Aligned ‘Stars hand South football loss

Pirates fall in CJ III semifinal

By: Bob Nuse
   The perfect season came to an end for the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South football team on Saturday.
   The Pirates just wish it could have ended on better terms.
   WW-P South lost for the first time this season when it dropped a 19-10 decision to Nottingham in the Central Jersey Group III playoff semifinals on Saturday. The loss hurt. Knowing the loss came with the Pirates not playing their best football made it hurt that much more.
   "I guess they took us out of our game a little bit," said WW-P South coach Todd Smith, whose team had beaten Nottingham, 17-7, when the two teams met to open the season in September. "Not to take anything away from them, but I don’t think we played our type of football. I thought we came out a little flat in the second half. And then a couple of big plays later they’re right down on our goal line again. My hats off to them. They had a game plan and it worked for them."
   All season long the Pirates had thrived behind their running game and their ability to limit turnovers. And while the running game worked to a certain degree on Saturday, the season-high five turnovers squashed any hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback.
   "The turnover we had inside the 20 at the end of the third quarter hurt us," said Smith, whose team fumbled on a fourth-down play trailing by nine points in the closing minute of the third quarter. "Turnovers in general really hurt us. We were moving the ball pretty well between the 20 and 20, but then we would give the ball away on either a fumble or an interception. That’s not how we played all year. I thought our defense did a pretty good job and our offense moved the ball, we just made too many mistakes."
   Trailing 19-10 with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter, WW-P South would get the ball back five more times. Each time, the end result was a turnover. So, while the defense was able to force Nottingham to punt on four straight possessions, the offense couldn’t find the spark to close the gap.
   "We never really got to play our type of football," Smith said. "We had no time outs left and I guess we got a little shy of running the ball. Hopefully we can take it and learn from it."
   The Pirate rushing attack was able to generate 180 yards, while South also gained 70 yards through the air. But once the Northstars knew South would be forced to throw the ball, they managed to shut down the passing attack.
   Ryan Lupo led the Pirates’ offense with 140 yards rushing on 21 carries. Lupo scored the lone South touchdown on its first possession, a 13-yard run that tied the game at 7-7. Nottingham scored on its next possession, just before the end of the first quarter, to grab a 13-7 lead. A Tom McKeever field goal with three minutes left before halftime cut the lead to 13-10.
   On its third play of the second half, Nottingham scored again to take a 19-10 lead. From that point, the Pirates would turn the ball over on five straight possessions.
   The loss left WW-P South with a 9-1 record and one game left to play, Saturday at noon at home against Lawrence. With a win, the Pirates can set a school record for victories in a season.
   "That’s what we just tried to tell our kids," Smith said. "It was a tough loss, but they played their hearts out. We have one more game against Lawrence next week and we’ll try to come out and finish it off with another win. You don’t want to go out with a loss. And now we still have a chance for them to go out and redeem themselves."
   At 9-1, this has been one of the best seasons in school history. And Smith hopes it is just the start of something big for the Pirates.
   "I think this sets the bar for our program," the first-year coach said. "I’m excited about the guys we have coming back. And now I can get a full year with them on the off-season with the guys we have coming back. I’ve only had them since July. But right now we’re just focused on the last game of the season and getting our seniors one more win."
   One more win makes those seniors part of the winningest team in school history. And that would certainly help ease the sting of Saturday’s loss to Nottingham.