A wild ride ends in a tough loss for John Jay football

Clockwise from top left, Patrick Ryan fires a pass for the Wolves. Nick Rinaldi leaves a pair of defenders in the dust on his way to another long gain. John Jay captains (left to right) Patrick Ryan, Joe Ferrera, Kyle Halsy and Peter Hill lead the Wolves out of the tunnel. James Tessi splits a pair of defenders after one of his 14 catches, breaking the school record in his first varsity game. Jim Maclean photos

By JIM MACLEAN 

One big play after another, both sides moving up and down the field, piling up more than 100 points combined on the scoreboard can certainly make for an exciting high school football game, but all that matters in the end is who has the most points at the final whistle.

It was the first game of the season for the John Jay Wolves as they hosted Pearl River in a showdown between the number one and two teams in the pre-season rankings for Section 1 Class B. After a shaky start resulting in a 13-0 deficit for the Wolves, both teams started slinging for a wild offensive showcase back and forth, up and down the field, but in the end it was Pearl River going home with a 55-47 victory as the Pirates improved to 2-0 on the season.

“That was a battle, one of the better high school football games you will see, and probably one of the worst high school football games you will see with a lot of mistakes,” said John Jay coach Joe Candarelli. “You kick yourself in the foot the first game of the year. We wanted that week zero game and didn’t get one. I think that helps get that stuff out of the way. They had one and jumped on us early. They’re a very good football team, that was the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams, and if that holds up maybe we get to see them again and that could be an awesome football game.”

It wasn’t decided until the final seconds as John Jay almost recovered an on-sides kick, but it didn’t help that John Jay had a shaky start that put them behind. On its first offensive possession of the game, the Wolves moved backwards, and the punt attempt ended up as a recovered fumble in the end zone for a Pearl River touchdown and a 7-0 lead for the Pirates.

John Jay tried to answer and moved the ball up the field on its ensuing possession, only to have a touchdown called back due to a penalty and the Wolves came away empty. Pearl River made them pay as quarterback T.J. Lanese connected on a 48-yard touchdown pass for a 13-0 lead.

Once again, the John Jay offense went to work led by senior captain Patrick Ryan. He was the Wolves leading receiver last season, but he was thrown into quarterback duties two weeks ago as the returning starter transferred to private school and the backup broke his thumb on the first day of official practices. Ryan stepped in and led the way with Nick Rinaldi running wild and sophomore James Tesi having a record-setting day in his first varsity game at receiver. Ryan had set the record for most catches in a game last year with 12 catches, but this time he was throwing the ball as Tesi came down with 14 catches for the record.

After falling behind 13-0, on the ensuing drive Ryan connected with Tesi for a pair of first down catches, and Rinaldi broke several tackles on his way to a 44-yard run down to the one-yard line. Rinaldi punched it in on the next play to cut the lead down to 13-7 after the PAT kick by James Bysshe.

Pearl River answered right back with another TD pass from Lanese to make it 19-7, but John Jay answered back with Ryan scoring on the QB keeper for a 30-yard touchdown carry cutting the lead down to 19-14 after another PAT kick by Bysshe.

The John Jay defense seemed to come through with Kyle Halsey and Cody Jones combining for a sack, but on fourth down and 20, Lanese connected for another TD pass to make it 25-14 at the half.

The second half started with a bang for John Jay as Rinaldi broke another impressive long run and Tesi caught a pass down to the two-yard line. Rinaldi plowed into the end zone again for his second touchdown to cut the lead down to 25-21.

John Jay didn’t waste any time on its next drive after the defense held and forced a punt. On the first play, Rinaldi broke about five tackles on his way to a 52-yard touchdown run to give the Wolves their first lead of the game at 28-25.

The lead was short-lived as Lanese connected for another TD pass and a two-point conversion to give the Pirates a 33-28 lead. John Jay moved the ball again down to the 13-yard line, but the Pirates recovered after a bad snap and on the next play broke a 65-yard touchdown run for a 39-28 lead.

John Jay had another touchdown called back due to a penalty, but the Wolves responded and kept the drive alive, capping it off with a third-down and 17 yards to go completion from Ryan to Tesi for the touchdown to cut the lead down to 39-34.

Pearl River scored again on another TD pass from Lanese to make it 47-34, but John Jay answered on a perfectly executed hook-and-ladder play as Ryan passed to Tesi, who pitched it back to Rinaldi for a 53-yard touchdown to make it 47-41.

Lanese then ran it in for a touchdown to give Pearl River a 55-41 lead with four minutes left to play. John Jay marched down the field on two pass plays and Ryan ran it in from nine-yards out to make it 55-47 with 2:23 left to play, but the Pirates were given possession on the ensuing on-sides kick and ran out the clock for the win.

Despite the loss, the numbers were impressive to the trio of stars on offense. Rinaldi carried 22 times and gained 255 yards with three touchdowns, and he caught five passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. Ryan completed 19 of 27 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, and he also ran for two touchdowns. Tesi had 14 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown in his first game as the sophomore broke Ryan’s school record.

“Our first day of preseason was his first day playing quarterback, and to be able to play the way he did in a short time period, I’m so proud of him,” Candarelli said of Ryan. “There are a lot of good running backs, but I’ll take Nicky every time, and Tesi as a sophomore in his first game setting a school record, I’m proud of them all and proud of the resiliency of this team. For them to hang in there like that, our guys kept swinging and fighting to the end.”