precarious situation on two occasions with fumbles in their own territory. However, its defense was able to dig down deep, and prevent Colonia from capitalizing on both chances.
When the Ramblers got the ball on about its 15 yard line midway through the fourth, Tyler Rodriguez, Jerod Johnson, and Erik Fruscella combined to engineer an 85 yard scoring drive for the win. The key play that got things going for Carteret was a 30 yard pass to the right by Rodriguez to Fruscella, who made a leaping grab in front of the Colonia sideline at about the Carteret 45 yard line. Carteret later benefited from an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Colonia, and eventually scored on Johnson’s two yard run. Fruscella had a big night for the Ramblers as he made several nice catches. Rodriguez threw for two TD passes and ran for a third in the first half to stake the visitors to a 19-0 lead. Carteret had a chance to go up even further, but had a touchdown pass from Rodriguez taken away when the throw was beyond the line of scrimmage on a fourth down early in the second period.
In the first half, both teams moved the ball well, but Carteret was better as it was able to get the ball in the end zone while Colonia shot itself in the foot with penalties. The Ramblers scored on its second possession of the game on a 22 yard touchdown pass by Rodriguez to Brandon Gilder on a first down and 20 play with 5:52 remaining in the first quarter. Colonia didn’t get a first down until the 4:28 mark of the period, and eventually punted the ball away three plays later on that same drive at the 3:32 mark. Carteret took the punt, and drove again deep into Colonia territory thanks to a great grab along the Rambler sideline by Fruscella on a throw to the left by Rodriguez. Johnson then put together a nifty run to get the ball inside the Colonia five yard line as the first quarter came to a close. However, Carteret failed to score as it was stopped on downs at the 11:36 mark of the second period.
The Patriots were able to move the ball on the ensuing drive with a combination of nice running by Jake Pero, some nice short passing by Barneys to Al Bethea, some no huddle by the Patriots offense, and several Carteret offside penalties. However, Colonia was unable to sustain the drive, and eventually punted to the Ramblers with under eight minutes to go in the first half. Following a nice run to the left side by Johnson at the 7:47 mark, Rodriguez ran a keeper that broke open for a 75 yard touchdown run at the 7:20 mark for a 13-0 lead. After stopping Colonia on a 3rd and 4 on the Patriots ensuing drive, Carteret got the ball, and Rodriguez combined with Johnson on a 45 yard pass play to take a 19-0 lead with 5:33 left in the half. The home team got the ball back, and like many of its other first half drives, was able to move the ball, but an interception by Anthony Fredericks near midfield at the four minute mark put an end to that. Neither team scored the rest of the half as they both went into the locker room with Carteret up 19-0.
Colonia came out fired up prior to the start of the second half. You could feel the urgency along their sidelines way up in the stands on the Patriots side of the field. The urgency along with the energy coupled with the strategy on offense to run no huddle as well as draw Carteret offside began to wear the Ramblers down a bit, and open up some big plays. Colonia took the second half kickoff and returned the ball to its own 40 yard line. Eight plays later, the Patriots were in the end zone as they got a run of 14 yards from Pero, 12 yards from C.J. Cimilluca and Barneys, an 11 yard pass from Barneys to Al Bethea to set up a short run by Barneys for the Pats first score of the game to trim the deficit to 19-7. On the ensuing Carteret drive, Rodriguez threw an interception that was originally returned to the Rambler 30 yard line, but a block in the back penalty marked the ball back at the Carteret 48.
It wouldn’t matter though as Colonia again got the ball into the end zone as Barneys threw a 10 yard pass to Cimilluca, and a 13 yard strike to Mike Cottino before Pero rumbled down to the Carteret six yard line. Moments later, Barneys scrambled right, and threw back to his left to Bethea in the end zone for close the gap to 19-13 as the Colonia crowd was stirred up into a frenzy. After the Ramblers were stopped again, the Patriots received the punt, and had the ball again on its 40 yard line. The Pats again marched down the field highlighted by a 15 yard run by Barneys as the third quarter ended with Colonia on the Carteret 15 yard line. Early in the fourth, Colonia pushed the ball across the goal line to tie the game at 19-19. In a game that saw four missed extra points, the Ramblers blocked the point after by Matt Ribiero to preserve the tie. Colonia had two chances to take the lead after tying the score as Carteret turned the ball over on back to back possessions, but the Pats weren’t able to take advantage.
Following Carteret’s go ahead score late in the game, Colonia was able to engineer a drive deep into Carteret territory. The Patriots were able to convert a fourth down play at the Carteret 15 yard line, but on a 4th and 4 from the Ramblers five yard line, the Carteret defense stopped Colonia by sacking Barneys back at about the 15 yard line. The visitors then took a knee to run out the clock for the eight point win. This contest was not originally on the GMC Gridiron schedule. However, due to the significance of the contest between these two undefeated teams, a change in plans was made. The game didn’t disappoint either. It was perhaps one of the best if not the best game of the 2012 GMC Gridiron season. The matchup was one that lived up to the pre-game hype. Both teams showed tremendous heart and determination.
Despite having a giveaway/takeaway ratio of minus three, missing a couple extra points, failing to score early in the second quarter, and dealing with a number of offside penalties, the Ramblers found a way to pull out a tough win on the road against a more than worthy opponent. Coming into the game, Carteret was looking for its first undefeated season since 1992 when it won the Central Jersey Group II Championship behind Dennis Burney, who was also a 1,000 point scorer in basketball at the school. Colonia was looking for its first ever unbeaten season. With the win, Carteret improves to 7-0 on the season while Colonia falls to 7-1. Both teams will be back in action next week as the Ramblers face Kennedy on the road while Colonia travels to Bishop Ahr on Friday night.