Bouncing Back: No. 1 Red Bank Catholic takes over late, downs St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) in wild shootout

RED BANK, N.J — For much of the first three quarters at Count Basie Park, it looked like plenty of the same for Red Bank Catholic football.

The Caseys (1-1) were entrenched in a 41-41 barn burner with out-of-state foe St. Anthony’s (N.Y) of Long Island. Red Bank Catholic’s offense remained electric, as it did in last week’s opening loss to DePaul Catholic, but neither team could get a stop.

The question remained: Who would get the ball last?

12 minutes later, the Caseys lined up in the victory formation to close the game, shaped by superior mental toughness and opportunistic defense.

Red Bank Catholic outscored the Friars (0-1) 21-0 in the fourth quarter, pulling away for a wild 62-41 win that left the players, coaches, officials, and even reporters catching their breath as the clock struck zero.

“What I was really happy for — and we showed it in the second half of the DePaul game — is just, we got tougher as the game went on,” head coach Mike Lange said after the game. “Tonight was the same thing. One of the good things is we closed it out in all three phases. I’m proud of them.”

Sophomore running back Gabe Kemp arguably personified that mantra of all the Caseys on the field.

He finished with 217 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries — one week after opening his season with 207 yards in the loss to the Spartans — and seemed to get stronger as the game wore on. Fellow sophomore Rahmir Rivera did plenty of damage late at quarterback, as well, completing 13 of 20 pass attempts for 199 yards and two scores, along with 65 rushing yards.

Both teams raced up and down the field like they had a train to catch at the nearby NJ Transit station, but when it came down to crunch time, Red Bank Catholic showed its mettle and pulled away.

“I say we just [took] the positive things off of that loss and built off of it,” Kemp said postgame. “All of our team, we know that we’ll be good.”

Amazingly, the first of just two punts on the night came on the very first drive, as the Caseys forced St. Anthony’s into a three-and-out, aided by a third-down sack from senior linebacker Luke Scaturro. A good return by Red Bank Catholic set up the Caseys quite nicely on the doorstep of the red zone.

They eventually settled for a 36-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Simon Picinich, and from there, the shootout was on.

The Friars responded instantly, as junior quarterback Anthony Diieso took a third-and-one keeper 71 yards for a score, avoiding a second straight three-and-out and putting St. Anthony’s in front.

A slip on the ensuing kickoff return set up the Caseys with tough field position, backed up at their own eight-yard line. But Red Bank Catholic methodically marched down the field, with Kemp capping off a 14-play, 92-yard drive with a one-yard score in the Wildcat formation. He replaced Rivera at quarterback after Rivera took a tough hit at the goal line, sending his helmet flying off.

Once the Friars realized this was going to be an offense-centric game — putting it lightly — they slammed their foot on the gas. They went heavy tempo on the ensuing drive, working across the field quickly and efficiently, as Diieso found Syracuse-bound senior running back Xavier Bala out of the backfield for an 11-yard touchdown.

The Caseys finished off the first quarter strong on special teams. Senior Mikey O’Neal returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to steal the lead right back, ending the first 12 minutes ahead 17-14.

But of course, St. Anthony’s fired right back.

Diieso threw the second of his three touchdown passes on the first play of the second quarter, firing a slant to junior wideout Rory McDermott, who broke a tackle and sprinted up the middle for a 53-yard score.

It marked the sixth lead change in just 12 minutes of play. And it looked like the Friars might start to pull away.

They decided to try some special teams trickery after O’Neal’s touchdown, going with a short sky kick. Red Bank Catholic’s up-man couldn’t handle the kick, and the visitors pounced on it, looking to take a two-score lead and potentially pull away.

Those hopes were quickly dashed as the first-down snap sailed over Diieso’s head, instantly losing 20 yards. The Caseys held strong and forced another punt. They worked their way back into the red zone, and Picinich hit a 26-yard field goal to cut the lead to just one.

St. Anthony’s once again weaved through Red Bank Catholic’s defense, and Diieso found an open Luke Maurino on a designed rollout for a 27-yard score. The Friars again tried to take a two-possession lead, but Diieso’s two-point conversion attempt was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

Red Bank Catholic played the clock well, whittling it down to just one minute remaining to close the first half. Kemp scored on another one-yard plunge to send both teams to the locker room tied 27-27, even after St. Anthony’s came close to multiple scores in the final seconds that were called back due to penalties.

“[At] halftime, Coach just said we needed two big stops and that two big stops was gonna take us the game and take it away,” said Kemp. “So we got those two big stops, and then we scored right off of them stops, and we just took the lead and took away the game.”

