The mature, behind-the-scenes coaching minds that wouldn't let grid Rams quit against Ramapo

It was a week for comebacks, from "Downton Abbey" to the football Giants to the Port Chester High School football Rams.

In an upset, the genteelly aristocratic Brit "Downton Abbey" movie encore to the PBS TV series that ended four years ago made its film debut with $31 million in ticket sales, beating out the $19.2 million for Brad Pitt's sci-fi "Ad Astra" and Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo's Last Blood" ($19 million).

In a different kind of upset, the pro grid Giants rallied to beat Tampa 32-31 with new rookie quarterback Dan Jones scoring the winning TD with 1:16 left.

And in yet another kind of upset, the Rams new quarterback Josh (JJ) Johnson helped Port Chester come back from a halftime deficit to beat East Ramapo 35-20. It took a lot of local grid Rambos to contribute to the bounce back win just one week after essentially the same P.C. team lost to Carmel 45-0 on a disastrous Friday the 13th that will go down in Port Chester grid infamy.

The role players

But when a high school team makes that kind of dramatic turnaround from down-and-out against Carmel to up, up and away over Ramapo, it is the stuff from which movies are made. That has resulted in a lot of local behind-the-scenes action coming into play worthy of a "Downton" or the pro-Giants Hollywood-style near miraculous comeback.

All of which has unreeled into the following scenario.

Even as the Rams had a lot of attention grabbing Rambos keeping up with the Jints' Jones boy, ranging from scorers like Carlyle Taylor, Conor O'Dea, Jakym Jordan and JJ and a one-man defensive wrecking crew in O'Dea, it is the names that aren't as well known that also played leading roles in that come-from-behind win over Ramapo.

The unknown soldiers

Those names belong to the anonymous Ram coaches. They are the unknown soldiers behind the lines of Port Chester football, the mature guys who wouldn't let their young players quit on themselves. And that wasn't an easy task after the Carmel Rams battered the local Rams in the worst loss of head coach Paul Santavicca's turnaround era during which the Rams have won a league title and made the playoffs for three consecutive years.

But that streak is in jeopardy. Especially after the crushing loss to Carmel.

The rallying cry

It was Santavicca who rallied his team by saying: "We as a coaching staff challenged our boys with the question: 'What will you do when you're down 0-2? This is when your character is tested. This is when our program's bond is tested. Do we lie down or do we put together the best week of practice yet and turn this thing around?"

He got his answer with the rebound win over Ramapo.

As head coach, the coaching credit for the win goes mostly to Santavicca, the ex-Yorktown All-Section running back and high school All-American lacrosse player who played college ball for Marist and timed his honeymoon so he would be back in town for the start of Rams pre-season football practice this year.

But Santavicca wants all the credit for the latest turnaround win to go to his players and his relatively unknown assistant coaches, the unsung heroes who play vital roles in making the Rams go.

Coaching Who's Who

They know the score in a way their young charges can't. Here is a thumbnail description of who they are:

WIDE RECEIVERS AND DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH: Jon Plato is a former All-Section football player from Mamaroneck who walked on at football powerhouse Syracuse as a wide receiver and punt returner. He is also the offensive passing game coordinator. And currently teaches physical education in the Port Chester school district.

OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE LINE COACH: Frank Girdauskas was an All-Section football player at Gorton High School in Yonkers and was the MVP of the Section One Championship in 1993. He has helped revamp the Rams O-and-D lines.

DEFENSIVE ENDS COACH AND ASSISTANT DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Mark Castellano is a former All-Section football and lacrosse player at Nyack High School who played both sports at Springfield College. He is also the junior varsity head coach and a physical education instructor at two Port Chester elementary schools.

RUNNING BACKS AND LINEBACKERS COACH: Brandon Trager is a former All-Section football player at Yorktown, doubles as offensive running game coordinator and teaches physical education at Ossining High.

JV ASSISTANT COACH: Zach Taylor is a former All-League Port Chester football and baseball player who played football at Bates College, was the Section One ski champion representing the Rams as an individual skier and worked his way through law school while coaching at Port Chester and now practices with a law firm in Elmsford as well as coaching practices with the Rams.

The starting nine

Three volunteer coaches who roam the practice fields and sidelines on game day are ex-Ram football greats Mark Santora and Andy Matturro and Ron Santavicca, a New York State Hall of Fame high school football coach as well as Paul's father. "These are three guys who know more about Port Chester and football than all of the previous coaches combined including myself," Paul Santavicca said. "We are very lucky to still have these three coaches around for both football reasons and mentoring reasons. They have helped raise thousands of young adults that do not share their last name and our current players get to experience their mentorship as well."

These nine grid mentors—the equivalent of a baseball starting lineup—are the coaching minds that came up with the strategies that resulted in the pooch (short) kicks that took Ramapo by surprise and resulted in two Rams second half touchdowns. They came up with the defensive moves that shut out Ramapo in the second half. They are also the inspirational figures who wouldn't let the Rams quit on themselves after that Carmel meltdown. And while they are mostly unknown players behind the scenes and on the sidelines, grownups sharing their experience in a game that ultimately is played by teenagers, they play key roles in making the Rams competitive in ultra-competitive Section One Class AA football.