By: Ken Weingartner
After graduating two cornerbacks that were cornerstones on a solid defensive unit last season, South Brunswick High football coach Mark Prelewicz was concerned about finding replacements at the position for this year.
As it turned out, he didn’t need to worry.
Eric Lorber and Tom Dunleavy, both sophomores, have filled the void. Teaming with sophomore Mohammed Sanu and senior Joe Clancy at the safety spots, the group has put Prelewicz’s mind at ease.
"I thought it would be tough to replace our corners, but those guys have done real well," Prelewicz said. "We wouldn’t be able to blitz and do some of the other things we’re doing defensively if I didn’t trust those guys to cover."
Stopping the run, however, has been another story. The Vikings (2-5) gave up nearly 250 yards on the ground to J.P. Stevens in last week’s 29-19 loss.
"We got to spots and just didn’t wrap up," Prelewicz said. "We did the same thing as the week before against East Brunswick, trying to pressure them and get sacks, but we’ve got to be able to stop the run before we can do that.
The key is that we’ve got to stop the run every week, and if teams try to throw we’ve got guys that can cover and then have fun with the blitzes."
Clancy scored on a 21-yard run and Lorber caught two touchdown passes from Sanu to provide South Brunswick’s points. Sanu finished 12 of 21 for 184 yards.
Lorber ended the night with four catches for 69 yards while Mike Clark had three receptions for 41 yards. Clancy, with two catches, and Dasant, with three, both totaled 37 receiving yards.
South Brunswick had 126 yards rushing, led by Sanu’s 46 on six carries.
"It was a good game; hard fought and tough," Prelewicz said. "We’ve seen that if our running game isn’t on we can jump right to throwing it. We’ve got different guys stepping up each week to catch it."
The Vikings host Senior Night Friday against Woodbridge (3-4). The Barrons, who have lost star running back Garrett Mozolic to injury, are coming off a 20-13 loss to Old Bridge. Mozolic had rushed for more than 1,100 yards this season.
"Our minds are set now on being 5-5 at the end of the season," Prelewicz said. "That’s what we’re looking at right now. We want to send our seniors out with a 5-5 record, and that’s definitely possible."