It may have taken longer than Lange liked, but those two stops eventually came.

They were not to be found in the third quarter, though. All five third-quarter possessions between the two teams resulted in touchdowns, each drive looking easier than the last.

The Caseys scored in just two plays to start the second half: a 17-yard run by Kemp and a long throw down the sideline from Rivera to junior receiver Jason Berecsky for a 43-yard score. A slew of short passes from Diieso guided the Friars down the field, and Bala scored from four yards out to tie it up at 34 apiece, capping off another 14-play drive.

Rivera and Berecsky connected for another score on the ensuing drive, a 16-yard slant over the middle, and Red Bank Catholic changed the lead for the eighth time. Berecsky finished the night as the team’s top receiver, hauling in four passes for 95 yards and two scores.

St. Anthony’s once again would not be denied late in the third quarter. Bala began to take over on the ground, seeing his two- and three-yard runs turn into consistent seven-yard gains, before sophomore running back James Barrese sprang free on a backwards toss from Diieso for a 32-yard score, sending the game to the fourth quarter tied 41-41.

“Two big stops.”

Finally, the Caseys got them.

Kemp scored his third touchdown of the night to open the fourth quarter from 20 yards out, putting Red Bank Catholic ahead 48-41, and the prevailing feeling at Count Basie Park remained: Can anyone get a stop? Are we going to be here all night?

The Caseys shut that idea down quickly.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Diieso faced a blitz and lofted a pass over the middle. It went too far.

Berecsky nabbed it out of the sky and gave his team the extra burst of momentum they needed, already with a one-score lead.

At midfield with the ball, Rivera burst up the middle for a 35-yard run to put the offense back in the red zone once again.

With Kemp on the bench for a much-deserved rest, senior running back Jordan Mosenthine ran up the middle and punched in a nine-yard score, giving Red Bank Catholic a 55-41 cushion with seven minutes to play.

The second big stop came immediately after.

Diieso — who finished the night with 314 passing yards — had lost some of his momentum, with the Caseys’ defensive backs timing up the quick game much better. Bala opened the drive with another seven-yard run, but the Friars went backwards from there. He got stuffed for a two-yard loss on second down, and junior defensive end Asher Cummins flew into the backfield for an eight-yard sack on third down.

With desperation setting in, Diieso’s fourth-and-18 pass to Barrese was broken up on a big hit by Scaturro — and well short of the first-down marker for good measure.

“You take it one play at a time, and ultimately we kept preaching, ‘We’re going to make a play,'” said Lange. “And obviously, look, you never want to make it that late, but hey, time is everything. And that springboarded us with that big interception there by Berecsky.”

Kemp finished off the night three plays later with a nine-yard touchdown scamper to put the game away.

He finished with 98 yards on 17 carries in the first half, and 119 yards on 13 carries in the second.

“I feel like I’m just mentally tough, every quarter I feel like it builds me up, and I play better as the quarters go on,” Kemp said. “At the end of the game, I’m just so tough that it doesn’t break me down after all those carries. I feel like I can just bounce back right after.”

His head coach noticed that same trait.

“You saw a lot of it last year where it kind of gets better from carries 20 to 30,” Lange added. “I mean, I guess it’s not ideal to have, but you know what? He’s a kid. Look, he’s tough, he’s durable, and at the end of the game he wants the ball. So who are we to say no?”

After Kemp’s last score, St. Anthony’s put in the backups — managing to make it to the red zone before the Caseys’ third straight defensive stand — and Rivera knelt out the clock to send Red Bank Catholic home with a win.

“I think you see the maturation process for him as far as what year two is going to look like,” Lange said of his quarterback. “A little more run on the menu for him. Outside of Berecsky, we have some younger guys kind of helping out there, so obviously we’re leaning on Rahmir to make some good decisions. I thought he played very well tonight.”

After a heartbreaking loss at Rowan University to open up the season, the Caseys faced another tough test from the Empire State, embattled in a shootout, but in the end, they controlled the game in the fourth quarter to come away victorious for the first time in 2026. Another obstacle looms ahead in No. 11 St. John Vianney next week, but there were plenty of building blocks to take away from this week’s win.

“I think it’s just that rear-view mirror approach,” Lange said. “Obviously when you give up 41 points, you’ve got some corrections to make on defense. Offensively, I was happy, but we’ve got to look at all three phases and just keep getting better week to week. But I’m proud of them. We needed that one.”