John Jay footballers win handily over Horace Greeley, 38-6

By JIM MACLEAN 

It had been a few years since John Jay squared off against local rival Horace Greeley on the football field, and the Wolves were fired up for a chance to face the Quakers on homecoming weekend.

The weather had other ideas, washing out the Saturday night homecoming festivities that were moved to Oct. 3 against Port Chester, while the John Jay vs. Greeley game was moved to Monday night, Sept. 28.

When the two teams finally did get on the field, John Jay took control with a dominant first half and cruised to a 38-6 victory to improve to 2-2 overall on the season.

John Jay’s Colby Crystal drags a pair of defenders across the goal line for a touchdown. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

A quick early drive

Colby Crystal got the Wolves started as he capped a drive in the first quarter with a 10-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Jonluke Arefieg. 

It was just a two-play drive as Ryan Ramirez broke free for a long run on the first play and then Arefieg connected with Crystal on the second play. Crystal made the catch and fought off a pair of defenders to reach the end zone and give the Wolves a 7-0 lead after Jeremy Walerys converted the PAT with 3:54 left to play in the first quarter.

“I caught it, saw two guys and I had to go for it, that was a weight-room play, I had to drag them in,” Crystal said of his touchdown. “We’re coming together, our coaches have done a great job and we just have to keep pushing every day.”

That set the tone for the rest of the first half, as John Jay wasted no time on its next possession. This time it took just one play as the Wolves took over at their own 37-yard line, and on the first play Arefieg connected with James Tesi on a short pass, and Tesi outran everyone to the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

Now, it was time for the defense to make a stand and John Jay came up with a stop on fourth down at the Wolves’ 29-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Chase Carvajal broke free for a 50-yard carry down to the Greeley 21-yard line. Next play, Arefieg connected with Crystal down to the Greeley 7, and then on the third play Tesi carried it in for his second touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

Three drives, three touchdowns, on just six plays from scrimmage for John Jay. Greeley answered with a touchdown to make it 21-6 with just 1:33 left to go in the half, but that was plenty of time for the John Jay offense to answer back. 

Austin Schneider leaps to make a touchdown catch for the Wolves. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

39-yard TD catch

This time Tesi made a leaping catch and ran it into the end zone from 39 yards out for his third touchdown of the game and a 28-6 lead at the half.

“That was a great team win, the defense played great, Jonluke played really well, our line blocked well and were able to get the running game going,” Tesi said of the win. “We’re working hard in practice and everything is starting to come together.”

John Jay picked right up where it left off in the second half as the Wolves received the kickoff and marched up the field.

This time it took six plays with Arefieg connecting with Austin Schneider on a touchdown pass to make it 35-6. It was the fourth touchdown pass of the game for Arefieg as Schneider made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone.

“I was so excited to see that ball coming my way, I had space, and Jonluke threw it right where it needed to be and I had to make a play,” Schneider said of the catch. “Offense played well, but we’ve got a lot of things to improve and we’ve got to play with more discipline and do a better job.”

Interception!

Schneider then made a big play on defense as he came up with an interception in the fourth quarter and returned it to the Greeley 11-yard line. John Jay would settle for a field goal as Walerys made the kick from 32 yards. Walerys had a big game kicking as he was a perfect 5-for-5 on point-after-touchdown kicks, and he just missed wide on a 52-yard field goal attempt. He also had four touchbacks on kickoffs to help the Wolves control field position as John Jay played well on offense, defense and special teams for the win.

“We had a very good first half, and we’ve got to execute a little better in the second half, but in the end with all the distractions from the weather, it was a good game,” said John Jay coach Brendan Connolly. “Our kids are really buying in and doing a good job, but we’ve got to worry about tomorrow and practice to get ready for the next one.”

John Jay will host Port Chester on Saturday, Oct. 3, with homecoming festivities at halftime.