Holmdel's St. John Vianney Gets Signature Win Over Rumson-Fair Haven

Photo above: Anthony Brown calling signals in Thursday nights big win.

RUMSON – In a wildly entertaining game that was highlighted by two huge momentum shifts, the St. John Vianney Lancers rallied past Rumson-Fair Haven 35-28 Thursday night at Borden Stadium to assume early control of the Class A Central Division.

It was also the Lancers first win against the Bulldogs after four straight losses dating back to the 2010 season while getting off their best start since 1998.

The Lancers (4-0, 3-0), ranked No.5 in the Shore Conference and searching for their first division championship since the 1982 season, scored 21 unanswered points in the second half after falling behind 28-14 right before halftime to win one of the most memorable games in school history.

“I think the way we overcame the adversity of being down 28-14 was monumental,” head coach Mark Ciccotelli said. “I’m just so proud of the way my guys reacted to it. To be up like that and then bang, bang, bang; we showed a lot of character. We regrouped at halftime and talked about doing what we do on offense to be successful and we tackled better in the second half.”

Khalil Haskins sensational 47-yard sprint around right end with 7:56 remaining in the game clinched it for the Lancers as they held on to defeat the Bulldogs.

Rumson (2-1, 2-1), ranked No.3 in the Shore Conference, had one final chance to tie it, driving 57 yards to the Lancers 23-yard line in 14 plays – eating up the final 7:47 of the game. But sophomore quarterback Mike O’Connor was sacked for a nine-yard loss on fourth-and-7 with 28.8 seconds left to seal the win for St. John Vianney.

The Lancers bolted out of the starting gate, scoring on their first two possessions of the game to take a lightning quick 14-0 lead.

Taking possession at their own 20-yard line after the opening kickoff, the Lancers drove 80 yards in eight plays capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by junior Calvin Beaty. 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior quarterback Anthony Brown - a rapidly maturing dual threat quarterback - went 4-for-5 for 55 yards including 18 and 13-yard strikes to Beaty and a 15-yard completion to senior Joshua Taylor. 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior Aaron Mora added a 24-yard run on second-and-1 from their own 29.

After a three-and-out on the Bulldogs first possession, Brown engineered a six play, 62-yard scoring drive going 3-for-5 for 41 yards and added a 16-yard run before ending the drive with a 14-yard TD pass to senior Danny Calabro – a 6-foot-2, 190-pound wideout - to make it 14-0 with 4:33 left in the first quarter.

“Danny’s a throwback type of a kid that works his tail off in practice,” Ciccotelli said. “He really got involved in the second half and played a heck of a football game. He’s a leader on both sides of the ball and one of our captains.”

Undeterred, Rumson, playing without 2013 Offensive Player of the Year Charlie Volker due to a high ankle sprain, scored 28 unanswered points behind the gritty – often spectacular – play of O’Connor.

O’Connor led the Bulldogs back from the 14-0 first quarter deficit by rushing for three touchdowns and 185 yards in the first half.

“He’s a heck of a football player,” Ciccotelli said of O’Connor. “He doesn’t run around out there like he’s a sophomore, that’s for sure.”

Three plays after Brown’s touchdown pass made it 14-0; O’Connor took a quarterback draw up the middle, broke it outside and raced down the right sideline for a 68-yard touchdown.

Rumson’s Mike Ruane then recovered an onside kick at the Lancers 26-yardline but an eventual holding penalty derailed the drive and Connor Kelly’s 40-yard field goal attempt was no good leaving the score 14-7 as the first quarter ended.

The Bulldogs then forced a Lancer punt taking over at the St. John Vianney 28-yardline. On first down, sophomore tailback Matt Vecchiarelli – who rushed for 130 yards on 18 carries in his first varsity start of his career – ripped off a nifty 34-yard run before O’Connor’s 25-yard burst set up Sam Eisenstadt’s one-yard touchdown run up the middle to tie the game.

The two team traded turnovers with Rumson taking over at the Lancers 25-yardline after a fumble and O’Connor being intercepted in the end zone on first down as Joshua Taylor out-leaped the Bulldogs Murray Mcheffey for the ball.

Saint John Vianney then went three-and-out thanks to a big stop by Ruane on third-and-3 and after the punt the Bulldogs took over at the Lancers 42-yardline.

From there, Vecchiarelli’s 47-yard scamper around left end set up O’Connor’s second touchdown of the night. On third-and-10 from the eleven, O’Connor ducked under an apparent sack by Christopher Coppola, broke a tackle, tucked the ball in and scored from 11-yards out to take the lead.

A sack on third-and-6 from the Bulldog 49-yardline by junior linebacker Butchy Clark forced a Lancer punt with 1:17 left in the half and the Bulldogs took over at their own 20. Two plays later, O’Connor set the Borden Stadium crowd on fire with an exhilarating 74-yard dash down the left sideline handing Rumson a stunning 28-14 halftime lead.

Now trailing by two touchdowns to the defending state champions, the Lancers faced a defining moment as their quest for Shore Conference prominence was teetering on the brink of disaster. The question now was how this team will face the adversity staring them straight in the eyes.

But this is a new era of St. John Vianney football and they have taken on the persona of their renowned head coach, embracing his philosophy while exalting to his level of excellence.

That winning attitude was emblazoned in the second half as their young quarterback took another step forward in his maturation process and evolution into stardom. After relying on his arm in the first half, Brown turned to his legs in the second, rushing for two touchdowns as the Lancers exploded for 198-yards on the ground in the second half.

“Anthony’s a special kid and a special player,” Ciccotelli said. “He has all the intangibles: he can throw it, he can run it, he’s got the head, he’s savvy and I’ve said over and over, he’s got that Johnny Manziel in him.”

On their first possession of the second half, Mora gained 20 and Beaty 24 before Brown scored on a quarterback keeper up the middle on second-and-goal from the nine to pull to within seven, 28-21.

Rumson was then stopped again after driving to the Lancers 47-yardline and the Lancers took over at their own 18-yardline after a punt and fair catch by Haskins.

Haskins gained 29 yards on second down before two runs by Mora and one by Brown set up a second-and-4 from the Rumson 31-yardline. From there, Brown, reading the jet option perfectly once again, kept the ball and bolted around left end for 31 yards, tying the game, 28-28, with 6.5 seconds left in the third quarter.

“I might have gotten a little over confident,” Brown said. “But once they started coming back that was washed away. Coach Ciccotelli has taught me to be more disciplined and I’ve become more active in my thinking; that helped me in the second half.”

The Bulldogs then drove to the Lancers 31-yardline on the strength of O’Connor’s 31-yard run before they were stopped on fourth-and-6 from the 35 with 9:22 remaining. Calabro had a four-yard tackle for a loss on third down to set up the fourth down play.

It only took three plays for the Lancers to take the lead for good, 35-28, when Haskins took a handoff around right end, cut back towards the center of the field and raced into the end zone virtually untouched.

“We didn’t panic, we knew we had a lot of football ahead of us,” Calabro said. “We didn’t execute as well as we could in the first half and we knew we could fix that. We took it one step at a time and played some good football in the second half.”

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