Lawrence football
By: Jim Green
Almost nothing went as planned for the Lawrence High School football team in its Central Jersey Group III state playoff opener Saturday against Ocean Township.
The Cardinals were out-gained 345-40 in rushing yards and 14-8 in first downs, committed three turnovers and had a long touchdown run called back because of an apparent botched call by the officials. Despite all that, the second-seeded Cardinals still had a chance to pull out the win against seventh-seeded Ocean. They just ran out of time, dropping a 28-25 decision at LHS.
"They brought some pressure on us," said Lawrence coach Rob Radice, who directed Lawrence to the playoffs for the third time in five years. "It came down to big plays. They made one more than us. They out-physical-ed us."
The Cardinals, who were playing their first home playoff game under Radice, had high hopes for this postseason. Riding an 8-0 record that included monumental wins over Hamilton and Notre Dame, and featuring a high-powered offense that scored more than 40 points five times, Lawrence seemed destined to make a run at its first state championship.
But after taking leads of 7-0 and 10-7 in the first half, little went the Cardinals’ way, as Ocean pulled ahead with two straight touchdowns to open the third quarter. The Lawrence defense, which was worn down in the second half, could not come up with a big stop late in the fourth quarter to give its offense a chance to win.
"We knew it would be a battle," Radice said. "They’re a good team."
The offense was just as culpable for the loss, though, as it was forced to punt twice and turned the ball over twice during its six first-half possessions. It wasn’t until the second half that quarterback Brett Brackett and his receivers found their rhythm, and by then, the Ocean running game was completely in control.
On the day, Brackett completed 12-of-25 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Junior receiver Jim Gorski had five catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and senior split end Ryan Welsh had four catches for 64 yards and a score. The three offensive leaders twice brought Lawrence back from deficits of 11 points in the second half with big touchdowns, but the Cardinals never could pull even.
"We were in it to the very end," Radice said. "We just didn’t get the job done."
If they didn’t know it already, the Cardinals found out this would be a tougher-than-usual day on their second play from scrimmage, as Brackett was intercepted. But the Lawrence defense, which was on top of its game early, came up with its second straight stop to start the game, and Lawrence proceeded to get on the board first.
The Cardinals started from the Ocean 48 and picked up a first down on two 5-yard runs by sophomore Nick Cannon. Brackett then connected with Welsh on a screen pass that ended up going for a 37-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Lawrence lead.
It seemed like Lawrence was ready to run and hide, as, on third-and-one of its next possession, Brackett took a quick snap and exploded through the Ocean defense for an apparent 63-yard touchdown. But the officials ruled, seemingly incorrectly, that the ball was snapped prior to the whistle signaling the start of play, and the touchdown was called back.
"I’ve never seen anything like that," Radice said. "They said it was the right call."
The Cardinals ended up punting, and Ocean went on a 12-play, 58-yard drive that ate up 4:08 and culminated in a four-yard TD run by Chris Chittum his first of three scores on the day to tie the score.
Lawrence then went three-and-out but appeared to catch its first break, as the Ocean return man fumbled the punt, which was recovered by the Cardinals. But another call went against Lawrence, as the officials flagged the home team for interfering with Ocean’s ability to receive the ball. Three plays later, however, Lawrence did get the ball back, as Ocean suffered a fumbled exchange, and junior defensive end Ronald Benning recovered the ball at the Cardinal 47.
Brackett completed back-to-back short passes to Gorski and Welsh, as Lawrence traveled into Ocean territory. But on second-and-eight, Brackett who had thrown just three interceptions all season coming in was picked off for the second time.
The defense came up with yet another huge stand, however, forcing Ocean to punt the ball right back to the Cardinals, who took over at their own 40 with 2:38 left in the half. The offense then proceeded to put together its most impressive possession of the game. Brackett completed passes to senior Kurtis Brown and junior Geoff Kimmel and carried the ball three times for 18 yards, as Lawrence drove down to the Ocean 7. There the drive stalled, and senior Pat Stanger split the uprights on a 24-yard field goal that gave the Cardinals a 10-7 halftime lead.
But the Cardinals couldn’t keep the momentum going after the break. The second half started just like the first, with Brackett being intercepted in Ocean territory. It took Ocean just one play to take the lead, as Chittum broke off a 62-yard touchdown run down the right side.
Lawrence went three-and-out on its next possession, and Ocean proceeded to pound the Cardinal defense, going on a 15-play, 78-yard drive that resulted in another touchdown and a 21-10 Ocean lead. All 15 plays of the possession were runs, as the Lawrence defense gradually was worn down.
But the Cardinals had too much talent and too much pride to simply go away. Three plays into Lawrence’s next possession, with the crowd at LHS quieter than it had been at almost any point this season, Brackett brought his team back to life with an 81-yard touchdown bomb to Gorski that cut the deficit to four points.
All the momentum seemed to be back with Lawrence, which proceeded to force Ocean into a third-and-nine from its own 22. But Chittum took a sweep right and again outran the Cardinal defense for a huge 78-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, pushing his team’s lead back to 11 points.
"I thought when we scored, that was a good sign," Radice said. "Then they made a big play on us."
The Cardinal defense forced Ocean to punt away its next possession. On the punt, Welsh took a reverse handoff from Brown at the Lawrence 25, and, sprung by an explosive block by tight end Pat Beighley, returned the ball all the way to the Ocean 17. Brackett hooked up with Gorski for a 17-yard score on the first play of the possession. Radice then called for a two-point conversion attempt, which Brackett completed to a leaping Welsh in the end zone, cutting Ocean’s lead to 28-25 with 5:23 left and bringing the home crowd to its feet.
All seemed set for a storybook ending, but the Ocean offense would not cooperate, as it went on a 10-play, 21-yard drive that melted away the last five-plus minutes. In the process, Ocean converted a fourth-and-two and a third-and-six while forcing Lawrence to use its final two timeouts. The game ended with Ocean taking a knee at the Lawrence 30.
"I thought all the kids played hard," Radice said. "I don’t think anyone gave up. Everyone played well. We went up against a good football team."
NOTES: The Cardinals will have a week off to rest before finishing their season with a game at West Windsor-Plainsboro South at noon Nov. 26. The top-seeded Pirates improved to 9-0 with a 24-21 win over Colts Neck in the first round of the CJ III playoffs. Lawrence beat South 26-16 last season.

