Crusaders Fall to Rival Rahway

This year's version of the Johnson-Rahway rivalry had the drama and competitiveness that are supposed to come with a traditional Thanksgiving matchup.

That fact provided little solace to the Crusaders as their season ended with a 9-3 double-overtime loss to the Thanksgiving rival.

"It was crazy, but you don't want to lose," said Mike Mancino after his first taste of this rivalry as Johnson's head coach. "You're sick about the loss. It was a great game for both teams. It was a shame someone had to lose. "I wish it was them, it happened to be us. It was a great football game. I'm sure everybody enjoyed it."

The Crusaders (6-4) seemed destined for a victory in the first overtime period, moving the ball down to the Indians' 2-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-one, Mancino elected to bring his field goal unit onto the field. The decision would backfire for Johnson as the 19-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, sending the game into a second overtime.

"We had sneak called," Mancino said. "But I thought to not kick the field goal there and not get it (would have hurt). It was a 50-50 situation, we just decided to go with the field goal."

Johnson would get the ball to start the second overtime period, but on the first play Rahway's Hakeem Kornegay forced a fumble which teammate Daejon Weeks-Iandy recovered.

Five plays later, Kornegay would give the Indians (6-4) the win when he rolled out to his right and lobbe a pass to an open Brandon Suggs for a game-ending 15-yard touchdown.

"It was a tough one to lose," Mancino said. "No one deserved to lose it."

Up until the winning pass, Johnson had turned in a stellar defensive performance with a flair for the dramatic.

Rahway looked poised to win in regulation, driving all the way to the Crusader 1 with less than two minutes left. But Johnson would stop the next two plays to force overtime as defensive tackle John Ferrentino hit Kornegay as the Rahway quarterback was attempting to pitch the ball, resulting in a loss of 10 yards.

The Crusader defense made another stand in the first overtime as junior cornerback Anthony Travisano tripped up Jerrel Wilson short of the first down marker on a 4th-and-1.

"We thought it would take a goalline stand a couple of stops (to win this game) and the defense came up big today," Mancino said. "It really did on a bad field."

Offense was limited all day in this defensive slugfest as the mud covered Veterans Memorial Field made it difficult for either team to gain much traction. Travisano and John Caliguire each had first quarter interceptions for a Johnson defense which allowed just 203 yards on the day. Rahway's defense forced two turnovers as well and limited the Crusaders to only 147 yards of offense.

Johnson took a 3-0 lead with 4:58 left in the first quarter on a 28-yard field goal from Eddie Olenick. Rahway would answer back seven minutes later with a 28-yard field goal from Tyler West early in the second.

With the win, the Indians now hold a 10-8 advantage in this Thanksgiving rivalry.