Pearl River left with the Little Brown Jug after posting unlikely overtime win at Nanuet
NANUET – It would be difficult to overstate the improbability of this comeback.
Pearl River covered 80 yards in the final minute of regulation and got in the end one with seconds to spare, forcing overtime. From there, a riled-up Pirates defense held firm, limiting Nanuet to a field goal and four plays after Pearl River got its turn from the 20, the Pirates were back in the end zone and the game was over.
Wow.
The Pirates celebrated a 20-17 win all the way home.
“I did not see that coming,” Pearl River coach Mike Oliva said. “It thought it was over after they called a facemask penalty on us in the final minutes. I literally gave my headset up and said, ‘That’s it.’ Shame on me. I always tell our kids, 'Don't give up,' and they picked me up there. I’ve been around some amazing comebacks but that was crazy.”
The Pirates left with possession of the Little Brown Jug for the first time since 2017.
“I’m so proud of everyone right now,” Pearl River quarterback Jack Whelan said. “This is something the program is never going to forget. I know I’m not going to forget it.”
The rivalry dates to 1961.
After coming back onto the field after halftime with a 14-0 lead, the Golden Knights were content running the clock. It was an effective strategy even though first downs were hard to come by. After getting stopped on the goal line to close out the first half, the Pirates were flustered offensively and put the ball in the air.
They did eventually get on the board with 6:04 to play in the third quarter, but the momentum swing Pearl River was hoping for never happened.
Nanuet kept running the clock.
The Pirates used timeouts to buy some time and came up with a timely stop on third down, but a facemask penalty was called with 3:01 to play, extending a critical drive. The Golden Knights settled for a field goal and missed from 36 yards with 1:10 to go.
“We ran outside on a play where we probably should’ve stayed inside and it cost us some time, but the bottom line is we wanted to see if our defense could hold the lead and we weren’t able to,” Nanuet coach Phil Carbone said.
And that’s because Whelan connected with Anthony Graziano for a 5-yard TD with 15 seconds to go.
The Golden Knights got to the 8 in overtime, but Maxwell Behlmann and Leon Nezaj came up with a third-down sack. Jack O’Sullivan kicked a 36-yard field goal and Nanuet put the games in the hands of its defense again. Pearl River got to the 2 in a hurry. Nicholas Espinal was hit shortly after he took a handoff, but kept the legs moving, eyed the goal line and reached.
Game over.
“I felt the contact and I saw the line,” Espinal said. “That’s all I remember, just diving for it, and I got it.”
What it means
Both teams are playoff-bound. Pearl River, though, has to be feeling more optimistic after narrowly avoiding the upset. This was seconds away from being a humbling loss. Nanuet can skip over the first half when reviewing the game video and focus on a shaky pass defense that gave up too much real estate in the span of a minute.
Game balls
Pearl River needed every stop to stay in the game. The defense was lights out in the second half, limiting Nanuet to 66 yards rushing.
"Defense wins games," Espinal said
Carlacci was the go-to receiver in the second half, helping the Pirates chew up enough yards to get into the end zone twice. He finished with 13 catches for 120 yards.
A young offensive line gave Whelan plenty of time on the final drive of regulation. He was remarkably patient, waiting for receivers to get open alongside the sideline.
"The line played an amazing game," Whelan said. "I was able to go through all of my reads. When they’re doing their job it makes my job so much easier."
By the numbers
Pearl River (6-1): Whelan completed 30 of 49 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. ... Michael Squillini had 10 receptions for 81 yards. ... Carlacci got the Pirates on the board with a 19-yard reception for a touchdown.
Nanuet (4-3): Vincent Duffy had 114 yards and one TD on 25 carries. ... Maxwell Valese completed one pass, in overtime, for 13 yards. ... Logan Stemmerman had the first Golden Knights touchdown on a 1-yard run.
They said it
"Probably the most difficult thing in high school sports is getting the kids to concentrate on the moment instead of worrying about everything that leads up to it or might come after it," Carbone said.
"I couldn’t even see the ball," Whelan said of Espinal's overtime scoring run. "I was just watching him get in there and saw the ref throw his hands up and signal touchdown. I don’t think I’ve been happier in my entire life than I was in that moment."
Up next
Both teams will be in the Class B playoffs next week. Pearl River could end up hosting and Nanuet is likely on the road. The seeds are expected to be released on Sunday.
Mike Dougherty covers high school football for The Journal News and lohud.com. Follow along on Twitter/X @hoopsmbd.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud high school football: Pearl River beats Nanuet in overtime
