Inside Roxbury football's gutty comeback over Irvington to keep undefeated season alive

SUCCASUNNA — Roxbury's 11th win of the season mirrored a lot from its first. In both games, the Gaels found themselves down double digits in the second half. In both games, head coach Ryan Roumes challenged his players

Anthony Skawinski's jump pass on fourth down to Connor Patton erased a double-digit deficit for Roxbury, who held on for a 15-12 win over Irvington in Friday's North 2, Group 4 semifinals.

Irvington led 12-0 in the third quarter after Jasin Shiggs hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Na'cir Ransom late in the first quarter, followed by a Vaboue Toure 10-yard touchdown run just 18 seconds after halftime. The first extra point missed, while the two-point conversion in the third quarter also failed. The top-seeded Gaels would not give up the fight, responding late in the third quarter with a Jahmani Miller two yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 12-7 after three quarters.

Roxbury would have a chance to take the lead with just over eight minutes to go. On fourth and three from the Irvington 13, Skawinski jumped up in the air and found Patton in the end zone to take the first lead of the night. Skawinski found Colin Richter on the two-point conversion to make it a 15-12 lead. The Gaels finished off the comeback with a pair of fourth down stops in their own red zone to turn away the Blue Knights.

Key play

After Roxbury got on the scoreboard, the Gaels caught Irvington by surprise. On the ensuing kickoff, Roxbury tried a squib kick that hit off an Irvington player on the front line of the kickoff return team. The Gaels hopped on the live ball, taking over and regaining possession. Roxbury would keep the ball for the remainder of the third quarter and score on Patton's touchdown grab later in the drive.

They said it

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Up next

Roxbury (11-0) has now set a school record with its 11th straight win, matching the 2009 and 2012 teams for the most victories in a season in program history. The Gaels will host division rival Mount Olive in the sectional final next week after the Marauders held off Sayreville in the final seconds in the other semifinal.

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Roxbury NJ football downs Irvington to remain undefeated