Mustangs roll into bye week with another blowout

MHS routs PDS to hit 5-0

By: Shawn Tyrrell
   
   PRINCETON — It has been a long time coming, 15 years to be exact, since the Manville high School football team last had a winning season. Not since 1991 had any Mustang squad won five games or more. All those years of frustration came to a fitting end this past Saturday as MHS crushed Princeton Day School 47-6, improving to a perfect 5-0 on the season as Manville heads into a bye week on the schedule.
   A winning record is a great accomplishment, especially considering all that that the Mustangs have gone through in the last decade, but this team is far from finished and the coaching staff and players have their sights on the playoffs and possibly more. The victory over Princeton Day School puts MHS right where the team hoped it would be coming into the week off, which also gives the players time to heal any bumps and bruises as they prepare for upcoming opponents South Hunterdon, Belvidere and North Warren.
   The victory over the Panthers was especially sweet given the 6-0 defeat Manville suffered in 2005 at the hands of Princeton Day. While the contest was far from the team’s best of the season as the Mustangs committed 10 penalties for 95 yards and early on had some problems moving the football, it was a win nonetheless.
   "It wasn’t pretty, but we did what we had to do," Manville head coach Brett Stibitz said afterward. "We started out a bit sluggish, and a little flat, but getting a W on the road is always nice. Overall the play of the offensive line was good, and the defense played great, but we do need to work on our tackling which was terrible."
   Neither team was sharp early on although the Manville defense stepped it up when Kyle Sopko intercepted Panther quarterback Clint O’Brien in the opening minutes of the first quarter. The Manville offense committed a holding penalty to force the team to punt.
   The Mustang offense couldn’t be held down long and finally got going when Mike Knitowski found Rob Wood open downfield. Knitowski hit the senior tight end with a 34-yard-touchdown pass and with the point after Manville had the early 7-0 advantage. Just over two minutes later, MHS caught another break as Jamie Levine broke through and blocked a Panther punt giving the Mustangs excellent field position on the 13-yard-line. Two carries by Tommy Rock stretched the lead to 13-0.
   The teams exchanged turnovers as Rodriguez lost the football fighting for extra yardage, but Rock picked off O’Brien and returned the ball 30 yards putting the Mustang offense inside Panther territory. MHS couldn’t pick up a first down and turned the ball over on downs.
   Manville got another score before the first half came to and end thanks to three runs by senior back Pat Horner of 10, 11 and 12 yards and a nice completion downfield from Knitowski to Sopko for another 13 yards that put the Mustangs at the one yard-line. Knitowski carried it over the goal line with 55 seconds to go in the half for a 19-0 lead.
   In the second half Manville continued to control the line of scrimmage and scored on runs by Rodriguez of 29 yards, Rock of 27 yards, Brian Rock for 39 yards and a nine yard touchdown pass from Knitowski to Wood.
   Wood had perhaps his biggest game for the Mustangs catching his first two touchdowns of the season and also picking off an O’Brien pass which he returned some 25 yards, setting up Tommy Rock’s score.
   "For us to be 5-0 means a lot for this team," Wood said. "We can’t overlook anybody and we have to keep getting better each week. We have a tough schedule and no game will be easy. One of the keys for us has been the play of our offensive line, as they are the heart of this team. They will be important with games against Belvidere and North Warren coming up."
   The MHS offensive produced another solid effort helping the Mustangs backs gain 324 yards on 34 carries with Rock and Rodriguez leading the way with 119 and 126 yards, respectively. Horner chipped in with 33 yards on four carries, while Brian Rock had the one carry for the 39-yard touchdown. Knitowski didn’t need to throw as much as last week but the senior did complete 3-of-7 passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns.
   The defense did a great job shutting down the Princeton Day offense and sacked O’Brien four times and intercepted the junior quarterback another three. Equally impressive was the number of negative carries the Panther backs recorded, as the team ended up with 13 non-positive touches. Through three quarters, the Princeton Day offense managed just 93 yards. The only big plays, a 21-yard pass completion and 69-yard touchdown run, came in the fourth quarter against the Mustangs’ second unit.
   All in all it was a win, and though there were a couple of mistakes it was another in a string of easy victories MHS has managed. How far this team goes will be determined in the next few weeks but there is nothing wrong with enjoying the 5-0 mark the Mustangs have attained.