Carmel defense strong in 14-6 football win that ends North Rockland's season

CARMEL— The jokester on the PA had played a bit of “Here Comes the Sun” Friday night after, with rain continuing to fall, Carmel had essentially sealed its sixth win of the year and, with that, North Rockland’s fate to be spectators and not players in the postseason.

Part of the after-game focus would naturally be on Carmel’s two TDs and its fourth-quarter end zone interception in its 14-6 win.

But Carmel coach Tom Donahoe wanted to make sure the bulk of the credit for the win went to those most deserving.

And so he summoned his defensive linemen Dwane Hibbert, Adam Boeheim, Mark Musumeci, Tom Kassoh, Harrison Collazo, King Mercer, Liam Forster and Jayden Robles for a bow of sorts before everyone descended on the local McDonald's to celebrate.

Between the rain, which sometimes fell so hard that it was difficult to see who was doing exactly what, and the fact multiple Rams were often in on single stops, it was unclear exactly how many tackles each Ram defenseman recorded.

But suffice to say, collectively, they were a force, not allowing North Rockland an offensive score.

What it means

North Rockland, which would have secured a playoff spot with the win, instead finished the season 5-3.

Carmel, 6-1, will play in next week’s opening round of the Section 1 Class AA playoffs.

Key plays

It will hope for drier conditions.

Fumbles were a big part of Friday night, no doubt in part because of the rain.

The closest North Rockland got to an offensive touchdown was on its second possession of the third quarter.

The Red Raiders’ very talented senior back Gamie Sauveur was Houdini-like in escaping a couple of take-down attempts in the backfield, then running for 19 yards.

On the next play, he rushed for 13.

A couple of plays later, Ethan Farrar went low to make a fine catch on a throw from QB Anthony Hamilton at the Carmel 10.

But then Sauveur, refusing to go down as he battled for yards amid a sea of blue jerseys, coughed up the ball.

Later in the third quarter, North Rockland got its only touchdown when, on third-and-nine from their own 18 and with quarterback Christian Nunez in the shotgun, the Rams' snap was high and went off Nunez's fingertips. Nunez tried to run after it and grab it but failed, falling in the attempt.

But Red Raider Tristen Veit did not. He scooped up the ball and ran about six yards for the score.

North Rockland didn’t build momentum off that score.

But in the fourth quarter it got a fleeting spark after stopping Carmel on a fourth-and-four from the Red Raider 35, enjoying some luck when Nunez just missed connecting with a wide-open Joe Vickery in the end zone.

An ensuing drive by North Rockland, which was aided by a rushing the passer and a pass interference call against Carmel, put the Red Raiders just 21 yards away from a potential (with a 2-point PAT) tying score.

But, Hamilton, who’d had a nice pass to King Saint Fleur during the drive, was picked off in the end zone on first down by Brian McGrory.

That occurred with just under five minutes to play.

Carmel scored all its points in the second and third quarters. after being stymied by North Rockland early.

North Rockland had previously shut the door on Ram fourth-down attempts but Nunez went for five yards on a fourth-and-four to the North Rockland 21 early in the second quarter after pausing pursuit with a sweet fake handoff.

Tristan Werlau, a workhorse for the Rams all night, ran the ball twice to the 11 before getting his number called again and finding space on the left side to go in from there.

After a couple of fine defensive plays by Matt Risley and Musumeci on North Rockland’s first possession of the second half, North Rockland punted and Carmel took over on its own 43.

A couple of passes to Jeremy Smith put the ball on the North Rockland 44.

Damien Santiago then jumped high on the left sidelines for a pretty grab for an 18-yard pickup to the Red Raider 26.

Werlau ran 14 yards to the 12.

And then, with North Rockland’s Javon Lawrence tightly guarding him, Santiago again went up and grabbed a perfect pass from Nunez on the left side of the end zone for the score.

They said it

Donahoe said his team was able to keep North Rockland’s offense and specifically Sauver out of the end zone by using a lot of stunts based on North Rockland’s formations.

Kassoh credited Carmel’s coaching staff for preparing a defense that, aside from a week 2 55-18 rout by Arlington, has yielded only 53 points in total over the season.

“We play as hard as we can for the person next to us,” Kassoh added.

“It’s just the way we play. We play like savages. If you give 105% and play aggressive and play like savages, what can the other team do?” Hibbert asked, rhetorically.

“We work all week and get paid on Friday,” rasped Mercer, who lost his voice in winning the game.

North Rockland coach James Hickey lamented his team was done despite a 5-3 mark.

“I feel for my guys. It’s a damned shame,” he said, adding it was “crazy” a team that had beaten playoff-bound squads, including Mamaroneck, would not get to keep playing.

But Hickey didn’t ignore the good of Friday night and of the season.

“Our entire D played well (tonight),” he said.

He credited the team’s overall winning record largely to his assistant coaches.

“The staff works tirelessly. Their effort is phenomenal,” he said, adding, “It’s a blessing that I have really good coaches and people around me.”

Up next

Carmel will open the playoffs at home Friday at 7 p.m. Its opponent is still to be determined.

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at both @HaggertyNancy and at @LoHudHockey. 

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud high school football: North Rockland's season ends as Carmel wins