Alex Brown, defense spark Red Bank Catholic football to NJSIAA Non-Public B championship

EAST RUTHERFORD  -  A defense that bent and never broke and some heroic play from senior quarterback Alex Brown added up to the NJSIAA Non-Public B championship for Red Bank Catholic Friday night at MetLife Stadium. 

Brown, 15 days after his mother died after a long battle with breast cancer, scored the game-winning TD on a 2-yard run with 2:13 left in the third quarter.   

The Caseys' defense then stopped DePaul on the Spartans' final three possessions, including the batting down of a Hail Mary on the game's final play to preserve a 13-8 win and its third NJSIAA championship since 2014 and fourth overall. 

“I’m so proud of this team,'' Brown said. "I love this team. Let’s go get a ring to put on our finger.” 

DePaul's final possession, which began with 2:13 remaining, saw it drive from its 26 to a first down at the Caseys' 29 in four plays before Red Bank Catholic's defense bowed its neck for the final time on the night. 

A deflected pass that was caught by sophomore quarterback Patrick Grusser resulted in a 5-yard loss. Grusser then scrambled for a yard and completed a 3-yard pass to running back Tyler Brown. All of that ran the clock down to seven seconds before DePaul used its final timeout. 

Grusser's Hail Mary in the end zone was batted down, setting off a wild celebration among the Red Bank Catholic players, coaches and fans. 

Red Bank Catholic's defense entered the game not as heralded as DePaul's, but it showed throughout the game it has the stuff champions are made of. The Caseys bent a lot, but they rarely broke. 

“Our thing was, hey, we’ve got a good defense, too,'' Red Bank Catholic coach Mike Lange said. "That is a phenomenal defense, but we’ve got a good one, too. We have kids that run to the ball and do their job.” 

“We definitely knew we had to take away a few of their players,'' Red Bank Catholic senior defensive end/tight end Alex Bauman said. "No. 11 (receiver Marshawn Ferguson) is a great player and No. 24 (running back Jadin Johnson) is a really quick player so we had to take them away. 

"It’s absolutely indescribable. I’m just so excited for me and my brothers. We did this all together, it’s just the greatest feeling in the world.” 

Red Bank Catholic concluded its season 11-1, with its only defeat coming to Donovan Catholic on Oct. 29. 

“I’m just happy for the kids, the community, the RBC program,'' Lange said. "It’s just a great program when you see the following we have, the kids are into it. I’m just astonished how great it is.” 

Before the final possession, Red Bank Catholic had stopped DePaul on a fourth-and-3 from midfield, a fourth-and-9 from the 49 in which sophomore Davin Brewton dropped Grusser for a 1-yard gain.   

Offenses show life in third quarter

After the defenses dominated the first half, both teams scored on 71 yard drives on their first possession of the second half.

Red Bank Catholic responded after DePaul took its first lead of the night at 8-7 on a Tyler Brown 11-yard TD run with 8:51 left in the third quarter.

Brown's TD run came after stutter-stepped. He then raced untouched to the right into the end zone to give the Caseys a 13-8 lead with 2:11 left to in the third quarter to cap a 14-play drive that took 6:38 off the clock.

"I saw No. 5 (Qyaeir Price) going left and the linebacker, No. 9 (Kumar Howard) go to that side, so I juked and I cut back and it was a really easy run.” Brown said. 

A fake punt on a fourth and 3 from the Caseys' 36 in which junior running back Sabino Portella completed a 12-yard pass to Joe Diorio got the drive started. 

Brown followed with a 22-yard run to the Spartans' 30. Rajahn Cooper ran for 2 yards on a fourth-and-1 from the DePaul 21. A Brown 9-yard run and personal foul penalty on DePaul for a late hit moved the ball to the 5. Brown scored three plays later. 

DePaul had put together a lightning-quick eight-play drive  in eight plays off the second half kickoff to take the lead. 

Brown had runs of 9 and 11 yards and Jaiden John runs of 12 and 18 yards and Grusser connected with Marshawn Ferguson for 10 yards for the key plays that preceded the score. 

Red Bank Catholic started out on fire offensively, as it drove 71 yards in eight plays off the opening kickoff for the game's first touchdown. 

Brown concluded the drive with a 33-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Najih Rahman with 8:59 left in the first quarter. 

A Portella 11-yard run on the second play of the game, followed two plays later by a 10-yard run by Brown and then a Brown to 10-yard completion to Bauman were the key plays on the drive. 

DePaul had runs of 11 and 19 yards by Brown and Johnson respectively on its first two plays before RBC stiffened and forced a punt that pinned it back at its own 6. 

After RBC did not get a first down, DePaul's Jeremy Lopez raced in and blocked a punt on the goal line with the ball rolling out of the end zone for a safety with 4:54 left in the first quarter to make it 7-2. 

The rest of the half was a defensive slugfest with RBC managing just two first downs and DePaul four first downs. 

DePaul had a drive that reached the RBC 27 where Christian Ungemah's strip sack ended the drive. 

Portella gave the Caseys a golden opportunity with an interception and 28-yard return to the Spartans' 27 with 9:47 left in the first half. 

However, consecutive sacks pushed Red Bank Catholic punt and resulted in a Brown quick kick that pinned DePaul back to the 4. 

The Caseys started another drive at the DePaul 37, but gained just three yards and another Brown quick kick pinned DePaul back at its 17. 

Johnson did rip off a 28-yard run to begin the Spartans' ensuing possession, but wound up punting on a fourth-and-2 from the RBC 47. 

DePaul had a 112-103 advantage in total yards for the half.

The Spartans played two quarterbacks. Grusser replaced senior A.J. Rodriguez in the second quarter. Rodriguez sustained a concussion in the first quarter, DePaul coach Nick Campanile said. 

Red Bank Catholic 13, DePaul 8

Red Bank Catholic 7 0 6 0 - 13 

DePaul 2 0 6 0 - 8

First Quarter

RBC: Najih Rahman 33 pass from Alex Brown (Jake Jacobsen kick). 

DP: Safety: Jeremy Lopez blocked punt out of end zone. 

Third Quarter

DP: Tyler Brown 11 run (pass failed). 

RBC: Brown 2 run (pass failed). 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: RBC:  Alex Brown 15-46 Sabino Portella 14-56, Rajahn Cooper 9-19, Torin Harmon 3-5. DP: Jadin Johnson 12-107, Tyler Brown 16-73, A.J. Rodriguez 3-14, Patrick Grusser 5-9, Anthony Almeida 2-1, Marshawn Ferguson 1-(-8)

PASSING: RBC: Brown 5-10-0-59. Portella 1-2-12-0. DP: Grusser 10-16-74-0. Rodriguez 1-6-3-1.

RECEIVING: RBC: Najih Rahman 2-36, Alex Bauman 2-19, Joe Diorio 1-12, Robert Stolfa 1-4. DP: Marshawn Ferguson 4-53, Tyler Brown 2-7, Jake Kucera 1-10, James McDonagh 1-8, Jadin Johnson 1-4, Anthony Almeida 1-3, Patrick Grusser 1-(-5).

INTERCEPTION: RBC: Portella.