Sunday, October 12, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Andrew Imperatore, playing with a cast on his right hand, used his left to carry the ball 29 times for 158 yards and a TD as Ramapo handed Fair Lawn its first loss of the season.

FAIR LAWN -- Coming off back to back losses to NBIL heavyweights Wayne Hills and Pascack Valley, Ramapo's football season is now one full of playoff games. One more loss and the Green Raiders would probably be on the outside looking in come the postseason and they were looking to avoid elimination on Saturday at Fair Lawn, a team off to a 4-0 start as one of North Jersey's early season surprise teams.

“After those two losses, this was a huge game for us,” said senior two-way lineman Mike Reynolds. “We said that our season is really made up of 12 playoff games and we know that we can’t lose again no matter who we play or where we play them.”

Reynolds and his fellow offensive linemen played a major role in the outcome as the Green Raiders went back to basics with a power running game that wore down Fair Lawn’s finesse. Using Andrew Imperatore as a battering ram and the poise of senior quarterback Andrew Weiss, Ramapo controlled the game on the ground, set up play action passes and grinded out a 31-21 win that gets the Raiders back even at 2-2 on the season.

Travis Kubasta threw two long TD passes for Fair Lawn, which fell to 4-1 on the season.

“It feels great to be back on the right track and to come out and play the kind of game that we have been capable of playing all year,” said Ramapo head coach Drew Gibbs. “We blocked, we tackled, we ran the ball, we made plays in the passing game and ran the ball. It was team win and everybody contributed.”

Imperatore carried the ball 29 times for 158 and a touchdown and, just as impressively, he lost control of the football despite the cast that kept him from using two hands to cover it up. His touchdown with 1:22 left in the first half was set up by Jesse Devonshuk’s punt return to the Fair Lawn three yard-line and gave the Green Raiders a 17-0 lead after a nearly perfectly played first half.

Ross Krautman, who hit all four of his extra point attempts, made a 37-yard field goal to end Ramapo’s second drive of the game and put his team ahead for good. Ramapo’s first touchdown drive was the perfect example of how well its offense played as a whole all game long. Imperatore carried the ball three straight times, picked up 15 yards and a first down, and set the stage for a play action pass, with which Weiss hit Jack Slingland up the right side for a 48-yard gain.

Three more Imperatore carries moved the ball 20 yards to the Fair Lawn 7 and again it was ball control by Weiss on the play action that allowed Kevin Tinsley to find himself all alone in the end zone for an easy touchdown catch and a 10-0 Ramapo lead. In all, the drive covered 88 yards and lasted nearly six minutes.

Ramapo QB Andrew Weiss threw two TD passes and ran for another score.

“The offensive line was great today and Andrew [Imperatore] ran hard, which opened up the passing game for us, especially on play action,” said Weiss, who saw his first varsity action on the same field as a sophomore two years ago. “For us it starts with the running game and when we get that going it makes it easier as a quarterback and for the whole offense.”

Fair Lawn’s offense uses a different approach all together. The Cutters did not get in an offensive huddle all game, instead calling plays at the line of scrimmage in their spread formations. The running game consists mostly of stretching the ends of the defense and the passing game looks for the home run whenever it presents itself.

The Cutters hit one out of the park on their first drive of the second half when quarterback Travis Kubasta found Chris Soltys running down the left sideline and put up a perfect pass that Soltys ran under and took in for a 50-yard score. Sacir Hot, a former soccer standout, hit the extra point to get the Cutters to within 17-7 with 5:58 to go in the third quarter.

Joe Visaggio returned a kickoff 92 yards for Fair Lawn's final score.

Ramapo answered with a vintage 65-yard touchdown drive that covered 65 yards and ate up 6:37 of game clock. Weiss was a perfect 4 of 4 on the march, Imperator carried five times for 23 yards and Jack Bandazian had two carries for 13 yards to put the Raiders in position.

Even when Weiss took a sack on a first and goal from the 8 that resulted in a 10-yard loss, he made up for it on the next play when he found Slingland at the pylon for the score that restored Ramapo’s three possession lead at 24-7.

“He [Weiss] is a very resilient quarterback. I got all over him for taking that sack and he comes right back and throws a touchdown on the next play,” said Gibbs. “Out offense won the physical battle up front to open things up and Imperatore did an outstanding job running the football. He is not spectacular in the open field, but he reads our trap play as well as any back we have had here and he is always falling forward.”

Fair Lawn hung around for a while longer when Kubasta hit Joe Vissagio for a 63-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-14 with 6:42 left in the game, but Ramapo’s Ryan Durfee recovered the ensuing onside kick and used Imperatore eight times in a 10-play touchdown drive. The only two exceptions were a 9-yard pass from Weiss to Chris Larson and Weiss fourth down QB sneak on which he crossed the plain of the goal line with 1:51 to go.

Ross Krautman's 37-yard field goal in the first quarter gave Ramapo the lead for good.

Visaggio returned the next kick 92 yards for the game’s final score, but it was not enough to keep the Cutters from their first loss of the season or keep Ramapo from regaining a direction for its season.

“Coming off the loss to Wayne Hills and knowing we had to come in here and play a good 4-0 Fair Lawn team and it helped us keep our focus. We know we have to run the table to maybe get in the playoffs at 6-2,” said Weiss. “We lost to Fair Lawn last year when they blocked the game-winning field goal so this win feels good and hopefully we can build on it.”

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