‘J ust another example of us being consistently inconsistent,” groused
Bob Molarz, St. Joseph of Metuchen football coach, following his team’s 32-16 victory at Marlboro High School on Saturday.
Indeed, therewas little resemblance between the team that scored all its points in the second half and the one whose performance in the opening half could only be described as inept.
“What we did in the second half is what our coaching staff has been preaching from the beginning,” said Molarz, who acknowledged that the victory is the most meaningful since the program’s inception two years ago. The Falcons, who played a freshman and junior varsity schedule in 2009 and 2010, opened their initial venture into varsity competition with a 35-6 win at Sussex Tech a week ago. However, the North Jersey opponent did not nearly present the same challenge as did Marlboro, a Group IV Shore Conference A team.
And for the first half, it seemed St. Joe’s thought it was still playing a JV opponent. After a series of missed tackles and blocking assignments, along with a multitude of mental errors, assistant coaches were observed on the sideline conducting “mini clinics” on proper techniques as the game progressed.
Only after St. Joe’s emerged from the locker room for the second half, behind 8- 0, (what did Molarz say to his team?) and following senior Albert Myers’ 52-yard return of a Marlboro punt for a touchdown three minutes into the third quarter to knot the score, did the proverbial light click on in the players’ heads.
After that, the Falcons could not be stopped. In three successive possessions, the home team went three and out, handing over the ball to St. Joe’s on the Mustangs’ side of the field. Three times the Falcons converted those opportunities into points (touchdowns by junior running back Matt Greene and sophomore back Matt Olivo, sandwiched around Bryan Rafano’s 22- yard field goal). In the space of 10 minutes, St. Joe’s led, 25-8.
Marlboro responded with a short touchdown drive with three minutes left, to make the score 25-16. But sophomore running back Jordan Jimerson sliced through the line for a 51-yard touchdown to close out the scoring.
The Falcons’ next game is Saturday, Sept. 24, when Cushing Academy pays a visit. The Boston parochial team lost its opener, 17-10, to Choate Rosemary Hall but plays fifth-year seniors and will be a tough opponent.
“The success of this team will evolve around three players, all of whom scored Saturday,” said Molarz. “Each brings a unique quality. Meyers is somebody who can do things in the open. Greene is the more rugged type runner, and Olivo is a combination of both.”
The defense features size on the line: Robert Lawlor, (6-3, 264, senior), Jonathan Rodriguez (5-9, 200, junior), Tristan Breeze (6-2, 265, junior), Vincent Russomanno (6-3, 245, senior), Peter Mellos (6- 0, 255, senior) and Ronald Charles (6-4, 225, sophomore).
Linebacking is a strength, with Matt Wyman (5-11, 225, senior), who plays for the hockey team, MichaelAllen (6-0, 215, sophomore), Jonathan Marcano (5-11, 215, senor) and Greene. In the secondary is another multitalented athlete, Ed Lubowicki (5-10, 185, senior), who is headed to the University of Notre Dame on a partial scholarship to play lacrosse, along with Myers, Olivo, and Joshua Hudson (6-0, 190, senior).
The offensive line starts Patrick Conlon (5-10, 215, sophomore) at center, the guards are Roy Ankit (6-0, 245, junior) and Mellos, and the tackles are Lawlor and either Joseph Guddemi (5-10, 210, junior) or Kyle Grzeszczak (5-11, 215, sophomore). Brian Bueno (5-10, 175, junior) and Myers occupy the wide receiver spots.
Ryan Campbell (5-9, 165, junior) starts at quarterback. Rafano also handles the kicking duties.
Molarz is a former head coach at Carteret, where he led the Ramblers to two CJ Group II titles, five GMC White Division titles and produced numerous all-star players, four of whom — Brian Cherepski, Dan Mazan, Brian Joseph and Chris Kenney — are assisting him at St. Joe’s. Two other former Carteret coaches on the staff are Paul Nelson, who coordinates the offense, and Jin Ra, who handles special teams.
“That second half against Marlboro was us playing up to our capability,” Molarz observed. “The aim now is to get everybody on the same page for the whole game.”