MENDHAM -
The place: The Mendham football team’s huddle.
The time: Third quarter.
The scene: The Minutemen trailed Robbinsville by 10 points in the third quarter.
The mood: The Mendham players felt great about themselves.
“That,” Mendham coach Ethan Jeros said, “put a smile on my face.”
So did the outcome: The Minutemen, calm and cool, battled back and scored a 24-20 come-
from-behind victory.
They also set a tone that wasn’t always around when Jeros took over three years ago.
“Any time you come from behind, it is a good win,” he said. “We were pleased with our
resiliency.”
It is a trait he didn’t always witness when he became head coach at the school.
“The one thing I was desperate to change was the Mendham way,” he said. “It’s not a knock on
the last coach. It was that any time that Mendham was down they were done. Give up a
touchdown or two and they would not be able to come back. But against Robbinsville, we were
down 20-10, and guys in the huddle would say, ‘We’re good.’
“That puts a smile on my face. They followed through.”
Mendham felt good, but the Minutemen were not happy. On two different occasions,
Robbinsville scored touchdowns that Jeros’ team was not pleased with.
“From that point on, they knew that if we executed, we would win because we were the better
team,” he said.
Soon, Mendham’s O-Line, running backs and running game imposed its will. The Minutemen
drew to within 20-17 when Ryan Raimondo went in from three yards out. Mendham took the
lead for good in the fourth quarter when Cole Capuzzi scored a one-yard touchdown run.
Earlier in the game, Kevin King scored an 11-yard touchdown run.
John Gogerty, one of Morris County’s best kickers, booted three extra points and had a 30-yard
field goal to give his team a 3-0 first-quarter lead.
“I loved that our offense, from the middle of the third quarter to the end of the game ... we
upped the pace and dominated the line of scrimmage in the running game,” Jeros said,
referring to a line that includes center Tristan Caminiti, guards Joe Kraft and Rowan Killam,
tackles William Wallace and Zach Narozny, and tight ends Declan Higgins, Steve Lomelo, and
Ryan Lazzara.
“Once we got into the Mendham grind of going at you, we got moving, upped the pace and
wore them down and had our way in the fourth quarter,” Jeros said. “We took over on offense
and made some stops on defense. (Running backs) Kevin King, Cole Capuzzi, and Ryan
Raimondo played really well for us.
“Harrison Spence made some big catches and blocked excellently on the perimeter. Our
receivers aren’t going to get much glory, but you’ll get glory in the film room. He was
outstanding blocking all night long.”
The defense was led by all-stare linebacking candidate Robert Raimondo, who upped his game
from Week 1, and Ralph Langone, who opened some eyes against West Morris last week and
continued his inspiring play against Robbinsville.
“Last week, Robert was trying to overcompensate and he was overthinking,” Jeros said. “He
settled into the all-state linebacker he is and was all over the field when the game was on the
line. Ralph Langone is a sophomore and he came around against Central. We put him in to spell
a guy and he started against Robbinsville and made nine tackles and had a sack. His motor
doesn’t stop. He made a bunch of plays behind the line and hustled.”
One of the biggest plays of the game came with about three minutes left. Robbinsville was
faced with a fourth-and-8 and its 230-pound fullback (Christopher Naperkoski) had a head of
steam going but was brought down by Mendham’s 190-pound Lomelo.
“Steven hit him and their kid couldn’t gain any more yards,” Jeros said. “You’d think the fullback
would win the battle but Steven made a perfect form tackle and that sealed the game. We kept
the ball the rest of the game.”
pnardone@newjerseyhills.com