MAHWAH — The postgame buzzword around the Ramsey football team Friday night was “desire.”

The Rams showed plenty in the second half against rival Mahwah, outscoring the host team 19-0 to rally for a 26-14 victory at Egidio Caporale Stadium.

"I told the guys [at halftime] that you have to have desire to win football games," Ramsey coach Adam Baeira said. "Mahwah came out with that desire in the first half, and I said to them, if you guys want to play like that, it's not going to be a pretty ending.

"The guys woke up, thankfully, came out in the second half and played lights-out football."

Sophomore Jonathan Davis capped Ramsey's first two third-quarter drives with short rushing touchdowns, rallying his team from 14-7 down. He helped set up the first with a 25-yard kick return and a 48-yard run – after Rams running backs were held to six carries for minus-2 yards in the first half.

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What it means

Ramsey improved to 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the SFC American Red, while Mahwah fell to 1-2 overall and in the division.

The Thunderbirds had won eight straight head-to-head from 2012-19 and still lead the all-time series, 30-25-1. However, Ramsey has won the last five.

The rivalry has been spirited since it began in 1959. Several of the Rams admitted afterward there was a bit of added juice this year, referencing the weekly predictions column by Darren Cooper (who picked Mahwah).

"We really took that to heart," Baeira said. "We know what type of kids we have. We have tough guys, and I told them we've just got to play Ramsey football, and the rest will take care of itself."

Key plays

Two tide-turners took place in the back of the same end zone.

Ramsey senior Chase Reid made a tiptoe interception to end Mahwah's second drive of the game and keep it scoreless early in the second quarter.

With 9:48 remaining, the Rams were driving toward the same end zone and faced fourth-and-17. Justus Favata rolled out and found senior Christian Fojon – whose defensive coverage helped Reid secure his INT – for the TD to ice the game.

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"The play was a little broken up at first, and I ran my route," Fojon said. "But then my route ended, and I saw the play still going on. So I just went to the back of the end zone, caught it, did a little toe-tap and got it in."

Game balls

? Favata completed 22-of-33 passes for 224 yards and threw a TD to each of his running backs, Fojon (four catches for 41) and Davis (three catches for 9).

? Davis led the Ramsey ground game with 13 carries for 105 yards, while Reid starred defensively with six tackles and two interceptions.

? Senior Preston Duffy (23 carries, 114 yards, TD) was Mahwah's top rusher.

? Junior Jack Newman proved to be the T-Birds' jack-of-all-trades. The lefty completed 3 of 3 passes for 10 yards and a TD, caught two passes for 16 yards and went 2-for-2 on extra points.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ramsey NJ football rallies to beat Mahwah in rivalry game