Randolph football starts off 2022 season with no-doubt win over Mount Olive
RANDOLPH – If you’re hoping to find Sean Clark’s favorite target, watching Friday night’s victory over Mount Olive probably wasn’t the best way to do it.
Clark threw for 204 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as Randolph rolled past Mount Olive, 41-9, in the SFC Liberty White matchup Friday night. The senior quarterback completed only seven passes but found six different receivers in the game.
“The best problem is when you have a ton of weapons and you can spread the ball around,” Rams coach Will Nahan said. “Sean trusts all of those guys and he trusts them to make a play and they do.”
The Rams collected touchdowns on six of their first seven possessions against an overmatched Mount Olive unit that was missing several players due to injury. Clark immediately went to the air and located Ryan Novak for a 61-yard touchdown connection with 9:53 left in the opening quarter. It was one of three scoring tosses that went for 35 yards or more in the game.
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Clark, who completed 7-of-11 attempts, didn’t have a completion under 11 yards in the contest. With Mount Olive concentrating on limiting the running game, Clark looked in midseason form even with a new crop of starting receivers.
“They were stacking the box, and I got some great line play. When you get a lot of time, you can make your reads and we executed tonight,” said Clark, who had over 300 yards passing in a 47-28 victory over Mount Olive last season.
Sophomore Dean Mangiocavallo, who was making his varsity debut in the starting lineup as a defensive lineman for Randolph (1-0), had two first quarter sacks to highlight a Rams unit that held Mount Olive (0-2) to just 55 yards in the opening half. James Kratochvil had a fumble recovery, sack and tackle for a loss from his linebacker spot as Mount Olive had six first half plays stymied for negative yards.
The Marauders, who were held to just 10 rushing yards in the first half, didn’t score until Tyler Cumming’s rushing touchdown with about 10 minutes left in the game. With a 41-0 halftime advantage, the second half started with a running clock.
“I’ve been thinking about this game all week,” the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Mangiocavallo said. “We wanted to come out with aggression and fire and it was a great start to the season.”
Mount Olive, which fell to Chatham 21-14 in overtime in its opener last week, was playing without star tight end and linebacker Anthony Moscatello along with several other key offensive players, including starting running back Adam DeCristofaro and center Nico D’Amico. The Marauders were forced to use nine sophomores in the lineup.
“I haven’t had that many sophomores start ever,” said Mount Olive coach Brian O’Connor, who hopes to get Moscatello back next week. “They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect them to do. We just didn’t execute and show up.”
Aidan Matheney finished with 91 total yards on just five touches and a 36-yard receiving touchdown before suffering an injury that required him to get carted off of the field midway through the second quarter. Stephen Petruzziello stepped in and benefitted from Randolph’s dominant line play with nine carries for 64 yards and two touchdowns to pace the ground game.
“We were definitely happy to have the extra week,” Nahan said. “Playing (last week) is enticing but our guys were just so ready to hit the field and you saw that from the first play.”
What it means
Mount Olive opens the year with consecutive losses for the first time since a 1-9 campaign in 2016. There isn’t much relief ahead with a trip to reigning North Group 3 champion West Morris and home game against a talented West Orange squad over the next three weeks.
Randolph, which has a two-game winning streak against the Marauders, has outscored its rivals 86-37 over the past two seasons.
Key play
Clark set the tone on his team’s first offensive play of the season with a long scoring toss to Ryan Novak.
The senior quarterback faked a handoff to Matheney, leading Novak to outrace his defender and haul in the pass at the Mount Olive 25-yard line. The 6-3, 165-pounder scampered untouched for the score just 2:07 into the game.
Game balls
► Randolph outgained the opposition 317 to 55 in the first half. Matheney and Petruzziello each had more individual yards over that span than the entire Marauders’ offensive unit.
► Linebacker Jesse Wilfong had an interception and linebacker James Kratochvil contributed a fumble recovery, sack and tackle for a loss to highlight a balanced defensive effort for the Rams.
► Clark had 204 yards passing and four touchdowns to guide the Randolph offense. He didn't play in the second half.
► Rondell Derrick had the lone touchdown in the game for Mount Olive to end the 41-0 shutout.
They said it
“We talk about E.A.T. - Eat, Attitude and Toughness and that guy is hungry all training camp and off season. I’m definitely not surprised with what he did today.” - Nahan on Mangiocavallo and his two first-quarter sacks.
“I’m not shaving the mustache until we lose, so I don’t think I’m shaving it at all.” - Clark, who grew a mustache similar to that of former St. Peter’s University NCAA Tournament star Doug Edert.
Up next
► Mount Olive (0-2) travels to West Morris next Friday.
► Randolph (1-0) visits Roxbury next Friday.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Randolph NJ football downs Mount Olive to start 2022 season
