Sunday,
September 15, 2013
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Lodi's Emmanual Appiah made his transition to quarterback from running back a seamless one as he helped lead the Rams to a 41-20 win in the season opener for both teams on Saturday. |
SADDLE BROOK – After a disappointing season a year ago, the Lodi football team was more than ready to wipe the slate clean. With a host of players returning, the Rams were not just thinking improvement but a run at a section title. While that talk is often shied away from so early in the season, the Rams embrace the expectations they put upon themselves. If Saturday’s measuring stick season-opener against Saddle Brook was any indication, it looks like the Rams have themselves in position to defy the odds and meet those lofty goals.
Senior Tommy Potoczak carried the ball just six times, but he found the end zone on three of those carries. Sophomore quarterback Emmanuel Appiah showed his adjustment from tailback to quarterback was a seamless transition, throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another as Lodi pulled away in the second half to a convincing 41-20 victory at Saddle Brook High School.
“Every game is a big game, but this was really big because it was a chance for us to make a statement,” said Appiah. “We were excited before the game started, but once it started we calmed down. It definitely pumped us up that we got the ball and scored right away. We set the tone and the pace. We kept up that pace the entire game and never stopped working hard.”
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Saddle Brook standout Chris Jacobson carried the ball 22 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns. |
Lodi received the opening kickoff and quickly marched down the field. Even though it was his first varsity start at quarterback, Appiah showed his savvy by forcing Saddle Brook to jump offsides twice on hard counts. Then on a third-and-two from the Falcons’ 26-yard line, Potoczak received the handoff on a perfectly executed misdirection play. Senior left tackle Devin Uter cleared the way with a punishing block and Potoczak turned the corner and went untouched to paydirt. Appiah, the holder on the PAT attempt, kept the ball and rolled out before hitting Julian Marin for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.
“Our offensive line was great all game and we just had to run behind them,” said Potoczak. “Against a good team, you can only make so many mistakes. When you get opportunities to punch it in the end zone, you have to capitalize. I think we’re a more mature team this year and we’re more disciplined. We knew if we were going to get a ‘W’, we had to score first and make them catch up to us.”
Saddle Brook answered back on its first offensive series of the season with standout senior tailback Chris Jacobson doing the bulk of the work. He rushed the ball seven times on the drive, culminating with a four-yard touchdown run. But on the ensuing two-point conversion try, he was stuffed at the goal line by Randol Almonte and John Reyes as the Rams clung to an 8-6 lead.
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Devin Uter paved the way in front of Lodi's punishing ground game. |
The Rams got an added boost after Jessey Asare returned a punt 42 yards for a touchdown then quickly took advantage of an incomplete pass on a fake punt that fell incomplete. On the very next play, Appiah hit Almonte in stride on a skinny post up the seam for a 35-yard touchdown and a 22-6 lead.
With Jacobson on the field, the Falcons are always dangerous and he showed why in breaking two tackles at the line of scrimmage before racing up the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown. Once again though, the Falcons were stopped on the two-point conversion. Quarterback Jon Gelenius tried to leap over the top and into the end zone, but was met at the goal line by Rafael Polanco. That along with a crucial defensive stop deep in Ram territory just before the half kept it a two-possession game going into halftime, 22-12.
Saddle Brook drove deep into Lodi territory again to start the second half, but Mohammed Zaal’s fourth-down sack halted the drive. Not to mention, both Gelenius and Jacobson would cramp up on the drive. Although Gelenius returned to the game later in the quarter, Jacobson did not and the Falcons never recovered. Potoczak broke free once again off of a big block from the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Uter for a 45-yard touchdown that made it 28-12. Appiah added a long touchdown run late in the third quarter that put the game away before Potoczak scored his career-best third touchdown of the day on a two-yard plunge.
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Saddle Brook quarterback Jon Gelenius getting a ball off under pressure. |
“Getting that stop before the half and another to start the third quarter was huge, it gave us a lot of momentum and confidence that we carried with us the rest of the game,” said Lodi head coach Pat Tirico, who in his 31st year at the helm is the longest tenured head coach in Bergen County at one school. “Give credit, Saddle Brook fought hard and hung in there without their two best offensive threats in the second half. We got a couple of turnovers and situations that we were able to take advantage of and that helped us pad the lead.”
Potoczak finished with 122 yards and three TDs on just six carries for Lodi (1-0). Appiah was just as dangerous with his legs with 11 rushes for 104 yards. Zaal finished with a game-high 14 tackles and two sacks. Reyes added 10 tackles. Jacobson led all players, carrying the ball 22 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns for Saddle Brook (0-1).
The win was a huge one for Lodi, which will enjoy it tonight and then get ready for a showdown with archrival Garfield next week.
“Garfield is always a big game no matter what the records are,” added Tirico. “It will be an emotional game, but we’ll have to keep those emotions in check and focus on what we have to do in between the lines. We made mistakes, but overall we played pretty well in all phases. I’m happy for our kids and it’s still just week one. We can only get better from here.”
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