By Tim Heaton
On a warm Saturday afternoon At Memorial Field, Morristown Captains Justin Contreras, Devontae Jonah and Brian Fajardo won the toss and elected to defer.
On the first play from scrimmage, the Rams broke through the Colonial secondary with a 50 yard pass play.
With their back to the wall early in the game, Contreras, Justin Burke, Sami Cazimoski and Jesse Unger wrestled several Ram carriers by the horns. The easy yards were over.
Eugene Hayes and Unger knocked a couple of passes down saving a TD. It was first-and-goal on the Colonials 10 when Samari Robinson made a critical QB sack back to the 18. The Rams gained a few more yards in the drive, but were forced to settle for a field goal, giving them a 3-0 edge midway through the first quarter.
The Colonials went three-and-out on their first possession. On defense, Jahmar Gregory made a great tackle on punt coverage. On the first play from scrimmage, the Rams were stuffed by Jonah, Alejandro Lopez, Cody Bubrickie and Luke Jackson. On a big third down, Cazimoski forced a fumble and recovered he ball on the Ram 39 yard line.
Here the Colonials got to work on offense. Drew Chilson made back to back gains totaling over 20 yards. Unger got the ball down to the 1 yard line. On the next play, he crashed through the Rams defense to score. Ethan Bolson’s PAT made it 7-3, Morristown.
For the rest of the half, Lopez, Cazimoski, Jonah and Robinson shut down the Rams’ ground game. At the half, it was still 7-3.
Slideshow photos by Randi Unger. Please click icon below for captions.
In the second half, Jha’mil King returned the kickoff for 30 yards. Ricky Lorenzo swept for 10 more, then caught a Cam Boswell pass for another 20. Chilson set the table with a hard-nosed run down to the Rams 9. Two plays later, Boswell, the quarterback, took the ball in for a TD. Bolson’s PAT made it 14-3, Colonials.
The Rams came right back on the next series with another 50-yard pass reception. Jackson destroyed a Rams sweep, resulting in a 3rd and 12. The Rams decided to go for a 4th and short, but were stuffed by Cazimoski, Jonah, Lopez, and Owen Sindorf to force the ball over on downs.
After a 40 yard catch and run by King, the Colonials were stopped on a 4th and inches, and turned over the ball on downs. Robinson got another sack. Stephen Simon and Cazimoski destroyed a screen pass. Hayes saved another TD on a deflection, but the Rams eventually drove down the the Colonial 1 yard line, where they punched it in to make it 14-9 after a failed 2 point conversion.
From here the warm weather took its toll, with both teams getting several three-and-outs. The Rams got a break on a turnover on the Colonial 35, with Brian Kapinos picking off a Morristown pass. Ryan Gilmore made a key stop to save a TD, but eventually, the Rams’ Carlo Zarro scored from the 2, and Randolph converted on a 2-pointer, making it 17-14.
After the kickoff, the Colonials mounted a final offensive series, where Chilson ripped open the Rams for 25 yards on two carries. King dashed for another 15. But the Rams stiffened up in their territory, and held on for the victory, evening both teams’ records at 1-1.
The Colonials travel to Mount Olive this Friday, Sept. 25, 2015, for another game under the lights.
Tim Heaton is former president of the Morristown High School Football Boosters.
MORE COVERAGE OF 2015 MHS FOOTBALL
