Pintos, Colts prevail

MYAL teams win home openers

   The Manville Pintos got their first win against Metuchen at home Sunday by a score of 19-14. After going winless last year and dropping the first two games of this season, the Pintos really enjoyed breaking the skid.
   After a slow start and going down 7-0, the Pintos got back in the game with a big play. Kyle Puza ran back a punt return for a touchdown but a missed extra point left the Pintos still trailing by one.
   Manville’s defense stiffened allowing only one more touchdown the rest of the game.
   The offense was led by quarterback Anthony Zuhone and Puza, who pounded hard for 60 yards rushing. Steven Kafka had two great catches, one for a touchdown that put the Pintos in the lead.
   Up front making holes for Puza were Jake Tokarzewski, Jarrod Matisak, Steven Poto and Jeremy Nurnberger. Eric Warren held the outside all afternoon.
   The whole team played its best football of the season and is looking forward to meeting Bound Brook next Sunday at home.
   Manville’s Pintos opened their Pop Warner Pee Wee season at Clark Aug. 24. The team did fairly well on offense and defense with a lot of first-time players. The squad, which has only 19 players, played hard on both sides of the ball.
   Zuhone was the quarterback and Max Miller and Tristan Jamie did the bulk of the running. Center Matisak and guard Tokarzewski did their best to block. The players never quit despite the hot and humid day and they learned a lot in this loss.
   The Pintos lost a hard fought battle in Week 2 on a Saturday evening in Roselle Park. A few key mistakes in the first half by the young squad in only their second game proved to be the factor.
   Zuhone had to leave the game with an injury and Miller took over at quarterback. Puza pounded through with 42 tough yards and Jamie rushed for about 15 yards.
   The defense stiffened with Kodey Keimig, Poto and Kafka holding their offense to only one score in the second half. All the coaches were proud of how the Pintos stayed tough.
Colts post shutout
for second straight win
The Manville Colts opened their home season with a 19-0 over Metuchen, last year’s league champions.
   This week’s captains were Jonathan Rizk and Nick Harenza. Metuchen got the opening kickoff and four plays later was forced to punt due to strong defensive calling by coach Bob Willard. The snap was high and the ball loose and Rizk picked up the ball and returned it for a touchdown with an exceptional block on the 3-yard line by Isiah Morgan.
   The other scores came from Andrea Heridia with a one-yard run followed by an extra point by Altaron Robinson and then a two-yard run by Joey Veglatte.
   The Colts offense, called by coach Al Rizk, was very productive even though the team had many penalties. The ball was run by Veglatte (59 yards), LJ Abner (28 yards), Robinson (49 yards), Andrea Heridia from quarterback position, and a long awaited appearance by Matias Gualtieri.
   The offensive line proved to be too much for Metuchen. Rizk. Luis Monterroso, Mark Hagan, Angelo Locham, Sergia Mora, Jake Babich, Arber Berisha, Mike Salvatore and Jake Caswell all blocked well.
   Defensively, the Colts were led by defensive end Babich, who did not give an inch and made four tackles. Babich had a sack along with Morgan and Caswell. Also contributing to defensive plays were Abner, Rizk, Heridia, Veglatte, Hagan, Harenza, Gualtieri, Salvatore and Mergum Bersha.
   Matt George has yet to make it on the field, but his statistic keeping has proved invaluable.
   Next Sunday, the Colts, (2-1) will host Bound Brook at Gerber Field at approximately 4:15 p.m. Be there to support the Colts!