The Rams were victorious on Senior Night, beating the Morristown Colonials, 14-0, under the lights on Senior Night, on Friday, Sept. 29.
Before the match up, senior cheerleaders, band members and players walked out onto the John J. Bauer Memorial Field to be honored by their peers, families and fans.
“Our mindset coming into this game was to know their offense, to make it hard for them to run the ball,” sophomore Justin Novak said. “We knew we were better than them; so as long as we executed our plays, we would come out on top.”
The Colonials deferred the coin toss, giving the Rams the ball to start the game. The Rams moved the ball down the field, with the 2 QBs, junior Jack Smith and senior Josh Anderson, passing it back and forth between them. Morristown was able to force a turnover on downs, giving them possession. Both teams traded unsuccessful drives, foreshadowing the fourth quarter defensive showdown.
The Rams opened up the second quarter with a big stop, giving Randolph an opportunity to be first on the scoreboard. Smith handed off the ball to senior Jesse Wilfong, followed with blocks by juniors Cole Cabatic and Nick Hart. This run not only helped the Rams build momentum but also landed them at the 10-yard line.
The Morristown defense stopped the Rams, forcing a turnover on downs. Randolph got the ball back at the Colonial’s 41-yard line due to a scuffed punt by Morristown. The Rams operated the offense well, getting the ball inside the redzone. Senior James Kleiven followed sophomore Jayden Morreale’s lead block to the endzone, giving the Rams a 7-0 lead going into halftime.
“The main focuses were to finish what we started in the first half,” said junior Will Varanelli about coming out of halftime. “The job hadn’t been finished, and we had to play our brand of football.”
The Colonials pounded the ball to start the second half. Morristown drove the ball all the way down to inside the Rams’ 10-yard line. Freshman Patrick Dell’Aglio came up big, intercepting the trick play in the endzone, maintaining the Rams’ 7-0 lead.
To start the final quarter, the Rams defense held strong, allowing 0 points and 0 completions thanks to sophomore Defensive Backs Mason Wilson, Dell’Aglio, Varanelli and senior Joel Sabillon. Late into the fourth quarter, sophomore Linebacker Joey Bosotina filled the running lane, lowering his shoulder, forcing a fumble and recovering it, giving the Rams the opportunity to end the game.
From the Morristown 30-yard line, Kleiven broke multiple tackles and ran his way to the promised land, giving the Rams a 14-0 lead with two minutes left in the game. The Colonials got the ball back and immediately turned it over, due to junior Dean Mangiocavallo’s efforts, which resulted in a fumble recovery, securing the Rams’ Senior Night win.
“This was a great team effort win; to keep the momentum of this going, we need to have another great week of preparation and the success will follow,” Cabatic said.
The victory puts the Rams back into the win column, moving to a 3-3 record and looking to build off this win against Livingston on Friday, Oct. 6.
