Northern Highlands turns in dominant showing in 42-0 win over Mahwah by Chris Iseman of The Record
ALLENDALE — Northern Highlands sealed its victory quickly.
The Highlanders led Mahwah by 14 points to start the second half before quarterback Charlie Ratner threw three touchdown passes in the third quarter to turn the game into a blowout.
Combined with a strong defensive effort, Northern Highlands beat Mahwah, 42-0, in an NJSFC crossover game on Friday night.
“Going into halftime up 14, we were spotted 14 points and we knew we had to put it on them early,” coach Keith Migliorino said. “We were getting the ball and if we could get a third score, it’s a little bit different of a game. That was the idea coming out of the half and we were fortunate enough to execute it.”
Running back Mario Agyen ran for 135 yards on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns in the first half.
“My offensive line was just creating the holes and making it happen up front,” Agyen said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Ratner completed 11-of-14 passes for 250 yards.
Key play: Mahwah began a drive early in the second quarter at Northern Highlands’ 27. After runs of 10 and 13 yards from Sam Mintz and a 3-yard run from quarterback Kyle Teel, the Thunderbirds had first-and-goal from the 5.
But then came one of the biggest plays of the night.
Northern Highlands got a sack and forced a fumble that the Highlanders recovered.
That began a drive that ended with a 34-yard touchdown run from Agyen.
“The turnover was huge for us because they had great field position,” Migliorino said. “That was a huge turnover for us.”
Turning point: Facing first-and-10 from Mahwah’s 13-yard line, Ratner hit wide receiver Gabe Robles for a touchdown pass that gave the Highlanders a 21-0 lead and momentum through the end of the game.
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Play of the game: Northern Highlands started a drive late in the third quarter at its own 21.
But the Highlanders needed just one play to score.
Ratner threw a pass over the middle to Jordan Mapes, who sprinted into the end zone for a 79-yard touchdown pass that gave Northern Highlands a 28-0 lead.
Play of the game game II: Ratner hit Robles on a screen pass to the right and Robles rumbled 74 yards for a touchdown that made it 35-0 with 15.5 seconds left in the third quarter.
Player of the game: Agyen was outstanding to help Northern Highlands establish its running game early. That helped open up the offense and put the Highlanders in position for a big night.
“Mario’s excellent. He brings an inside run game that’s toughness – he falls forward, he gets tough yards and he pops a few,” Migliorino said. “We think he’s a kid that can carry the ball 25 times a game.”
What’s next: Northern Highlands is rolling into its second half of the schedule — which will bring some tough tests.
The Highlanders host NV/Old Tappan next week before playing River Dell in Week 8.