OPPORTUNISTIC HOLMDEL RIDES DEFENSE IN 17-14 WIN OVER RARITAN

OPPORTUNISTIC HOLMDEL RIDES DEFENSE IN 17-14 WIN OVER RARITAN 
By Mike Ready
 
HOLMDEL – The Hornets used three defensive turnovers and a game-clinching drive that ran the final 2:52 off the clock and Holmdel held on to defeat Raritan, 17-14, Friday night at Rogey Field in Holmdel. 
 
It was Holmdel’s third-straight win over crosstown rival Raritan in the traditional ‘Battle of the Border’ game and the second consecutive win since the game was moved away from Thanksgiving. 
 
Holmdel had lost two in a row after recording quality wins over Red Bank Regional and Lacey, and was in dire need of win to get back on track and preserve their standing in the United Power Rankings (UPR) as the cutoff date for qualifying for the state playoffs approaches.
 
Things were looking ominous for Holmdel after Raritan (5-3, 4-1) marched 75 yards in 11 plays to pull within a field goal, 17-14, with 2:58 remaining in the game. Senior running back Kevin Haug took a pitch from quarterback Steve Coponi and ran it in around right end from 2-yards out for the score and Ben Hutchins extra point kick was good.  
 
Now clinging to a three-point lead, Holmdel senior running back Thomas Ammirati returned the ensuing kickoff 16 yards to the 30-yard line with just under three minutes to play in the game. 
 
Up to that point, Raritan’s defense had limited the Hornets (4-3, 2-3), who were playing without star running back Cameron LaMountain who was out with an injury, to just 39 total yards in the second half and owned all the momentum after scoring on their previous possession. 
 
Undeterred, the Hornets kept to the script. On third-and-2 from the 38, Ammirati bulled his way up the middle for eight yards and a huge first down. Two plays later, senior Evan Jennings picked up 8 yards and another first down to seal the win with under a minute to play with Raritan now out of timeouts. 
 
“That was huge,” said Jennings of their final possession. “We had to keep the ball and they called my number and I wanted to win so bad for my brothers and my team and we just kept driving and we ran out the clock. 
 
“Coach was like, do you want the ball? And I said, ‘Hell yea, give me that ball.’ I didn’t want to let my teammates down so I just ran as hard as I could. I got stuffed a little bit but my O line kept pushing me and I can’t’ thank them enough. They played a great game; it was just a great effort,” Jennings continued. 
 
Holmdel struck first in the game putting together their best drive of the game going 85 yards in nine plays. Ammirati set up the score racing 48 yards on second-and-9 from the their own 42. Then, on first-and-goal from the 10-yard line, Jennings ran untouched into the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 3:21 left in the first quarter. 
 
Raritan answered on their ensuing possession. Haug returned the kickoff 31 yards to the 41-yard line and the Rockets proceeded to march 69 yards in seven plays to tie the score at seven.  
 
Senior running back Mike Fiore had a big third-down conversion on third-and-2 from the Hornets 37 picking up six yards and first down at the 31. Coponi then found wideout Jaylen Smith on a slant in the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown. Smith made an acrobatic catch leaping high over a defender to make the catch. 
 
The Hornets went three-and-out before punting the ball back to Raritan. Returner Luke O’Hea lost the ball and it rolled to the 13 before recovering it. 
 
Holmdel then turned its first forced turnover into points to take the lead.  
 
On first-and-10 from the 13, Fiore raced 57 yards around right end giving the Rockets a first down at the Holmdel 30. 
 
Coponi then picked up six on first down; however, on second down, Coponi was strip-sacked by senior linebacker Joe D’Acunto and recovered by Jennings, who returned it 30 yards for a touchdown down the left sideline giving the Hornets a 14-7 lead with 8:23 left in the half. 
 
Late in the second quarter, Raritan drove to the Holmdel 14-yard line where they were facing a fourth-and-7. Coponi went to Smith again but he was stopped short of the first by junior cornerback Myles Day and D’Acunto turning the ball over to the Hornets, who advanced to their own 31 as time ran out in the half. 
 
Holmdel received the second-half kickoff and went nowhere on three plays and punted the ball back to Raritan. 
 
The Rockets advanced to the Holmdel 40 but on first down D’Acunto, who had a sack and three forced fumbles, hit Fiore, who then fumbled with Jennings recovering and taking it all the way down to the Raritan 30-yard line. 
 
“I got to give credit to the turnovers to the coaches,” said Jennings. “We worked hard in drills stripping the ball and stuff like that the last two weeks and obviously it showed up here. We had some huge turnovers to give us this win.” 
 
Holmdel moved to the 15, but on third-and-5, sophomore Keith Walling stopped sophomore running back Jaden Gallo for no gain setting up a fourth-and-5 and a 32-yard field-goal attempt by Flannagan, which was wide left. 
 
On Raritan’s next possession Holmdel’s defense forced another turnover that resulted in points for the Hornets. 
 
Raritan was looking at a second-and-17 at their own 43 after a seven-yard sack of Coponi by senior linebacker Nick Bauman. Coponi then completed a screen pass to O’Hea who had the ball ripped out of his hands by D’Acunto, who then returned it to the 32-yard line of the Rockets. 
 
“Joe (D’Acunto) read the screen perfectly and just tore the ball out and recovered it himself,” said Jennings, who had two recovered fumbles – one for a touchdown. “It was an amazing play by him; he had an amazing game. Our defense is like a family; we just want it, we want to win.” 
 
Seven plays later, Flanagan split the uprights for a 31-yard field goal and a 17-7 lead with 8:10 remaining in the game. 
 
Ammirati finished with 74 yards on nine carries and Jennings added 37 yards on 11 attempts while quarterback Christian Donnelly added 48 yards on 15 carries. 
 
The Hornets were outgained, 300 to 165, in total yardage in the game but used the three turnovers to their advantage and made enough big plays to get the job done. 
 
Fiore rushed for a game-high 120 yards on 19 carries for the Rockets and O’Hea added 39 yards on six attempts. Coponi completed 6-of-14 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown and ran for 30 yards on five attempts. 
 
“They’re (Raritan) like a five-minute drive away so it’s like a big rivalry,” said Jennings. “It means a lot to us to win that trophy and we’re down a few of our best players so to come together and beat these guys was a huge win, especially coming off a two-game losing streak. We really needed this one.” 
 
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