Defense Gets Lange First Win As Red Bank Catholic Head Coach

Photos By Tom Smith

RED BANK – Coming up through the coaching ranks Red Bank Catholic first-year head coach Mike Lange made a name for himself on the defensive side of the ball.

So it isn’t surprising that on Friday night it was his defensive unit that preserved the win for the Caseys with two fourth quarter goal-line stands that gave sixth-ranked Red Bank Catholic an opening night 10-3 win over No. 2 Mater Dei.

The win was Lange’s first as the Caseys head coach since taking over the reins in February.

Lange, a linebacker at Bishop Ahr High School (now St. Thomas Aquinis) in Edison before playing linebacker at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, began his coaching career serving as defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Bishop Ahr, from 2000 to 2006 before taking over as offensive coordinator for another four years.

From there he was a defensive assistant at Cardinal McCarrick in South Amboy prior to being promoted to head coach in 2015 before the school closed doors in June of that year as a result of widening budget deficits.

Lange joined head coach Frank Edgerly’s staff as linebacker coach in 2017 and was elevated to defensive coordinator in 2018 when Matt Ahearn left for the head job at Colts Neck.

During his two seasons as defensive coordinator for the Caseys they fielded one of the top defenses in the Shore Conference. In 2018 the defense allowed 100 points in 10 games (10 points per game) which ranked second in the Shore. Then last season, playing in arguably the toughest division in Shore Conference history, RBC’s defense gave up 116 points in nine games (12.9 points per game) to lead the American Division in points allowed and ranked fourth in the Shore.

Friday night the Caseys were clinging to a 10-3 lead late in the third quarter when Mater Dei drove from their own 22-yard line to the RBC 7-yard line. The drive was aided by 45 yards in penalties (three 15 yard penalties) on the Caseys that could’ve cost them the game.

On first down, Mater Dei junior running back Ra’Jahn Cooper picked up five yards on the ground moving the ball to the 2-yard line but on second down, junior quarterback Alex Brown was stopped for no gain. Then on third-and-goal from the two, senior middle linebacker Luke Guidetti brought down Cooper after a 1-yard gain setting up a crucial fourth down play.

On fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line, the Seraphs again went to the 215-pound Cooper and again he was stopped short of the goal line this time by 6-foot-4, 225 pound junior defensive end Alex Bauman. Bauman shed a blocker to put a hard hit on Cooper and bring him down with safety Anthony Borriello helping to keep him out of the end zone.

The Caseys took over at their own half-yard line and promptly went three-and-out and forced to punt out of its own end zone. Mike O’Connor got the punt off under heavy pressure from Mater Dei but the Seraphs took over in prime field position at the RBC 26-yard line.

With 4:26 now remaining in the game and the Caseys still holding on to a precarious 10-3 lead, it was up to the defense to win the game.

On third-and-10, Brown was forced to scramble before finding junior wide receiver Kyree Drake for a first down at the 15-yard line. Two plays and an RBC offsides penalty moved the ball to the 5-yard line for a Mater Dei first-and-goal from the five.

With overtime looming, the Caseys defense caught a break. On first down, the shotgun snap was high and to Brown’s left and Cooper arrived at the same time. The ball then bounced off Cooper’s helmet to the ground and was immediately pounced on by sophomore linebacker Sabino Portella. The Caseys then took a knee to run out the clock and escape with a hard-earned victory.

The Caseys defense was on the field for 19-of-23 plays in the fourth quarter and limited Mater Dei to 188 yards in total offense for the game, including just 68 yards in the first half, and no touchdowns for the first time since Mater Dei head coach Dino Mangiero took over in 2016.

Bauman stood out for the Caseys defense with a clutch third-down sack, constant pressure on the quarterback and that huge game-saving stop in the fourth quarter. Senior 6-foot-2, 220 pound defensive tackle J.J. Lodato added a sack for the Caseys with 6-foot-1, 270 pound senior defensive tackle Jake Louro and Guidetti standing out as well.

The Caseys pass rush constantly forced Brown out of the pocket making him hurry his throws while the secondary was excellent in coverage holding Mater Dei’s explosive receivers to 58 total yards, including shutting out Kent State commit Naran Buntin.

Overall, it was a tremendous all-around effort by everyone on the defense that looks to be in a class of its own once again this season.

Junior Jaiden Haynes recovered a muffed punt at the Mater Dei 9-yard line that led to an O’Connor 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 6:37 left in the fourth quarter.

Newcomer Najih Rahman – a transfer from St. Joes (Montvale) – had a splashing debut. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound sophomore wide receiver hooked up with Borriello on a 48-yard pass play and two plays later made a nice juggling catch reaching back behind the defender to grab the ball for a 20-yard touchdown and a 10-0 lead with 8:19 left in the half.

Borriello, starting his first game as a full-time starter at quarterback, completed 9-of-13 passes for 92 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 31 yards on nine carries.

With the win Red Bank Catholic broke into the NJ.com Top 20 at No. 16 and moved up to No. 4 in the Shore Conference rankings.

The Caseys will travel to Middletown South this Friday for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff at the “Swamp.” The Eagles were upset by Long Branch, 14-10, in their season opener.

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