Delbarton football: Turnovers troublesome for Green Wave

EAST RUTHERFORD – A team that lives by the run, Delbarton was forced out of its game plan by two early turnovers in a 45-20 loss to Red Bank Catholic in the Non-Public Group III final at MetLife Stadium.

Fumbling on the opening kickoff and then on their first possession, Delbarton gave an opportune Red Bank Catholic squad a quick 13-0 lead that they were never able to recover from.

“To get behind early like that was really tough, but we couldn’t use that as an excuse that we’re not going to win this game,” Delbarton’s senior quarterback John Chiarolanzio said. “Once we got behind we had to change. We’re always a run first team and we’ve always been a run first team and when we got behind we had to pass a lot. Most of the time the run sets up our pass, so, it was hard but we can’t use it as an excuse.

“We knew that we could play with them and we knew that we could move the ball down the field. We battled after that and we fought to the very end.

The title game was the second for Chiarolanzio, who was trying to help Delbarton secure its first championship since 1998.

Andrew Sanders provided one of the few bright spots for the Green Wave, with an electrifying 55-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that got his team to within 19-14.

“We knew that they were going to be a good team and we just made a few too many mistakes,” Sanders, said. “It was tough to come back from that start. We tried so hard today.”

The junior running back took a handoff from Chiarlanzio and ran to his left before cutting back against the grain and bolting down the left sideline. Sanders accelerated past two defenders over the final 10 yards and dove to the pylon for the touchdown.

“I have to give thanks to my line for that,” Sanders said. “They were opening gaps all over the place, against a very good team. We tried to hard today and it’s just sad that we couldn’t come out on top.”

The state title was the second for Red Bank Catholic, which won the South Jersey Parochial B championship in 1976.

“I’m really proud of everyone,” Delbarton’s senior linebacker Connor Kirst said. “We played hard, we were resilient.”