BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer
Few players can say that they’ve played in 50 victories over their last four years of youth football before heading off to high school.
But five players on the unbeaten Brick Township heavyweight Dragons of the Hudson County Youth Football League can make that claim … if their team wins the playoff championship 4 p.m. Sunday against Jersey City at Bruins Stadium in Braddock-North Hudson Park in North Bergen.
“They’re on the verge of doing something that may not be done again with the way the leagues have changed their formats,” said Dragons coach Steve Nash, after his team kept its season going with a 23-13 semifinal playoff victory over Union City at East Orange on Saturday night.
That means a final opportunity for the milestone for running back Mike Kiley, quarterback Steve Zrowka, wide receiver Anthony Piezzo and the Nash brothers — Bill on the line and J.T. in the defensive backfield.
All of them played on the Brick Mustangs Junior Midget team that won the Jersey Shore Pop Warner Junior League last fall and advanced to the national championship game in Florida last December. And all of them made important contributions as the Dragons rallied back for the second time against Union City this season en route to their ninth victory.
Jersey City advanced with a 26-6 semifinal drubbing of Hoboken.
The Dragons led all the way in a 24-13 victory over Jersey City the first time the two teams played.
“They were able to bring on a new tailback, but we’re ready for him after scouting them over the weekend,” said Nash. “They have two huge tackles that we’ll have to neutralize.”
The heavyweight division has an unlimited weight class and Union City tried to throw its weight around in a rough style, like the first time the two teams played each other. Once again, Union City struck first, this time on a 70-yard run with a fumbled pass reception.
Union City then took a safety when the ball sailed over its punter’s head out of the end zone. On the ensuing possession, the Dragons quickly got the ball deep into Union City territory as Piezzo caught two passes of 18 and 15 yards from Zrowka, who then completed a 24-yard scoring strike to Kiley. A conversion kick by Kiley gave Brick a 10-6 lead at halftime.
“We ran a 2-minute drill on that last series, which is something we’ve spent time on in practice, and when we scored off it, that turned the game around,” said Nash. “Zrowka played a tremendous game with so many different things he did for us, especially with the way he ran the team during that 2-minute drill and the audibles he called, which you never hear of on a youth level.”
Zrowka ran back the second-half kickoff for a touchdown and Piezzo caught the conversion to make it 17-6.
Piezzo caught a quick slant down the right side that he turned into a 42-yard scoring play on the first snap of the fourth quarter. J.T. Nash’s interception led to that score.
Da’Jon Reed and Lee Wilson led the way for a defense that recorded 11 sacks. Rodrick Tillery and Larry Nazarro again blocked well.
The season will not end for the Dragons with Sunday’s game. After that, they’ll prepare for the Super Bowl Youth Championships at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Nov. 24-28. Donations are welcome. For information, call Gary Owen at (732) 213-3926.