Ramapo football stays hot with commanding win over Wayne Valley

WAYNE − In fewer than 100 seconds, Charlie Wingfield scored two touchdowns to put Ramapo in command.

Wingfield caught a 17-yard TD pass and turned a strip into an 88-yard fumble return for a score to propel the Green Raiders to Thursday's 45-29 victory over Wayne Valley in the Super Football Conference.

Wingfield's TD reception from quarterback Casey Grusser provided a 31-21 lead at 3:26 of the third quarter, and his forced fumble and return for the score at 1:53 made it 38-21.

“Obviously it was a close game, and everyone on defense knows there’s always got to be someone there to make the play,” Wingfield said.

Grusser threw three TD passes and ran for a score.  Grusser opened the scoring on a 60-yard run. He threw a 59-yard TD to Sal Livoti to make it 14-0 and a 21-yard score to Michael Ballan for a 21-7 lead.

Wingfield, a senior tight end/linebacker/kicker, had a busy night and scored 21 points. He kicked a 27-yard field goal on the final play of the first half for a 24-14 lead and converted all six extra points.

“He kicks, he fills up water at halftime – there’s nothing that Charlie can’t do,” Ramapo first-year coach Nick Guttuso said, adding, “He’s a phenomenal kid, he’s our leader, does a great job, and you saw today him really come on and dominate, and that’s what we expect for the rest of the year.”

Ramapo (3-3) put the game out of reach on Liam Hayward's 45-yard TD run, which extended the lead to 45-21 early in the fourth.

Wayne Valley quarterback Danny Ferrauilo also threw three TD passes. He threw TD passes of 18 and 4 yards to Bryce Flower and his 62-yard score to Luke Rubino pulled the Indians within 24-21 at 11:07 of the third.

Wayne Valley (4-3) got back in the game late in the first quarter on an 8-yard TD run by Elizer Estevez to cut the deficit to 14-7.

What it means

Ramapo has looked sharper during three consecutive wins, with this young team turning the corner with last week’s 21-7 win that handed previously-unbeaten Passaic Tech its first regular-season loss in two years.

“You see a team that believes in the process of getting better every single day,” Guttuso said. “Our coaches are with these kids every day, and these kids work really, really hard, and they’ve bought into everything that we’re doing as a program. You’re seeing us finish plays with some confidence, that’s what you’re seeing. The scheme is there, the guys are maturing, and that’s where we’re at.”

“Like our coach said, just trust in the process,” said Wingfield, who last year played a key role in the team’s drive to the Group 4 final. “Coming into the season, we had a ton of new guys, ton of juniors starting for us, and a ton of first-time varsity guys, so we knew it was going to be a process. It was going to start out rough like it did, but finally people are settling in, we’re becoming a team, and we’re playing great team football.”

Meanwhile, Wayne Valley has suffered back-to-back losses, with last week’s 17-7 setback to crosstown rival Wayne Hills snapping a three-game winning streak.

“The big message that I had for my team right now is we haven’t played very well in terms of complementary football,” Wayne Valley coach Roger Kotlarz said. “We’ve had a few weeks where I thought we played pretty good on defense, really well against the run, but maybe we didn’t play well against the pass. Or the offense was a little stagnant. Tonight I thought we moved the ball pretty well on offense, but we didn’t stop the run. We just haven’t had that game where we’re playing really at a high level in all three phases.”

Key sequence

Wingfield’s 17-yard TD catch capped a 12-play drive that began at the Ramapo 46-yard line. His fumble return for the TD came on a first-and-10 at the 14-yard line, and came after Wayne Valley had registered back-to-back first downs with a 40-yard pass and 11-yard run.

“I came from the right outside, the running back got caught up between his tackles, and I came from the side, secured the tackle and just tried to rip it,” Wingfield said. “I got the rip and just ran as hard as I could to the other side.”

By the numbers

Ramapo had 463 total yards. Grusser was 16-for-19 for 226 yards, three TDs and no interceptions.

Wayne Valley had 444 yards. Ferrauilo was 21-for-29 for 339 yards, three TDs and one interception.

They said it

“It’s been a little inconsistent throughout the season, and certainly the last few weeks, where we’re just not playing enough complementary football on a consistent basis,” said Kotlarz, whose team hosts Mount Olive on Oct. 18. “And that’s the challenge, and that’s what we’ve got to do.”

“I’m just really proud of the way the team played today off the short week,” said Guttuso, whose team plays Oct. 18 at Hackensack. “To come out here on a Thursday night, league opponent, really proud of the way the kids are preparing and the process of every day. The kids came out and played phenomenal.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ramapo football stays hot with commanding win over Wayne Valley