Cranford football grinds out 'gut-check' win in back-and-forth battle at Rahway

(This story was updated to add new information and quotes.)

RAHWAY -- You know what kind of game it is when a coach uses a Rocky quote. Cranford’s Erik Rosenmeier pulled out an it’s about how hard a team can get hit and keep coming back reference following the Cougars’ 14-13 win Friday over Rahway.

The Rocky movies are often about grit and grinding through tough spots. Cranford showed that moxie with a strong running attack led by sophomore Gabriel Worrell and timely passes by Tyler Veltre, along with key defensive stops.

Cranford’s Michael Scotti blocked an extra point early in the fourth quarter to keep the lead.

“Both teams took punches from each other,” Rosenmeier said. “It’s a coin-flip game every time. … I’m proud of our kids for persevering, making the big stop at the end of the game and getting the first down to end it. That was a good gut-check for us.”

Cranford scored on a nine-play, 72-yard drive that ate nearly 6 minutes off the clock on the opening possession. The only pass came when Veltre threw a short pass to Joseph Acinapura, who turned it up on the left side for a 19-yard touchdown with 5:53 left in the first quarter. Cristiano Ambrosio drilled the extra point.

The Cougars (3-2) made it 14-0 on Worrell’s 4-yard run with 1:19 left in the first half.

Rahway (4-2) rallied in the second half with two touchdown runs by the elusive Andrew Avent.

The junior broke for a 49-yard touchdown, in which he bounced off a tackler and scooted down the right side for the score with 9:17 left in the third quarter. Anthony Lopez drilled the extra point to cut the deficit to 14-7.

Late in the third quarter, Jason Louis snagged the interception at the 5-yard line on a fourth-down pass attempt by Cranford. Avent then reeled off a 41-yard run and  Jyvon Cooper picked up a 22-yard. Avent then got a first down on fourth-and-four from the 11 and scored on a 3-yard run with 11:09 left to cut the deficit to 14-13.

Cranford held on a Rahway fourth down attempt with just over 4 minutes left.

The Cougars’ defense stepped up with players like Justin Hoeffler, Brandon DiPaolo and Dylan Jones, among others, having good games.

Cranford, which had their first losing season since 2009 last year, is now above .500 and is making a strong push for the playoffs.

“We won a tough game against a really good team,” Worrell said. “This was a really important win. So from now on we just got to win out.”

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Cranford football grinds out 'gut-check' win in back-and-forth battle at Rahway