Jersey Mike’s Football Team of the Week: Wall Township
Every week this fall, Jersey Mike’s and Shore Sports Network will be selecting a Team of the Week based on its performance over the past weekend.
The Jersey Mike’s Team of the Week for Week 8 is Wall, which defeated Donovan Catholic, 18-15, in an all-time classic that came down to a goal-line stand in the final minute as the Crimson Knights prevailed to claim the unofficial Shore Conference championship and finish the season undefeated. Shore Sports Network was at practice Monday to present the Crimson Knights and head coach Tony Grandinetti with a special game ball, a commemorative mini helmet courtesy of Tackle Depression and a $500 Jersey Mike’s gift card.
The highly-anticipated matchup between No. 1 Wall and No. 2 Donovan Catholic in the NJSIAA Post-Season Groupings Shore Conference Championship pod somehow exceeded the hype that had built over the previous seven weeks. Wall led 6-0 at halftime thanks to another dominant performance by its fantastic defense and extended that lead to 12-0 early in the third quarter. But Donovan Catholic roared back with consecutive scoring drives to take a 15-12 with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Wall was able to respond with the go-ahead scoring drive as senior quarterback Logan Peters hit junior wideout Matt Dollive for a clutch 31-yard gain on third-and-8 and three plays later rumbled for a 4-yard touchdown run that gave the Crimson Knights an 18-15 lead.
The play that will be talked about for years to come in Wall came with Donovan on the doorstep of taking the lead with just over a minute left in the game. The Griffins had moved from their own 24-yard line down to Wall’s 10-yard line with under two minutes on the clock, but the Knights stood their ground to eventually bring up fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. The Griffins decided to go for the touchdown rather than kick the field goal and that’s when sophomore defensive tackle Keisun Sanders made the play of his life. A huge hole had opened in the middle of the defense but Sanders was able to shed his block and drive back Donovan’s Levi Wilkins at the 2-foot line, keeping Donovan out of the end zone to force a turnover on downs and clinch one of the most memorable victories in Wall football history.
Senior running back Casey Larkin ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries and made 11 tackles on defense while Peters ran for 59 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and made 14 tackles. Junior linebacker Charlie Sasso was outstanding again with a team-high 17 tackles and a fumble recovery while Sanders, Dollive, sophomore linebacker Mike Fumarola and junior linebacker Lou Pilla had one tackle for loss each.
Wall finished the season 7-0 to conclude a two-year run that saw them go 19-1 with one NJSIAA sectional title, one unofficial Shore Conference title and a Shore Conference division championship. The Crimson Knights have won 20 straight games vs. Shore Conference teams dating back to 2018.
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Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.
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