High School Football:
Overbrook Holds Lenape To 3 Points On Way To Victory

Saturday, October 10, 1998

By Gary Steiner
SJSports Staff Writer

Saturday was overcast and misty, which led to slippery playing conditions. Sloppy conditions led to sloppy play, as both penalties and turnovers played major roles in this game. Both offenses struggled, but the Overbrook Rams managed two touchdowns while holding the Lenape Indians to a field goal to come away with the victory.

A clipping penalty late in the 1st quarter negated a punt return for a touchdown by Overbrook's Maurice Keezee. Three plays later, Lenape's Steve Dempster intercepted a pass which gave Lenape the ball on the Ram's 49-yard line. The Indians drove down to the Overbrook 11-yard line, and on a 4th and 6, elected to go for the field goal. Matt Prizzi's kick was good, giving the Indians a 3-0 lead at 9:49 in the 2nd quarter.

On the Indians' next possession, the Overbrook defense along with a holding and an offside penalty put Lenape in a 4th and 27 and their own 11-yard line. A poor punt gave the Rams the ball at Lenape's 22-yard line. Five plays later the Rams scored on an 8-yard pass to Jamison Young. Young's point after kick gave Overbrook a 7-3 lead with 0:40 left in the half.

In the 3rd quarter, both offenses continued to struggle in the misty weather, as Lenape's quarterback Matt Prizzi recovered his own fumbled exchange, and Overbrook's quarterback Byron Brown had his feet slide out from under him on an option. On the Rams' second possession of the half, Nana Gillett-Spio's 17-yard run down to the Indians' 23-yard line set things up for his 19-yard touchdown run with 5:36 left in the 3rd. Young added another point after kick to give the Rams a 14-3 lead.

Lenape's next drive was hurt by a holding penalty followed by an ineligible receiver call. On their next possession, the Rams were able to drive down to the 2-yard line, but were stopped on 4th down when Gillett-Spio was tackled in the backfield by Lenape's Shaun Miller.

Both teams continued to exchange punts, hurting themselves with penalties. Finally, with just under 3 minutes to play, a reverse allowed Lenape's Mike Ceroli to run for 54 yards down to the Overbrook 28-yard line. On 2nd and 10, the Ram's Maurice Keezee intercepted a pass to stop the drive. Lenape would get the ball back one last time with 0:17 left on the clock, but the Rams' Byron Brown would intercept a pass to end the game.

Photos by Art Redd