Carmel Defeats John Jay 17-12

Carmel Defeats John Jay 17-12

By Rich Monetti

John Jay and Carmel came into Thursday night’s Class AA match up with identical 3-1 records, and Coach Todd Cayea didn’t need a statistician to sort out the playoff implications. “This was a critical game,” he said after the 17-12 victory. “We got the win, and I’m so proud of our effort.”

His Rams didn’t wait long to put up either. The defense introduced John Jay to a quick three and out, and the offense went right to work.

Starting at midfield, QB Peyton Cayea went on a 14 year keeper, and then paused the John Jay defense long enough for Nicholas Heis to draw down to the 12. Two plays later, the Cayea zipped one into Henry Flocco at the goal line, and the home team took a 7-0 lead at 6:44.

The Carmel defense forced two more three and outs, and it looked as though John Jay was in for a long night when Flocco made a juggling catch at the 18. But Cayea’s sideline pass was picked off by Michael Carmosino at the two, and the Rams were forced to backtrack.

After trading three and outs this time, John Jay QB Richie Eletto went in tandem with WR Jake Brichta on a 78 yard scoring drive. Facing third and long on two occasions, Eletto found his receiver for two 30 plus yard gains, which set up a one yard touchdown run for James Luciano. “He was very patient (on the first throw), said Coach Tom O’Hare. “Jake got bumped on the route, and Richie gave him a moment to open up.”

Unfortunately, the extra point pinged off the left upright, and Carmel clung to a 7-6 lead with 6:04 left in the half. John Jay seemed to have all the momentum when Carmel was quickly forced into punt formation, but Matthew Beal fumbled the kick at midfield.

Nonetheless, Carmel could not capitalize, and the score held until halftime.

The third quarter had Carmel on the move again but a fumbled snap at the John Jay 30 once again gave the Rams pause. The Patriots, though, returned the favor when CB Richard Keating got a great read on Eletto’s sideline screen and got the pick at the Carmel 40.

The field position wasn’t wasted this time, and the momentum shifted for good. Two Heis runs and a 17 yard pass to Joseph Mascetta had Carmel at the 32, but Cayea came up lame with a cramp.

Forced out of the game, Coach Cayea wasn’t worried about his team missing a beat. “We have two quality quarterbacks,” he said. “I have faith in both of them.”

On fourth and six, Aiden Nunez made good on his coach’s words by hitting Jaden Pellino in the end zone for 30 yard touchdown pass and a 14-6 advantage with 2:20 remaining in the third. His third TD pass this year, Nunez is always ready to take one for the team. “It’s hard being a back up as a senior, but I just have to have faith in my team,” he said.

But John Jay could not answer back, and two defensive pass interference calls ultimately situated Carmel for a 36 yard field goal by Millard Pearse.

3:05 seconds remaining and two scores seemed a time consuming impossibility. The end appeared even closer as Beal fumbled the squibbed kickoff and had to scramble to retrieve the pigskin. “I got baffled by it,” he said.

The misdirection was all his, though, and Carmel was left chasing him into the end zone. “My guys blocked, and I just ran,” he said.

The sudden turn of events didn’t last as Carmel covered the on side kick and got another pass interference call to run out the clock. “You’re not going to agree with every call,” said O’Hare. “But that’s football, and that’s not why we lost.”

On the other side, Cayea won’t hear of playoffs yet. “We don’t approach it that way. We just try to get better everyday,” he concluded.

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