The calendar says its still autumn but Ol' Father Winter showed up in Roxbury on Friday night. A 47-degree temperature at kickoff had the Roxbury Football field feeling like the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field.
Coming to town were the Irvington Blue Knights, the dangerous four-seed looking to upset their top ranked opponents. The opening kickoff sailed through the night sky and we were underway with Anthony Skawinski, Colin Richter and the Gaels’ offense getting the ball to start. While Skawinski was able to scamper for a first down on third-and-long to move the chains, the drive stalled out and the Blue Knights' offense took the field for the first time.
Lead by quarterback Na’cir Ransom, Irvington’s offense can be about as explosive as they come. Both teams traded punts with the Blue Knights second drive starting deep in their own territory.
Ransom lofted a deep pass down the sideline and Jahide Lesaine made a spectacular one-handed grab to get the drive started. Two plays later, a controversial pass interference call kept the Irvington drive alive. The Blue Knights then cashed in when Ransom found Jasin Shiggs for a 15-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt was no good and Irvington jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
Both sides could not get much going in the second quarter. With the sides trading punts just about the whole quarter, Roxbury started to put a drive together late. Starting from their own 39-yard line, Skawinski delivered a strike to Richter over the middle. Richter then picked up big yards after the catch for a huge 22-yard gain.
One play later, Skawinski found Jahmani Miller for 20 yards and in the blink of an eye, the Gaels were in the red zone. Offsetting penalties however, forced a replay of the down. A huge Jared Irwin reception set up third-and-1 from the Blue Knight 8-yard line.
The Gaels could not convert after an incompletion set up 4th and 1. Instead of bringing in the field goal unit, Roxbury went for it but could not get to the sticks. At half, it was still 6-0 Irvington, who got the ball to start the 2nd half.
With only 30 minutes remaining in one of these schools seasons, it was time to see who would rise to the moment. The opening kick in the half was returned 90 yards by Shiggs and Irvington was already in business. Vaboue Toure powered his way through the Roxbury defense and found pay dirt. After a failed two-point conversion, Roxbury now trailed 12-0.
Late in the 3rd quarter, the Gaels finally broke through. A long drive was capped off by a Miller two-yard touchdown run cutting into the Blue Knight lead 12-7.
Midway through the fourth, the Gaels were once again deep in Irvington territory and faced a fourth-and-3 at the 13-yard line. Skawinski took the snap, rushed forward but put on the brakes, freezing the Irvington defense. The Senior quarterback left his feet and flicked a pass to a wide open Connor Patton in the end zone. After succeeding on the two-point conversion, the Gaels jumped out to a 15-12 lead.
Roxbury's defense stood tall and built a stone wall to close the game out. They turned away the Blue Knights on back-to-back drives stopping them on 4th down. The offense went into victory formation and Roxbury’s comeback was complete.
The comeback win earns the Gaels a spot in the sectional final where they will face Mt. Olive in a rematch of what most say was the game of the year in Morris County football. Buckle up folks, we got one heck of a championship game on the horizon!
