Narrow Victory for Junior Dodgers in Football Opener

The Madison Junior Dodgers Junior Varsity started the 2011 season in the Morris County Midget Football League with a hard-won victory over the Montvillle Mustangs on Saturday, 7-6.

There was a buzz of excitement in the air as parents met on the sidelines for the first time this season and the JV team fired themselves up for their upcoming contest. 

This year’s JV team is comprised of 12-year old boys who mostly attend seventh grade at or the Harding Township School. On this year’s roster are Ben Bollinger, Matt Boyd, Colin Crouse, Tommy D’Ambola, Dante DiIonno, Max Downing, Emilio Egea, Stephen Esposito, Trevor Jasen, Matthew Jones, Michael Kearney, Thomas Kiernan, Brian Kraska, Kyle Monaco, Tom Neville, Andrew Novotny, Matt O’Donnell, Sam Rosselli, Will Scavone, Ian Waresk, Ryan Weck, and Isaac Zapata. 

The team is well-led by Head Coach Tom Leck, Defensive Coordinator Bill Scavone, and Offensive Coordinator Michael Mantone. In addition, Curtis Sallie, a coach, works with the JV running backs and defensive half backs. Finally, Joe Kane and Dan Phillips coach the offensive and defensive lines. 

Captains Scavone, Rosselli and Kraska won the toss and the Dodgers chose to receive.  The kick was fairly short and Esposito covered the ball at the Madison 40-yard line.  The Dodger offense quickly got to work.  With Kraska at center, Egea handed the ball to his running backs as the Dodgers steadily marched down the field.  Rosselli carried the ball first for 7 yards.  Boyd took the next carry to midfield, earning the first down.  O’Donnell went 7 yards, followed by Rosselli for 3 and another first down.  Kearny carried the ball 10 yards, setting up the first-and-goal situation on the 10-yard line.  O’Donnell’s next carry took the ball 9 yards.  Finally, Boyd carried the ball over the goal line for six points.  Boyd also carried the ball successfully for the extra point.

The kick-off team took the field and Scavone booted a 25-yard kick, putting the Mustangs on their own 35-yard line and the Dodger defense got to work.  O’Donnell and Boyd, Scavone, and Kearney made the first three tackles. Zapata then made an impressive tackle in the backfield, knocking the Mustangs backwards. With a fourth-and-three situation at the Madison 43-yard line, the Mustangs chose to go for the first down.  Boyd made a hard tackle and the Dodgers and their fans held their breath as the chains were brought out on the field by chain volunteers Jim Novotny and Anthony Colandra. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the Mustangs earned the first down by the nose of the ball. 

At the Madison 42-yard line the Mustangs took to the air with a 7-yard gain, stopped by Egea and Kraska. Kearny then served up a ten-yard loss to the Mustangs with a huge tackle in the backfield.  On the next snap, the Mustang runner broke several Dodger tackles and proceeded 36 yards, finally being tripped up at the four-yard line by O’Donnell.  With first-and-goal on the four-yard line, the Mustangs looked poised to score.  But Madison’s Downing pushed the Mustangs back 2 yards with a key tackle. Then he sacked the quarterback, pushing the Mustangs another 6 yards back.  On the next snap, Downing recovered the fumble at the Madison 19-yard line, putting an end to the Mustangs offensive charge.  

The Dodger offense took the field, hoping to add to the game score before the first half ended.  Egea handed the ball to DiIonno for 3 yards, Esposito for 4 yards, and O’Donnell for 2 yards.  With fourth-and-one on the Madison 27-yard line, the Dodgers chose to go for the first down.  Egea pitched right to Rosselli, who carried the ball for a gain of 3 yards and the first down.  Linemen, Kraska, Jasen, and DiIonno were able to open key holes to keep the running game moving forward. Egea made two unsuccessful pass attempts, one to Boyd and the other to Kearney.  One more pass to Boyd found its mark but time ran out in the half before the Dodgers could score again. 

Scavone’s second-half kickoff sailed 30 yards and Kraska ended the Mustang return at the Montville 34-yard line. The Dodger defense got back to work and didn’t stop the entire third quarter. The Mustangs earned three first-down conversions despite key defense, including tackles by DiIonno, Esposito, Kraska, Scavone, O’Donnell, Downing, D’Ambola, and Waresk. On fourth-and-nine, Zapata made a key tackle in the backfield to hand the ball back to Egea and the Dodger offense on the Madison 27-yard line. 

Failing to convert a first down, Madison chose to punt. Kraska snapped the ball and Scavone punted a 34-yard shot to the Montville 45-yard line. 

Montville took to their passing game.  Sailing the ball deep to the left corner, the pass sailed over the head of the intended receiver.  Madison’s Rosselli read the same lineup on the next play and positioned himself perfectly for the interception. Esposito and Boyd carried the ball forward before the four-minute warning was sounded.  A Dodger fumble was recovered by Montville on their own 30-yard line.  Boyd and Kraska served up a 2-yard loss and then Zapata followed with the same.  On third-and-13 the Mustangs threw deep left again but the pass was incomplete.  Trying one more time on fourth-and-long, the Mustang receiver got deep behind the Dodger defense, caught the long pass, and took it in for a 74-yard touchdown. 

With less than a minute left in the game, the Mustangs chose to go for the two-point place kick. In JV football the successful kick is awarded two points given the complexity of the play. The tension could be cut with a knife.  Should the ball sail between the uprights the Mustangs would likely win the game.  Should they fail to score, the Dodgers stood to win.  A failed kick followed by a successful Mustang run over the goal line could tie the game.  The whistle blew, the snap was too high and the ball sailed over the Mustang holder's hands. He picked up the ball and tried to run but the Dodgers’ Kraska tackled him before he reached the goal line. The Mustangs called for a replay due to some confusion about the whistle but the referee determined that the play would stand as is. 

The frustrated Mustangs attempted the onside kick.  The ball went out of bounds and Madison chose to take the ball at their own 35-yard line.  Egea took to his knee twice, ending the game and securing the Dodgers' first win of the season.

The JV team will next face the Rockaway Junior Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in Rockaway.