Team plays hard against New Providence
By: John E. Powers
The end of the brutal stretch is over for the Manville High School football team. Gone into the archives are losses to Mountain Valley Conference Valley Division powers Roselle Park, David Brearley and New Providence.
Ahead are games against Skyland Conference Raritan Division clubs South Hunterdon (1-5) and North Warren (3-4), a consolation game the weekend of Nov. 12-13 and the annual holiday game at equally-struggling and young Bound Brook (1-5).
South Hunterdon, which beat Imhotep Charter School of Philadelphia 47-0 Friday night, has suffered tight losses to North Warren (21-19), Belvidere (13-6) and a 19-13 overtime loss to Hackettstown two weeks ago.
Though South Hunterdon has played well in parts of its own rugged schedules, Manville may have played its best game of the season at unbeaten New Providence (6-0) Saturday afternoon.
Manville head coach Steve Gordon said the 47-0 score was slightly misleading. Gordon said that Mustangs had expected New Providence to rely on the running game, but the Pioneers threw more, especially on first down.
"I thought we played well, especially on defense and especially since we didn’t have five of our starters," Gordon said. "I thought the kids rose to the occasion and played well against an outstanding team."
David Mazzucca, Jon Horvat and Jamie Levine were among those out of the lineup against a New Providence team that hasn’t given up a touchdown in routing Valley rivals Newark Central, Bound Brook and Manville. The win Saturday clinched the Mountain Valley Conference Valley Division title for New Providence, which plays at 6-0 Butler this Friday night.
Manville had its moments Saturday against a perennial power that will be a favorite to win the Central Jersey Group 1 title this year. Sophomore Pat Horner intercepted a pass in the end zone on New Providence’s second drive. There were two sacks and a deficit of just seven points at the end of the first quarter.
"I thought Manville hung in tough," New Providence head coach Frank Bottone said. "I know they are very young, but they hung in."
Gordon praised the play of defensive backs Leo Rodriguez and Craig Howell. Defensive ends Sean Lessing and Andrew Shaefer made plays. Robert Wood, moved up in place of Mazzucca, and assisted on a sack. Sophomore defensive tackle Mark Manderski also provided some good moments for the Mustangs.
"I thought coach (Brett) Stibitz did a great job preparing our defense," Gordon said. "Size isn’t really hurting us. What hurts us is that one skilled athlete. Brearley has one, Newark Central had one and with New Providence you’re dealing with a good team that strong and disciplined."
New Providence senior fullback Jim Muench was the culprit for most of the day. He ran for a career-high 207 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. A tackle on defense, Muench made eight tackles, one coming for a loss.
"They basically out-muscled us," Gordon said. "I can still see three of our guys trying to take Muench down."
Six different players scored for New Providence, which allowed Manville just one first down. The Pioneers also held the Mustangs to minus-yardage.
But Gordon believes the Mustangs can take something positive out of the trip to New Providence.
"Oh yeah, I really think we’re at a point where we can stop shut some people down," Gordon said. "If we played like this against Middlesex, I think the game would have been much different."
South Hunterdon head coach Sam Jefferis, who scouted Manville Saturday, has been disappointed by the performance of the Eagles team, and primarily made up of seniors. Senior Jesse Fennimore, who scored three touchdowns, last Friday night, is the featured running back for the Eagles. He has run for four touchdowns this year, caught two of senior Glenn Tobasko’s passes for scores and returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown against Hackettstown.
Manville and South Hunterdon do have a common opponent Middlesex. South suffered a 49-13 loss Sept. 10 in the season-opener and Middlesex beat Manville 46-0 on Oct. 8. Manville should be infused with the return of players like Mazzucca and the expected return of tackle Greg Babich, who has been out with an injury.
"They don’t have the kind of fullbacks that Brearley and New Providence have," Gordon said. "They have some speed. They like to attack the perimeter."
Gordon said that freshman center Dennis Petrone may return to rotate with senior Nathan Bott against South Hunterdon. The Mustangs have been outscored 220-12 this year.
"We didn’t play Dennis at center against New Providence because they were so experienced on the defensive side," Gordon said of New Providence. "It wouldn’t have been fair to Dennis."
Manville also has some incentive as the season begins its final few weeks. The Mustangs have now lost 16 straight, having not won since beating Bound Brook Thanksgiving Day in 2002 at Lamonte Field. Maybe the Mustangs can change the script and win a game before they get to the holiday game.
"We’d like to steal one the next few weeks," Gordon said.