Aggressive Offense Gives Clarkstown North Football a Season-Opening Win

The Clarkstown North Rams dominated on both ends to defeat the Gorton Wolves, 47-14, in their season opener Saturday afternoon in Yonkers.

The Rams put up an impressive performance to hand themselves as much of a confidence-inspiring start to their season as they could have hoped for.  After taking the lead in the first, the Rams took control in the second as they picked apart the Wolves defense to score a remarkable 33 points off of five touchdowns. 

They brought the score to 47 – 0 by the end of the third before the Wolves were able to make any headway offensively. It wasn't until the fourth when the Wolves were finally able to put some points up on the board off two touchdowns.

The Rams exercised strict discipline on defense to nearly shut out the Wolves.  Offensively, it was truly a group effort, as they had a lot of hands touch the ball to get their 47 points off seven touchdowns from six different people.  #42 Tareek Turner, who had two touchdowns for the night and 31 rushing yards, highlighted the fact that "Everybody played hard and a lot of people got to touch the ball"  as a major strength for the Rams' performance Saturday.

The Rams took the lead early with a touchdown in the first while keeping the Wolves from scoring.  The Rams ended the quarter in possession of the ball and in Wolves' territory.  #21 Dan Macalena started off the second quarter running the ball for the first of five touchdowns that quarter.  The extra point was no good, however, to make the score 13 – 0.

The Rams quickly got the ball back after the kickoff on a fumble at the Wolves 23 yard line.  With such great field position, it took little time for the Rams to score again.  They put the ball in Turner's capable hands, who ran it in for a touchdown.  This time, the extra point was good to make the score 20-0.

The Rams weren't done yet though, as they quickly stopped the Wolves offense.  It was then #2 Brian Rinciari, who carried the ball for the play of the game in a 53 yard touchdown run.  With the Rams now up 26 – 0, things just kept going wrong for the Wolves.  Fumbling the kickoff, they allowed the Rams to recover the ball.  An excellent run and then reception by Turner put the Rams at first and goal, just nine yards from another touchdown.  It was then off to the races as #4 Nick Termine ran the ball for another Rams' touchdown to make the score 33 – 0.

Gorton was able to hold onto the ball this time on the kickoff, however, their offense could not make any headway and they were forced to punt.  This next possession, it was all #5 Billy Delay and #15 Christian Bouquet.  Bouquet had two great runs to put his team in a scoring position.  It was then Delay, who ran for a first down to put his team at first and goal and then ran again, this time for a touchdown.  With the clock winding down, this would be the final touchdown of the half to put the Rams up 40 – 0.

The Rams kicked off to the Wolves to begin the third, however, their possession of the ball would not last for long.  Heads up coverage from #61 Dan Asheim allowed him to tip and intercept the ball to give the Rams possession at midfield.  It was then time for #8 Korey Johnson to carry his team to the 26 yard line with a series of excellent running plays.  The quarterback, #12 Nick Windman, then brought them the rest of the way with a 27 yard touchdown run.  With the score now 47 – 0, and seconds left in the third,  the Wolves maintained possession of the ball, but ended the quarter scoreless.

The Wolves were finally able to score two touchdowns in the fourth, but it was too little, too late and the game concluded with a final score of 47 – 14.  For Rams head coach Joe Trongone, the win was all thanks to the mental discipline shown by his players.  "We play disciplined," said Trongone.  "We made some mistakes early on, but we recovered and in the second quarter started getting better." 

Though "getting better" seems like somewhat of an understatement when talking about that monolithic second quarter, everything did start going the Rams way when they didn't have the ball.  But this was in a large part due to their smothering defense which gave the offense those opportunities.  And, when they did get the opportunity, the Rams executed extremely well.

The quarterback for most of the game, #7 Luke Sullivan, led his team to their victory, completing three of six pass attempts for 67 yards.  At the heart of their offense was Turner with two touchdowns, 31 rushing yards, and 52 passing for a total of 83 yards for the day.  Joining him with touchdowns Saturday were Macalena with 26 yards, Termine with five yards, Rinciari with 55 yards, Delay with 22 yards, and Windman with 27 yards, each with one touchdown a piece.  The Rams kicker, #25 Marco Cavaliere, was 5 of 7 for the day.  Leading the team on the defensive end were #61 Dan Asheim, with one interception, and #50 Charles Regalbuto, who caused a fumble.

The Rams face powerhouse North Rockland on Thursday. 

To prepare for this difficult game, they are going to need a "good week of practice," according to Coach Joe Trongone.  Turner is looking forward to the game against North Rockland.  He agreed with Trongone, saying "We gotta practice hard this week for North Rockland." 

He's focused on one thing for this Thursday, "to finally beat North Rockland."

The Rams will face North Rockland in their first home game of the season Thursday night at 7.