Mathias Baez makes a tackle for John Jay at Mamaroneck. Pat Ryan carries after a catch for the Wolves.
By JIM MACLEAN
John Jay knew it was taking on a tall task by agreeing to a week zero game on the road at Mamaroneck to open the varsity football season.
Mamaroneck is a bigger school coming off a great season last fall and expected to compete for a Section 1 Class AA title again this year. One look at the sidelines on Friday made it clear the Wolves were outnumbered and outsized, but deep into the fourth quarter there was John Jay driving into Mamaroneck territory still in the game.
The John Jay comeback came up short as the Wolves came home with a 14-8 setback, but coach Joe Candarelli felt it was a good test for his team to help get them ready for the games that count toward the league standings as the Wolves hope to make the Class A playoffs.
“We wanted a tough game week zero to find out who we are, and I think we played very well. Mamaroneck is a very good team, in the mix in Class AA, much bigger than us up front, definitely outmatched in size, but we learned a lot about our team. We hung tough.”
It didn’t help that John Jay got off to a slow start and fell behind 14-0 in the first half. Twice the Wolves gave Mamaroneck short field position inside the John Jay 30-yard line, and both times the Tigers capitalized on the opportunity with a pair of touchdown carries by quarterback Kieran Jacobson to take control.
However, the second half was a different story. John Jay put together a drive with sophomore quarterback Braydon Currid completing a pair of first down passes to Pat Ryan. Currid then hooked up with Nick Rinaldi on a screen pass and Rinaldi turned it into what appeared to be a touchdown, only to have it called back due to a penalty and the drive stalled.
The John Jay defense stood firm and the Wolves were back in business taking over at their own 18-yard line. Another screen pass to Rinaldi moved the ball out to the 40-yard line, and another completion to Ryan moved it to the Mamaroneck 40. A Rinaldi carry gave the Wolves another first down at the Mamaroneck 12-yard line, and Tommy Machado capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown carry on the first play of the fourth quarter. A 2-point conversion pass to Ryan made the score 14-8 with 11:55 left to play.
John Jay wasn’t finished as the defense held once again and forced a punt. The Wolves were pinned at their own 1-yard line, but put together another drive. A pass completion to Machado moved the ball out to the John Jay 49-yard line, and another completion to Machado resulted in another first down at the Mamaroneck 25-yard line, but the drive stalled there and the Tigers closed out the victory.
In his first varsity game at quarterback Currid completed 26 of 38 passes for 265 yards for the Wolves. His fellow sophomore Rinaldi also had a big game with seven catches for 76 yards and seven carries for 18 yards. Machado caught four passes for 95 yards and scored the only touchdown for John Jay. Ryan finished with six catches for 55 yards.
“A good start for Braydon (Currid) in his first varsity game,” Candarelli said. “The right side of our line, with Ryder McCarthy at guard in his first varsity start as a sophomore, and Peter Hill at tackle, did a really nice job. McCarthy forced a fumble and had a sack on defense. Credit goes to Mamaroneck, they made fewer mistakes, but we played well and it’s something to build on. We were in a position to win that game.”