DePaul football clinches division title with win over state-ranked Delbarton

WAYNE − Freshman quarterback Derek Zammit threw two touchdown passes in relief of starter Pat Grusser, leading DePaul to a 21-10 win at home over Delbarton on Friday night.

Grusser was 6-for-6, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Da’zie Jones to put the Spartans on the board. But he left with an ankle injury suffered on that scoring drive. Zammit took over in the next drive and found Jones again for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Jones finished with eight catches on the night for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Delbarton kicked a field goal between those touchdown drives for a 14-3 halftime score.

Delbarton, No. 15 in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25 rankings, inched closer in the third quarter when quarterback Robert Russo shoveled the ball to Phillip Folmar for a 7-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 14-10.

Zammit answered back with a 26-yard touchdown grab by Blake Thomas in the corner of the end zone to put the Spartans up by two scores.

The win gave DePaul (4-4) the crown in the SFC United White division.

What it means

In addition to the division title, the Spartans got an equally important prize: a marquee victory.

The non-public brackets will be seeded by a committee after next week's games. DePaul's resume now looks a whole lot better after starting the season 0-3.

"That's a great football team," DePaul coach Nick Campinale said about Delbarton. "They're well coached and they play everyone tough. This league is brutal and to go through it and be .500 means a lot."

As for the Green Wave, their four-game losing streak is snapped and their regular-season finale against St. Joseph (Montvale) will heavily impact their playoff fate.

Key play

In the fourth quarter with DePaul holding on to a 21-10 lead, the Spartans attempted to drain the remaining minutes of the clock. Delbarton held tough on defense and forced a punt just shy of the 50-yard line. However, a crucial penalty popped up during the attempted punt.

Delbarton was punished with a personal foul for hitting the DePaul long snapper while his head was down for the snap. The rule is enforced to protect the head of the snapper.

The penalty gave DePaul 15 yards and a first down on the other end of midfield with five minutes remaining. DePaul ended up punting anyway, but took half of the remaining time off the clock and forced Delbarton to use up its timeouts at a crucial point.

Game ball

Zammit has been there for the Spartans to facilitate the offense as Grusser has dealt with a case of unluckiness throughout the season. Grusser returned Friday from a concussion suffered against Bergen Catholic in late September.

"It meant a lot to me to have him out there and it meant even more to him," Campinale said about Grusser's return. "It hurt to not have him out there."

But Grusser injured his ankle on the Spartans' first scoring drive. Much like he did after Grusser went down earlier in the year, the freshman Zammit assumed the role in the offense and did not let the Spartans skip a beat.

"I couldn't be prouder of how Derek has been able to step up," Campinale said. "He's got a lot of poise and a lot of moxie for a young guy."

Zammit went 13-for-21 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns, including completions on each of his first six passes on Friday, matching the hot start that Grusser had.

"He's getting used to playing at this level with us and he keeps getting more confident," Jones said. "I have confidence in him even though he's a freshman, and that will help him grow and become a leader."

They said it

"I think playing the type of schedule we played earlier this season made us a tougher team. We took some bumps and some bruises, but in the end, it made us the best team we could be and I think we're playing our best football at the right time." − Campinale.

"We had a good start and kept that going. We need to keep that into next week. It's a big win but next week is just as big of a week for us." − Jones.

Up next

DePaul (4-4) heads to Don Bosco (6-2) on Friday.

Delbarton (4-4) will be at St. Joseph (Montvale) (3-4) on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: DePaul NJ football clinches division title with win over Delbarton