New York Sports Fan Blog

By: Ryan O’Reilly

With three regular season games under their belt, the New Jersey Irish are undefeated and have outscored opponents 123-20 with two shutouts in the books.

An explosive first half led the New Jersey Irish to a 38-0 victory over the Long Island Tribe Saturday night in Wayne, as the defense once again held stout and showed an ability to make the big play. The scoring began with none other than star return man Rashid Darrisaw taking a punt 92 yards to the end zone to give the Irish a 7-0 lead before the offense even took the field. As the defense held the Tribe to negative yardage on the first four series, the offense finally clicked on all levels.

Led by quarterback John DiGiloramo’s 320 yards passing, coordinator Lou Mascola’s unit scored on four of its first five series. Kicker Phil Marfuggi nailed a 27 yard field goal on the first series before DiGiloramo showed why he could be considered one of the top quarterbacks in the league. First, he found Stacey Jackson on a 44 yard connection down the sideline to set up the Marfuggi field goal. Then on the next series he hit running back Lou Aboyoun for a 29 yard touchdown. The third Irish series and first play of the second quarter led to another six points and an early candidate for play of the year as DiGiloramo hit Stephen Machiorolla for a spectacular 54 yard touchdown pass and catch.

As DiGiloramo dropped back, Machiorolla ran a 15 yard hitch route but slipped on his turn. The quarterback had already released the ball and the defender jumped the route but only could tip the football. Machiorolla then caught the ball while sitting down and jumped up to scamper down the sidelines to give the Irish a 24-0 lead. DiGiloramo went on to rush for a two yard touchdown on fourth down at the end of the half to give the Irish a 31-0 lead.

Head coach Keith Correal said his quarterback looks to be poised for a big season. “The rust is off John’s arm for sure,” Correal said. “He’s hitting midseason form and I think he’s going to have a great season.” The second half saw the play get chippy as both teams were warned and a couple players ejected. The flow of the Irish play stuttered after this and the only points would come on a DiGiloramo 11 yard pass to Jackson. Jackson wowed with three catches for 102 yards and one touchdown. Aboyoun also provided a huge lift to the offense with seven receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown to go along with his 18 rushing yards. “Lou does three things extremely well,” Correal said. “He can run the ball and be maybe one of top running backs in the league. He can read your defense and sit in underneath zones and kill you, and then he can get vertical down the field like last night on his touchdown reception. It’s rare to find a guy that has the athletic ability and football IQ to be able to do all three things so well.”

Receiver Derek DePascale played on a bad knee but still managed to record four receptions for 32 yards. DePascale moved the chains on three of his four catches. It was the defense, however, that continued its dominance, making Correal a very happy coach with the way the players have meshed. “The defense plays well as an 11 man unit,” he said. “Sometimes you see teams with a lot of great players on their defense but they just have problems stopping people. We have not had that problem as I truly believe the defense is completely unselfish and just want to stop the opponent and get off the field.”

The Irish secondary was led by Darrisaw, cornerback Sean Griffin and safety Lamar Askew to record an interception each. Linebacker Russ Commune also had a pick to end the game. DaShawn Frazier continued his impressive play on the defensive line with four tackles, two of which were for loss. Troy Frazier and Taron McBride recorded just two tackles apiece, but their presence was felt often as they plugged the few holes the Tribe opened. The defense forced five turnovers with the four interceptions and a fumble recovery. Darrisaw’s interception was returned 85 yards for a touchdown but a questionable clipping penalty brought the touchdown back. Next week brings an extremely formidable challenge to the Irish with an away game against the New York City Falcons. Correal said if his team can play well next week, the season can go places a first year team usually does not go.

“The Falcons are 3-1 and also coming off an impressive shutout,” he said. “They have only lost to the (NY) Bandits this year and it was a close 12-6 game. If we can be as successful this week against them as we have been against our previous opponents, I think we will solidify ourselves as the team to beat in this league.”

By Ryan O’Reilly

On any given Saturday, 40 North Jersey boys lace up to take on the best of Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey amateur football. There are no egos allowed, no big paychecks given. They just show up to play the game they love.

The New Jersey Irish semi-pro football team, based out of Wayne, hit the road Saturday, July 10 for their only exhibition game against the Long Island Hurricanes.

