It’s rare when a defensive lineman gets a Most Valuable Player award in a big game.
Brick Memorial High School running back Vinnie Sabba (21) races past East Brunswick’s Matt Scrivanich (37) during the NJSIAA’s Central Jersey Group IV championship game held at The College of New Jersey on Dec. 5. More photos, page 4. CHRIS KELLY staff But Bill Miller clutched his trophy in a bitter cold and driving snowstorm and reflected on defending champion Brick Memorial High School’s tough 9-0 loss to East Brunswick in the NJSIAA Group IV Central Jersey championship on Dec. 5 at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.
“It was one of my better ones, probably,” said Miller, a senior nose tackle who gave the Bears fits for four quarters, just as he did with many other opposing teams throughout the season. Arguably, he played all season like the MVP of the defensive unit, perhaps of the entire team.
“Bill is a stud,” Brick Memorial coach Walt Currie said. “He’s just about as unblockable as you get. I just wish offensively we would have been able to put up more points so his performance could stand out a little bit more. It’s too close to the game to tell. I’d have to look at films, but it could very well be his best game.”
But Miller’s thoughts were more on the offensive side of the ball in what was a far departure from Brick Memorial’s 37-34 victory over the same East Brunswick team in early November.
This time, the Mustangs managed only 33 percent of their customary 300 yards of offense per game off their vaunted triple option. They did not have the magic they showed in that game and in the previous state playoff victories over Hunterdon Central and Howell over the final 19 seconds of each of those games as their four-game win streak came to an end.
“There was nothing unexpected,” said Currie, who is also the offensive coordinator. “I just did a bad job of calling plays.”
“I don’t have much to say,” Miller said. “We came out here and gave it our all and they came out on top. That’s how it happened: They just wanted it more than us, I guess. That’s what it comes down to. They wanted it more. We just didn’t move the ball.”
That includes Vin Sabba, who came into the game with 1,200 yards rushing this season and 14 touchdowns. He was held to 52 yards on the night.
It wasn’t that Brick Memorial didn’t have its chances. They drove down to East Brunswick’s seven-yard line for a first and goal with seven minutes left in the half when quarterback Mike DiGuilmi fumbled the ball off a hard, low hit. The Mustangs converted two fourth downs on that drive.
It seemed to suck the life out of its offense in the second half as both teams got a good push off the defensive line, with Miller and Will Wowkanyn coming up big in the trenches for the Mustangs. The brightest moment that roused the quieted Brick Memorial crowds was a pass just beyond the reach of Cody Cutter running a pattern deep in East Brunswick territory. Cutter caught a game-winning touchdown pass against Hunterdon Central.
The Mustangs had one other opportunity in the second half. They went for it on fourth down and one on their own 38-yard line, only to get pushed back five yards on an illegal procedure penalty that forced them to switch to kicking the ball away.
“Their defensive line did a great job against our offensive line,” Currie said. “They played a little more physical than we did up front and we couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
But Miller felt it came down to two plays — a 50-yard run on the opening play of the game and the touchdown run in the second quarter.
“It was just those two big plays,” he said. “The very first play of the game when they got a 50-yard run and the one they scored. Mentalmistakeswere the difference of the game.”
The first play was a 50-yard run by East Brunswick’s Mike Weber to the 5-yard line, only to have Brick Memorial’s Ky’miir Maples fall on a loose ball on the 5-yard line moments later to end the threat. It left Brick Memorial with bad field position, however, that the team faced throughout the first half.
“They did a good job of playing field position, their kick game and coverage, but the difference was we couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Currie said.
When the Mustangs could not move the ball on their possession, a bad snap forced punter Jordan Loiodice to run the ball out of the end zone. The Mustangs held as Jared Aksdal made another of his many solid plays on defense and Miller forced East Brunswick’s quarterback into rushing an incomplete pass in the end zone as the Bears settled for a 25-yard field goal.
The second play Miller referred to was the 14-yard touchdown run by Weber off a short East Brunswick drive. The conversion kick was no good.
Another errant Brick Memorial snap, this time on a 25-yard field goal attempt by Loiodice, prevented the Mustangs from chipping into the lead in the second quarter. It came shortly after DiGuilmi’s fumble near East Brunswick’s goal line.
“It was rough,” Sabba said. “I would say it wasn’t mistakes but that we just couldn’t move the ball. We just didn’t play our best.”
But the team’s season efforts drew praise from Currie in a rousing postgame speech to his team.
“I look at the body of work,” he said. “You played this season like champions. I’m disappointed you could not end the season with a win, but the character on the field you showed set the tone for this program for a long time.”