Welcome to the Jaime Rowe Show

This catchy headline (thanks, I thought so, too) is for Old Tappan senior fullback Jaime Rowe, who rushed only 13 times Friday night but churned out 226 yards and scored four touchdowns as the Golden Knights dominated Ramapo, 40-14. Rowe had a long run of 67 yards, and a long TD run of 40 yards, which came with 7:39 to play in the third quarter and gave OT a 33-0 lead. Rowe didn't step on the field again until the postgame handshakes.

HOWEVER, before reading on, make sure to look at the blog below and click to listen to the first installment of the Friday Night Final hosted by Darren Cooper. When done listening, come back to read through this blog entry.

Thanks for listening. Hope you enjoyed the show...

Although Rowe deserves some major accolades, the dominance of OT's offensive line and the excellent downfield blocking of senior halfbacks Sean Wiggers and James Falkenstern is why Rowe was able to have such a memorable night.

The Golden Knights capitlized on their size advantage -- four of their starting linemen are 250 pounds or heavier, including 275-pound right tackle Nick Bulzomi, while Ramapo has two guys at 225 and the rest checking in at 210, 210, and 215 -- and Rowe reaped the rewards.

The game, though, turned quickly in the second quarter. Ramapo held the ball for more than 8 minutes in the first quarter and 13 of the game's first 17 minutes. In that span the Green Raiders ran 23 plays, but came away with no points. Their first drive stalled at OT's 38, and the next at the 15 after Ross Krautman's 32-yard FG attempt sailed just wide left.

After the miss the ball was placed on Ramapo's 20 and OT took possession. Rowe ran for 67 yards on first down, and then capped the two-play drive with a 13-yard TD run. In 30 seconds it was 6-0.

Ramapo tried some trickery to stun OT, but it didn't work. Senior slot receiver Zack Moore, who left the game before the end of the first half with dehydration and never returned, took the end around handoff from QB Andrew Weiss and then dropped back to throw. His pass, though, was intercepted by OT senior Steven Martinez.

OT took over at its own 47, and needed three plays to score. Rowe ran in from 14 yards with 4:07 left.

Weiss then fumbled three plays into Ramapo's next drive, and again OT needed three plays and just over a minute before Rowe made it a three-touchdown lead with his 8 yard TD run.

At the end of the first quarter it was 0-0.

At the end of the first half it was 21-0 OT.

Game, set, match.

OT tacked on a pair of touchdowns on its first two possessions of the third quarter and most of the starters came out. Ramapo made a game of it by scoring twice to make it 33-14, and the Green Raiders then recovered Jordan Scaduto's fumble on the kickoff with 7:51 to play in the game.

Scaduto, though, got his revenge by picking off Weiss' first-down pass and racing 89 yards into the end zone to cap the scoring.

On the positive side for Ramapo, Weiss looks like he's a solid QB. He was 13-of-19 for 128 yards. He completed a beautiful 31-yard pass to junior WR Chris Larson that helped set up his 2-yard touchdown plunge. Also, Ramapo found a player in freshman RB Jack Bandazian. Granted it was against most of OT's reserves, but Bandazian had 16 carries for 63 yards all in the second half. He looks like a good runner, but maybe just needs to lower his shoulder a little more. Still, he looks like he'll be a big time player.

In all, an OT win was exactly what I expected, but I thought it would be closer. I thought I'd see a bit more from Ramapo's defense. However, Ramapo isn't a bad team, not by any stretch. Opening with OT, then Pascack Valley, then Wayne Hills will likely show otherwise, but this is a team that should get better as the weeks go on.

If everything stays in place, and by that I mean no defections to parochial schools, Ramapo will be dominant again next season.

OT could be that way this season, but really we won't know until Sept. 28 when the Knights host Pascack Valley. A week later they host Wayne Hills. Those games will define OT's season. Tonight, though, was just the start the Knights were looking for.

IN OTHER GAMES

How about the thriller in Demarest as the Norsemen hold on for dear life to beat upstart Fair Lawn, 14-13, thanks to a safety with just under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Fair Lawn fumbled in its end zone and recovered it for a safety. The Cutters set up for a 26-yard FG with 52 seconds left, but Demarest's Bryan Paler blocked it to preserve the win. ... My upset special nearly came through, but Mahwah held on for a 26-20 win over Bergenfield. It was 19-6 Mahwah at the half. ... Paramus pulled the upset of the night with a stunning 20-12 win over Hackensack. ... Ridgewood beat Nutley, 24-13, but Eastside lost to Bloomfield and Bergen Tech lost to Belleville. ... Art saw River Dell beat Englewood, 21-0, and Mark saw Tenafly beat Ridgefield Park, 26-0. ... Ramsey went to Secaucus and pulled out a 36-20 win thanks to excellent rushing efforts from TB Joey Marrafino and QB Jake Seibert, who each went over 100 yards. Pal. Park/Leonia beat Garfield, 28-0. ... Hawthorne edged Waldwick/Midland Park, 26-6. Wayne Valley blew away Pequannock, 42-0. Passaic Valley did the same to Butler, 47-14. DePaul beat Orange, 33-14. ... A stunner in Morris County, too, with Kinnelon blanking Boonton, 21-0.