John Jay Falls 20-7 to Somers

After a crushing week one loss, the schedule gave no reprieve in week two. Traveling to Somers to face the state finalist, the manner in which the Wolves went toe to toe with the Elephants

still impressed the head coach. "I'm super proud of the way our kids battled," said Joe Candarelli. But he still left no room for a moral victory in the 20-7 loss.

"There's no good way to lose a football game," he lamented. "So we're not going to coach them on how to lose."

Either way, the game began where Somers left off when they completely eviscerated the Wolves last season. Luke Savino took the kickoff to the 48, Matt Fitzsimons hit a first down screen to Ravi Dass, and while Somers paused to a fourth down at the 35, they were in the end zone two plays later. Savino rumbled to the 17, and the QB hit Luke Kennedy for a 6-0 lead at 9:48.

Only one first down on John Jay’s initial possession, a replay seemed destined. But Somers mishandled the punt, and John Jay was deep in Tusker territory. 

Twenty-nine yards away, John Jay punched their first class ticket. Craig Galea faked a handoff, went over the top and hit Michael Mendicino between two defenders at 3:57

With ease and confidence, the quarterback play that gave John Jay a 7-6 lead was emblematic of the coach’s awe. “Craig’s a really good quarterback,” he boasted. “A lot is made of many other quarterbacks around the section, but I love my guy.”

Somers obviously wasn’t giving in, though, and drove down to the 37. John Jay, on the other hand, had no problem bending. On third down, Mendicino tipped Fitzsimons’ pass in the end zone and Sid Goldberg had the interception to close the quarter.

So no fear of flying, John Jay went up top again. Pass interference yielded a 15 yard gain to the 30, and on third and ten, Galea sailed another to Mendicino.

Coming down at the Somers 35, Candarelli wasn’t up in the air in wait of the reception.  A great leader, said the coach of his receiver, “He’s probably the most trustworthy kid we’ve got.” 

John Jay did fumble the ball away on the next play, but Mike Aiello made sure to return the favor. He picked off Fitzsimons, and the Wolves were back in business with 9:20 left in the half.  

Two more passes to Mendicino yielded a first and goal at the five. Unfortunately, a seven yard loss by Chris Shapiro and a sack put the Wolves 4th and goal from the 21.

Galea dropped back nonetheless, and hit Dom Savastano near the sideline. Sidestepping his defender, the receiver ran out of room at the one, and Candarelli lamented the miscues.  “Some procedural mistakes, we miss an assignment here and there in a big spot and it hurt us,” the coach lamented.

The good news is Somers was in a giving mood too. They had a long reception negated on an ineligible receiver, fumbled back to John Jay, and holding called back a 90 yard touchdown by Dass.

So the Wolves settled for a 7-6 halftime lead, and even though the offense didn’t get very far in their first two possessions, Somers continued to play a much better host than required. Savino ran sixty yards to the 20, but was called back on an illegal procedure and the offense had to surrender.

Even so, the subsequent punt proved to be the turning point.  From his own seven, Ryan Savino aired it out to midfield, and the ball bounced all the way to the 15.  

A sack would eventually have John Jay punting from their end zone, and Somers was clearly in a stomping mood from the 33. So pulling out the thunder and flashing some lightning, Luke Savino took the hand off inside, cut outside and ran over and through the defense.  

First and goal from the nine, Fitzsimons would execute the keeper from the one with 3:04 left in the third. Now up 14-7, the Tuskers really got into the swing when Andrew Violante picked off Galea at the John Jay 32. 

With 2:15 left in the third, Mason Kelly ran to the 20, and Dass and Fitzsimons took it from there. The QB hit his back to put Somers two yards away, and Dass went outside on third down to gain a 20-7 lead with 11:54 left in the game.

No real answers for John Jay the rest of the way, Candarelli continues the work progress. “We look like a team that had a short camp. So we got a lot to clean up,” he concluded.

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