RAMSEY- If someone had told Don Bosco coach Greg Toal before Saturday's Parochial 4 playoff match up with Delbarton that his team would pile up 330 yards of offense while limiting the Green Wave attack to only 189 yards, he would probably have said the Ironmen would win.

Given the same set of statistics, Delbarton coach John Kowalik probably wouldn't have been confident his squad would come out the winner. However, statistics are only part of the game as sixth-seeded Delbarton proved in its 14-12 upset win over third-seeded Don Bosco at Granatell Stadium.

"Based on their performance this year and the last two weeks, we felt that we were the underdogs coming in," said Kowalik. "We didn't want to come in thinking we didn't have a chance. We thought we were a talented football team and we definitely had a chance if we played well.

Don Bosco (8-1) took a 6-0 lead with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter when senior quarterback Steve Levy found Casey Edgar in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Delbarton's Thomas Scott blocked Will Van Thunen's extra-point attempt, a play that would come back to haunt the Ironmen.

On its next possession, Don Bosco put together an impressive drive beginning at its own 20-yard line. With Levy (18 carries, 78 yards) and sophomore tailback Brian Toal (12 carries, 54 yards) leading the way, the Ironmen marched the ball to the Delbarton 17-yard line. On the next play, tailback Luis Mangual was stopped at the line of scrimmage, driven backward and stripped of the ball. Delbarton's Gavin Weeks recovered at the 26.

The Don Bosco defense tightened, forcing Delbarton (9-0) to punt after three plays, and the Ironmen got the ball back on their own 37. A 26-yard pass play from Levy to Toal set up an apparent 32-yard field goal attempt by Van Thunen with less than one second remaining in the half.

Levy, in to hold for Van Thunen, instead took the snap and ran left toward the end zone. After about a 10-yard gain, Levy lateralled to Van Thunen who raced toward the left pylon but was stopped just short of the end zone as time expired. Despite having been outplayed, the Green Wave went into the locker room feeling good, while the Ironmen felt frustration.

"They outplayed us in the first half, but we were only down 6-0," Kowalik said. "We kept them out of the end zone, so we thought our defense had played well."

The early part of the second half was a continuation of the frustration felt by Don Bosco. A 13-play drive that ate up 7:42 resulted in no points for the Ironmen when Van Thunen's 35-yard field goal attempt went wide left.

Delbarton took over and marched 80 yards on 11 plays, culminating in a four-yard touchdown run by Mike DeFazio (23 carries, 72 yards), whose point-after kick gave the Green Wave a 7-6 lead with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.

The size and strength advantage of the Delbarton line began to wear on the Ironmen, who were forced to punt of the ensuing possession. Delbarton, riding a wave of energy, pulled a trick play out of its bag, a halfback option pass from Raffael DeLuca to Jarrett Schreck (three catches, 82 yards) that went for 39 yards to the Don Bosco 26-yard line.

Three running plays and a 15-yard gain on a screen play from quarterback Mike Loree to DeFazio set up first and goal from the one. DeFazio's run and successful PAT made it 14-6 in favor of Delbarton with 8:17 left in regulation.

Feeling the pressure of both the clock ticking and the Delbarton defensive line, Levy was intercepted by Weeks after being hit by Cory Terzis just as he was releasing a pass. The Ironmen stood up on defense, forcing the Green Wave into a 37-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by Toal.

Levy (14-for-25, 161 yards) was intercepted again on the ensuing series, this time by Schreck, and it looked like the end for the Ironmen. But again the Don Bosco defense was up to the challenge, forcing Delbarton to punt after three running plays.

A 17-yard run by Levy set up an 18-yard scoring strike to John Allegreta (four catches, 56 yards) with 1:18 remaining. The Ironmen had to go for the two-point conversion, but Schreck broke up Levy's pass to Marquise Liverpool.

An onside kick by Don Bosco was recovered by Delbarton's Corey Brisee and the Green Wave were able to run out the clock from there.

"My man ran a slant," said Schreck in describing the failed two-point conversion try by Don Bosco. "I read the pattern. I jumped in late and the ball was there and I knocked it down."

"I thought they did a great job running the football," said Greg Toal. "That was the key. That was the difference in the third and fourth quarter. Their line was coming off the ball. We get the ball and we don't score in the red zone early in the third quarter. That was tough.

"The kids didn't quit, and I'm proud of that. That was a great high school football game," Toal continued. "Two great teams going at it, and they were the last ones standing."

Delbarton's victory earned them a home game next week against Holy Cross, the bracket's defending champion. Don Bosco, whicj came into the game as the No. 1 team in the state and riding the momentum of back-to-back wins over Bergen Catholic and St. Joseph's (Montvale) finishes its season Thanksgiving Day versus Paramus Catholic.