Rams upset Blue Jays to earn shot at Florence
Sayreville, Old Bridge beaten in CJ Group IV openers
BY RICHARD JEROME
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Sayreville’s Devin Holmes works his way upfield during the Bombers’ loss to Howell in Saturday’s CJGroup IV first-round game in Sayreville.

After an upset 12-7 win over Middlesex in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group I playoffs, the 6-4 South River football team is feeling pretty good about themselves.

“We’re happy about being in the second round,” said head coach Rich Marchesi. “It’s pretty surprising. The kids are working very hard.”

After recovering a fumble on the Middlesex 19 with just over three minutes left to play, South River quickly went backward with a one-yard gain, a holding penalty and an incomplete pass. However, the Rams secured the thrilling win after converting on the ensuing third-and-19 from the Middlesex 29-yard line. Quarterback Kevin Feaster dropped back and launched a soft pass to Brandon Hodges, who outleaped his defender to haul in the pass in the end zone and give the Rams the 12-7 lead with just 2:02 remaining.

The South River defense held from there, capping a brilliant overall effort from the Ram defenders, which came as no surprise to Marchesi.

The key element in the Rams’ success all year has been the defensive unit, which will certainly be tested in the team’s next state contest against two-time defending champion Florence, which trounced Highland Park, 42-7, in its opener.

“We held Middlesex to about 225 yards offense,” Marchesi noted. “That’s a great effort against a team like that, and it kept us in the game.”

The bulwark of the Rams’ defense is middle linebacker Ron Litz, the 5-11, 220-pounder who has earned all-county honors and bids fair to receive all-state mention. Litz has 38 solo tackles and 85 assists, making for 123 tackles overall, 18 of them for losses.

Not that Marchesi doesn’t have some offensive production. Quarterback Kevin Feaster has completed 61 of 112 passes for 607 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for 289 yards on 58 carries for another four TDs. Running back Jarvis Crandall has averaged almost five yards a carry, with 553 yards on 113 attempts and a pair of touchdowns.

As for the receivers, Marty McGough has 15 catches for 198 yards and two TDs, and Brandon Hodges has registered 151 yards on 13 receptions and three scores.

Against Middlesex, the Rams fell behind in the second quarter, 7-0, before driving 63 yards on eight plays to get within one, 7-6, on a one-yard TD run from McGough.

Middlesex had a golden opportunity to cushion its lead in the third when the Rams fumbled on their first possession of the half, giving the Blue Jays the ball at the South River 30. However, the Ram defense held strong, stopping Middlesex on a key fourth-and-five play.

South River had a chance to take the lead late in the third after recovering a Middlesex fumble on the Blue Jays’ 22, but the Rams missed a 20-yard field goal attempt, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.

Marchesi’s Rams are psyched for this weekend’s match with Florence.

“We have a great game plan, we think, but we also respect what Florence can do,” he said. “It will be a very difficult challenge.”

Bombers, Knights lose close ones

in CJ Group IV action

Following their shocking win over Piscataway a couple of weeks ago, a lot of people were picking Sayreville as the dark horse in the Central Jersey Group IV bracket.

At the same time, most people expected the Bombers to roll over a Howell team that made the playoffs with a 6-2 mark just one year after a 1-9 campaign.

But the upstart Rebels entered the game with every intention of winning, and proving that this is more than just an improved Howell squad.

“We’re in it to win it,” said Rebel head coach Corey Davies. “We aren’t just happy to be there. That was the case in ’96 when we made the playoffs. The kids were just happy to be there.”

The 2005 Rebels (7-2) want to be more than in it, and Saturday’s 32-31 overtime thriller against Sayreville was the first step, and it provided them with a little history. It was Howell’s first-ever state playoff win.

In truth, the Bombers were lucky to even get to overtime, as a miracle two-point conversion with 2:15 left in regulation tied the game at 25-25. After Rashiem Clarke capped a 17-play, 68-yard drive that included a pair of fourth-down conversions with a three-yard TD, the Bombers went for two, with Shaune Thomas taking a hand-off looking to pass. With the Rebel defense nearly tackling Thomas on three separate occasions, the elusive Thomas managed to stay on his feet before throwing across his body to Mike Velardi in the end zone.

The Bombers then seemed poised to win the game after picking off a Howell pass on the ensuing drive, taking over on the Howell 37. However, a fourth-down play resulted in a Rebel interception, forcing the overtime.

Howell received the ball first in the overtime session at Sayreville and scored on a six-yard run by senior Ryan McGuinness. It was a third-down catch by McGuinness from Sean O’Reilly that set up the score. It was a 17-yard reception by McGuinness that put the ball on the Bomber 6.

