Indians fall to Ramapo, look onward to playoffs

BJ McGrane, Sports Editor|October 25, 2019

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Matt Austin
Stephen Begen poised to make a pass to Jake Williams

December 2, 2017.

The date of Ramapo’s last loss, a game in which they fell 28-7 to River Dell in the North 1, Group 3 championship at Metlife Stadium.

Twenty-one games.

The win streak the Raiders are currently on, a streak that does not appear to be coming to an end anytime soon.

With the impressive resume Ramapo has built up over the last few years, the Indians entered Friday night’s contest as heavy underdogs.

In its final game of the regular season, Valley fell to Ramapo by a score of 42-14 on Friday night at Ramapo High School. The Indians finish the 2019 regular season with a record of 6-2.

Valley stuck with the Raiders early, however, the game began to slip away from the Indians as the first half came to a close.

With a little over two minutes to play in the first half, the Indians trailed Ramapo by seven, needing to get something going offensively. Valley’s offense fell short, going three and out and punting the ball back to the Raiders. Ramapo, led by junior quarterback Charles DePrima, assembled a 59-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a six-yard touchdown rush by DePrima himself.

“We gave [Ramapo] back the ball a little too many times, and when you give a high-powered offense the ball back, you have to execute and make plays, and we didn’t,” coach Len Cusumano said.

DePrima would finish the game completing 15 out of his 21 passing attempts, to go along with 270 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He would have success on the ground as well, rushing seven times for 48 yards and two touchdowns.

The latter of Deprima’s rushing touchdowns sealed the deal for Ramapo and put the game out of reach for Valley, making the score 42-14 with a little over nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

The Indians’ defense, usually resilient, struggled against the Raiders’ offense, allowing some big plays throughout the game. Most notably, the Ramapo converted on a 75-yard touchdown pass from DePrima to receiver John Skead. This score for the Raiders gave them a 35-14 lead over Valley.

Just a few plays prior, Pascack Valley was driving down the field, and was in prime position to score. However, on what was their opening drive out of halftime, the Indians were unable to convert a fourth-and-1 situation on Ramapo’s 4-yard line, and Ramapo regained possession of the ball near their own endzone.

The Indians kept up with the Raiders’ offense early on in the game, but were unable to match it as the game went on. Offensively, things seemed to be running smoothly for Valley early on, as it scored touchdowns on two out of its first three drives. Through those three drives, quarterback Stephen Begen completed all six of his passing attempts, and running back Jake Williams rushed 15 times for 68 yards, scoring both of Valley’s touchdowns up to that point.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Indians struggled to get to DePrima. Aside from a sack and a handful of tackles in the backfield by senior Drew Carney, the Indians’ pass rush struggled to get through Ramapo’s offensive line.

“[Ramapo] blocked us pretty well, and we have to get back to working on the pass rush,” Cusumano said.

Valley was not able to keep its early momentum going on offense, not scoring a single point throughout the final two quarters of the game. However, Williams was able to surpass 100 yards on the night, rushing 23 times for 101 yards to add to his pair of touchdowns.

The passing game had its struggles Friday night, as Begen completed 11 out of his 19 attempts for just 53 yards. He threw an interception as well, but it was on a deep pass late in the fourth quarter once the game was already out of reach.

Ramapo received some help from its special teams as well, as two of its touchdown drives came as a result of favorable field position caused by critical plays from its special teams. One of such plays was a blocked punt by the Raiders to set them up just past midfield, and another was a 65-yard kick return to set its offense up at Valley’s 35-yard line.

If Pascack Valley would have defeated Ramapo, it would have secured first place and home field advantage throughout the North 1, Group 3 playoffs. After its loss to Ramapo, Valley’s seeding in the playoffs is uncertain.

“The chips are going to fall in certain spots, and we’ll see where we land as far as the playoffs are concerned, and we’ll get back to work,” Cusumano said.

Nonetheless, this has been a successful regular season for Valley, winning six games for the first time since 2015, a season in which the Indians went all the way to the North 1, Group 3 semifinals.

“We just have to get back to work, practice this week, get healed up during the bye week, and see who [we’re playing] in the first round of the playoffs,” Cusumano said.