The grey skies and rain showers accompanying the team could not put a damper on a 21-6 Irish victory in the organizations first ever game.
Led by co-owners Keith Correal — also the head coach — and Nick Dilworth, the Irish began what they hope to be a successful campaign in the semi-pro Five Star Football League.

This is the inaugural season for the full-pads amateur football league as 16 teams from the tri-state area compete in a ten game regular season. The Irish roster is stocked with former New Jersey high school standouts from Clifton, Parsippany Hills and Dumont.

The first quarter breezed by as both teams exchanged possessions with nothing to show on the scoreboard. Defensive tackle Dashawn Frazier provided the only first quarter highlight when he overpowered the Hurricane offensive line to force a fumble in the backfield which was recovered by the Irish.

The second quarter, however, provided plenty of fireworks as 20 points were put up by both teams. It started when Irish quarterback John DiGirolamo, a graduate of Montclair State, rushed in from just one yard away for the first touchdown in Irish history.

After Frazier recorded a sack on a Hurricane fourth down, Digirolamo led the Irish on a 49 yard drive that ended with Louis Aboyoun on the receiving end of a three yard Digirolamo passing touchdown. The touchdowns on consecutive possessions showed the potential explosiveness of the Irish offense that otherwise struggled to find a rhythm for most of the afternoon.

Of the offensive struggle, Digirolamo said, “We moved the ball fine and completed passes but we just couldn’t finish when we got close.”
Finishing indeed proved to be a problem as the offense fumbled the ball twice inside the red zone and two more times outside the 20 yard line. Correal said he expected some sloppiness but also expressed some frustration with the number of mistakes. However, he did find a positive after the game. “The good thing is this was a wakeup call for the coaches, players and whole organization,” Correal said. “Now we have two weeks to correct our mistakes and practice the things we struggled with today.”

In contrast, the defense seemed to hold together against an offensive featuring a dangerous running back in Alton Lucas, a former starter at Hofstra University.

Lucas ripped off a long run on a draw play in the final two minutes of the first half. The played ended with a 15 yard personal foul penalty, bringing the Hurricanes to the Irish four yard line. The defense held stout until Long Island scored on a counter play. The extra point was no good and the six points were all the Hurricanes would muster.

After the half, the Irish received the kickoff and defensive back Rashid Darrisaw provided an electric 75 yard kick return to put another six on the board. After the successful extra point conversion, the Green and White led 21-6. That would be all the scoring on the afternoon, but Darrisaw continued to shine in the second half. The corner from Grambling State was in on several tipped passes and came close to two interceptions. Correal expressed his excitement for Darrisaw following the game. “Rashid was a great addition,” he said. “We got him from the New York Bandits and he was great today from the return to the pass break-ups. If it’s possible, he exceeded our expectations.”

Darrisaw also spoke about how he wanted to help the Irish. “I joined the team to make plays and help us win any way I can,” he said. “It could be returns or playing defense, I’m just trying to do whatever I can to win.”

The rest of the second half featured an Irish offense able to move the ball, but unable to finish. The Hurricanes could not do much of anything as the clock ticked away.

Although the play was sloppy at times, the Irish walked away happy with the victory, but aware of the work that needs to be done.
Correal said, “On offense, we need to focus on ball security and finishing plays. On defense, we need to work on tackling. The defense had no problems but workings as a unit for the first time. So, they need to just get chemistry because we definitely have the talent.”

Game Notes:
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Digirolamo was 9-of-13 passing at one point in the second half, but finished the day 13/28 passing with 211 yards and the one passing touchdown. He also had the rushing touchdown in the second quarter.
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Frazier was a force all afternoon as he outmuscled the Hurricane offensive line and found himself in the backfield breaking up plays all game long. He had one forced fumble and could have had two if not for a referees inadvertent whistle.
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The Irish did not punt once in its first game and converted just 1-of-3 fourth down
conversions.
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Star of the Game: Rashid Darrisaw: Darrisaw gets the nod for his touchdown on the kick return to open the second half where he was untouched and was a force in stopping the Long Island passing game.
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Play of the game: To open the second half, Darrisaw ran 75 yards untouched with
the help of excellent blocking, giving the Irish a 21-6 lead. His electric playmaking
ability bodes well for special teams coach Drew Bertolotti and his impressive unit.
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On the horizon: The Irish have two weeks to prepare for its regular season opener
at Kean University on July 31 at 7 p.m. against the New Jersey Bears.

For more information, visit www.njirishfootball.com.