Who actually blocked the field goal may become part of St. Peter’s Prep football folklore.
PA announcer Jim Hague, a St. Peter’s Prep alum and sportswriter, said junior Jayden Bonsu over the speakers. Coach Rich Hansen III thought it was senior Avery Powell. Quarterback Robert Long said “Blackjack” — referring to his teammate by nickname only.
Whether it was one player or multiple, that mystery suspect delivered THE defining moment in a game filled with nothing but defining moments. The block, which came in the first overtime, prolonged a game that will likely be remembered as an instant classic.
St. Peter’s Prep, which entered ranked No. 2 in the NJ.com Top 20, found a way to win. That was the difference Saturday as the Marauders pulled out a dramatic 22-21 win over No. 6 Seton Hall Prep in a double-overtime game.
“It was gritty,” said Hansen, who said he was as exhausted as his players on a hot afternoon at the Caven Point Athletic Complex in Jersey City.
“We were tired, cramping and dehydrated in the second quarter. To be able to stand in there with those guys says a lot about our team. We were tough in the second half.”
The decisive points came on a successful two-point conversion as St. Peter’s Prep went to its trick book and executed the play perfectly.
The play call was a Philly Special, but in Jersey City, it’s the Ryan O’Flaherty Special. The St. Peter’s Prep offensive coordinator relied on the famous Super Bowl-winning trick play the Philadelphia Eagles used and did so swapping in a player who never ran it in practice, hasn’t throw a pass in more than five years and injured his throwing wrist earlier in the game.
That player was sophomore slot receiver Hassan Moore.
Slade, a running back, took a snap and pitched it to Moore. Moore rolled right and found Long, the team’s quarterback, in the end zone. Moore said only O’Flaherty knew his wrist was hurting.
“Honestly, with my wrist being sprained, I was down,” said Moore. “I didn’t have a lot of faith, but once I saw that block, I stopped thinking about.”
Hansen said he left the two-point decision up to O’Flaherty. There was no hesitation, but the personnel switch happened during a timeout just before the offense went back on the field for the two-point conversion.
“We normally run it with Zion (Fowler), but he didn’t feel good about throwing it with gloves on so we switched to Hassan,” Hansen said. “It was really last minute, but he executed.”
St. Peter’s Prep got an opportunity to gamble thanks to a final possession owned by Slade, who finished with 27 carries for 209 yards. The senior pounded in 2-yard touchdown run to pull St. Peter’s Prep within one.
In the first half, senior Paul Lefkowitz scored on a seven-yard run, which put St. Peter’s up 14-0 with 7:30 left in the second quarter. Long added a 12-yard touchdown strike to Fowler in the first quarter.
Seton Hall Prep, after a sluggish start, showed life late in the second quarter when the Pirates went 72 yards on 12 plays and scored on a 19-yard screen from senior Jaden Craig to senior Myles Thomason. The Pirates had 14 yards of offense before the drive, which took nearly six minutes off the clock and cut the St. Peter’s Prep lead to 14-6 just before the break.
The Pirates then scored on their opening possession of the second half. Thomason broke a 34-yard run on the first play of the third quarter and scored on 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line when Craig pounded in a keeper. The St. Peter’s Prep defense stuffed three plays from inside the 2 before Craig’s touchdown and game-tying, two-point pass to sophomore Danny Easter.
“Any football coach asks their players to play as hard as they can. They left nothing on the field, we were down 14-0 and came back,” Seton Hall Prep coach Bill Fitzgerald said.
St. Peter’s Prep had a chance to take the lead late in the third quarter, but Seton Hall Prep’s defense came up with a goal-line stand. After three tries from inside the two, Jackson Dowd sacked Long to force a turnover on downs.
Neither teams offense could capitalize after that, however. The fourth quarter featured four punts, three of which were master pieces by Seton Hall senior Nick Conforti, an All-State selection last season. Conforti’s final boot, a 42-yarder, was a coffin corner and pinned St. Peter’s Prep at its own 3-yard line with just over two minutes to play.
“We don’t talk about the scoreboard, we talk about playing as hard as you can and being ready every single down,” Fitzgerald said. “They did that. They did everything we asked them to do.”
St. Peter’s Prep went backwards with its first possession in overtime thanks to a hold and sack by Seton Hall senior James Palaia. Seton Hall drew up a trick play of its own and drew a pass interference call to move the ball to the 11-yard line. After a two-yard loss on a run by Thomason, Fitzgerald sent the kicking team in to try to win on second down.
It wasn’t meant to be. The kick, 31-yard try by Conforti, never got past the line of scrimmage.
Seton Hall bounced right back, however. With the first possession in the second overtime, Ty Marion threw a 12-yard touchdown to Easter on a third-and-10. Conforti added the point-after. Marion came into the game after Craig’s helmet came off the previous play.
The next possession was the final one. St. Peter’s Prep found the end zone and never hesitated with its decision to go for two.
“We already knew we were going for the win,” Long said.
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