December
4, 2004
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| BC's Brian Cushing finished with 31carries for 190 yards, as the Crusaders ended an eight-game losing streak against Don Bosco. | |
EAST RUTHERFORD - The crowd around the ball seemed almost as large as the 12,922 fans in attendance. The Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic players were surrounding the officials as the chains were stretched, all knowing that their collective seasons hung in the balance.
The yard marker passed ominously along the ball, then found its final spot some five inches beyond, setting off a Crusader celebration that has been five years in the making. The eight straight losses to the Ironmen were now history.
With a
13-10 victory, Bergen Catholic exorcized the ghosts of Bosco past and won
its 16th state championship (and 13th on the field) over the defending champions
on Friday night at Giants Stadium. The win completed the Crusaders' comeback
from two season-opening losses to Ridgewood and Don Bosco, and it fulfilled
a dream that BC head coach Fred Stengel had a year ago.
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| Michael Ray Garvin had 131 yards rushing on 21 carries and Bosco's lone TD. |
"You're going to think I'm nuts, but I dreamt that we were going to lose our first two games this year and we were going to come back and win the state championship," Stengel related. "I told the kids that on Monday, and Jimmy Dray walks into me, and he says, coach, we got it, don't worry about it, I dreamt we were going to win, too.
"I'm looking up at the clock (in the last minute), I'm saying to myself, I've never had a dream not come true. Something's gonna happen, we're gonna find a way to win this game, and sure enough, we did."
The game came down to the mark of the ball with 51 seconds to go. Ironmen QB Matt Simms, on fourth and 10, threw a deep out pass to Ryan Lindsay, who made the catch and was taken out of bounds by Joe Dottino.
"I knew
they didn't make it," Dottino said confidently. "He got a step after he caught
the ball, but I knew he didn't make it."
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| BC quarterback Brad Hartung finished 10 of 25 for 104 yards. |
He proved to be correct, though it could be argued that Lindsay had another step of forward progress that would have given Bosco the first down. Instead, the Crusaders celebrated their first title since 2001. The play was possible because Brian Cushing had been stripped by Ike Garrow after running 16 yards to the Bosco 9 with what seemed like a game-ending first down. Lindsay recovered for the Ironmen.
"That was it right there," Cushing acknowledged, "but my teammates got behind me and they picked me up and won the game for me at the end, won the game for all of us."
Unlike most of their regular season games but very much like last year's Non-Public Group 4 final, the two teams put their defenses to the forefront, and Bergen got the better of the matchup in crucial situations.
"I just
can't say enough about our defense," Stengel said. "We've had a lot of injuries
all year, and our defense got torched for those 42 points against St. Joe's.
Cushing couldn't practice, Dray couldn't practice, Dottino couldn't practice.
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| Bosco's Matt Simms 8 of 22 passes for just 67 yards with two interceptions and was sacked five times, all in the second half. |
"The last two weeks, I told our defensive coordinator (Joe Haemmerle), it's a new concept, it's called practice. We got the kids for two weeks (thanks to no Thanksgiving Day game), and we're gonna get them healthy and practice their butts off to make sure they're ready."
It was evident from the outset that the anticipated offensive shootout was not going to materialize, with five punts and three turnovers in the first eight series of the game. BC had the first scoring opportunity, but Dave Kuncio missed a 40-yard field goal try short and wide with 10:05 to go in the half.
Don Bosco (10-2) then sprung Michael Ray Garvin on two long runs, the first a 25-yarder that was almost an 80-yarder save for his foot barely going out of bounds, and the second a 53-yarder to the Crusader 2, though Garvin seemed to have gotten a dive into the end zone despite Wolfver Jean-Pierre's shove along the sideline.
Disaster almost struck when Simms fumbled the snap on the next play, but Darius Mann recovered at the 2 and Garvin went in off left guard on the following play. Joe Marcoux added the point after, then sent the kickoff for a touchback.
Cushing
made short work of the DB lead, going off right tackle through a seam, then
turning on the jets and outracing the Ironmen secondary to complete an 80-yard
touchdown run. Kuncio's PAT evened the game with 9:01 left in the half.
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| Jim Dary and the BC offense did just enough to knock off Bosco for the first time in eight tries. |
"I saw the daylight and I just had to go," Cushing said of the acceleration and burst of speed he put on after getting through the line.
Bergen Catholic (10-2) got the lead score on its next possession, going 70 yards in 12 plays to score with two seconds left in the half. A big third and 10 completion of 22 yards on a screen to Cushing and a third and six run by Cushing for a first down at the DB 9 set up the score.
Disdaining a field goal try with seven ticks remaining, Stengel sent Hartung (10 of 25, 104 yards, 3 INT) back to pass, and he found Cushing in the right corner of the end zone. He got both feet in bounds making the catch, with a nice toe jam at the end line. Jason Mills blocked Kuncio's extra point try and, while BC had the lead, the memories of last year's 14-13 loss on a blocked PAT were dancing in many minds.
Cushing
was dominant in the first half with 150 yards rushing on 17 carries in addition
to his two receptions for 31 yards. He ended the game with 31carries for 190
yards, both career highs, and added 8 tackles (five for losses) and 2.5 sacks.
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| Darius Mann and Bosco finished the season with a 10-2 record. |
"I wouldn't call it his best game, but I would call it his guttiest," Stengel said of the senior. "You could see him saying to himself on defense after he fumbled, I'm gonna find a way to win this game, and he came up with big plays."
That could be said for the entire defense, which made life miserable for Simms. He completed 8 of 22 passes for just 67 yards with two interceptions and he was sacked five times, all in the second half.
Dottino got the first INT in the first quarter to offset a Hartung interception on the previous play, and Dray got the other on a bad ball with 6:23 to go at the Bosco 22-yard line that changed the field position in the final quarter.
"They played a great football game, you have to give them credit," DB head coach Greg Toal said. "He (Cushing) is a great football player, and you have to give him all the accolades. He played great in this game."
The Ironmen got a 25-yard Marcoux field goal after Brad Atkinson had intercepted a Hartung overthrow and returned it 20 yards to the Crusader 10. Jean-Pierre knocked down consecutive passes on second and third downs to force the FG.
A 58-yard punt by Kevin Mollema in the opening minute of the fourth quarter helped pin Don Bosco at its own 13, and they never crossed the 30-yard line after that.
"I'm in shock," Atkinson said in the moments after the final whistle. "When they had the ball at the 15, I kept telling the guys, hey, there's a minute and a half left, and we're gonna make them turn it over. Today, they were the better team, that's the way it is. The first time we were the better team."
"Our kids played a great game, with great effort," Toal commented. "It was their night."
Brad Dussault had 8 tackles and a sack for Bergen, which held the Ironmen to a season-low 167 total yards, with only 31 of them coming in the second half. Dray had 4 catches for 27 yards and Jean-Pierre had 3 for 43 as BC hit 300 total yards even.
Garvin had 131 yards rushing on 21 carries, but managed just 41 on his last 14 carries after the 53-yarder. Atkinson had 11 tackles and Garrow and Jay McCahill each had 8. Lindsay grabbed four receptions for 32 yards.
"This game and this season have been a life lesson, never giving up," Cushing said. "Being 0-2 and winning 10 straight games and the state championship, there's no better feeling. Everything I've ever done in my life is worth this moment right here."
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