Mazucca shines in shutout win over John Jay

Amanda Mazzuca races to the end zone for one of her two touchdowns. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

By JIM MACLEAN 

It was a defensive battle as John Jay hosted rival Fox Lane in flag football on April 16, with the two teams locked in a 0-0 tie at halftime. But then Amanda Mazzuca turned on the speed in the second half scoring both touchdowns as the Foxes pulled out a 12-0 shutout victory over the Wolves.

Mazzuca is one of several senior newcomers on the roster for Fox Lane this spring, and they are learning fast as the Foxes improved to 5-1-1 overall on the season. A three-sport athlete at Fox Lane, Mazzuca set the school record for goals scored in soccer last fall, but until this spring she had been a sprinter on the track team. She put that speed to good use in the second half, catching a pass from quarterback Riley New and outracing everyone to the end zone for a touchdown in the third quarter. Mazzuca then ran it in for another touchdown in the fourth quarter as New and Mazzuca worked the option play well throughout the second half to take control of the game.

“That’s a new one and it felt awesome, this is my first year playing, so it’s all new,” explained Mazzuca. “We really wanted to come into this game strong. We’re working and building a great team and everyone is so supportive. We have a lot of new players and everyone has been really welcoming as a team, an incredible bond we have after just five games together.”

Both teams entered the game missing a key player. For John Jay it was starting quarterback Gianna Pelosi, and for Fox Lane it was All-Section senior Morgan Clinton.

Those losses made it hard to move the ball for both teams as the defenses came through with big stops throughout the first half.

Fox Lane threatened on its second drive of the game after a first-down pass from New to Lily Rosenthal and a first-down carry from Mazzuca, but the Wolves were able to stop the drive short of the goal line.

John Jay tried to answer as Julie Berisha carried for a first down, Emilia Koronowski carried for a first down, and quarterback Ava Baiocco connected with Lina Halaifonua for a first down pass, but the Foxes defense stood tall.

Rosenthal came up with an interception on defense as the Foxes threatened late in the quarter, but the Wolves stopped them and the first half ended in a 0-0 tie.

Fox Lane had possession to open the second half and Mazzuca carried for a first down, and New then carried for another first down. New then connected with Mazzuca on an option pass and she outran everyone to the end zone to give the Foxes the 6-0 lead.

The Foxes did it again on their next drive as New carried for a first down and then connected with Rosenthal for a first down at the John Jay one-yard line. The Wolves tried to stop them with a goal-line stand, but Mazzuca was able to carry it in for the score and the Foxes closed out the 12-0 victory.

It was a tough loss for John Jay as the Wolves fell to 3-3 overall on the season after putting together a three-game winning streak before Pelosi went down with an injury and had to miss the game.

“We fought hard for a long time, but without our quarterback we just couldn’t score,” admitted John Jay coach Jason Kuhlmann. “Ava did very well, but she’s an eighth grader in a new position. Hopefully, this makes us better in the long run. I feel we can compete with anybody and the girls hung in there and played really tough.”

Fox Lane followed up the victory over John Jay with another impressive win as the Foxes defeated Nyack on the road by the score of 19-13 to improve to 5-1-1 overall.

“It’s nice to see how much they have learned, and you really see it in practice, they’re doing a great job and they keep getting better and better,” Fox Lane coach Rylan Borror said of his team. “Every time we throw something new at them they catch on very quickly. Everything seems to be coming together and they’re working really hard.”