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Montclair Comeback Boots Allegheny from Playoffs, 20-19

 Montclair, NJ – Frosh PK Vinnie Doffont booted a Montclair State record 52-yard FG with 2:25 remaining in the game and the Red Hawk defense blocked a 36-yard Gator FG as time expired.   Montclair defeated Allegheny College (7-4) to advance to the second round of NCAA Division III playoffs, 20-19.  CollegeFootballFan.com dropped to the Division III level for the first time this season, but we sure didn’t miss a beat regarding fantastic finishes as we saw our seventh consecutive game of the season end in less than a 3-point margin in yet another game not determined until the very last play! (Read UL-Monroe, Arizona State, UConn, Ohio State, Pitt and Princeton Reviews).  Montclair (9-1) advances to the second round of play against Ithaca who defeated Brockport State today, 13-9.  Montclair has faced off with Ithaca three times previously in tournament play, and the Bombers have been victorious each time.  But, that’s next week.

     The Red Hawks got off to a shaky start as the Gators stopped the Hawks’ first series with an interception to start at the 50.  The resultant punt by the Gators was muffed by State’s Shaun Murray, and the Gators took over at the MSU four.  The Red Hawk defense stymied the Gators though as OLB John Lennox threw QB Bubba Smith for a 10-yard loss to take over on downs on their own 13.  The Hawks next punt from the 20 went out of bounds at their own 39.  From there, the Gators got into position for PK Aaron Polack to kick a 37-yard FG to take the first lead of the game, 3-0.  The Hawks retaliated immediately with long drive culminating in a 32-yard TD pass from QB John DiGirolamo to WR Steve Armstrong to go ahead, 7-3. 

     In the second period, a 39-yard punt return by Gator RB and return man Brian Woods put the team from Meadville, PA at the MSU 34.  Woods had a big day returning punts always beating the first Hawk tackler and making big gains thereafter.  The North Coast Athletic Conference champs once again got into FG position and Polack converted again from 29 to cut Montclair’s lead to 7-6.  Montclair gave up the ball after three downs and once again Woods returned the ball 35 yards to the MSU 39.  His 33-yard reception from Smith got the Gators to the MSU five.  The Gators used trickery with RB Kyle Geiser to score as he took a hand off on a sweep to his right before he wheeled and threw a 2-yard TD pass to wide-open QB Bubba Smith all alone in the end zone to take a 13-7 Gator lead.   Next time Woods returned a punt, he took it 57 yards deep into Red Hawk territory when a couple of pass completions and a phantom interference call set up a 2-yard TD run up the gut by RB Jamie Sye to put the Gators up with :13 remaining in the half.  The Red Hawk kick block team, seething from the interference call, swarmed through the Allegheny line and blocked Polack’s extra point attempt to make the score 19-7, Gators, before the half.  It was a key play for the final result.  Guest game analyst Eric Koreivo, 8, wished that Sprague Field, capacity of about 5,000, had a large scoreboard to see instant replays.  He wondered where the TV cameras were.  Fellow GGA, Danny “Chickie” Wertman, made a “Go Red Hawks” sign hoping to get on network TV that didn’t show up for today’s big playoff contest.  The two 8-year old GGA’s along with 10-year old GGA Alex Koreivo, found an open piece of practice turf on the far end of the home bleachers to play catch with a football at half time.  After a bottle of Vanilla Coke, Chickie, used to the finer things in life, inquired about the facilities and grimaced when the blue Port-a-johns were pointed out to him.  The call of Mother Nature overwhelmed him and he surrendered.  He commented about the stench afterwards, of course, and he also learned that green means go and red means stop in another important aspect of life!

     The team from western PA started the second half with a three and out series.  Montclair responded right away with a 37-yard FG by Doffont to make the score 19-10.  Q3 ended with the same score, and neither team got on the scoreboard again until MSU RB Eugene Vick (200 rushing yards in this game) capped a 79-yard Red Hawk drive with a 13-yard TD run to close the gap to 2 points, 19-17, with 10:32 remaining. 

