Lawrence football
By: Jim Green
It’s a testament as to how far the Lawrence High School football team has come that it can look at its loss to Hamilton as a disappointment.
The Cardinals entered Saturday’s showdown at Hamilton determined to show the rest of the county that their 5-0 start meant they were truly one of the best teams in the Colonial Valley Conference. And the Cardinals did exactly that, dominating the entire game, save for the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
In those eight minutes, the Hornets whose starting quarterback, Bill Pictagi, had been knocked out by the Lawrence defense moved star tailback Tamar Williams under center and pummeled the Lawrence defense with its running game. The Hornets, who were trailing 17-7, likely would have been passing had Pictagi still been in the game, but with Williams at quarterback, the focal point of the offense became Zane Clark. The bruising fullback scored on touchdown runs of 41 and 39 yards, respectively, on back-to-back possessions, helping the Hornets snatch an improbable 25-17 come-from-behind win.
"Three and a half quarters isn’t a game," Lawrence coach Rob Radice said. "You have to play four quarters. It wasn’t a lack of effort from our guys. They (the Hornets) just made plays."
The frustrating defeat left Lawrence and perennially powerful Hamilton with identical 5-1 records. The Cardinals have no time to think about what might have been, though, as they play host to West Windsor-Plainsboro South at 7 p.m. Friday in a game that will determine the winner of the Colonial Valley Conference Valley Division. The Pirates are coming off a 20-14 loss Saturday to Steinert.
"We have to bounce back," Radice said.
The Cardinals should bounce back, especially if they continue to receive the outstanding rushing offense they have had all season, including Saturday. Lawrence was able to dominate the first three quarters with a balanced, smash-mouth attack that had four different players rush for more than 40 yards. Senior fullback Adam Oliszewski again led the way with 71 yards on 16 carries, while senior tailback Alex Parson had 15 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore Bayshawn Wells had 56 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Junior quarterback Brett Brackett also got into the act, rushing 12 times for 46 yards.
In all, Lawrence racked up 235 yards on the ground, simultaneously wearing down the Hornets defense while keeping the high-powered Hamilton offense off the field.
But the Cardinals’ inability to hold onto the 17-7 lead they hammered out likely will keep the Lawrence players and coaches from looking back fondly on what was an outstanding road performance.
"Moral victories sound good on paper," Radice said. "We want to win each week. We don’t come out for moral victories. We come out to win football games."
And the Cardinals made their desire to win abundantly clear to the Hornets in the first quarter. After forcing the Hornets to punt on their first possession, the Cardinals took over at their 20-yard line. Lawrence proceeded to put on an offensive clinic, driving 80 yards in just over six minutes, chipping away slowly at a Hamilton defense that had no answer for the Cardinals running game.
A 14-yard run by Oliszewski moved the ball into Hamilton territory, and, on fourth-and-three from the Hornets 41, Radice called for a daring fake punt. The direct snap went to junior defensive back Joel Rosario, who picked up six yards and a first down. Brackett then hit sophomore tight end Jim Gorski who continues to develop into a solid pass-catching threat for a 26-yard play-action pass to the Hamilton 10. The successful pass was set up by the Cardinals unstoppable ground attack, as Lawrence ran the ball on each of the other 13 plays of the drive. On second-and-goal, Wells took the ball in from seven yards out, giving the Cardinals the early lead.
The Lawrence defense kept the momentum on its sideline, forcing Hamilton into a three-and-out. The Cardinals took over at their 31 and went on another punishing drive, running the ball 13 consecutive times and again eating up more than six minutes. None of the runs went for more than eight yards which Oliszewski picked up on the first play of the possession but Lawrence managed to pick up four first downs before being stopped on a third-and-three from the Hornets 14. Radice then called on junior kick Pat Stanger, who successfully booted a 31-yard field goal to put Lawrence up 10-0.
"We expect to play hard and see what happens," Radice said. "It’s hard to find positives from a loss. We played hard."
The Cardinals seemed on the verge of putting the game away, as Stanger’s ensuing squib kick was recovered by Lawrence’s senior split end Ryan Welsh at the Hamilton 36. On fourth-and-five from the 31, Brackett connected with Welsh on a 12-yard completion to the 23. The Cardinals then returned to the ground, and a nine-yard run by Wells gave Lawrence first-and-goal at the 10. On second down, however a fumbled exchange between Brackett and Oliszewski resulted in Hamilton recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchback. The swing in the game was huge, as Hamilton proceeded to drive down the field for its first touchdown, turning what potentially was a 17-0 lead for the Cardinals into a 10-7 game at halftime.
"We blew a couple of opportunities," Radice said. "You can’t do that and win games."
Despite the disappointing end to the quarter, the Cardinals had to be feeling good about themselves heading into intermission. They had controlled the ball for nearly 16 of the first 24 minutes, had proven to be unstoppable offensively by anything other than their own mistakes, and held a halftime lead on the road against a team that is widely considered the second best in the CVC.
The Cardinals came back out with confidence, moving from their own 22 to the Hornets 39 in eight plays. Lawrence was more aggressive offensively, mixing a 14-yard run by Oliszewski with 13-yard passes by Brackett to Gorski and Welsh, the latter taking the ball down to the Hamilton 40. The drive stalled there, however, and, protecting a 10-point lead, Radice chose to punt.
The decision was a brilliant one, as Stanger’s kick was downed by senior offensive lineman Drew Madsen at the Hornets 5. Although Hamilton was able to pick up a first down and get out of the shadow of its own goalposts, the Lawrence defense buckled down and forced a punt from the 21.
The Cardinals then went on their third dominant drive of the day, moving 62 yards on 12 straight running plays in 5:02, finishing with a three-yard touchdown run by Parson with 11:56 left in the game. At one point during the drive, Brackett had five straight keepers for 24 yards, including a 12-yard scramble. Oliszewski had a 14-yard run down to the five, and three plays later, Parson followed senior offensive lineman Pat Musto around the left side for the score.
The Lawrence defense continued its dominance on the other side of the ball, forcing Hamilton into a three-and-out, including two straight incomplete passes on plays where Pictagi was rushed by junior defensive lineman Keith Kent. Little did the Cardinals know, however, that their defensive pressure had knocked Pictagi out of the game, forcing Hamilton to change its game plan.
And on the Hornets next possession, they took only three plays to score from their 31, as Clark followed a 13-yard run on first down with a 41-yard scoring rumble through the Lawrence defense. The Hornets missed the extra point and trailed 17-13 with 7:41 left.
The Cardinals then went three-and-out, giving the ball back to the suddenly unstoppable Hamilton offense at the 50. On the fourth play of the possession, Clark again carved up the Cardinals defense with a 39-yard touchdown run right up the gut. The score gave Hamilton, which had been outplayed all game, a 19-17 lead with 4:11 left.
"I don’t think they caught us off guard," Radice said. "We just didn’t get the job done."
Lawrence was unable to turn the tide, again going three-and-out on its next possession. Hamilton took over with 2:59 left and proceeded to run out most of the remaining time, capping the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run by Williams that essentially put the game away.
"They got it done," Radice said. "I don’t think we let up. They found a way.
"I thought some guys did some good things. We made some mistakes. They found a way to win it in the end."