The Madison Rec Varsity Dodgers opened their 2018 season against a tough Denville team on a dismal Saturday night at the MRC. Madisons’ mission was simple, stick to their game plan and put an end to the annual consecutive losses to the Blue Angels. Coach Scott Spelker and his staff were confident their team was pumped and ready for battle, and the Madison faithful huddled in the rain to show their support as the Dodgers kicked off to start the game. Denvilles’ first play was a pass that resulted in a shocking touchdown, but it was called back due to a hold. Their running attack was minimal, thanks to tackles by Justin Slabaugh and Nate McKenna, and Ben Colao thwarted a second pass attempt, bringing the Blue Angels back down to Earth and forcing a punt. Madisons’ first possession was stalled early with little gains from Jayson Candelario and Anthony Contessa, and Madison had to kick. Special teams did a fantastic job, most notably by huge solo tackling by Cade LaFerriere. After a scoreless first quarter, Denville connected on a pass play to Long from the 30, and the points after made it 8-0 by the end of the first half.
Madison took possession to start the third quarter and had measureable gains by Contessa and Candelario, but a false start penalty negated that drive. Denvilles next posession handed off this time to Long who ran it in from the 40, and after missing the extra points, led 14-0 late in the third. Contessa returned the kick to the 40 and QB Ryan O’Rourke threw a nice pass to LaFerriere, and Cadelario moved the Dodgers to within striking distance before back to back false start flags moved them back. Finally Contessa took the next handoff and weaved his way into the end zone for Madisons only TD of the night, capped by Boyers extra two, but Denville went on to win it 14-8. Coach Mike Mantone summed it up , “too many mental errors…we will fix it. We’ve got work to do. Stay tuned.” The Dodgers host Hackettstown this Saturday night at 8pm at the MRC