     Several series later, Montclair took over on its own 37.  DiGirolamo completed two passes to get the Hawks to the Gator 39.  With 2:25 left in the game, Montclair coach Rick Giancola motioned to send in his Frosh kicker in on fourth and six at the Gator 35.  The rookie kicker converted a FG the previous week to win the NJAC title 21-20 against conference foe Rowan to get his team the at-large playoff bid.  He launched the ball straight and true, but was it long enough? The ball descended toward the goal posts,  hit the top of the crossbar and bounced through for a school record of 52 yards as well as tying the D3 playoff record, but more importantly, for the lead, 20-19.  The home side erupted!  The Gators weren’t finished by any means.  QB Bubba Smith, with 205 passing yards with 25 completions on the day to atone for his teams’ paltry 37 rushing yards, completed two passes.  These completions and an MSU defensive interference call, which looked more offensive from CFF’s view at the 50-yard line behind the MSU bench, put the Gators at the Montclair 30.  Smith, who led his team with 30 rushing yards on the day, ran the ball up the middle twice to get to the MSU 19 with :07 remaining. Time-outs by both teams were called consecutively before Polack got ready for his game-winning FG attempt.  Once again, the Red Hawks swarmed and LB John Lennox got credit for the block as time expired and the home team celebrated.  It was another fantastic finish in the annals of CFF’s 2003 season!  It was a great, exciting game attended by CFF once again, albeit played at a lower level.  The Hawks advance and the Gators go home.  This is what makes D3 ball so great, however!  When will the big boys join in on the mayhem?  We will hopefully see another playoff game, somewhere, two weeks from now after our trip to the Miami-Pitt game next weekend.

Extra Points:  Doffont’s 52-yard kick tied an NCAA D3 playoff record set by St. Lawrence’s Red Vesling in a 1982 play-off game against Wagner College. Guess what?  CFF was there, too!  We watched an acquaintance, Tom Daly, a freshman LB, and the Szott brothers of Clifton, NJ whose brother Dave is 14 years removed from Penn State now playing with the NY Jets offensive line, play for the Larries that day in Staten Island against the Seahawks in another exciting playoff game won by St. Lawrence, 43-34.  Alonzo Patterson was the star running back for Wagner that year, and Head Coach Andy Talley of St. Lawrence is now the Head Coach of the successful Villanova program. The St. Lawrence QB, Mark Ferrante, was last seen on his coaching staff at Villanova, who we skipped seeing play today to be at this playoff game.  Though Delaware defeated VU today 20-17, this play-off game was worth the short drive, free parking, $8 ticket and stinky commode!

 Both teams were in the playoffs for the eighth time.  The Gators won it all in 1990.  This was the Hawks' first win after three consecutive opening round losses in previous years.  This was the Gators’ fifth consecutive defeat in playoff competition.

 LB Ray Meyer had a big game on D for MSU with 10 stops.  As the only SR starting for MSU on the defensive side of the ball and with one SR starting on O, FB Scott Wisniewski, the Hawks are a young team that has playoff potential for at least a couple more years. 

 Announcing scores over the PA during the game, one can hear the same old comments made for the last 25 years as the Rutgers scores were announced (only trailing Miami 6-3 at the half), “If only Rutgers…”  They finally succumbed 34-10, and we’ll see Miami play Pitt for the Big East championship next week.  ‘Da heck with Rutgers, the Jets and the Giants, Montclair is the only winning team in North Jersey, college or pro!  Go Red Hawks!

 Mt. Union is a #1 seed again going for its fourth consecutive D3 title and seventh in eight years.  Springfield (MA) Pride, the only team which defeated MSU this year in the Red Hawk’s opener, 22-14, the Lycoming Warriors of Williamsport, PA for whom the actor Peter Onorati once played (recently seen on an episode of “Navy NCIS”),  and the Johnnies of St. John’s of Minnesota, coached by the all-time winningest coach in college football history, John Gagliardi, are the other three top seeds in the tourney who all had byes this past weekend.  If MSU can end their drought against Ithaca at home next week, and Springfield stumbles against RPI next week, the Red Hawks will probably host the quarterfinal game.

 As great as Woods’ day was returning punts, nothing good could be said of the Red Hawks’ Shaun Murray in the same category.  Besides the muffed punt, other kicks were misplayed giving the Hawks bad field position.  Soph Eric Ferriol gave MSU its best return of the day on his only play at the position.  He may be back there full time next week.

 This CFF reporter dropped his only pencil before the “Star Spangled Banner” under the bleachers as the hat was removed.  The area was inaccessible, and much of the reporting was done from rote memory and some highlights and stats attributed to the Montclair State Red Hawk website.