The Randolph Rams battled hard in one of their most competitive football games of the season but ultimately fell short, losing 13-7 to the Morris Knolls Golden Eagles at Caruso Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20.
“We knew we could keep up with them, and every time we studied them, the more we believed we could beat them. The little things are what took it away from us,” said senior co-captain Ben Quinn after the game.
Morris Knolls opened the game strong, taking possession near midfield and scoring a 50-yard touchdown within the first two minutes to take an early 6-0 lead.
On the Rams’ first drive of the day, they found their footing in the run game, with senior Logan Hankin and sophomore Dillon Hines leading the pack on the ground. Junior Matthew Skrapits capped off the drive with a dominant 30-yard touchdown to put the Rams up 7-6.
The Golden Eagles made another prominent march down the field, but disaster struck as they fumbled the football in Ram territory, giving it right back to Randolph.
“It was all about flipping the switch mentally,” Quinn said of the matchup.
The second quarter was a slow one, mainly due a flurry of penalties—nine total by the seven-minute mark. It seemed like neither team could break into the other’s red zone, setting the standard for a hard-nosed football game.
Unfortunately, Morris Knolls did not need to be in the redzone to score, punching it in from 45 yards out, and retaking the charge over Randolph with a score of 13-7. The Rams found their way back onto the Golden Eagles thanks to more penalties. Although the opponents were marching, Randolph could not capitalize, missing a 30-yard field goal that would have made it a three-point game.
“We need to control the tempo and finish drives,” said senior co-captain Jackson Magley about halftime adjustments
Randolph opened the second half with a promising drive. Hines picked up right where he left off in the first half, carving out tough carries alongside some crucial catches by Magley, chewing six minutes off the clock and approaching midfield.
The drive quickly stalled out due to tackles for losses and incompletions, making it the first punt of the day for both teams. Morris Knolls was inside the five-yard line looking to extend its comfortable lead when the Eagles lost the football again, give the Rams a crucial chance to come back.
“We knew we had to keep the energy and not let the fatigue get to us,” Magley said on going into the fourth quarter
The Rams could not find any answer for this Golden Eagles defense, as they would have to punt it away. With the clock winding down, the Rams knew that time was their biggest enemy. But to their luck, fumbles seemed to be the theme of the game, and Randolph recovered another fumble with five minutes to go in the game.
With under two minutes remaining, Randolph marched down the field to great game, facilitated by Skrapits, and was knocking on the door. Despite the great efforts, the Rams came up just short with little to no time to play, losing 13-7.
We will take the positives out of this one and use it as fuel going forward,” senior co-captain Joey Bosotina said.
The Rams will look to earn their first win of the season when they face off against West Morris Central at home on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m.
