FEATURE
As the clock ran down, as the team swarmed onto the field, as Coach Rich Hansen and company hoisted the trophy, something happened: what might have seemed impossible midway through the fourth quarter, and what felt like a razor-thin margin for hope with a minute to go, now, in retrospect, looked inevitable. It was always going to be this way. It had to. These Marauders, who time and again wore their hearts on their sleeves as their fans watched with their hearts in their throats, had to win it this way, had to write the Hollywood ending to a season full of plot twists, had to dig deep for one last ounce of Prep Magic and come up victorious. It had become their identity and their destiny.
Not Immediately, But Eventually THE ROAD TO METLIFE The seeds had been planted on a hot afternoon in Oradell back in September. Coming off season-opening wins over Millville and Erasmus Hall, Prep had played 46 minutes of back-and-forth football at Bergen Catholic in their first division matchup of the year. But with 1:55 to play, a Bergen touchdown and two-point conversion had put the Marauders down 30-27. Two plays later, quarterback Tahj Bullock, ’21 found himself in an unenviable position: third down and 23 after being sacked at his own 14-yard line, with just 1:19 on the clock. And then, as though someone had flipped a switch, Prep’s offense sprung back to life. Bullock found Jelani Mason, ’20 for a 36-yard gain, and a 15-yard penalty put the ball in Bergen territory. A few plays later, it was Bullock to Mason again, this time for a 26-yard touchdown and the win. Three weeks later, with Union City and DePaul in the rearview mirror, the setting and the opponent had changed. But the final minutes vs. Don Bosco at Caven Point looked eerily familiar. The Ironmen had battled back from a deficit of their own, and grabbed a 22-19 lead with just under three minutes left. Working against the clock to strike back, 8 SPRING/SUMMER 2020 n PREP MAGAZINE
by Mike Jiran, ’03
Bullock again found himself with a tall order if he wanted to move the chains: 4th-and-19 near midfield. Under pressure from the Ironmen in the pocket, the intrepid QB bought some breathing room with a pump fake before unloading a bomb down the left sideline to Zyeiar Miller, ’21 in heavy traffic. Miller willed his way to a 39-yard gain, and one play later it looked so easy: Ethan Rodriguez, ’21 took the handoff and ran 21 yards to put Prep on top to stay.
“Tahj, as he does so often, turned chicken feathers into chicken salad,” Coach Hansen told the Record
after the game. Prep, now 6-0, continued to feast on opponents one way or another. The Marauders took wins over Paramus Catholic and Pope John in their stride. Although Saint Joseph Regional handed Prep their first loss to close out the regular season, another goal was checked off: defending the United Red Division title. After a bye week, Prep was back in action at Caven Point, hosting Notre Dame in a wild one that saw Prep reel off 23 unanswered points in the second and third quarters. Bullock completed 16 of 22 passes for 296