Napoli, who also scored through Dries Mertens with 11 minutes left, lost their unbeaten league record just as Milan did in Florence after Samir Handanovic pulled off a miracle save to deny Mario Rui's header in stoppage time. "We have been playing well but every now and again the result isn't the right one for us, but today the team played with intensity and character." "It was a very important game for us looking at the league table," said Martinez to DAZN. Once we all get going, we're pretty hard to stop."Īdams missed Robbinsville's 33-30 regular-season win against Murphy due to a back injury, but even in that game, Gross had just 58 yards and an interception through the air.Ivan Perisic's header just before the break and Lautaro Martinez's smart finish after a heart-pounding upfield surge from Joaquin Correa made sure of the points and a three-way title race even more interesting. "When Dasan's working, our receivers are moving and our defense is going, it just opens up our run more for Cuttler," Gross said. The Black Knights won the time of possession battle by nearly 20 minutes Friday. He scored 31 more carries and four total touchdowns against Murphy, but thanks to Gross, he didn't need to do everything for Robbinsville. Last week was the Cuttler Adams show, as he ran 42 times for 377 yards and four touchdowns. The Black Knight offense left Murphy with little room for error. "In a game like this, you have to get off the field, and you have to convert yourself." Clicking on all cylinders
"They did a good job on third downs, and we didn't do such a good job," Watson said. Defensive lineman Tytan Teesateskie had two tackles for loss that the Bulldogs couldn't recover from, and linebacker Bridley Tolbert had a sack that led to a punt. Murphy moved the ball with moderate success Friday, but two interceptions (one by Dalton Hill and one by Brock Adams) spoiled two drives, and negative plays doomed a few others. "You have to make plays when you have a chance to." "There were some opportunities we had that we just didn't capitalize on," Murphy coach Joseph Watson said. Wide receiver Juan Allen picked up the ball and seemed destined for a miracle touchdown, but Cuttler Adams brought him down just a couple of yards short of the end zone. Murphy quarterback Kellen Rumfelt led a touchdown drive to pull the Bulldogs within 14-7 with 3:39 to play, and he got the ball back with just over a minute left.įrom his own 37-yard line and one second on the clock, Rumfelt hit running back Ty Laney over the middle, who picked up about 40 yards before fumbling. The game was nearly tied at halftime after a wild play as time expired in the second quarter. He comes out here, throws, runs, and just makes winning plays." First-half's wild finish
He's going to be a really good quarterback,'" Brock Adams said. "No one really believed in him at first, I was like, 'Just give him time. He hadn't put up triple-digit yardage in any of the 10 games since, as the Black Knights relied on their run game to rack up wins. He was just 11-for-23 in that game, however, and had an interception. The senior, who took over the starting job after Nathan Collins' graduation in the spring, finished 9-for-11 for 136 yards and a touchdown, two yards shy of his 138-yard career-high performance Week 2 against Brevard. "They were open, so I just threw it to them," Gross said. Gross operated out of designed rollouts to great effect but also was plenty comfortable in the pocket, picking apart the Murphy defense again and again on third downs. I wanted to prove my best and prove everybody wrong," Gross said. "I had a lot of people doubting me all year. I've been telling you all along what a good football player he is, and when we needed him to throw, he did it." "Everybody's been questioning Dasan, they don't question him no more," Black Knights coach Dee Walsh said. ROBBINSVILLE - Dasan Gross had a Murphy pass rusher hot on his trail during the third quarter Friday, and saw more Bulldogs traffic between him and the sideline.įeeling the pressure, the Robbinsville quarterback stopped and threw across his body just as the hit came, finding wide receiver Brock Adams for a nine-yard pass to move the chains.Īll nine of Gross' completions went for third-down conversions Friday, as the Black Knights relied heavily on a right arm that hasn't always been viewed as much of a weapon during the senior's lone season as their starting quarterback.īehind Gross' best game of his career and four touchdowns from running back Cuttler Adams, Robbinsville knocked off Murphy 28-14 to move on to next week's Regional Final on the road at No. Watch Video: Football video: Robbinsville's Dasan Gross hits Cuttler Adams for 26-yard TD