Rams Football defeated the Livingston Lancers, 25-8, on Friday, Oct. 6, at Livingston.
“The main focus of the game was to come in playing hard and setting the tone, no matter who the opponent is,” freshman Patrick Dell’Aglio explained.
The Rams opened up this game with the ball in their hands. Randolph was aggressive on the ground with multiple rushes from seniors Josh Anderson and Jesse Wilfong, whose combined efforts brought the offense to midfield, where they faced a fourth down. The Rams were set to punt, but Dell’Aglio took the direct snap and found sophomore Mason Wilson for the first down.
Randolph’s defense was strong through the first quarter, with standout plays from senior Joel Sabillon and junior Dean Mangiocavallo.
The Rams started off their second drive with a screen to sophomore Joey Sommer, giving them 5 yards. Randolph built off this play with runs from Anderson and Wilfong, mounting the Rams inside the Lancers’ 10-yard line. Senior James Kleiven was able to follow sophomore Jayden Morreale and juniors Jack Manolis and Ryan Collins for a 7-yard touchdown run, giving the Rams a 6-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Rams defense continued to show out with big tackles from Wilfong and sophomores Justin Novak, Joey Bosotina and John Andrade, stopping the Lancers from scoring in the first half.
Sophomore Quarterback Jackson Magley hit Novak on a screen, taking it 20 yards, but on the way down, the ball came loose, giving the ball back to the Lancers offense. Just two plays later, Novak intercepted an out route, taking it the distance, making the score 12-0.
Kleiven forced a fumble on a sack as the Lancers encroached on Randolph territory and junior Will Varanelli was able to recover it as time expired. The Rams went into halftime with all the momentum and a 12-0 lead.
“Our mindset going into half time was just finish drives,” Morreale stated. “We missed out on scoring opportunities, and we knew we had to get it done.”
Starting the third quarter, Magley hit Wilson on a quick out, giving them 5 yards. Magley took a QB draw, dragging multiple defenders with him as he reached for the goal line for the 12-yard touchdown, stretching the lead to 18-0.
Magley dropped back to pass and hit Wilfong in stride up the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown pass, giving the Rams a 25-0 lead.
“The biggest factor that contributed to this team win was our culture; we put in the work day in and day out and strive to get what our works deserve every week,” Andrade said.
The Lancers were able to put together a successful drive, scoring a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, making the score 25-8.
“We are going to use this momentum to have a high energy driven week of practice. Everyone is going to go hard and give maximum effort and that is what will push us forward as a team.” Magley explained.
