By Ken Weingartner, Special Writer
Rick Mantz hopes confidence creates its own momentum for his South Brunswick High football team.
The Vikings opened the season with losses to powerhouses Sayreville and Piscataway, both 4-0 so far this year, before posting a 35-7 win Sept. 25 at Edison. Mantz would have liked to ridden that momentum into a game last week, but South Brunswick had its bye. Tomorrow, the Vikings host Woodbridge (2-2).
”What we might have lost in momentum, we think we gained in being able to regroup and clean up some things in practice,” Mantz said. “We gained some confidence. You play Sayreville and Piscataway right out of the box and it can dent your confidence. Those guys are so good and so fast, the few mistakes we made in those games hurt.
”We played better against Edison. The kids were excited.”
Jevon Tyree ran seven times for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Edison. Craig Cleffi rushed for 81 yards and two scores and quarterback Nick Muha ran for 87 yards and a TD.
South Brunswick, which attempted only two passes, rushed 30 times for 343 yards in the contest.
”I think Tyree is emerging and becoming the offensive weapon we hoped he’d be,” Mantz said. “Nick Muha got a lot of confidence. He made some good decisions. He took a step up.”
Steve Mychalczuk led the defense with 16 tackles while Kyle Parlow had eight. T.J. Taylor had an interception.
”I think a lot of guys defensively just felt better,” Mantz said. “We saw ourselves on film and we had some alignment problems and mental breakdowns in the first two games that we cleaned up. I think everyone is feeling better about themselves. We think we’re heading in the right direction for sure.”
Following the game against Woodbridge, the Vikings host Monroe on Oct. 15 and visit Old Bridge on Oct. 22. Their final three regular-season contests are at home against J.P. Stevens, on the road against East Brunswick and Thanksgiving Day at North Brunswick.
EXTRA POINTS: South Brunswick grad Tyler Olsson was named the NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week thanks to booting a 45-yard game-winning field goal as time expired against Brockport on Sept. 25. The sophomore was 3-for-3 on extra points and had three punts downed inside the 20.

