Mustangs rally to beat Dunellen

Defense stands tall in victory

by Shawn Tyrrell, Sports Writer
   Getting wins the past two seasons has been anything but easy for the Manville High School football team.
   Last Saturday at Columbia Park in Dunellen, the Mustangs pulled off an upset for the first time in a while, defeating a favored team on its home field. Manville came from behind to post a 7-6 victory over the Destroyers.
   The win snapped a two-game losing streak for MHS and brought the team’s overall record up to 2-4.
   Manville won this game with defense. The unit caused four turnovers and held the Destroyers to just 163 total yards. It was the kind of effort Manville has been capable of all season; it just took a little over half the season for the squad to put it all together.
   MHS head coach Brett Stibitz was extremely pleased with the effort and growth of his young team.
   ”This is the first quality win we have had in a long time,” Stibitz said. “Overall we played very well, and did enough of the little things to get a win. We were very patient and calm and by the effort looked like a veteran team.”
   The Destroyers (2-4) definitely had the size advantage in the trenches. As Stibitz indicated, they were one of only two teams that ran the double tight-end multiple I set. He expected the Dunellen offense to control the ball. Instead it was the Manville defense that took charge of this game.
   Aside from a blocked punt that led to a touchdown, Manville truly punt the clamps on the Destroyers. The Dunellen defense blocked the Mustang punt deep inside MHS territory and took advantage scoring from five yards out in the first quarter. The special teams mishap was the only big mistake the Mustangs made all afternoon.
   ”I wasn’t sure how we would respond after the blocked punt,” Stibitz said. “With a young team you never know. We stuck to our game plan and after holding them in check for the first half we finally got on the board in the third.”
   MHS put together a scoring drive of 10 plays and took almost six minutes of the clock before Manville quarterback Brendan Nurnberger took it in from four yards out, tying the game with 26 seconds to go in the third period. Nurnberger added the extra point for a 7-6 lead.
   Manville’s defense did the rest, intercepting three passes to keep Dunellen from regaining the lead. Angelo Bell picked one off with 46 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
   The MHS offense didn’t exactly light things up, but it got 43 yards from Bell, 18 yards from Nurnberger and another 19 from sophomore Mike Hopkins, who saw his first time in the Mustang backfield. Hopkins also made a huge contribution on special teams. Hopkins averaged almost 50 yards a punt and constantly pinned the Destroyers deep in their territory. Field position is a huge factor in tight games.
   ”Hopkins did a terrific job for us,” Stibitz said. “He did great pinning them in. That was one of the keys to helping us get the win.”
   Manville will have another very good chance to gain a victory when the team plays host to South Hunterdon Friday night. If the Mustangs can put forth the same effort, they could give their home fans a thrill.