Roberson leads DePaul to Non-Public Group 3 semifinal win by Gregory Patuto special to the Asbury Park Press
WAYNE — DePaul reserved its spot in the state Non-Public Group 3 championship game Friday with a 42-21 win over St. John Vianney.
Much of the success came from the arm of Taquan Roberson.
The Spartans’ strong-armed quarterback finished the first two quarters 12 of 14 for 141 yards and three touchdowns and DePaul (7-3) rolled from there.
The Spartans broke the ice in the first quarter, cashing in on a fourth down stop. Roberson found Ronnie Hickman for an 11-yard score.
After the Lancers were stopped on a fake punt attempt deep in their own territory in the second quarter, Roberson wasted no time taking a shot to the end zone. He found Hickman again, this time for a 22-yard score.
Roberson capped off his impressive first half with his third touchdown pass, this one a 32-yard pass to Liam Cabri with 40 seconds left.
DePaul didn’t skip a beat, scoring on its first drive of the second half when Roberson found Sean Kelly on a 29-yard strike.
St. John Vianney got on the board after recovering a fumble at the Spartan 40. Zyaire Sterling took a jet sweep handoff and ended up in the end zone.
DePaul would fumble the ensuing kickoff and the Lancers took advantage. The first play saw Haaziq Daniels throw a 25-yard dart to Samuel East for a touchdown. Just like that, the Lancers were back in it.
DePaul regained momentum on its next possession when Roberson and Hickman connected for touchdown No. 3. Vinny DePalma had seven carries for 47 yards on the drive.
Johnny Buchanan would add a late touchdown for St. John Vianney. He finished with 21 carries for 71 yards and that touchdown.
Three who mattered
Taquan Roberson: DePaul’s junior quarterback was almost perfect in the game as he went 15 of 17 for 186 yards and six touchdowns.
Ronnie Hickman: The big receiver was unstoppable in the red zone for DePaul as he caught four passes for 56 yards and three touchdowns.
Zyaire Sterling: The senior was a threat in both the running game and passing game for Vianney. He finished with six rushes for 46 yards and a touchdown while hauling in three catches for 78 yards.
Turning point
The Lancers were 0-for-3 on fourth down in the first half. They attempted to go for it twice deep in their own territory, once from their 26 and once from their 27-yard line. After failing both times, the Spartans would turn it into seven points by way of a Roberson touchdown pass. This caused the Lancers to be in a 21-0 hole at the break and DePaul never looked back.
Observations
Lethal passing attack displayed many weapons for DePaul: Six different Spartans caught passes in this game, and four of them were able to get in the end zone. Roberson was spreading the ball around nicely while his receivers were making strong moves to get open.
Penalties could be costly next game: The Spartans committed eight penalties for 70 yards. Five of these penalties were holding calls for 10 yards.
They said it
DePaul head coach John McKenna on its passing attack: “We have a lot of weapons, it’s hard to cover one guy and we have a great quarterback who can get them the ball downfield.”
St. John Vianney head coach Derek Sininsky on fourth down calls: “Our quarterback said let me take it, we were confident and fired up so I let my guys take it. On the fake punt, they signaled for it and wanted to run it. We trusted our guys and that’s why I went for it.”
Sininsky on 10-1 season: “Great season again like last year and the year before. We look to have and play with pride. I told their coaching staff though that if you want to be called a state champion then you have to come up here and beat one of these teams. Unfortunately we didn’t but it was a very good season for us.”
What’s next
DePaul will prepare for the Non-Public Group III championship game next week.