Sayreville ground game is too much for Raiders
East Brunswick ends
12-game losing streak with win over Edison
By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer

VERONICA YANKOWSKI Sayreville’s Mark Poore is congratulated by Brandon Aich following a touchdown during Friday night’s win in Sayreville.

On paper, the North Brunswick Raiders seemed severely over-matched against the Sayreville Bombers, ranked No. 5 in the Greater Middlesex Conference.

For the first quarter of Friday night’s game, head coach Sal Mistretta’s squad seemed ready and willing to show everyone that looks can be deceiving. They capitalized on a Sayreville fumble and got a six-yard touchdown pass from Billy Carroll to Justin Rooney to take a 7-0 lead, to the shock of an anxious home crowd in Sayreville.

Reality set in in the second quarter in the form of Sayreville’s mammoth offensive line, which dominated play from the second quarter on, paving the way for a 36-20 Bomber victory.

Sayreville scored 23 unanswered points in the second quarter, starting with a five-yard TD run from tailback Junior Jabbie which capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive. From there, the Bombers added a safety when Kurt Pogada tackled the Raiders’ punter in the end zone, and then scored touchdowns on the next two possessions — the first a 19-yard run from Mark Poore, and the second a three-yard run from Jabbie.

VERONICA YANKOWSKI Sayreville’s Junior Jabbie runs past North Brunswick defenders during the Bombers’ win in Sayreville Friday night.

Sayreville had the 23-7 lead at the half and extended it to 29-7 when Poore found the end zone again, this time from three yards out in the third quarter.

North Brunswick responded with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to make it interesting, but Sayreville closed the game out with a final score on a one-yard keeper by QB Dan Huff.

The Raiders’ scores came on a seven-yard run from Aaron Hicks and a 11-yard TD pass by Carroll, but it was too little, too late for the Raiders who fell to 0-2.

It’s been a rough start for Mistretta’s Raiders, though that is in large part due to the team’s schedule. After falling to No. 2 J.P. Stevens on opening night, a date with Sayreville didn’t represent much of a break for a team that will likely get better as the season progresses.

Meanwhile, Sayreville is off to a quick 2-0 start and is turning heads with its dominant offensive play. Between the solid play of Huff and the two running backs, Jabbie and Moore, Sayreville should be able to score against anyone on its schedule.

Tomorrow night the Bombers will face a Woodbridge team that is reeling from a 35-0 loss to Old Bridge. It was the Knights’ running game which did in Woodbridge, which is not a good sign for the Barrons with Sayreville coming to town tomorrow night. Look for Sayreville to run away with this one as well as the offensive line continues to dominate. Game time is 7 p.m.

Old Bridge continues to reaffirm its status as the conference’s top team, with running back Brandon Nolen leading the way with his brilliant running.

Nolen ran for 171 yards and one touchdown (of 85 yards) on 18 carries, and even caught two passes last Friday night. He also returned a punt 65 yards for a score.

The entire Old Bridge team brought its "A" game against Woodbridge, including QB David DePalma who rushed for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The dynamic Old Bridge attack will be tough for anyone to slow down this year, making a return to the CJ Group IV finals a distinct possibility for coach Bob DeMarco’s Knights. Next up for the Knights is an Edison team coming off a shocking 34-12 loss to East Brunswick on Friday. Edison is 0-2 and will need a lot of help if it has any hope of knocking off the Knights tomorrow. Game time is 7 p.m. in Edison.

It’s been a long time coming for the East Brunswick Bears.

After suffering through a 0-10 campaign last year, and starting this year off with a humbling 35-0 loss to Piscataway for their 12th consecutive loss, the Bears had very few reasons to feel good about themselves.

But, after a gutty performance on Friday night, the Bears have plenty of reason to celebrate and they’ve got a dominant ground attack to thank for it.

East Brunswick punished the Edison defense for 295 rushing yards, led by junior Brian Robinson who gained 116 yards on 13 carries, including a 44-yard scoring scamper that extended the Bears’ lead in the second quarter.

After Edison took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, the Bears got on the board with a 15-yard halfback option pass from Bobby Manetta to Duane Schultz Jr. After stopping Edison on its ensuing possession, Robinson made his run, and the Bears were off.

