Red Bank Comeback Nets Region 3-AAA Title Over Irish

There were a lot of smiling faces at Red Bank’s Community Stadium Friday night as the host Lions celebrated their first region football championship since 2009.

“Good things happen when you keep working hard and that’s what we’ve been preaching here for a long time.  They’re starting to believe it and they’re seeing the results,” said an elated Red Bank coach Chad Grabowski once the final horn had sounded.

“We were where we wanted to be at the half, although we didn’t do a good job of finishing in the first two quarters.  We finally put it all together in the second half and played a complete game for the first time this year.

“Our offense did what we needed to do and our defense was outstanding as usual, so we’re pretty happy right now,” he added.

Notre Dame coach Charles Fant didn’t make any excuses as he just stated the cold hard facts.

“They came prepared to play tonight and I tip my hat to the job they did on the other side,” Fant said while his team was gathering for its post-game talk.

“When you can’t run the football, this is what happens, but we just have to execute and we didn’t tonight.  They made the big plays in the critical situations and we didn’t,” he added.

Red Bank will host Upperman in a first-round Class 3A state playoff game on Nov. 4. The Irish will be at home as well, taking on Smith County.

The Lions scored three touchdowns in the second half to overcome a stingy Notre Dame defense and post a 21-3 victory for their seventh win in 10 games.  Notre Dame is now 6-4.

It was a defensive struggle on both sides as Red Bank only had a 272-203 advantage in total yards.

But in a game where the only score in the first half was a 37-yard field goal by Notre Dame’s  Rhys Robertson, it was a hard-hitting game on both sides.

Red Bank had a chance to tie early in the second quarter, but a 36-yard field goal attempt by Braulio Velazquez was just a tad short.

The Notre Dame defense forced two Red Bank punts in the first half and another to start the second, but the Lions started making things happen on the offensive side of the ball.

The Irish dodged a huge bullet when Zay Brown fumbled at the 1 midway through the third quarter and big Sam Stovall recovered.

The Lions finally made it into the end zone with 3:09 left in the third when Brown scored from the 5.  It was a short drive of 30 yards in five plays that was set up by a Notre Dame punt that traveled just 21 yards.

Red Bank scored again on its next possession following another bad play regarding the Irish punter.  Facing fourth-and-15 from the Notre Dame 36, the snap sailed over his head.  Somehow and someway he managed to get the kick off, but it sailed out of bounds at the 17 and the Lions were in business again.

The Lions were flagged for a false start, but it only took four plays to cover those 22 yards with quarterback Calvin Jackson scoring on a keeper from the 6 with 30.6 seconds to play in the third.

Notre Dame then had its best drive of the game as they moved 53 yards in 16 plays, but they had nothing to show for it after Akil Sledge was stopped for a one-yard gain on fourth and goal from the 3.

Red Bank then took over with 5:56 to play and Jackson got his team out of a huge hole with a 44-yard gain on the first play.  He gained 14 more on the next snap, but the Notre Dame defense got tough and didn’t allow another first down on that drive.

Taking over at their own 32 with 2:32 to play, the Irish were down, but not out at that point.  However, that all changed when Red Bank sophomore Nate Doss IV intercepted an Irish pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

Doss was all smiles following the game.

“I’m just thankful they trust me enough to put me in that situation.  I had my eye on the quarterback and saw him throw it my way.  I thought it would fall incomplete, but it kept coming toward me.  I thought I might drop it as I was juggling it as I was running and I wasn’t expecting such an open field,” he said of his first pick and his first career touchdown.

Velazquez calmly booted his third straight extra point and the celebration began on the home side with 2:22 remaining.

Notre Dame tried its best to score on the final drive, but an interception by Mike Clark in the final minute kept that from happening.

Red Bank finished with 272 total yards, including 234 on the ground and 38 through the air.

Brown ended the game with 132 yards on 28 carries, including 75 yards in the first half.  Jackson was right behind with 102 yards on 20 attempts.

Jackson completed three of his four passes with Clark gaining 35 yards on two receptions.

Notre Dame was limited to just 203 total yards, including 112 through the air and 91 on the ground.

Justyn Baker was the leading receiver with 64 yards on six grabs while Sledge had 33 more on four receptions.

Sledge was also the leading rusher with 48 yards on 14 attempts while Andrew Banks added 45 yards on 11 carries, mostly in the second half.

Red Bank also won the first-down battle by a 13-10 margin.

NOTRE DAME  3  0  0  0  --  3

RED BANK  0  0  14  7  --  21

ND – Rhys Robertson 37 field goal, 4:48 left in first;

RB – Zay Brown 5 run (Braulio Velazquez kick), 3:09 left in third;

RB – Calvin Jackson 6 run (Velazquez kick), 0:30.6 left in third;

RB – Nate Doss IV 37 interception return (Velazquez kick), 2:22 left in fourth.

(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)