It was a little over a month ago that we saw one of the more electric games of the year in New Jersey high school football. The Roxbury Gaels traveled to Mount Olive and took down the Marauders in front of a wild crowd.
The two teams meet again this time at Roxbury for the Section 4 title. Roxbury received the opening kickoff looking to strike first. Jahmani Miller led the way for the Gaels on the opening drive. After converting on multiple short yardage third downs, Miller powered his way into the end zone giving Roxbury a 7-0 lead right out of the gate.
The Mt. Olive offense took over already down 7-0, but Jake Asbury and Tyler Cumming set the Marauders up in the Red Zone. Asbury found Lincoln Youtz in the end zone to tie the game at seven and we were just getting started!
Colin Richter received the ensuing kickoff and broke free taking the ball all the way to the Mt. Olive two-yard line. Miller found pay dirt once again and in a matter of seconds, Roxbury jumped back out from 14-7.
The Gaels found the end zone once again when Mt. Olive punted the ball away on fourth down. The ball looked to be bouncing out of bounds but Roxbury returner Richer caught the Marauders sleeping and scooped up the ball before it went out and took it to the house. Gunnar Hilsinger PAT was blocked but Roxbury still led 20-7 heading into the half.
Mt. Olive got the ball to start the third quarter and took care of business against the Roxbury defense. Junior running back Tyler Cumming led the Marauders down the field and momentum started to shift. Asbury found pay dirt and Izzy Kolbusz tacked on the PAT to cut the Roxbury lead to 20-14.
Mt. Olive got the ball back and once again Cumming led the charge. The tailback found running lanes and got into the end zone after a monster drive. Kolbusz’s PAT was blocked to keep us tied at 20.
With Roxbury’s offense stalling out, the Mt. Olive defense looked to have them stopped once more with the Gaels facing a third down. Anthony Skawinski didn’t panic and the senior QB found Colin Richter who turned the corner to take it all the way to the end zone. A blocked PAT would make it 26-20 Roxbury.
Mt. Olive took over needing to get the ball into the end zone in order to at the very least send this game to overtime. Asbury completed two big passes to Rondell Derrick to keep the drive alive. Skawinski made a huge play for the Gaels on third down, setting up a fourth down from the Roxbury seven-yard line.
Asbury took the snap, scrambled and fired a pass into the end zone. Junior wide out Vincent Carpini hauled in the pass in the end zone putting the Marauders on the doorstep of a sectional championship. With the game tied, Mt. Olive called on last week's hero Izzy Kolbusz to ice the game. The snap was good and Kolbusz’s kick sailed through the night sky with fans holding their breaths. The PAT was through the uprights giving Mt. Olive the lead and the sectional championship.
The Marauders will now face Ramapo next week in the Group 4 semifinals. For Roxbury, it ends a magical season that they should be proud of. This game lived up to the hype that we all expected and will be remembered for years to come. Time will tell but the Mt. Olive team has what it takes to become Group 4 champions. The journey continues in seven days in Franklin Lakes and we all know the Marauders will be ready to go.
