South falls to Riverside on slippery Jefferis Field

By John E. Powers, Sports Writer
   They played hard, rallied to tie, but lost.
   South Hunterdon Regional High School’s football team fell to Riverside 29-14 Friday night in a state consolation game at slippery Jefferis Athletic Field last Friday.
   Junior Brandon Scensey scored on two short runs, and senior quarterback Brian Snell’s two-point conversion pass to sophomore wideout Parker Jensen tied the game at 14.
   But Riverside, a Burlington County school, scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to win it.
   ”I rode down there (last Monday to get game film) and met their coach at his house,” South coach Jim Meert said. “Neither of us had really heard of each other.”
   The Eagles, who play host to Delaware Valley Thanksgiving Day morning, fell to 3-6. Riverside improved to 3-6.
   ”Coming into the game, we knew they had a good passer and that their fullback ran tough,” Scensey said. ““We had to shut down their run game and for the most part — until the end — we did.”
   Senior running back Donald Strain ran for three touchdowns — two in the fourth quarter of 20 and 38 yards —- as Riverside pulled away. Strain rushed for 251 yards on 39 carries and accounted for 22 points in the win.
   ”We just couldn’t stop them. They were a little bigger and stronger than us and wore us down in the fourth quarter,” Meert said. “I was really happy with our effort. We fell victim to what we’ve fallen victim to during the year — a stronger team.”
   Meert said the Eagles had Riverside in fourth-and-long situations several times, but couldn’t stop it. The drives continued, thus, the South defense had to remain on the field.
   ”I think there might have been one penalty and no turnovers,” said Meert, adding it was surprising considering the slick conditions because of the rain. “I watched the tape again (Sunday night), and I thought Brian threw the ball well, Sam Franzini caught it well, and we ran well. We probably played one of our better offensive games of the season, considering how bad the field was. It was like a quagmire.”
   Now the Eagles prepare to play Delaware Valley, which lost a Central Jersey Group II playoff game at Manasquan Sunday afternoon.
   The Terriers have won the last eight holiday meetings and now have a 30-28-2 series edge. Game time is 10:15 a.m.
   ”I’m sure they’ll want to prove something in their last game,” Meert said. ““We really have to strap it up.”