Sunday, November 4, 2007

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer

RAMSEY -- Coming into Saturday night’s clash of the North Jersey titans, Don Bosco quarterback Brett Knief was the wild card, the rookie playing in a high pressure game for the first time in his varsity career.

Just how would the Ramsey native react when challenged? Would he stand up, literally, to the pressure of the moment? Twelve carries, 50 yards rushing. Ten completions in 21 passes for 159 yards without being sacked. Case closed.

The Ironmen once again established themselves as the team to beat and continued their recent domination of Bergen Catholic, winning for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings by a 27-7 score.

“I came in trying not to overdo it, let the running backs do their work and not get bothered if they go ahead,” Knief said of his pre-game thoughts.

The triumph extends the Bosco winning streak to 20 games and garners it the top seed in the Non-Public Group 4 bracket. The Ironmen will open the playoff at home next Friday night against Seton Hall prep, while Bergen (7-1) is the third seed and will host Red Bank Catholic next Saturday.

Knief proved to be just what Don Bosco needed on a night when its running game was not all that effective. His poise was on display throughout, and it allowed the Dons to overcome a BC touchdown on its first play from scrimmage.
Nick Gerst blew through a hole on the left side and went 87 untouched yards for the stunning touchdown just 45 seconds into the game, sending the Crusaders faithful in the crowd of 7,000 plus into a frenzy.

“We were prepared if they hit us with a big play early,” Bosco tight end/linebacker Alex DiSanzo said. “They’d score and get real high early, and we just had to keep doing what we do.”

They did just that, thanks to a big mistake by Bergen Catholic. After forcing a punt on Bosco’s series after the TD, they lost the ball on a fumbled center exchange at the BC 23-yard line. An illegal substitution penalty set the ball at the 18, and Knief went the distance on the next play.

“The fumble recovery set up the offense, and we ran option to the field,” Knief recounted. “The downside backer went with the option man. I got downfield and Matt Sciancalepore made a great block on the outside for me.”

It also seemed to rattle the Crusaders, who saw the game’s momentum shifting to the opposite side of the field. A hurried punt went for minus four yards, setting DB up on the Crusader 13. Even though they held, Pat Murray’s 26-yard field goal was enough to put the Ironmen up 10-7.

“We gave them the short field twice,” BC head coach Fred Stengel lamented. “It’s frustrating.”

The Crusaders went three-and-out four straight times, as QB Rob Eckrote misfired on his first seven passes. Meanwhile, Don Bosco stretched the lead to 17-7 as Knief hit Trace McDermott down the right sideline on a third and 8 for 19 yards to keep the march alive. That led to Tony Jones’ 4-yard touchdown on a sweep to the left side with 5:21 to go before halftime.

“We just didn’t move the ball effectively, that’s the bottom line,” Stengel said, “and we made too many silly mistakes.”

After stopping BC with 36 seconds to go, Knief scrambled for 14 yards then hit Steve Proscia for 28 yards and DiSanzo for 29 to the Crusader 3, where he was hit and fumbled. Proscia recovered the ball, allowing Murray to nail a 20-yard field goal as the half ended for a 20-7 lead.

“He’s great leader and competitor,” Toal said of his signal-caller. “He made some clutch throws, especially the one to McDermott. That got us going. Then we punched in that second touchdown. That was huge.”

“Trace made a great adjustment on the one down the sideline, and I’ll take my chances with Alex DiSanzo any time,” Knief said.

Billy Schautz did everything he could to try and rally the Crusaders in the second half, beginning with a 39-yard reception on the opening play of the second half. They couldn’t take advantage of their field position, as they went inside the Bosco 35 four times with no points (downs, downs, interception, punt).

“We played great defense, but we just didn’t give the defense enough help with our offense,” Stengel said.

Schautz, who came into the game with 13 catches on the season, had 9 for 125 yards on the night, including 6 or 104 in the second half. He also had 8 tackles, two for losses, and was by far the best Bergen player on the field.

“Our defense and our quarterback were the story,” DB head coach Greg Toal said. “We were backed up the whole third quarter and they responded.”

The Ironmen got the last touchdown with 56 seconds to go on a Jones 2-yard run after a fourth down Stephen Pedhoretzky sack gave them the ball deep in Crusader territory. Dom Gaston topped Bergen with 14 tackles, while Guy Germinario (8 tackles, 2 for loss), Nick Mistretta (7 tackles) and Pedhoretzky (7 tackles, 1.5 sacks) led the Don Bosco defense.

It was Knief that had everyone talking, however, though he wasn’t ready to anoint himself into the class of a Steve Levy, Mike Teel or Chris Simms just yet.

“I’m still working into the role,” Knief said.

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