WAYNE — Ramapo got the lead through the air and held it on the ground.
AJ Wingfield threw three touchdown passes in the first 20 minutes, and Luke Ragone rushed for 111 of his 149 yards after halftime to power the Green Raiders past Wayne Hills, 38-22, in a Super Football Conference game Friday.
Ramapo, the No. 1 team in the North Jersey Public Top 20 rankings, improved to 7-0 and sent No. 2 Wayne Hills to 5-2.
Story continues below the photo gallery
What it means
The Green Raiders not only reaffirmed their status atop North Jersey, they are assured of remaining the top-ranked public school in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 20 (No. 5 overall) entering the home stretch of the regular season.
Wayne Hills had been unbeaten against in-state competition since an opening-day loss to Timpview (Utah) and should remain in the New Jersey Top 20 as well. The Patriots have two games remaining against sub-.500 teams.
Ramapo will face two teams at .500 or better, culminating with an Oct. 26 home game against Randolph (6-0) – which travels to Sparta on Saturday to face the 5-1 Spartans, whose lone loss is to Ramapo.
Key play
A trio of fourth-down plays in the second half could make the cut, but the first was perhaps the biggest. On fourth-and-9 at the Wayne Hills 35 late in the third quarter, Wingfield found Ty Jaten on a slant for 14 yards to set up Ragone’s 21-yard TD on the ensuing play. The score gave Ramapo a 31-14 cushion.
The Green Raiders then stopped a Patriots’ fourth-and-1 early in the fourth – leading to a Ragone 51-yard jaunt one play later – and they effectively ended the game when Anthony Sargenti batted down a Wayne Hills fourth-and-goal pass with 4:21 to go.
By the numbers
► Receiver Jaaron Hayek was Wayne Hills’ leading rusher with seven carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Ramapo held a trio of Patriot running backs to just 23 yards on 11 carries.
► The Green Raiders’ hurry-up offense allowed them to run 38 plays in the first half compared to 25 for Wayne Hills. Their longest second-half drive was 11 plays and led to an Aiden Labell 33-yard field goal.
Game balls
► Wingfield, who revealed afterward he’d been dealing with a shoulder injury last week, completed 17-of-26 passes for 256 yards. Two of his three scores went to Jaten (four catches, 75 yards).
► Ragone carried 29 times en route to his 149-yard game and scored his fourth TD of the year.
► Ramapo’s Max Baker had seven catches for 113 yards and a TD, plus three runs for 20 yards and a TD.
► In the loss, Charles Njoku caught 10 passes for 144 yards and a score.
They said it
“Nothing was holding me out of this one. … All we’ve got to do is keep taking care of business. This was a huge win for us, and it’s going to carry us a long way through the playoffs.” – Wingfield
Up next
► Ramapo visits Pascack Valley (3-3) on Oct. 19
► Wayne Hills visits Passaic Tech (1-5) on Oct. 19
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