Edison fought hard to stay in the game, but when Manetta sprinted 78 yards for a TD in the fourth, the score was 28-12 and the game was over.

Although the win was certainly a satisfying one for coach Marcus Borden’s team, they’ll have little time to celebrate as they travel to Edison tomorrow to face a 2-0 J.P. Stevens team. East Brunswick doesn’t have any easy games on its schedule, so wins won’t be easy to come by. But they got the first one and that may prove to be the toughest of them all.

The Spotswood Chargers are a team on a mission. After dismantling Sussex Tech 69-0 in week one, they dropped Middlesex 44-0 on Friday to get to 2-0.

That makes it 113-0 in two games, if you’re counting at home, and coach John Fiore’s squad has been every bit as dominant as the scores indicate.

Against Middlesex, it was the Chargers’ dynamic rushing game that was the difference as a talented quartet of backs bulled their way to 296 total yards and completely blew away the Middlesex defensive front.

In two games, Spotswood has been firing on all cylinders and is seeking respect. Another win or two and it will be hard to keep them out of the top 10 in the GMC.

On Saturday, Dunellen will see just how good Spotswood is first-hand when they host the Chargers at 1 p.m. Dunellen (1-1) is coming off a 55-19 drubbing at the hands of South River, a team many people believe is still the team to beat in the Blue Division, despite Spotswood’s early dominance.

The Rams jumped out to a 21-0 lead on the heels of a 17-yard fumble return from senior linebacker Stephen Macloskey, followed by a three-yard run from junior running back Tyreek Robinson and a 40-yard TD pass from sophomore QB J.J. Adelino to Robinson, all in the first quarter.

They added to that lead when Robinson scampered 49 yards for a TD in the second quarter. Dunellen was able to move the ball against the Rams to the tune of 350 yards of total offense, but continually turned the ball over, something you can’t do against a team like South River.

The Rams capitalized on six Dunellen turnovers to make the game a blowout. The biggest blow came in the third when, down two touchdowns and in the red zone, Dunellen QB Mitch White’s pass was deflected and fell into the hands of David Haney, who raced 92 yards for what was essentially the game-ending TD.

South River is talented, opportunistic and supremely confident — all the ingredients for a team expecting to defend its CJ Group I title. Next up for the Rams is Highland Park, a team coming off a 28-24 win over Metuchen. Game time is 7 p.m. tomorrow in Highland Park.

As for the Monroe Falcons, it’s been two weeks and two disappointing losses for a team that had high hopes for this season.

The Falcons dropped a 21-13 contest to Carteret, failing to capitalize on a number of Rambler fumbles.

Monroe jumped ahead 6-0 on a four-yard run from QB Eric Gaston, but saw Carteret respond with 14 points in the second quarter.

Down 21-7 in the fourth, Jared Axelrod cut the lead to eight with a 25-yard TD reception with 2:43 remaining, but the ensuing onsides kick went out of bounds, effectively ending Monroe’s chances at a comeback.

Monroe is now 0-2, having failed to play well in consecutive games. Head coach Jim Griffin expected more of his Falcons this year and will look to get them to play up to his expectations tomorrow at Bishop Ahr, Edison. The Trojans are 1-1 following their 21-7 win over Colonia and should be another tough opponent for a Monroe team that has underachieved to this point. Game time is 7 p.m.

As for the other local team, the South Brunswick Vikings had a night they’d rather forget last Friday, dropping a 34-12 contest to Piscataway.

The Vikings started out well, driving 94 yards on 11 plays with Evan Mahoney capping the drive with a 14-yard TD run. The drive represented exactly what the Vikings needed to do to beat Piscataway, and gave them the fast start they were looking for. Unfortunately, little went right from there.

The Piscataway defense clamped down, allowing only a late, one-yard TD run from Mahoney, while the Chiefs’ dynamic running game dominated the Viking defense to the tune of 296 yards. As a result, the Vikings are 1-1 heading into their bye week.

They will have two weeks to mull over their performance against Piscataway and prepare for Edison, who comes to town on Oct. 4.