Red Bank Catholic overcomes adversity in win over Donovan Catholic

RED BANK - Red Bank Catholic spent much of Friday night's Shore Conference American Division game against Donovan Catholic at Count Basie Field dominating play.

However, the Caseys, ranked No. 1 in the Asbury Park Press Top 10 and No. 9 in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25, also spent much of the game taking on two opponents - Donovan Catholic and itself.

But, in the end, Red Bank Catholic did more than enough to record a 14-7 win and avenge defeats to the Griffins the last two seasons.

More:Red Bank Catholic gets payback vs. Donovan Catholic in Shore's most important rivalry

"Coach Lange (Red Bank Catholic head coach Mike Lange) is always preaching, 'You're always going to face adversity,' '' Red Bank Catholic junior running back Luke Wassef said. "He says, 'What are you going to do when you get knocked down'. I think, as a team, we all came together.''

After Donovan Catholic's Michael Thomas returned a blocked field goal 80 yards for a touchdown with 10:17 remaining to pull the Griffins (3-1, 2-1) to within 14-7, the Caseys made the plays winning teams make.

The defense, after a lost fumble at the Griffins' 42, came up with a big stop on a fourth-and-inches with 7:16 left when senior Michael Palmieri dropped Najee Calhoun for a 2-yard loss.

The offense, with Wassef coming up with a 12-yard run for a first down on a third-and-6 and a 9-yard run on a third-and-7 ran, 5:27 off clock and then the defense came up with one final stop in the final 1:49.

"I think when you play good and run the ball collectively pretty well, you are obviously going to be all right,'' Lange said.

Numbers reveal how dominant Red Bank Catholic was

Red Bank Catholic, led by 191 yards rushing and two TDs on 31 carries by senior Sabino Portella and 60 yards from Wassef on 14 carries, rushed for 237 yards on 52 attempts and had 354 yards of total offense and held the Griffins to no yards rushing and 69 yards of total offense.

The Caseys also had 15 first downs to five for Donovan Catholic.

But a missed field goal, a lost fumble inside the Griffins' 10 and the blocked field goal return for a TD prevented the Caseys (5-0, 3-0) from putting the game away.

"We had a chance to put them away, I don't know how many times, but we've got to do a better job there,'' Lange said.

"We battled through adversity, and that's all that matters,'' said Portella, who scored on a 49-yard run on the second play of the game and a 7-yard run to cap the Caseys' second possession.

Wassef the unsung hero

An injury to senior Torin Harmon after a 41-yard return of the opening kickoff changed Red Bank Catholic's running back rotation for the rest of the game.

In the Caseys' first four games of the season, Portella and Harmon, who also both play in the secondary on defense, had alternated at running back.

However, with Harmon sidelined, Portella received by far his most carries of the season and Wassef became the second running back when Portella need to take a brief rest.

The two first down runs Wassef had in the fourth quarter in which he ran with power were two of the biggest plays of the game.

"They called my number. I did the best I could and I ended up making some plays,'' Wassef said.

"He kept his shoulders squared, and I think that had something to do with it,'' Lange said. "He's a good running back. It's just we've been blessed with good ones in front of him. He's done everything right. I'm proud of him. He had some great runs.''

Red Bank Catholic's defense up to the task

When Donovan Catholic defeated Red Bank Catholic 28-7 in a nor'easter in Week 9 of the 2021 season, the Griffins, behind their veteran offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage against the Caseys' defense.

That was not the case Friday night.

The longest run by Donovan Catholic's Calhoun, a freshman running who had rushed for 283 yards the previous two games, was 12 yards.

"The last couple of years, we were fast on defense, but we were lighter up front.'' Lange said. "We have six or seven big bodies that we can rotate up front.''

Up Next

Red Bank Catholic will host Seton Hall Prep, ranked No. 6 in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25 next Friday night.

Donovan Catholic, ranked No. 3 in the APP Top 10 and No. 15 in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25, will play St. Joseph (Montvale), ranked No. 11 in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25, next Friday night at MetLife Stadium.

Red Bank Catholic 14, Donovan Catholic 7

Donovan Catholic 0 0 0 0 - 7

Red Bank Catholic 14 0 0 0 - 14

First Quarter

RBC: Sabino Portella 49 run (Justin LaMorte kick).

RBC: Portella 7 run (LaMorte kick).

Fourth Quarter

DC: Michael Thomas 80 return of blocked field goal (Dante Priolo kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: DC: Najee Calhoun 16-38, Elijah Davis 1-4, Michael Thomas 2-(-3), Team 2-(-8), Emanuel Gerena 1-(-7), Todd Lambertson 3-(-24). RBC: Sabino Portella 31-191, Luke Wassef 14-60, Frankie Williams 5-(-1), Robert Stolfa 1-0, Vincent Muscillo 1-(-13).

PASSING: DC: Lambertson 8-16-0-69. RBC: Williams 8-14-0-117.

RECEIVING: DC: Michael Thomas 5-33, Najee Calhoun 2-8, Eric Zebroski 1-3. RBC: Robert Stolfa 4-22, Emanuel Ross 2-56, Najih Rahman 1-31, Luke Krzykowski 1-8.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ football: Red Bank Catholic beats Donovan Catholic