Coaches love preparation, and no wonder, when it produces results like Mather`s 34-8 pounding of Sullivan.
Mather (7-1, 5-0) was ready from the first snap Friday at Winnemac Stadium, and it showed. On offense, the Rangers rang up 253 yards with quarterback Rami Mikhail hitting 5 of 9 passes for 139 yards, including a 73- yard scoring toss to Damian Lenton.
It showed on defense, too. A fumble recovery by Tom Yang, a big hit by Daryl Burns and pass interceptions by Fred Samano and Mane Gavric were decisive blows in a showdown for the Public League Northeast title.
”We played as well as I thought we were going to play,” coach Ed Miller said. ”Our scrimmage team gave us a heck of a look during the week, and our coaches did a super job of preparing the team.”
Miller loved the preparation but hated the distractions. The game was Mather`s homecoming, not a happy time for a coach whose team was chasing a state playoff berth against a traditional rival in Sullivan (6-2, 4-1).
The hype around school had Miller wound tighter than a mail-order alarm clock.
”I was totally against making this game our homecoming,” Miller said.
”It`s just too big a game.”
Yang took off some of the pressure when he jumped on a loose football at the Sullivan 31-yard line midway through the first quarter. It set up Mike Mueller`s 17-yard touchdown run around left end.
Burns eased the strain a bit more in the second quarter when he capped a 51-yard drive with his 4-yard scoring run.
But the play that did the most to persuade Miller to relax came seconds before halftime. Sullivan had a third down on the Mather 1-yard line and was lined up for the 15th play of an 80-yard drive. Quarterback Jorge Martinez dropped back to pass and Burns hit him like a wrecking ball, knocking the ball loose.
”I`ll tell you what,” Miller said. ”He doesn`t make that play and it`s a whole different game.”
Mikhail soothed Miller`s frazzled nerves even further by connecting with Lenton on the first scrimmage play of the second half. Lenton took it on his fingertips at midfield and escaped a defender`s grasp at the 40.
Samano snared two interceptions in a two minute-stretch of the fourth quarter. The second led to Burns` second touchdown, a 3-yard run, making the score 28-0.
Gavric applied the final blow when he intercepted on the Sullivan 10-yard line and ran it in to score. By the time Barry Jones scored for Sullivan, time had about run out.
”We made very few mistakes,” Miller said. ”But I`ll tell you this:
Every one of those kids paid the price.”
The price was preparation.
