BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer
Above, Old Bridge defensive back Nikhil Khana upends Westfield QBNick DeRosa during Friday night’s season-opening win in Old Bridge. At left, Knight quarterback Greg Frischman races for a 62-yard touchdown, one of two the junior scored on the night. With a solid opening performance under its belt, the Old Bridge High School football team is looking to upgrade last year’s 6-4 mark and become a contender in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division.
The Knights’ veteran lineup completely dominated Westfield on Friday en route to a 33-6 victory. Old Bridge got the home crown on its feet by going 70 yards in three plays to take a 7-0 lead on its first possession. Quarterback Greg Frischman capped the drive with a 31-yard scoring run. Frischman had an impressive evening running for 205 yards and two touchdowns, quickly establishing himself as one of the top playmakers in the GMC.
PHOTOS BY JEFFGRANIT staff After holding the visitors to a three-and-out, the Knights needed just one play, a 47-yard run by Dawan Riddick, to up the lead to 13-0.
“Overall, for the first game I was pretty happy,” Old Bridge coach Bob DeMarco said. “Of course, I did see some things that we have to work on.”
Old Bridge will be doing that this week as it prepares for its first divisional matchup Friday at Sayreville. In recent years the Bombers have come out on top, but the Knights’ seniors will be looking to reverse that trend this time around.
DeMarco’s offense is missing Bryant McCombs, a 700-yard rusher, who is a talented sprinter and decided to concentrate on track this year. McCombs, who has Olympic aspirations on the track, was struggling with the decision not to play football, but with the blessing of DeMarco, chose to walk away from the gridiron.
The Knights’ offense, led by Frischman, runs the wishbone. Old Bridge is expected to throw the ball a bit more this year, as DeMarco used Frischman quite a bit last year in passing situations. The junior signal-caller was impressive last season in spot duty, and should provide the Knights with a balanced attack on offense this season.
Frischman is joined in the backfield by fullback Joe Honimar and halfbacks Jeff St. Florant, who moved from tight end, and Riddick. Ken Cardullo is the split end.
Chris Kelly (5-foot-11, 230 pounds) leads the line from his center slot along with tackle Eric Klein (5-11, 225). They are joined by three juniors, guards Troy DeCuester (5-10, 245) and Zach Khan (6-0, 230), and tackle Tom Gabriel (6-0, 220). John Zimmerlink (6-1, 190) lines up at tight end.
Defensively, Jamaar Fugueroa (6-2, 250) returns at one end spot with Zimmerlink at the other. Angelo Nunez (6-0, 195) and junior Steve Gesslein (6-0, 200) are the tackles.
Matt Donnelly returns at middle linebacker and will be flanked by junior Jamaar Connor and Honimar.
Nikhil Khanna and Tom Price are at the corners, with Pat Melillo and St. Florant at the safeties. Travis Gerdon will handle the punting and place-kicking duties.
“We have good speed at the skill positions, a solid defensive line and strong linebackers,” DeMarco said.
“This is a tight-knit, hardworking group and they’re continuing to develop cohesion on the field. They’re going to get better with each game.”
As for Sayreville, the Knights will have to pay close attention to the elusive Shaune Thomas, one of the top runners in the GMC. DeMarco cautioned, however, that Sayreville is a strong team.
“Thomas does so much for them that he overshadows some of their other players,” DeMarco said. “Sayreville is always has good players and they’re a well-coached team. They’ve had our number the last few years, but hopefully we’ll win this time around.”
The Bombers are coming off a disappointing 14-9 loss to Hillsborough in their opener, and will certainly be hungry for a win of Friday. Both teams enter tomorrow night’s match with plenty of motivation. Game time is 7 p.m. in Sayreville.