FOOTBALL
By: Tim Falls
The Lawrence High School football team went head over heals with a win over Hamilton.
Brian Mills went head over heals to give Lawrence that win last Saturday.
Generally, at least outside of practice, Lawrence High School Football players don’t tackle each other, but an exception can be made when the quarterback makes a game-winning run in overtime.
The entire team charged into the end zone after Mills when the junior quarterback stood up holding the ball high overhead after scoring on a two-point conversion to give Lawrence an 18-17 overtime victory over Hamilton and clinch its third-straight Colonial Valley Conference Division Title.
The unbeaten Cardinals (7-0) took a 10 point lead in the first half, but Hamilton (4-2), hosting Lawrence in its Homecoming game and hoping for a win to get a better chance at making the NJSIAA playoffs, tied the game with 10 points of its own in the second half. The Hornets held of Lawrence’s offense in the second half and forced overtime where they were able to score first, as they won the toss.
When Lawrence got its chance to start from the 25-yard line, the Hamilton defense seemed set to protect its lead.
It took the Cardinals seven-plays to get into the end zone and coach Rob Radice had to call on some of his defense’s heavy hitters to get it done.
"We have a hammer set, with (Will) Nahan, (Adam) Joyce, and other big defensive players like (Alex) deCasenave," said Radice. "It’s no secrete. With that group, we’re coming right at you. It’s up to you to stop us."
Hamilton couldn’t.
Lawrence used its hammer set to push through the defense for some crucial short-yardage gains and several clutch first downs in the second half and overtime.
In overtime, the Cardinals shoved their way to the four-yard line and senior Alex Pearson ran in the touchdown that left Lawrence trailing by one point, 17-16.
Lawrence could have played it safe and let senior Jim Gorski kick the extra point and force another overtime set, but Radice went for the win instead.
"We called it that way," said Radice. "The kids were confident in that decision. You play to win the game, you don’t play to tie and go into another overtime."
Lawrence had plenty of reason to be confident in that decision. While Hamilton had been able to curtail Lawrence’s offense in the second half, the Cardinals had plenty of big playmakers on its offense.
With the Hornets keying in on Lawrence senior Bayshawn Wells, who had 100 rushing-yards on 18 carriers, and Pearson, who had both Cardinal touchdowns along with 37 rushing yards on 13 carries, Mills went in on his own for the win.
"Gorski gave me a great block," said Mills. "I saw them go down and jumped over them. I got hit going in, but that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered after I crossed that line."
With Gorski taking out the Mills’ last obstacle, the Cardinals’ junior quarterback dove right in and put Lawrence ahead to end the game.
"It was a big win for us, especially our seniors," said Mills. "This made our season. A loss would have brought us down, the win keeps us up."
After several decisive wins, the Cardinals proved they could make the plays when they needed to under pressure.
It was the first time in a long time the game had even been in doubt for Lawrence in the second half. Among the closest were Lawrence’s 21-13 victory over Notre Dame to start the season and a 41-21 victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the Cardinals’ second outing. After that Lawrence recorded a 21-7 win over Steinert, a 49-7 victory over Ewing, a 40-0 shutout against Trenton and a 58-7 rompe over Nottingham.
"Hamilton had a great plan for us," said Radice.
The Hornets had several opportunities to take the game, especially in the second half.
Lawrence senior Matt Watson stopped the Hornets as they went for the end zone in the fourth quarter with an interception on the two-yard line.
"I lost (the Hamilton receiver) at first," said Watson. "I thought the quarterback was running a boot and started to come back for him. Then I saw the receiver behind me and I jumped the route."
While Watson kept Hamilton from scoring, Lawrence took over deep in its own territory with the score tied, 10-10. With time not on their side, the Cardinals called on their hammer set on 4th-and-1 on their own seven-yard line. Lawrence gained the fist down and kept possession, but the Hornets halted the offense at the 37-yard line.
Watson also had 32-yard interception return to knock the Hornet offense off the field.
"They were a very good team," said Watson. "I’m not trying to take anything away from them. It was our coaches, they always put us in the best position to win each game."
Along with the run on the two-point conversion, Mills, who moved from running back to take over for the injured sophomore quarterback Anthony Russ the previous game, showed his ability to carry the ball with 18 rushes for 69 yards.
Gorski put the Cardinals ahead with a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter, before Pearson extended the lead with a 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
After edging Hamilton at its Homecoming, the Cardinals will look to improve to 8-0 as they host West Windsor-Plainsboro North at 11 a.m. Saturday in their Homecoming game.
The following Saturday, Lawrence hosts Allentown at 2 p.m. to round out its CVC season.
NOTE: Lawrence senior co-captain Alex deCasenave was named a player of the week at the 12th Man Touchdown Club on Tuesday. deCasenave was honored as the defensive lineman of the week after helping Lawrence edge Hamilton.

