VIDEO: Steinert Knocks Off Wall In First Round Playoffs

The first half of the Wall football team's first-round game against seventh-seeded Steinert seemed like a bad dream - penalties, special teams miscues and failed execution on third down.

When Steinert running back Keon White broke off a 60-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second half, the second-seeded Crimson Knights realized that Steinert's postseason coming-out party was all-too real.

Spartans senior quarterback Adam Riese scored two first-half touchdowns while accounting for 165 total yards in the game and White and the defense did the rest in Steinert's 19-7 win over Wall, the program's first ever NJSIAA Tournament victory in its seventh appearance.

"I still can't really believe this," Riese said. "Wall is such a good football team and we knew it wasn't going to be easy. We believed we were going to win all week, but it still feels pretty awesome to actually do it."

White slithered through two tackles near the line of scrimmage and broke into the clear for a game-breaking run that put Steinert (7-2) up 19-0. While Wall (7-2) moved the ball and cut into the lead, the deficit was too much for Wall to overcome.

"That play was huge," Riese said. "There was no way we were counting Wall out of it at that point and even after that play, they still had a chance to come back, but to get a third touchdown, I think, gave us even more confidence and started to make them doubt themselves a little bit."

Wall amassed 260 total yards, including 137 on the ground, but suffered a blow in the third quarter when senior running back and leading rusher Jim Guiliano left with a leg injury midway through the third quarter and did not return. Guiliano racked up 65 yards on his first seven carries, but Steinert's defense adjusted and held Wall's top rusher to just 19 yards on his final 10.

"They did great job bringing pressure," Wall coach Chris Barnes said. "We moved the ball on those first two drives and we didn't take advantage by scoring points. You have to score points because good teams are going to make adjustments and that's what they did."

Steinert took a 13-0 lead into the half and both Riese rushing touchdowns came following special teams breakdowns by the Crimson Knights. Wall lined up for a 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter, but holder Conor Mulholland could not handle a low snap and the Knights turned the ball over on downs.

The Spartans then embarked on a seven-play, 79-yard drive, capped by a 20-yard touchdown run by Riese on the final play of the first quarter. Riese also broke off a 25-yard run on the drive and completed a 20-yard pass to Tyler Zandomenegc two plays before his touchdown run.

Wall nearly gave Steinert two points when Crimson Knights quarterback Steve Cluley dropped back into the end zone and had the ball stripped by Steinert linebacker Dean Lucchesi.

Cluley recovered the ball less than a foot from the goal-line to just barely avoid the safety, but the spot pushed Cluley back against the back line of the end zone on the ensuing punt and Steinert made the Knights pay when A.J. Mostrangeli blocked Cluley's punt and Zandomenegc recovered on the three yard-line.

"The ball was on the one inch line and you knew they were going to bring the pressure," Barnes said. "That's a difficult position to be in, no question."

Riese scored with a run to the right on the next play to give Steinert a 13-0 lead with 2:17 left before halftime after Bari Deptula's extra point.

With Guiliano out of the game, Wall turned to Cluley and the passing game. Guiliano ran the ball down to the Spartans 4 yard-line before leaving the game and it took Cluley two runs to finish the drive with a 1-yard score that made it 19-7 after Tyler Block's extra point.

After the score, Wall tried to play catch-up by calling passing plays on 16 of its final 21 plays of the game. Cluley finished 12-for-23 with 143 yards, but was intercepted by Jordan Dunn on his final attempt of the game with 2:23 left.

"We started to go to more play-action with Guiliano out," Barnes said. "They started crowded the line to stop our running game, so we tried to stretch them out with the pass. We moved the ball, but just couldn't quite hit the big play when we needed to."

Mulholland led Wall with five catches for 76 yards. On the other side, White finished with 111 total yards for Steinert.

The Spartans will play the winner of Saturday's game between sixth-seeded Woodbridge and third-seeded Burlington Township.

Wall, meanwhile, can still win the Class C Central division championship by beating rival Manasquan on Thanksgiving. Both teams have 4-0 division records heading into the game.

"That was the message after the game," Barnes said. "This is a tough loss, but we're still playing for a championship against our rivals on Thanksgiving. For our players, especially our seniors, there's still a whole lot to play for."

Download the movie