Chance Carrick made the extra point kick to give Howell at 32-25 lead. The extra point would prove to be decisive.

Sayreville came right back and scored on Clarke’s two-yard burst. However, the point-after-touchdown kick was wide right, and Howell was moving on.

O’Reilly accounted for 232 total yards from scrimmage, passing for 131 (13-23) and running for 97 more on draw plays. He scored twice on short runs of one and two yards.

The passing success was a product of Sayreville’s defense against Howell’s spread offense.

“They were playing us man-to-man and our receivers were better athletes than their defenders,” McGuinness said.

McGuinness pulled down five aerials for a total of 74 yards.

“We’ve been getting Ryan the ball a little more,” said Davies.

In addition to his overtime touchdown run, McGuinness opened the scoring with a three-yard touchdown run and scored in the fourth quarter on an 85-yard kickoff return (a trick play where he took a lateral from Gus Borden).

While Howell had the more balanced attack, 124 yards rushing and 131 passing, Sayreville relied on the run and picked up 278 yards on the ground. Clarke had 121 of them on 21 carries, with Thomas adding 82 yards on 19 carries.

Second-seeded Brick Memorial (8-1) is next for Howell. The Mustangs beat Franklin Township, 38-12, in their first-round game.

Howell will take the same attitude into Friday night’s Central Jersey Group IV playoff game against Brick Memorial that it did at Sayreville Saturday.

While many people throughout Central Jersey were shocked by Howell’s win over Sayreville, Brick Memorial head coach Fred Sprengel was not one of them.

“To be quite honest, I expected it to happen,” said Sprengel as Brick Memorial improved to 8-1, its third straight eight-win season, while Howell is 7-2. “Sayreville was coming off a big upset over highly ranked Piscataway, and Howell took them by surprise. Sayreville was ripe for the taking.”

Howell now enters what Mustangs quarterback Chris James and his Brick Memorial teammates call “warlord territory” for their showdown as the Shore Conference semifinals features all Shore Conference teams. Howell already has a 20-17 victory over Brick Township on its résumé.

In the other CJ Group IV semifinal, top-seeded Jackson, a 23-21 winner over pesky Hillsborough on Friday, will host Manalapan.

Manalapan is no stranger to playoff wins (just two years ago the Braves reached the Central Jersey Group IV final) and the Braves advanced to the semifinals with Howell, beating Old Bridge in another nail-biter, 24-21. A 33-yard field goal by Dave Sarner in the final 40 seconds capped a comeback from 14-0 down for the Braves (7-2).

Manalapan picked up its seventh straight win in rallying against Old Bridge (6-3). The Braves turned to their running game in the second half and beat the Knights with smash-mouth football.

Old Bridge jumped out to the early lead when quarterback Greg Frischman rumbled 41 yards for a score, and a 7-0 lead. Anthony Mujica got the Braves even with a 39-yard TD run of his own, before Old Bridge jumped back on top before the end of the first quarter when Joe Honimar found the end zone from two yards out.

The Knights added another score in the second quarter on a seven-yard run from Frischman.

Trailing 21-7 at the half, the Braves took control of the line of scrimmage and rode the legs of Mujica to 17 points and the comeback win. Mujica gained 121 yards in the second half to bring his game total to 176 on 18 carries. The Braves picked up 259 for the game. Coach Ed Gurrieri said that at halftime his offensive line went up to the coaching staff.

“We ran the ball well in the first half, but we were dropping a lot of balls,” said Gurrieri. “That was putting us in second and long. It’s not like they were stopping us.

“At halftime, our offensive line told us that they were not having any problem with them [Old Bridge defensive line] and we said, ‘Let’s go,’” he added. “We [coaching staff] sat down and realized that we were being too cute, going for the home-run ball. We knew we could run the ball. We said, ‘Let’s establish the run and wear them down.’ ”

Which is exactly what the Braves did. Mujica and fullback Rocco Lamagna (seven carries for 82 yards) ran through some gaping holes created by center Mike White, tackles Mike Mendez and Matt Orr, and guards Pat Burns, Chris Brandefine and David Presby.

On its first drive of the second half, the Braves’ offensive line took charge, and Manalapan marched right down the field. A 25-yard touchdown run by Mujica ended the drive.

“The momentum swung toward us,” Gurrieri said of that TD drive.

The Braves tied the game later on a Lamagna 24-yard run and won it late on Sarner’s foot.

Equally dominant in the second half was Manalapan’s defense, which held the Knights scoreless in the final 24 minutes.

Manalapan knows how good Jackson is, having lost in the opening game to the Jags. But the Braves are a better team and won’t be intimated by their opponent.

“One thing about our kids, they have no fear,” said Gurrieri.