TOMS RIVER – Red Bank Catholic senior wide receiver Iman takes the field with 1:42 left in Casey’s game against Toms River North in Friday night’s Coast Conference American Division game at Genard Field. Emanuel Ross had a simple message for junior quarterback Frankie Williams.
“I walked up to him and said, ‘Brady mode,’ ‘Brady mode.’ That’s what I got from Shaddell Sanders (Colorado quarterback). Ross said, ‘This is Brady mode.’ ’, referring to the former.” New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady loves dramatic last-minute drives. “He said, ‘We’re going to score.'”
Williams displayed the composure and control of the clock that Brady prides himself on and, aided by Rose’s outstanding talents, held Casey 86 yards in 13 plays and 1:40. Red Bank Catholic tied the game by one point.
Red Bank Catholic scored two goals that were disallowed due to procedural penalties and kicked the extra point to send the game into overtime.
Williams then connected with Ross on a spectacular 25-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime as Red Bank Catholic, ranked No. 1 in the Asbury Park News Top 10, Defeated the third-ranked Mariners 35-28, an instant classic.
There’s no doubt it was a complete coming out party for the talented and cool Williams.
“My first overtime game,” Williams said, “everyone’s been waiting for this game. It was worth the wait. All week long, I felt like we were in a bad mood.”
He threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Ross. He ran for 96 yards and had two minutes of scrimmage at the end of the first half. The first half ended with a 43-yard field goal by Justin LaMorte.
“He’s got a lot of game experience. We go through a lot of those situations in practice,” Red Bank Catholic coach Mike Langer said. “It’s physical, but those parts of the game are mental.”
On the final drive of the regular season, Williams caught four passes for 70 yards and went out of bounds twice on a quarterback draw run before sophomore player Matt Lonczak ) from the 1 for a touchdown.
“He’s a very cerebral kid,” Lange said. “A lot of the RPO (run-pass option) in our games was him making pre-snap and post-snap reads. It was all on him. He just did an amazing job.”
“He doesn’t back down,” Rose said. “You don’t see a lot of facial expressions on his face. He just does what he has to do.”
What does it mean
Red Bank Catholic (7-1, 4-0) will play for the American Division title on Oct. 27 at Donovan Catholic (7-1, 4-0).
Toms River North (7-2, 3-2) played without standout quarterback and Stanford recruit Micah Ford after he suffered a calf injury late in the first quarter from a sack. The injury didn’t look serious.
The Mariners lost no respect, however.
For much of the rest of the game, Ford stood on the Toms River north sideline. In fact, he started running off the court early in the third quarter, but Tom River North head coach Dave Oizerowicz pulled him back.
Ford had a 76-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 on the Mariners’ first possession.
“I really hope Micah is OK,” said Ross, who will be Ford’s teammate at Stanford. “I think Toms River North is going to have a really good end to the season.”
The defending NJSIAA Group 5 champion Mariners showed they will remain a major Group 5 contender.
Backup quarterback TJ Valerio threw touchdown passes to Camryn Thomas and Nasir Jackson and ran for a 5-yard touchdown, and Toms River North scored three times on four second-half possessions to make it 28-28 with 7:21 left. 21 ahead.
“This is a great team,” Langer said of Toms River North, “and they’re going to be deep in the playoffs.”
Key gameplay No. 1.
There were a lot of big moves throughout the game, especially in the later stages.
The biggest one came on fourth-and-6 from the Toms River North 36 with 31 seconds remaining.
Williams burst out of the pocket, ran back to midfield, evaded the rush and found Lonzak in the open for an 11-yard gain and a first down at the 25. Lonzac also went out of bounds.
“I was rolling and I didn’t see anything, so I turned it upside down and had Matt Lonzak open in the flat,” Williams said.
Key gameplay number 2
On the play after Lonzac’s catch, Williams and Ross combined for a 24-yard reception that ended up with the Mariners on a fade despite some stellar defense from cornerback Tareq Council. Team’s 1 yard. Rose also went out of bounds.
“It was a great ball,” Rose said. “He actually threw the ball to me away from the defense. I tried to press it down. I stayed with him and then I was able to get out of it. I had to give myself as much space as possible.”
Lonzac scored on the next play.
Key gameplay number 3
Williams’ game-winning touchdown pass to Ross was a combination of Williams and Ross making a great pass that somehow ensured he kept his feet in range down the right sideline.
“I didn’t know exactly where I was on the court,” Rose said. “I was like, I have to keep my feet on the ground and make sure I keep control of the ball and stay on the court.”
“He’s electric,” Lange said.
Red Bank Catholic sacked Valerio on two consecutive plays to seal the victory. The pass on fourth-and-28 was incomplete.
Red Bank Catholic 35, Toms River North 28, OT
Red Bank Catholic 7 6 8 7 7 – 35
Toms River North 7 0 7 14 0 – 28
the first season
TRN: Micah Ford 76 runs (Yianni Papanikolas kicked).
RBC: Emmanuel Rose 58, Frankie Williams passed (Justin Lamott kicked).
second quarter
RBC: LaMorte 22 field goal.
RBC: Larmore 43 shots.
the third quater
TRN: TJ Valerio 5 run (Papanikolas kick).
RBC: Jake Bohm-Squicciani carried 12 passes from Williams (Rose ran).
fourth quarter
TRN: Camryn Thomas 29, Valerio passed (Papanikolas kicked).
TRN: Nassir Jackson 24, Valerio passed (Papanikolas kicked).
RBC: Lonczak 1 (LaMorte kicks).
over time
RBC: Rose passes from Williams at 25 (LaMotte kicks).
personal statistics
rush: RBC: Frankie Williams 16-96, Emmanuel Ross 5-67, Luke Vassev 4-16, Matt Lonzac 4-4, Nick Friscia 1- 0, team 1-(-15). TRN: Micah Ford 8-100, Josh Moore 12-83, TJ Valerio 24-69, Jeremiah Pruitt 3-11, Nasir Jackson 1-4.
pass: RBC: Williams 20-30-0-306. TRN: Valerio 5-9-0-83.
take over: RBC: Rose 6-155, Daniel Zabora 6-64, Jake Bohm-Squicciani 2-39, Matt Lonzac 3-32, Lonzac 1-8, Vasev 1 -8, Curtis O’Brien 1-(-1). TRN: Camryn Thomas 2-48, Jackson 2-29, Tarek Council 1-6.