Offense Explodes in Second Half of 27-7 Raider Win

It was not quite the drubbing that Ramapo hoped to put on an under-matched West Milford football team, but in the end the Raiders outscored their opponent by three scores to move to 2-0 on the year.

"It's better to win ugly than lose pretty," said Coach Drew Gibbs after a win in which his team scored 20 or their 27 points in the second half en route to a 27-7 final.

In the first half, Gibbs' high-powered offense had trouble converting on third downs. This led to short drives and allowed the Highlanders to keep the game close.

Ramapo held the ball for more than five minutes on their opening possession, but failed to take anything away from it. The Raiders moved the ball well, but a missed field goal left them empty handed.

The Raiders would not be denied on their second possession. After another nice drive, running back Jack Bandazian punched it in from a few yards out to give his team the early lead. The senior's fourth TD of the young season would be the only score by either team in the first half.

Looking to gain some distance from its opponent, Ramapo came out firing in the second half and was able to put points up on the board.

"Our passing game started to click, we ran the ball consistently; that was what we expected from the beginning of the game," Gibbs said.

The Raiders got the ball rolling after a big defensive stop to start the half. After the Highlanders had driven down to the Ramapo's 10-yard line, the Raiders held strong and got a big pass deflection from Doug Norkett on fourth down to force a turnover on downs.

From there it was first down after first down both through the air and on the ground. Quarterback Tyler Ward got the drive started with a big pass play to tight end Mat Laducer over the middle. Ward continued to dazzle on the drive, throwing for two more first downs and rushing for another two. The drive was capped off by Bandazian's second rushing touchdown of the night to make it 14-0.

On the Raiders' next possession, senior running back Scott Kuenzle got into the action. After consecutive first down runs, Kuenzle took the next one all the way, beating the Highlanders' defenders to the corner of the end zone to put Ramapo up by 20.

After another dominant defensive possession, the Raiders quickly found themselves in the red zone once again. This time Bandazian would again get the call, shedding off tacklers on a powerful run for his third TD.

Gibbs praised both of his senior RBs after the game. "Jack and Scott are both very good running backs," said Gibbs. "We got a great 1-2 punch there."

The running backs could not have been so successful had it not been for the great work by the offensive line, anchored by senior captains Marc Esposito and Pat Taranto.

"I was really happy with our offensive line execution," said Gibbs. The coach said that the work of the O-line in wearing out the defense helped the offense to be so successful in the second half.

The Raiders gave up a late touchdown, but Gibbs used the word "solid" to describe the play of his defense. 

Ramapo looks to move to 3-0 next Friday against Pascack Valley on the road.