WW-P South football looks to stay on roll

Pirates host Howell in CJ IV playoff Saturday

By: Bob Nuse
   Todd Smith has been here plenty of times before.
   Some of his players have been here once.
   And for a lot of his players, Saturday’s Central Jersey Group IV playoff game will be their first taste of post-season play.
   "When I was in high school, only four teams would make the playoffs in each section," said Smith, whose Hunterdon Central teams were playoff regulars when he played for the Red Devils. "Now, eight teams make the playoffs but it’s still tough to do and a great accomplishment. I would hope that because we were in the playoffs last year and some of these guys have that experience, that it will help us this time around."
   A year ago, an undefeated WW-P South team entered the CJ III playoffs as the No. 1 seed. The Pirates opened with a win over Colts Neck, before falling to Nottingham in the sectional semifinals.
   This year, the Pirates have rebounded from a 1-2 start to win five straight games and earn the No. 4 seed in the CJ IV playoffs. South opens the playoffs 1 p.m. Saturday at home against fifth-seeded Howell.
   "It’s a little different than last year because we went into that game undefeated," Smith said. "This year, we’ve lost a couple games and we had a real close game with Notre Dame. But we’re on a nice win streak right now and we’re playing well, so we’ll see what happens."
   Howell comes into Saturday’s game with a 5-3 record, having moved up to the No. 5 slot after a 39-0 win over Marlboro last week.
   "They run a similar offense to Notre Dame," Smith said. "They use four wideouts and work out of the shotgun. Their quarterback is a real good athlete. He’s their leading passer and their leading rusher. They also have a good defense. They don’t have as much size as some of the teams we have seen, but they’re a good defense."
   Howell’s quarterback, Sean O’Reilly, threw for a touchdown, ran for a touchdown, and also returned two interceptions for touchdowns in last week’s win over Marlboro.
   As for South, Smith hopes that his team is able to maintain the roll its been on since a loss to Hamilton dropped the Pirates to 1-2. The Pirates bounced back from that loss with a 49-0 win over WW-P North, and in the last five games they have outscored the opposition, 208-62.
   "It’s worked out well for us the last few weeks," Smith said. "Hopefully we can keep playing well and keep this thing rolling. This is a pretty wide-open section for playoffs. Last year, I think everyone kind of felt like Jackson and Brick were the best two teams. This year, there aren’t any teams that seem to be clearly ahead of everyone else."
   The Pirates had a bye last week after beating Princeton, 28-7, to clinch the fourth seed in CJ IV. That’s an extra week to rest up and get ready for the playoffs. The South offense is led by senior tailback Ryan Lupo, who has rushed for 1,435 yards and 20 touchdowns this season. Only seven players in the state have scored more points than Lupo’s 120 this season.
   While WW-P South is playing in the playoffs for the second straight year, the three other Packet-area public schools will be playing in consolation round games this weekend.
   Princeton, which is looking to close out the season with a 5-5 record, will host Long Branch at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Little Tigers started the season 0-4, but have bounced back with four wins in the last five weeks and have hopes of a second straight .500 or better season.
   Montgomery, which fell just short of a playoff berth when it lost to Monroe last week, will play at Cranford tonight at 7 p.m. in a North Jersey, Section 2 Group III playoff game. The Cougars are 3-5 and could reach the .500 mark with a win tonight and a win over Hillsborough on Thanksgiving Day.
   WW-P North will play at Freehold Boro Saturday at 1 p.m. The Knights, who have lost five in a row since a 2-1 start, hope to end the season on a high note. In addition to the game at Freehold, North still has a game at Allentown on the schedule next week.
   The Hun School, which clinched the Mid-Atlantic Prep League championship with a win over Hill last week, concludes its season with a game at Trinity Pawling on Saturday. The Raiders are 6-2 this season.