Inside Mountain Lakes football's second-half surge for win over Lenape Valley
MOUNTAIN LAKES − On the night when Mountain Lakes began its North, Group 1 state title defense, it mirrored the last time the Herd earned a victory in that championship season. Trailing 10-0 at the half, Mountain Lakes scored 21 straight points for a 21-16 home win on Friday night.
"It was actually an easy speech at the half," head coach Darnell Fusco said. "Our DC got fired up and we had to settle the boys in. Before I started the full speech, it was really just going out and playing better football. We were all out of sorts in the first half."
Tanner Gabota opened the scoring for Lenape Valley after the Patriots forced a fumble on the second offensive play of the night for Mountain Lakes. Gabota’s 21-yard touchdown run on an inside handoff put the Patriots up, 7-0. Mason McClean would add a 41-yard field goal to take a 10-0 advantage at the half.
"I think we knew in the first half that just wasn't our brand of football," senior running back Ian Redzepagic said. "Lenape Valley is a really good team but I think we were just beating ourselves at times."
In the second half, Mountain Lakes went back to basics and did not throw the ball once in the final two quarters. Redzepagic rushed for a 17-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 10-7 with 10:10 left in the third. Carson Fitch found the end zone later in the quarter with a 25-yard touchdown run to give the Herd its first lead. Redzepagic added his second touchdown run of the night to expand the Mountain Lakes lead.
What it means
For Mountain Lakes, it's the second half response that allows the Herd to wash away a poor second half in last season's Group 1 final at Rutgers. Losing some key seniors from last year's championship team, the comeback win helps the current Herd try and form its own identity away from being defending champions.
As for Lenape Valley, a statement was made by the Patriots in the first half before seemingly running out of momentum in the final two quarters. Facing the first of five playoff teams from last season across a six-week span, Lenape Valley took on one of the top tests on its schedule and held control for half of the game.
Game ball
The Herd did not pass the ball one time in the second half, fueling a comeback solely upon the run game. The Mountain Lakes offense passed a challenge down to the five men up front to bring them back into the game and the offensive line did exactly that.
"Our offensive line should be our strength," Fusco said. "They all played last season and we had a couple of next level blocks in the second half. We were trying to do too much and when we simplified things, they showed how important they are for our offense."
Key play
Even in the waning moments of the night, Lenape Valley was never quite out of the game. Desperate throws downfield by the Patriots in the final minutes of the fourth quarter put them within a yard of making it a one-possession game. Once Lenape Valley scored, the Patriots opted to go for two points in hopes of making it a field goal deficit. Out of an unusual formation, the Lenape Valley snap shot beyond the formation and was fallen on by Mountain Lakes senior Marco Dzamba.
Normally a two-way starter for the Herd, Dzamba is working back from an offseason injury and is being limited to only defense for now. Dzamba had crucial hits throughout the night, but falling upon a fumble in that spot proved to be critical.
"We needed to make some plays in the end," Fusco said. "I wasn't thrilled with some of the jump balls we allowed and that's something for us to work on, but Marco made some big plays late when we needed them."
Lenape Valley would try an onside kick with 1:11 to go, but the ball squirted out of bounds, allowing Mountain Lakes to take a knee and run out the clock.
What's next
Mountain Lakes (1-0) travels to Morris Catholic (0-2) on Friday.
Lenape Valley (1-1) will host Kittatinny (1-0) on Friday.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mountain Lakes football rallies for win over Lenape Valley
