Spotswood top Del Val in an offensive showcase

After playing to a 41-41 tie in regulation during Friday’s CJ Group II quarterfinal game, the Spotswood Chargers entered the overtime period against the host Delaware Valley Terriers with nothing to lose.

The Chargers had already proved that they could play with the second-seeded and unbeaten Del Val squad, and had the hometown team’s defense reeling following a stroke of luck late in the game that allowed Spotswood to force the overtime.

Following a botched Del Val field goal attempt at 41-34 with just 4:05 left in regulation that likely would have put the game away, Spotswood drove downfield and tied the game when QB Danny Osofsky hit Dustin Katcher from 20 yards out, and James Corbett kicked the ensuing PAT.

That set up the overtime, which began with Del Val jumping ahead 48-41 on a 14-yard passing touchdown. But Spotswood responded once again, and used a five-play drive to register a touchdown (on a Corbett one-yard run) and then went for the win with a two-point conversion. Osofsky found Corbett for a diving grab, and the Chargers had pulled off the upset and won their first state playoff game since 1980.

It was quite a shoot-out from the start, with Del Val jumping out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead before Spotswood responded with a pair of scores of their own — one on a 75-yard kickoff return from Nelson Stryker after the Terriers’ second score, and the other on a Stryker six-yard run.

Del Val’s offense managed to score again in the first quarter to take the 21-14 lead, but the Chargers responded with a Corbett 11-yard scoring run, tying it once again. Del Val then added another TD before the break for a 27-21 lead, then added to that lead with a TD to start the third quarter.

Down 33-21, Spotswood scored 14 points in the third on a 70-yard TD pass from Osofsky to Brett Eckman and a Corbett eight-yard run. Del Val got their final score in regulation in the fourth quarter, before Spotswood responded with Katcher’s TD reception with 1:20 left, forcing the overtime.

While neither team displayed much defensive prowess, both offenses were equally prolific. Spotswood’s Stryker torched the Terrier defense for 127 yards rushing on 22 carries before being sidelined late in the game with severe leg cramps, but Osofsky stepped up and led the Chargers to victory, with Corbett making big play after big play as well.

With the win, the Chargers earned another shot at New Brunswick, a team that beat them earlier this year, 24-0. But Charger head coach John Fiore said that his team has been hoping for a shot at redemption against the Zebras, who have featured the top-rated offense in the GMC this year.

Spotswood will need a better defensive effort this week, and will need to keep piling up the points if they hope for a better result this time around.

Game time is 7 p.m. in New Brunswick.

— Doug McKenzie