Eagles move on; Huskies drop a heart-breaker
South to face Hamilton West in CJ Group III final on Dec. 1
By tim morris
Staff Writer
A pair of local football teams went a long way toward earning the respect they felt they deserved last weekend, and proved that there’s more than just one way to do it.
For the Middletown South football team, its 21-13 win over unbeaten Wall Township on Friday in Middletown meant a trip to the Central Jersey Group III finals. But more important, it was further evidence that the Eagles are indeed one of the state’s elite teams, capable of playing on the highest level.
Meanwhile, the Matawan Huskies traveled to Bernards to face a talented Ridge team in a CJ Group II semifinal game, and came within a missed second-chance extra point of pulling off the upset. Walking off the field, the Huskies kept their heads up, knowing they too had proven their mettle under some extreme circumstances.
With their win, the Eagles (10-0) have advanced to the CJ Group III final, where they will face the top-seeded Hamilton West team that is coming off a 33-27 quadruple-overtime win over Colonia in its CJ Group III semifinal. The Hornets enter the game at 9-1, and are the only remaining obstacle for the Eagles in their run at yet another state title.
On Friday, South beat an excellent Crimson Knights squad that was primed to pull off the upset, and prove what people have been saying about the Eagles all season, "They’re beatable."
Wall jumped on the board first when Mike Lackett took an option pitch and scored from 15 yards out in the first quarter. But Wall’s celebration was short-lived, as South’s Tim Traynor returned the ensuing kick-off 93 yards for a touchdown.
The Crimson Knights then took a 10-7 lead into the half.
In the third quarter, the Eagles’ stellar defense turned the tides of the game with a classic goal-line stand. After Wall recovered a fumble in their own Red Zone, they drove the length of the field in impressive fashion, and found themselves on the Eagle two-yard line.
The South defense, well aware of the importance of the next series, began to stiffen, and saved the game, according to South head coach Steve Antonucci.
On first down, Wall lost one yard. On second down, two more yards lost. And on third down, the Eagle defense stopped Wall for a seven yard loss, pushing the Crimson Knights all the way back to the 12-yard line. Wall was forced to settle for another field goal, and a 13-7 lead.
From that point on, it was all Middletown South. With 1:13 left in the third quarter, quarterback Brenden Kennedy hit senior Andre MacCray with a 14-yard scoring strike to tie the game. Seconds later, kicker Justin Clarke gave the Eagles the lead with the PAT kick.
And the Eagles weren’t done there. With 5:15 left in the game, it was MacCray again finding the end zone, this time from five yards out. With the successful PAT, the Eagles had taken the 21-13 lead, and turned it over to their defense from there.
The South defense held its ground and the Eagles were heading back to the CJ Group III finals for the first time in three years.
Their opponent, Hamilton West, is an extremely talented team, that will likely test South’s defense once again. The Eagles are one win away from another state title, and will look to get it on Dec. 1 in Hamilton.
But before that game, there’s a little matter of a back-yard battle to tend to. Tomorrow, the Eagles will host their cross-town rival Middletown North Lions in their annual Thanksgiving Day game.
The Lions got off to a furious 4-0 start his year, before faltering in the latter half of their schedule. They are coming off a dominating 45-27 consolation game win over South Brunswick, in a game where tailback Billy Lyons ran for 308 yards, setting three school records.
In the win, Lyons, who is only a junior, broke three school records, all of which were held by Wall Township head coach Chris Barnes, who played from 1980-82. Lyons broke Barnes’ single-game record of 274 yards, single-season record of 1,647 (set in 1982) and the career rushing yardage mark of 3,144. Lyons now has 1,669 on the season, and 3,325 for his career.
Though the Lions fell short of their goal to reach the state playoffs, they still enjoyed a successful year, which could be capped with a win over South. Although the Eagles will likely have the Group III championship game in the backs of their minds, they also know that their undefeated season is at stake against the dangerous Lions. And as history dictates, anything can happen in this rivalry. Game time is 10:30 a.m. at the Swamp.
For Matawan, Friday night’s 27-26 loss to Ridge will likely be a bad memory that will linger for quite a while.
After trading the lead for practically the entire game, the Huskies found themselves in a position to tie the game when Tom Corley returned a kick-off 75 yards for a touchdown with just 46 seconds left to bring his team within one. But a successful extra point was disallowed because of motion, and on the retry, the ball sailed wide, clinching the win for Ridge.
After Ridge jumped ahead 13-0, Matawan closed the gap in less than three minutes on the heals of a Kevin Davis 54-yard TD run and a four-play, 87-yard scoring drive. Matawan then took a 20-13 lead on a Davis 28-yard scoring run. The PAT failed.
Ridge responded with a TD of their own to tie the game at 20-20. Then, after Matawan was forced to punt, Ridge took the lead on a 12-yard TD run from Matt Mullen.
That set up Corley’s dramatic kick-off return, and the ill-fated motion penalty on the PAT attempt.
Despite the loss, the Huskies showed tremendous heart, playing against a very good Ridge team. Their record may be 5-5, but Matawan is much better than a .500 football team.
All that is left for Matawan this year is Friday’s rivalry game with Raritan. The Rockets are another team that got off to a fast start only to falter in the second half. Friday’s game should be high-spirited, with a number of players from each team playing in the final high school games of their careers.
For Matawan’s Davis, it represents the final high school game of what has been a brilliant career. He will be looking to put an exclamation point on his football résumé, but regardless of his performance on Friday, he has earned his place among some of the Shore Conference’s greatest running backs.
Game time is 7 p.m. in Hazlet.
Other local rivalry games include Keyport at Holmdel (11 a.m. tomorrow), and Keansburg at Mater Dei (11 a.m. tomorrow).