The Northern Highlands Highlanders will head out on the road to square off against the Ramapo Raiders at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few points on average (Northern Highlands 13, Ramapo 9.7) so any points scored will be well earned.
Northern Highlands is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They walked away with a 20-7 victory over Mount Olive. The Highlanders pushed the score to 20-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Marauders cut but never quite recovered from.
Northern Highlands' success was spearheaded by the efforts of Joe Dougherty, who rushed for 100 yards and a pair of scores on only 14 carries, and Chase Calarco, who rushed for 80 yards.
Northern Highlands' run defense was locked in: Mount Olive could only muster 3.5 yards per carry. The Highlanders didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 5.7.
Meanwhile, Ramapo waltzed into their matchup on Friday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They claimed a resounding 48-20 win over the Indians. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Raiders' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' New Jersey football rankings (they are ranked ninth, while the Indians are ranked 42nd).
Ramapo had a senior duo take command as Casey Grusser threw for 196 yards and four touchdowns and Joseph Santo Yessis picked up 120 receiving yards and a pair of TDs. Yessis was no stranger to the big play, connecting on a big catch that went for 58 yards.
Ramapo didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Michael Ballan and Jack Schneider. Schneider is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least five every time he's taken the field this season. He got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Ramapo's victory bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Northern Highlands, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
Northern Highlands came up short against Ramapo in their previous matchup back in October, falling 28-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Grusser, who threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 passes, and also rushed for 43 yards and one score. Now that the Highlanders know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
