John Jay’s happy home game — a 47-0 win

Above, John Jay’s Steven Almstead (4) and Kyle Halsey (52) combine to make a tackle and force a fumble. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

By JIM MACLEAN 

It was a celebration three years in the making. That’s how long it has been since the John Jay varsity football team was able to celebrate on its home field with the home crowd, and they cherished the moment.

The Wolves got it done in dramatic fashion, dominating from start to finish for a 47-0 victory over Ossining.

“This means so much to these boys, the first win at home for everyone on this team, we’ve been working so hard and I’m just so happy to get it done, so proud of everyone on this team,” said junior James Tesi, who scored two touchdowns for the Wolves.

Senior lineman Kyle Halsey agreed as he enjoyed the celebration with fans. Halsey and the Wolves went through last season with just one victory on the road, so this was a special Friday night win under the lights with the home fans at John Jay.

James Tesi breaks a tackle on his way to the end zone for a touchdown.

“This is what we live for, a home win like this, a new coaching staff, everyone played their hearts out,” Halsey said. “I’m really proud of all my brothers on this field. We’ve all worked for this together every single day in practice.”

After opening the season last week on the road with a tough 28-27 loss at Goshen, John Jay returned home and scored the first victory for new head coach Brendan Connolly at the helm for the Wolves.

Connolly knew the situation coming in to take over the program, and he knows how much it meant to get that victory.

“It’s huge for these kids, they haven’t won a home game in three years, so it’s nice to see them get a win in front of their fans and enjoy the moment,” Connolly said after the game. “To see the seniors win their last first home game and walk off with their heads held high and enjoy it with their fans, it’s a great atmosphere. It’s all to help build a positive culture, nice to get a win, but we’ve got another big game next week.”

John Jay didn’t waste time taking control of the game from the start. On its opening possession, sophomore quarterback Jonluke Arefieg completed three straight passes in his first varsity game to move the Wolves down to the Ossining 10-yard line. After a pair of sacks moved them back, senior Jeremy Walerys converted a 35-yard field goal on his first kick attempt on a football field after playing varsity soccer for two years to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead.

Walerys then converted a 29-yard field goal on the Wolves next drive to give them a 6-0 lead. The Wolves were just getting warmed up. On the ensuing possession, an Ossining fumble was recovered by Austin Schneider at the 22-yard line, and on the first offensive play for John Jay Arefieg connected with Tesi for a touchdown pass and a 13-0 lead after the point after touchdown by Walerys.

“This is why I did this, it feels so great, the energy, the brothers, it’s just amazing,” Walerys said of his decision to play football. “Kicking field goals, playing defense, just being on this field, it’s just the best feeling right now. We’re all a big family.”

Jonluke Arefieg fires a pass in his first varsity game.

Ossining was then forced to punt on its ensuing possession, and Tesi fielded the punt for John Jay and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown and a 20-0 lead after the PAT.

The Wolves were still not done for the first half as on the second play of Ossining’s next possession, Steven Almstead recovered a fumble for the Wolves. Arefieg completed three-straight passes, the final one a nine-yard touchdown pass to Almstead to make it 27-0 at the half.

John Jay picked right up where it left off in the second half, taking the kick off and four plays later Schneider ran it in for a touchdown from 14 yards out to make it 33-0 after the PAT was blocked.

On the Wolves next possession, Ryan Ramirez carried the ball three-straight plays. The final one was a 29-yard touchdown carry for Ramirez, another converted soccer player in his first football game, making it 40-0.

Ramirez then capped off John Jay’s final drive of the game with his second touchdown on a three-yard carry to make the final score 47-0.

“We all played our hearts out and it feels amazing, very exciting in my first home game,” said Ramirez. “This is why I came out for football, the energy, all the people out here on the field, big time Friday night. The only thing on my mind was to help the team. It’s good to be here.”

Everyone got involved for the Wolves with an impressive performance on both sides of the field to rebound after letting the lead slip away last week at Goshen. Connolly especially praised Arefieg as the sophomore shined in his first home game as a starting quarterback on varsity, completing 11-of-14 passes with two touchdowns. Tesi had five receptions to lead the Wolves.

“Jonluke deserves a ton of credit, he’s put in so much work to learn the offense, putting the ball out on time in space, getting the ball where it has to go,” Connolly said of Arefieg. “Tesi is such a good athlete, you just have to get the ball in his vicinity and let him be a player.”

John Jay hopes to carry the momentum over to this week as the Wolves were set to travel to Nyack today, Friday, Sept. 18.