Caruso rushes for 358 yards to lead Raiders over Tigers
Dom Caruso is 5-7 and 170 pounds, but no one stood taller Friday night at Twin Valley.
Caruso, a junior, carried 30 times for 358 yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders held off Fleetwood 28-24 in a Berks Football League Section 2 finale.
With Twin Valley (3-1, 3-3) trying to run out the clock and facing thirdand-11 from its 32, Caruso broke off the left side and into the Tigers’ secondary for a 50-yard that sealed the victory.
“I saw the crease and went through it,” he said. “I just wanted to go down and protect the ball. My legs started cramping up around the 50. I’m a little tired. My hamstrings are cramping up as we speak. It’s a good feeling, though, going out with a win.”
Caruso was asked how many rushing yards he thought he had. He guessed 200 and then 250 before he was told his final total.
“Seriously?” he asked with a smile. “That’s crazy. I have to give that to the O-line (offensive line). It all starts with the O-line. All the yards come from them.”
The Raiders made a huge stop before Caruso’s gameclinching run. Linebacker Vincenzo DiFabrizio threw running back Gavin Morris for a 1-yard loss on thirdand-1 and then quarterback
Tanner Maddocks for a 3-yard loss after he bobbled the snap with 1:51 to go.
“He’s been doing it all year for us,” Twin Valley coach Dean Owens said about DiFabrizio. “Those guys were getting pressure all night.”
Each team scored four touchdowns, but the Raiders blocked two extra-point kicks and stopped Fleetwood (1- 4, 2- 5) on two other conversion attempts. DeFabrizio and Trey Freeman, who returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, blocked the PATs.
Twin Valley gained revenge for a 46-28 loss to the Tigers last year, a game in which Fleetwood had 615 total yards, including 410
on the ground.
“We really needed and wanted this win,” Caruso said. “Last year they kept running up the score against us, so this really meant a lot to the seniors.”
Caruso, though, owned the night. He scored on runs of 4, 2 and 16 yards.
“He’s just tough as nails,” Owens said. “He lets holes develop and he finds them. He lowers his shoulder and has such a low center of gravity. Guys think they can come up and pop him.
“He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached on both sides of the football. He loves football. He lives and breathes it. There’s not a whole lot of coaching going on with him. He just finds a hole and goes.”