Jackets Defeat Rival Eagles 7-6 at Reynolds Field

Ali Marpet has spent nearly his entire  life in Hastings. Growing up a stone's throw from Reynolds Field and having two reputable athletes as older brothers, Marpet has heard much about Hastings/Dobbs Ferry game day animosity.  

 He's witnessed and played in some of the high-intensity, emotional, and down-to-the-wire affairs.  And, on Sunday, Marpet was partially responsible for the upset which will undoubtedly become another chapter in the neighboring teams' high-profile history.

A 6-foot-4, 245-pound player, Marpet had two sacks, six tackles, and forced a fumble to crank up Hastings' tight defensive pressure.  

Hastings overwhelmed Dobbs Ferry, winning a 7-6 barnburner at Reynolds Field Sunday afternoon.

The game, littered with penalties, had originally been slated for Thursday. Inclement weather pushed it to Sunday afternoon, as the teams picked up with the score knotted at 0-0 and a thread under seven minutes remaining.    

"Senior year, especially, it means so much to beat Dobbs," said Marpet, an athletically gifted right tackle/defensive tackle.  "We've been practicing all week--we had really hard week of practice. It feels great to come out with a win. It's awesome! They're such a good team with such a good reputation. To beat them is just a real good feeling."  

 It was only fitting that such an anticipated game would be decided by only one point. Marpet had an immense impact on the outcome in the early stages of the fourth quarter, helping gut an Eagles' scoring opportunity.  

 Dobbs Ferry quarterback Justin Kennedy had marched the Eagles downfield and into Hastings territory.

Kennedy, who stabbed Hastings' momentum when he picked off a Luca Cobucci pass with 26 seconds remaining in the first half, delivered a needle-threading pass to Spencer Avalos.

Two plays later Marpet would burst through a host of blockers and sack Kennedy. Marpet continued to thwart Kennedy at will on the plays that followed. Dobbs could not convert, as the Yellow Jackets' defensive line stalled a promising Dobbs Ferry drive with 9:16 remaining.  

"I call Ali a beast; he's a mismatch for most offensive lineman," said Hastings coach Joe Vaccaro, who experienced the rivalry as a player for Hastings in the 1980s.    

"You know, he's 6-4, 245 and he's athletic. He's a big mismatch. I think they did a good job of trying to get away from him, going the other way and what not. In the end, they had to throw the ball to his side and he's just really tough to block."

Putting the clamps on Kennedy, a southpaw, presented an entirely new challenge for Marpet.    

"I did switch sides on him [Kennedy], so his being a lefty is a change of pace for me, because I've never really gone against a lefty quarterback. The effort we put forth today shows how hard we practice.  Every single day, we all go against each other very hard. It's always a competition with us."  

Ant it was also competition with Dobbs Ferry on Sunday when there was 6:45 remaining in the third quarter.

Hastings' Cobucci dumped in some passes for short yardage to receiver George Moore.

As Hastings moved closer and closer into the red zone, Cobucci scampered out of the pocket and hit 6-foot-1 receiver Keenan Charles for a seven-yard touchdown strike with 6:06 remaining. Hastings' extra point attempt soared through the uprights as they seized a 7-0 lead.

After playing a smashmouth brand of football on Thursday, relying heavily on gives up the middle, Hastings clearly needed to open up their aerial game.  

 "We're definitely not afraid to throw it, we like to throw," explained Vaccaro.

 "We ran the ball really well on Thursday. We thought we were going to be able to run the ball today, but Dobbs made some nice adjustments and kind of took away a lot of our run. So we said, 'let's open it up a little,' because we're not afraid to throw it with Luca and all the kids we have. Whether it was a pass or a scramble,  it worked out well for us."

Yet on Hastings' ensuing possession, they relinquished control of the game on a sloppy fumble with 4:22 remaining in the fourth.    

Dobbs Ferry capitalized on the turnover. Eddie Fanning ripped off an electrifying run, setting up freshman fullback Tim Soave for a two-yard punch into the end zone.

Dobbs Ferry missed the crucial extra point attempt and the jackets defensive unit preserved the slim lead.    

Hastings frittered away an opportunity to pad their lead late in the fourth.

Cobucci broke a 40-yard run and Hastings seemed primed to tack on another another touchdown.

A penalty and a number of short-yardage jaunts later, Dobbs Ferry defensive end John Yozzo-Scaperrata sacked Cobucci--100 yards rushing, 58 yards passing-- andthwarted the drive.

Hastings sealed the deal with a late interception of Kennedy during the last few seconds.   

For the second straight season, Hastings defeated favored Dobbs Ferry, a perennial power on the Class C circuit throughout the past decade.

"It's a big win for us, no question," said Vaccaro.

"Hastings v. Dobbs is one of the biggest rivalries around. A lot of the kids on both sides are really, really, really good friends. It's great for them. Being a Hastings guy myself it's always great to beat Dobbs Ferry. In the big picture, we consider it a win over a solid program."