Rams enact some revenge against Spotswood
Sayreville wins
shootout with improved Old Bridge team
DAWN MARIE SANNWALDT South River senior Steve Maclosky runs by Spotswood’s Justin Katcher during the Rams’ 35-13 win in South River on Saturday.
In the season opener, it was senior tailback Zack Earvin’s turn to lead the South River High School football team to an impressive win over a quality opponent in a 55-28 drubbing of New Brunswick.
But in week two, with Earvin serving a one-game suspension for violating a school policy, the Rams needed someone else to step up and lead the team to victory against their biggest rival, the Spotswood Chargers, in a game where the Rams were seeking redemption from an upset loss to Spotswood a year ago.
Senior quarterback Mike Feaster was that player, and he responded brilliantly, throwing for three touchdowns, running for one, kicking five PATs and even intercepting a pass while leading South River to a 35-13 win over the Chargers.
Feaster was everywhere on Saturday, playing a near flawless game on offense, leading the Rams up and down the field against a strong Spotswood defense. In the end, he finished 11 for 18 and was in complete control of the game.
DAWN MARIE SANNWALDT South River quarterback Mike Feaster tries to elude the tackle of Spotswood’s Eric Haefner.
In fact, South River basically had the game in hand after the first quarter. A two-yard Feaster touchdown pass to senior tight end Mike Ferreira, followed by a one-yard scoring plunge from junior running back Steve Maclosky and a 39-yard TD pass from Feaster to Maclosky, gave the Rams a commanding 21-0 lead after the first quarter.
They never looked back, adding another touchdown in both the second and third quarters on a Feaster one-yard scramble, and another TD pass to Maclosky (this one from 20 yards out) to end their scoring.
Their only mistake was a fumble late in the game after the second-string players had already entered play.
As for Spotswood, there was little to cheer about at Bill Denny Field. The Chargers, coming off an impressive 49-0 win over Sussex Tech on opening day, looked sloppy from the beginning. They committed four costly turnovers and never really got into the flow of the game on either side of the ball.
The Chargers had to feel good about their chances entering the game, based on the fact that they beat South River last year and were facing a team minus its best offensive player. But South River rose to the occasion and got its second big win in a row.
South River appears to be on a roll, and could make a run at an undefeated regular season if it continues to dominate on both sides of the ball. The Rams will travel to Highland Park tomorrow where they will look for their third win of the young season. Game time is 7 p.m.
As for the Chargers, they will look to bounce back at Belvidere tomorrow. Game time is also 7 p.m.
Another local powerhouse, the Sayreville Bombers, also got a win over a neighboring rival this weekend, although not in as dominant a fashion.
The Bombers hosted a rejuvenated Old Bridge Knights team on Saturday, and squeaked out a come-from-behind 34-25 win in what was another battle of two of the Greater Middlesex Conference’s top teams.
Sayreville overcame a pair of deficits (14-0 late in the second quarter and 17-14 in the fourth) with three touchdowns in a span of seven minutes to go to 2-0, while dropping the Knights to 1-1.
Old Bridge got on the board first with a pair of one-yard TD runs from junior running back Brandon Nolen (14 carries, 104 yards). The Knights’ offense was dominant throughout the first half, moving the ball against what is considered one of the top defenses in the state with relative success on each possession.
Down 14-0 with just over a minute left in the first half, Sayreville’s junior QB Dan Huff orchestrated a flawless two-minute drill before tossing a nine-yard TD pass to Junior Jabbie to get on the board on the last play of the half. That drive seemed to give the Bombers some momentum as they took the second-half kickoff and drove 78 yards on 15 plays. Jabbie broke free for a 23-yard TD run to tie the game at 14-14.
Old Bridge responded with a drive of its own, and got a 38-yard field goal from Anthony DePalma to regain the lead, 17-14.
But the Bomber offense was in high gear at that point, and a pair of Old Bridge miscues sealed its fate. Sayreville went on to score 20 points in seven minutes, thanks in large part to a pair of Old Bridge fumbles.
A two-yard TD run from Dejon Spruill started the run, followed by a two-yard TD run from Kenny Smith. Smith added another two-yard TD run later in the fourth to cap the 20-point spree.
In total, Sayreville controlled the ball for every play except one in the first seven and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, pulling away from an Old Bridge team that made all the wrong mistakes at the worst time.
Old Bridge managed to score one last time on a 33-yard pass from Craig Olivieri to junior tight end Shaun Williams, but by then the damage was done, and the Bombers were well on their way to their 11th straight Red Division win.
Sayreville will look to go 3-0 tomorrow when it travels to Edison for a 7 p.m. start. Meanwhile, the Knights will look to get back to winning tomorrow when they host Piscataway. Game time is also 7 p.m.
The Monroe Falcons came out fired up in their game against the New Brunswick Zebras, jumping out to a 14-0 lead on touchdown runs from James Boyd and Mario Zygadlo.
Monroe players were playing very spirited football through most of the first half in a game dedicated to teammate Sean Denehy, who remains hospitalized after sustaining fractured vertebrae in the previous week’s loss to Northern Burlington. Falcon players wearing Denehy’s number 50 on their helmets, were flying all over the field on defense, and looked good on offense while building their 14-0 lead.
But just before the half, a miscue changed the complexion of the game. A Monroe fumble gave the Zebras the ball at the Monroe 6-yard line, and the ensuing New Brunswick touchdown and successful two-point conversion cut the lead to 14-8. The lead remained six through the third quarter, and it looked as though the Falcons might have been able to overcome the blunder.
But in the fourth quarter, more costly mistakes opened the door for a Zebra comeback. Fourth quarter penalties and turnovers doomed the Falcons, enabling New Brunswick to rattle off 19 unanswered points en route to the 27-14 victory.
It was an emotional loss for the Falcons, who will look to notch their first win of the year tomorrow at Carteret. Game time is 7 p.m.
Fans of the East Brunswick Bears had very little to cheer about on Saturday as the J.P. Stevens Hawks took control of their contest from the very start en route to a 49-7 win in Edison.
The Bears watched Stevens’ QB Dan Sica break through the line on the very first play from scrimmage and run 71 yards for a TD to start the game. Things didn’t get any better from there. East Brunswick was unable to stop the Stevens’ offense all night while struggling to get anything going offensively themselves.
The Bears’ defense, obviously tired from being on the field for much of the game, tried valiantly to stay with a flurry of Stevens runners, but were unable to slow the Hawks’ offense, which curiously ran up the score after leading 28-7 at the half.
The lone bright spot for the Bears was a 59-yard TD run from senior Jatir Simmons (eight carries, 117 yards) in the first quarter.
East Brunswick will try once again to notch its first win of the year tomorrow when it hosts the 2-0 South Brunswick Vikings, one of the GMC’s most improved teams in the early going. Game time is 7 p.m.