DEVASTATION FOR DON BOSCO IN NP-GROUP 4 FINAL AT HANDS OF ST. PETER’S PREP ONCE AGAIN

Colin Ramos stood alone near midfield along the Don Bosco Prep sideline, with an exuberant St. Peter’s Prep celebration going on just yards away from him. The heart and soul of the Ironmen, one of the biggest leaders behind the team's resurgence in 2019, stood motionless under the bright lights of MetLife Stadium. His team - and this was as much his team defensively as it was Jalen Berger and Kyle Monangai's offensively - was the last Ironman to leave the field after Don Bosco suffered as demoralizing a loss as there is in Saturday's Non-Public Group 4 state final. Teammates, assistants and, finally, head coach Dan Sabella all passed by to console the Don Bosco Prep senior bound for Navy, one who couldn’t have left more on the field in a 21-14 loss to the Marauders, fueled by a go-ahead two-point conversion with five minutes left and a St. Peter’s Prep blocked 43-yard field goal attempt with under one minute to go. "This one's going to hurt," Sabella said. "For a long, long time. I just hurt for these kids. These kids have come on and, to get so close... I'm just proud as heck of the way they battled, especially the last 6-7 weeks. They all wanted this. We all wanted this." Credit St. Peter's Prep for making the plays Saturday night when the championship was on the line. Neither team put on an offensive clinic, but the Marauders simply made bigger plays in bigger moments. St. Peter’s Prep QB Tahj Bullock, like he had some so impressively three times this season leading up to Saturday’s showdown, once again led his team on a late, game-winning drive. This one brought a title back to Jersey City for the first time since 2014 and left the Ironmen still seeking their first since 2015. This time, the Marauders – trailing, 14-7 – marched 73 yards in 12 plays in just over six minutes, including a 4th-and-2 conversion, and capped by yet another tough Bullock 5-yard touchdown run with 5:00 left. Tahj Time had arrived in East Rutherford again – but there was more Marauder Magic to be had. A successful two-point conversion run from Jelani Mason, following a St. Peter's Prep timeout and gutsy call from coach Rich Hansen, gave the Marauders' their first lead of the night, 15-14. The final dagger came when Don Bosco Prep, playing with former starter Jahquil Batts at quarterback after Jake Robbins suffered a head injury in the second quarter, drove to the SPP 26 in the final minute. A blocked 43-yard field goal from Quentin Lemon led to a recovery returned for a touchdown from Avery Powell to put St. Peter's Prep ahead, 21-14, with 41 seconds left. "The operation was off," Sabella said. "It took a long time and it wasn't well-executed." The same could be said for Don Bosco's offense for much of the night. St. Peter’s Prep’s swarming and physical defense came to play and, for much of the night, bottled up Berger and Monangai in the run game, making the Ironmen offense one-dimensional. The Ironmen, though, held a 14-7 lead into the fourth thanks to one offensive drive in the first half, which included a 49-yard run from Berger and was capped by a Berger 3-yard touchdown run, and a blocked punt by Jahmir Greene recovered in the end zone by Ramos. But from that moment, with 1:28 left in the first, Don Bosco Prep's mustered just 70 yards of offense in its final seven offensive possessions, including three separate three-and-outs. "Just a lot of disappointment and, obviously, frustration," Sabella said. "We could never get up two scores and we had so many opportunities to do that and put some pressure on them. We just were never able to do that. We need to put more points on the board." Sabella missed out on his opportunity to make history, looking to lead a second North Jersey non-public power to a state title in his first year. He did it with Paramus Catholic in 2016 and came painfully short with Don Bosco in 2019. Still, he led the Ironmen to the state's No. 1 ranking up until the final day of their season and, after a tough three-year stretch, Don Bosco football was back. No, it didn’t win the title – but the Ironmen, who sat at 2-4 at midseason, were on the brink of doing so. Ironically, Don Bosco Prep beat everyone it played in October and November this season except one team: St. Peter’s Prep, which handed Don Bosco a first heartbreaker at Caven Point back on Oct. 12. "For these seniors especially, I just feel for them," Sabella said. "They stayed the course here and came so far. I've got nothing but respect for every one of those guys. They got us back here. They believed in each other. They believed in this program.

DEVASTATION FOR DON BOSCO IN NP-GROUP 4 FINAL AT HANDS OF ST. PETER’S PREP ONCE AGAIN

Photo Credit: Chris Faytok