Sunday, September 16, 2007

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer

PARAMUS -- Mike DeBoer knew what he had to do. Downfield blocking is something an offensive lineman can only dream of, a chance to make a game-changing play. DeBoer also knew that the opportunity to give his Ridgewood teammates a huge boost was in his power.

Sam Nuber was the beneficiary of DeBoer’s opportunity, running behind him on a buck sweep to the right side. The duo has practiced just this play and just this situation hundreds of times, but this was a scoreless game in the third quarter, a bit more pressurized than the practice field.

Both players perfected the play, with Nuber scoring on a 65-yard run that was the turning point in a 12-0 Ridgewood win over Paramus Catholic in an NNJIL independent matchup.

Nuber’s TD on the second play of the third quarter with Ridgewood going into the stiff breeze was exactly what head coach Chuck Johnson was imploring his team to do during halftime.

“We ran it the entire first half and it wasn’t working,” DeBoer related. “Coach told us at halftime that we’ve got to execute it better. (Guard) Mike Mosticchio made the kickout block that sprung me upfield and Sam used my block amazingly.”

“It felt so good to be out in open space and have him right there in front of me,” Nuber, who ran 15 times for 122 yards in his first game after missing last week with an ankle injury, added.

With the way the Maroon defense was playing, the six points seemed like a lot more. Ridgewood was stifling the Paladins (0-2), who threw only one pass in the first half and eight in the entire game.

Paramus Catholic wasn’t helped when Dan Zappalla injured his left ankle in the final minute of the first half after running 14 times for 57 yards. He was limited to a single three-yard carry in the second half, a play where he tweaked the ankle again.

That hurt, but after Nuber’s score, the Maroon defense was surging, controlling the line of scrimmage and denying the Paladins any running room. It was a true team defensive effort, as linemen Nikola Mirkovic and Paul Rispoli and safety Doug Chistopher each recorded 10 tackles.

“We rallied together,” DeBoer (7 tackles) said. “We knew we couldn’t come out flat in the second half.”

“We came out more determined, we set up our blocks better and took it to the next level,” Nuber agreed. “Everybody just stepped it up.”

“He was disappointed in his play last week, and we challenged him this week,” Johnson said of DeBoer. “It was a big step-up week for Paul (Rispoli), too. We challenged him as well. He’s one of the fastest kids on the team, and he’s getting better every week.”

Ridgewood (2-0) got the insurance score with 7:58 left in the game, as sophomore Tony Ahn followed up a 16-yard punt return with a 44-yard touchdown run on another buck sweep. He went left and cut it back right just past the line of scrimmage and was untouched in getting his first varsity score.

“On the (buck) sweep, we cut it up very sharp and our running backs coach (Bill Grundy) always tells us to look for the cutback, since the defense over pursues. It’s just practice.”
“We knew they (defense) were out there doing everything they could, and we just wanted to be able to go out and help them out,” Nuber said of the offense.

The Maroon defense had a big stop midway into the second quarter, with Ken Phillips and Fabio Palacio combining to stop PC QB Mike Devinio on a fourth and one quarterback sneak at the Ridgewood 15-yard line.

Nuber’s rushing yards were augmented by Ahn’s 52 yards on four carries as he stepped in for Brandon Scott, who aggravated his own ankle injury on the first Ridgewood offensive play.

“They gave me a little senior pep talk about stepping up to the challenge,” Ahn commented. “It wasn’t me, it was the line giving me the huge hole to run through.”

Bryan Remmen had some big second half runs at fullback and had 57 yards on 10 carries as the Maroons ran for 275 yards. Quarterback Greg Johnson had 39 yards on four runs and was 4 of 10 passing for 57 yards and one interception.

Mike Luciano made 13 tackles and Ricky DeJesus had 11 stops for Paramus Catholic, who also got an interception and a fumble recovery from Manny Torres. Devinio, a sophomore, was 4 of 8 passing for 32 yards, three of the completions going to Luciano for 24 yards.

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