October
8, 2005
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| Junior Evan Rodriguez threw for two scores, rushed for one, scored on a punt return and picked off a pass as North Bergen stayed perfect on the season with a 47-6 win over Ferris on Friday night. | |
NORTH BERGEN – Ferris has been one of the year’s biggest surprises of the football season thus far, including a shocking road win last week at Bayonne. The Bulldogs’ confidence was at its peak heading into Friday night’s showdown with North Bergen and they showed it by taking the lead on the second play from scrimmage.
But instead of putting North Bergen on its heals, that early score only awoke a sleeping giant. The combination of a punishing defense and the gracefulness of do-everything junior Evan Rodriguez proved to be too much for Ferris and there was going to be no upset this time around.
Rodriguez threw for two scores, rushed for one, and also scored on a punt return, which was more than enough for the Bruins. Led by senior middle linebacker Marc Chapparo, North Bergen (4-0) gave up just 76 total yards after the opening drive and remained undefeated with a 47-6 romp over Ferris in HCIAA action at North Hudson County Park.
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| Davon Shaw turning the corner on a 77-yard TD run that gave Ferris the early lead after just two plays from scrimmage. |
“With the exception of one play, we really put it all together tonight,” said longtime North Bergen head coach Vin Ascolese. “Evan [Rodriguez] is such a talented player, and he is so composed and relaxed out there that it calms everyone else down as well. He never really gets rattled and the rest of the team is following his lead. Our defense also really stepped up tonight, they played a heck of a game against a team that has some weapons on offense.”
Ferris took the lead early and never looked back in the upset over Bayonne, and used a similar blueprint to start this game. Davon Shaw took a handoff on the second play of the game and blasted off the left tackle, broke a tackle and was off to the races. He only had one man to beat. The junior tailback gave the last defender a stiff arm, then broke a shoestring tackle, going 77 yards in total for the touchdown. Even though Chapparo blocked the extra point, the Bulldogs still held a 6-0 lead just 1:02 into the game.
Just 17 seconds later, that all changed.
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| Reggie Caciedo gave North Bergen the lead for good on its first play from scrimmage, going 68 yards untouched on a screen pass. |
On North Bergen’s first play from scrimmage, Rodriguez perfectly executed a ball fake, then threw a screen pass to speedy tailback Reggie Caicedo. With plenty of blockers ahead of him, Caicedo went untouched 68 yards to the end zone. Rodriguez tacked on the extra point for a 7-6 lead.
“You never like to give up a big play, but it definitely opened our eyes and got us focused,” said Chapparo, a three-year starter. “You have to put those plays behind you though and moved on because it’s a long game. The big thing was that we came right back and scored. We didn’t give them any momentum and we took control from that point on.”
On the ensuing possession, the second play from scrimmage did not go nearly as well for the Bulldogs. Rodriguez picked off Shyheem Anderson at midfield and returned it to the Bulldogs’ 31-yard line. Three plays later, sophomore Jean Mentor bulldozed his way in from eight yards out to make it 14-6.
Just past the midway point of the second quarter, the Bruins struck for the final time of the half. On a third-and-16 from the Ferris 20-yard line, Rodriguez lofted a play-action pass over the back shoulder of wide receiver David Moreno and hit him just behind the pilon for the touchdown. He followed it up by hitting Chapparo for the two-point conversion and a 21-6 halftime lead.
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| Ferris QB Shyheem Anderson was pressured all night by an aggressive North Bergen defense. |
Although North Bergen ran just three offensive plays in the third quarter, it was able to widen its lead by 20 points and turn a reasonably close game into a bonafide blowout.
It started when Chris Macias took the second half kickoff and went through the wedge unscathed, darting 77 yards to paydirt to take the wind right out of the Bulldogs’ sails. Rodriguez followed with the two most electrifying plays of the game.
First, he showed his raw speed by turning the corner on a bootleg and turning a sizable gain into a 35-yard touchdown. After the Bulldogs went three-and-out, Rodriguez then let a line-drive punt get past him and it took a Ferris bounce, at least for the time being.
Rodriguez went back to scoop up the ball, then turned around and headed upfield. He made several tacklers miss with his lateral quickness and, after beating five separate would-be tacklers, he cut across the field and outran everyone to the end zone for a 41- 6 lead.
Meanwhile, the Bruin defense was on cruise control, completely shutting down Ferris’ three-pronged running attack of Anderson, Shaw, and Ramir Henry. After Shaw’s touchdown, the Bulldogs managed just three first downs on their next seven drives as the Bruins breezed to yet another victory.
Shaw was the lone bright spot for Ferris (3-2). He went over the 100-yard mark with 123 yards on just 14 carries.
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| North Bergen's Chris Macias took the second half kickoff back 77 yards that put the game away for good. |
Rodriguez had one of the best games of his career as a whole for North Bergen (5-0). He went a perfect 4-for-4 passing for 128 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 43 yards on three carries, and had nearly 100 yards on kick returns. Chapparo recorded eight tackles to anchor the defense, while Xavier Alzate added seven. Eric Salgado scored on an eight-yard run for the final margin. The Bruins have several tough tests upcoming, including Bayonne next week before facing the five-time defending HCIAA champion St. Peter’s Prep.
“We want Prep, but that game is still far away to think about just yet,” said Rodriguez. “We have a pretty mature team and we just take it one game at a time. We don’t want to look past anyone and we’re just trying to get better with each game. I think this was our best game so far and we know we can get even better. So when those big games come, we’ll be ready for them.”
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