By: centraljersey.com
The New Egypt High football team was well aware of the impressive offensive numbers Allentown had put up in the first five games of the season.
In jumping out to a 5-0 record, the Redbirds had scored 160 points and boasted one of the areas top running backs in Ross Scheuerman.
"They have an explosive offense that revolves around (Scheuerman), so we did things to try to hold him down," said New Egypt coach Luke Shevlin, whose team held Scheuerman to 35 yards rushing in a 19-0 win last Friday night. "It worked out for us that we did a good job of controlling the ball on offense and that helped keep their offense off the field."
The Warriors improved to 4-1 with the win and did it with a combination of a swarming defense and an offense that was able to run more than twice as many plays as Allentown.
"The second half we really controlled the ball," said Shevlin, whose team will host Robbinsville this Friday night. "We ran it well and we were able to convert third and fourth downs. We had a few guys do well, but the No. 1 guy was Jamel (Smith). He ran for over 200 yards. We got him on the edge and he had a real nice game."
Smith ran for 208 yards as New Egypt piled up more than 300 yards rushing in the game. The offensive line did a good job in the trenches, while those same players up front controlled the line of scrimmage defensively.
"We all wanted to play our best game of the year," said senior two-way lineman Rigo Morfin, who led the Warriors in tackles in the win. "We played hard and we played as a team. We made some mistakes but we didn’t let those mistakes affect us. We did a great job of playing team defense."
The defense recorded its first shutout, which came on the heels of a 39-0 loss to Willingboro. But New Egypt was able to shake off that loss and get back in the win column.
"Pretty much the whole team plays both ways, offense and defense," Morfin said. "I thought we did a good job on the offensive line. We like to run the ball, that’s what we do. We run the ball and everyone knows it, but we like to throw a pass in there every once in a while.
"We all worked hard in the off-season. Everyone was there running and lifting. So far this season it has turned out well. We go week by week and just focus on the next game."
Next up is a Robbinsville team that has won two straight after opening the season with four losses. Shevlin expects another tough game in the trenches.
"This is Homecoming week for us and Robbinsville is a good team," Shevlin said. "They have a lot of talent. When you have an emotional game like we had last week you need to make sure you keep focused this week. We’re just trying to take it one week at a time and handle the pressure of the season."
The Warriors limited the potent Allentown offense to just two first downs and less 50 yards in total offense.
"They did a good job," Shevlin said. "It was a credit to the defense, but all the guys play both ways so it was really a credit to everybody. When you have as many guys as we do who play both ways it’s tough to give the credit to just one side of the ball. Our guys did a nice job of swarming to the ball and getting all 11 players there."

