Raiders Shut Out Passaic Valley 14-0

The Raiders shut out the Passaic Valley Hornets 14-0 in a mostly one-sided competition at Ramapo High School Friday night.

Near the end of a scoreless first quarter, the Raiders made a strong push for the end zone with three carries by Matt Alpert and a first down throw from quarterback Ryan Dougherty to Zack Boucher. Ramapo kept the momentum at the start of the second and, following a carry by Doug Norkett to the one-yard line, forced the ball in for the first touchdown of the game. Kicker Tim Sternfeld made a field goal to bring the score up to 7-0.

Ramapo made another effort toward the end of the half, with a pair of long passes from Dougherty to Andy Gilard and Norkett that brought the Raiders within eight yards of the goal, but they couldn't get past the Hornets' defense. Passaic Valley took possession with 29 seconds left in the half and running back Angel Rivera finished the half with a 14-yard carry.

Both teams' defensive lines stood strong through the third quarter and nobody was able to move the ball adequately to score.

In the fourth, Ramapo seemed ready to score after carries by Mike Hroncich and Norkett brought the ball up to the 15-yard line, but Hornet Alex Pezzino intercepted a pass and Passaic Valley carried the ball back toward midfield.

After both teams failed to move the ball much again, Ramapo's John Smid intercepted a pass and Hroncich carried the ball for a first down. Hroncich brought the ball up to the 12-yard line before a leg injury benched him for the final two minutes of play.

Matt Alpert then made the final carries in the end zone and Sternfeld kicked another field goal, bringing the final score to 14-0.

Next week the Raiders will visit the Wayne Hills Patriots.