Sunday, September 30, 2007

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Demarest quarterback Tyler Dito threw for two scores, including a 20-yarder on a backside screen to Tyler Potterton that gave the Norsemen the winning points with 8:59 to go in the game.

RAMSEY -- For what it lacked in excitement and offensive production for the first three-and-a-half quarters, Saturday's game between Ramsey and visiting Demarest sure made up for it in a hurry. After Demarest scored on the first possession of the game, there was a lull in points scored until the fourth quarter. But when the ball finally started moving up and down the field, it was hard to keep track.

Ramsey scored four plays into the fourth quarter and took a one-point lead that barely lasted through the ensuing kick return and was officially erased three plays later.

Demarest had a chance to salt the game only to fumble away its chance with 2:26 left to play and Ramsey’s final drive, which started on its own 7 with no timeouts, got as far as the Demarest 9-yard line before a fumbled snap ended the drama and Demarest’s 12-7 win.

After struggling through a 2-7 campaign last year, the Norsemen surpassed last season’s win total, improving to 3-1.

“We had to battle to the end, that is the way that we are going to have to win games this year,” said Demarest head coach Scott Rubinetti. “I don’t think many people outside the program expected much from us, especially with all that we lost [to graduation] and with all of the running backs we lost, but it says a lot about these kids that they don’t worry about that stuff and just play football.”

Ramsey AB Jake Seibert carried the ball 19 times for 97 yards and completed all four of his passes on the final drive to the Ramsey within 9 yards of the winning score.

Demarest’s first drive of the game lasted nine plays and ended in Tyler Dito’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Keith Dooly. The extra point was blocked and the Norsemen had to settle for a 6-0 lead that lasted for the next two-and-a-half quarters as their defense bent but didn’t break, as evidenced by Ramsey’s first and last possessions of the game.

The Rams’ first drive lasted for 6:11 and consisted of 13 plays that covered 67 yards, but Jake Seibert, Ramsey’s quarterback and the pilot of its option style attack, was stopped for a two-yard loss on a fourth-and-2 at the Demarest 7.

But Ramsey (2-1) finally finished off a drive to set the stage for the wild finish. Starting on their own 32 with 4:32 left in the third quarter, the Rams went 68 yards in 14 plays and took the lead for the first time when Seibert went over from two yards out with 10:17 to go in the game.

Seibert, who carried the ball 19 times for 97 yards in the game (115 yards before subtracting yardage lost on three Demarest sacks), also added the extra point as Ramsey went up 7-6.

But the momentum lasted only for as long as it took for the kickoff to land in the hands of Dooly at his own 12-yard line. Dooly made a dash up the left sideline and went 60 yards all the way to the Ramsey 22.

“I knew it was time to step up and I got some great blocking,” said Dooly, a senior. “I got free up the sideline and it is too bad that I kind of ran out of gas there and couldn’t go all the way.”

Demarest's Keith Dooly caught a first quarter TD pass and had a key fourth quarter punt return to set up the winning score.

Demarest then went back in front with some creative play calling, a staple of Rubinetti coached teams. On a second and 8 from the 20, the Norsemen ran a roll out pass where Dito sprinted to his right, but threw incomplete in the general direction of Dior Mor near the sideline.

On the very next play and facing a key third down, Demarest called what looked like the exact same play until Dito pulled up and turned back to his left. He threw a backside screen to Tyler Potterton, who ran 20 yards untouched into the endzone to give the Norsemen the lead back with 8:59 to play.

“We noticed some things they were doing against our roll outs and we thought that we could hit them with that play,” said Rubinetti. We were hoping just to get a first down out of it, but Potterton put on a good burst and took it all the way. That was a big play for us.”

It was, but the Norsemen could not connect on the two-point conversion pass and were left holding just a five-point lead at 12-7. It looked like it would be enough when they forced Ramsey into three plays and a punt on the Rams’ next possession and then forced Ramsey into using all of its timeouts as they moved the ball inside the 10 with 2:36 to play.

But before the Norsemen could run out the clock, Potterton took the first down handoff off right tackle and was hit hard at the line of scrimmage. The ball popped out, Ramsey recovered and had one last chance, 90 yards from the winning score with 2:26 to go in the game and no timeouts.

Doug Nemeth caught three passes for 55 yards on Ramsey's final drive.

To that point in the game, Seibert was just 2 for 8 passing for 3 yards and one of those completions was to himself when his throw was batted at the line of scrimmage. But in desperation, Seibert found the range and marched his team right down the field.

He was a perfect 4 for 4 on the drive for 69 yards and the last three completions came on three consecutive connections with Doug Nemeth for gains of 21, 15 and 19 yards that brought the Rams, which was still riding the wave of last week’s upset win over Pascack Valley, to the Demarest 9-yard line with 1:09 to go in the game.

But before they got a chance to punch it in, the snap on the first-and-goal play was botched; Demarest’s Tom Passafaro recovered the loose ball. Three kneel-downs later, Demarest had surpassed its win total from all of last season.

“I think a lot of it had to do with the way our team came out. We came out here to fight until the last play of the game knowing that it would be a tough game. Good things happen when you just keep playing,” said Dito, who finished 5 of 14 for 125 yards and 2 TDs without an interception. “Maybe not a lot of team saw us coming and that is good because we get to play the underdog every time and we get to come out every week with a chance to show people how good we are. It’s worked out well so far.”

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