Pennington SchoolHeading into last Friday’s season opener at the Academy of the New Church, the Pennington School football squad had just one scrimmage under its belt.
By: Mike Molaro
Head coach Jerry Eure didn’t know what to expect since the lack of game situations didn’t leave a lot for the coaching staff to digest. All Eure was sure of was that "the guys needed the work."
Showing no signs of rust or lack of confidence, the Red Raiders opened a 16-0 halftime lead and pounded out a 22-6 triumph.
Senior captain Chris Liwosz led the way with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries from his fullback position and senior captain Brian Wynder ran the option like a surgeon, keeping the ANC defense off balance the entire game.
All in all, not a bad outing in just their second opportunity against live competition.
"We are still making mistakes, but it was a good win for us," said Eure of his Red Raiders, who also added a first-quarter safety when ANC snapped the ball out of its end zone.
"This team is a combination of veterans and young guys. We have veterans at the skill positions, but a lot of our guys were playing in their first varsity game. It’s good to start with a win."
On the second play from scrimmage, Wynder broke a 45-yard touchdown run off the option to give Pennington a quick 7-0 after senior Chris Burkhardt added the extra point.
After the safety made it 9-0, the Red Raiders on their second drive drove 60 yards with Liwosz capping the march with a two-yard jaunt off left tackle. Burkhardt kicked the extra point.
With the veterans leading the way, the Red Raiders handled anything ANC threw or ran at them. Following the home team scoring its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter, Liwosz closed the scoring with his second TD run, a 47-yard gallop.
"The leadership of our four senior captains (Liwosz, Wynder, tight end/linebacker Brandon Stoneking, and lineman Tyler Montgomery) will determine our success," Eure added. "We have a good mixture of veterans and youth on this team and we have good chemistry. We have no superstars. Everything we do is a team effort."
Although the Red Raiders came away with the important triumph, the coaches know there is work to do to prepare for Saturday’s match-up at Metuchen.
"We were inside their (ANC) 20 yard line about five times and didn’t score," said Eure. We need to find ways to score. This was our first game and this team can improve and have a great season. This win was a total team effort. We made some errors, but those errors are correctable. We’ll take it one game at a time."
There were also plenty of bright spots for Pennington to feel good about on both sides of the ball.
"Our offensive line has been working on technique and opening holes, and they did a nice job against ANC," Eure added. "Chris (Liwosz) is big and strong and we will pound him up the middle. On his first touchdown run, he went in strong off left tackle. His second touchdown in the fourth quarter broke their (ANC) backs. (Junior) Joe Persichetti is a solid tailback and (junior) Muhammad Siddique is a good utility players. He plays everywhere. Those guys give us maneuverability and depth. Chris (Burkhardt) gives us a strong kicking game.
"Our defensive line got penetration and made things happen. Our linebackers were active. Chris (Liwosz) had a great game on defense at linebacker. He had an all-around great game."
With the solid win over ANC safely tucked away in the left side of the ledger, the Red Raiders wasted no time preparing for their second straight road game.
"Metuchen is a tough public school," said Eure. "We got right back to work and worked on some things. We need to get a little tougher and we will."

