Football: Carmel cruises to 20th straight win, showing promise for many more
CARMEL - When Carmel received its schedule, Friday night's championship rematch with Arlington appeared to be a circle-the-calendar game for the Rams. But they made fairly certain just minutes into the first quarter this would be no torch-passing moment between fellow contenders.
No, Carmel very emphatically proved it remains the team to chase in Section 1, throttling the Admirals throughout a 62-21 victory that gave the reigning state champ its 20th straight win.
"I'm really happy with our start," coach Todd Cayea said. "I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't think we would be so cohesive so early, but the key is to continue to get better. We want to play our best games in games 8, 9 and 10."
That might be a pretty scary opposition for future opponents, especially after Carmel staked itself to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. The Rams led 35-7 by halftime, then responded with 27 more points after two touchdown passes from Mike Rescigno briefly pulled Arlington within 35-21 in the third quarter.
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How brief? Two plays later, Matt Gay hit Damien Santiago for a 55-yard touchdown. Then, on the second play of the next possession, Tristan Werlau went 91 yards up the middle to extend the lead further.
"I feel great," Santiago said of his team's play so far. "Everybody has stepped up and done an amazing job the last four weeks. I just think we came out and put on a show tonight."
"It feels good. It's a big win, but we can't get too high, too egotistical," said senior Nick Rosaforte, who, along with Werlau, scored three touchdowns. "We have to stay level headed and prepare for each opponent the same way."
What it means
In addition to their 20-game winning streak, the Rams are now 26-2 in their last 28 games.
Player of the game
Damien Santiago, Carmel. On a night when the Rams did it all, no one embodied that more than Sanitago. The junior caught four passes for 129 yards, including the 55-yard touchdown. He also had a sack, an interception and blocked a first-quarter punt he returned 20 yards for a score.
"He's 6-foot-3½, he's a tough matchup and what he does is he goes up and high-points the ball," Cayea said. "He's a little bit better than I thought he was going to be. I thought he was going to be good, but he's really good."
By the numbers
Carmel (4-0) — The Rams totaled 577 yards of offense, including 445 on the ground. Werlau (12 carries, 169 yards, 3 touchdowns), Thomas Keating (11 carries, 119 yards) and Rosaforte (9 carries, 115 yards, 3 touchdowns) all topped 100 yards. Gay went 5 of 7 for 132 yards and the touchdown pass to Santiago. ... Nico Melarczik returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown.
Arlington (2-3) — Rescigno finished 16 of 38 for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Luke Lavello caught four passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns and James Davenport had three catches for 72 yards and a score. Lavello caught an 81-yard TD when he took the ball from a defender who appeared to intercept the pass.
They said it
"I told them we have to come out and play with a lot of emotion and heart and play fast because they are big," Cayea said. "I thought our speed was the difference. There were a couple of formations where we outflanked them. I think jumping on them early was big for us and our confidence."
Up next
Carmel will host Mount Vernon at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8. Arlington will host Ketcham at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Josh Thomson is the Sports Editor for The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Middletown Times Herald-Record. He can be reached by e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com, on Twitter at @lohudinsider, and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Football: Carmel crushes Arlington in 20th straight win
