DeMilt helps ‘D’ to big day
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Frank DeMilt and the West Windsor-Plainsboro South football team looked the part of a hungry team as they opened the Central Jersey Group IV playoffs with a big win.
DeMilt was part of a defensive line that helped shut down and turn over North Brunswick early and a part of the offensive line that cleared the way to a record-setting day for Brian Schoenauer in a 30-7 win Saturday afternoon.
”It feels great, especially as a senior coming back off a season like last year,” DeMilt said. “To come out and almost shut these guys down basically, it felt amazing.”
WW-P South jumped out to a 27-0 lead at halftime as they took advantage of North Brunswick miscues and a key defensive stop. Schoenauer scored twice on short runs and Chris Evans connected on a pair of touchdown passes that helped WW-P South ride a comfortable lead to the finish.
”We didn’t know what to expect,” said Pirates head coach Todd Smith after his team improved to 9-1. “This is our kids’ first time in the playoffs, playing a meaningful game in the postseason, and they responded to the bell. They answered the call. Those first two drives, you could hear the way they were smacking pads coming off the football that they were just doing a great job.”
Third-seeded WW-P South advances to play at second-seeded Manalapan 7 p.m. Friday. The Pirates come in with plenty of momentum after a big opening win.
”I think they had a few guys here to see us,” DeMilt said. “To extend our senior year, especially on their home turf, it would be amazing.”
The Pirates started the playoffs by taking over inside North Brunswick territory on a fumble recovery and four plays later, Schoenauer scored the first of his two touchdowns on the day on a 3-yard rumble for a 6-0 lead. North Brunswick drove to the Pirates’ 11-yard line on the next series, but WW-P South’s defense held and turned it over on downs.
”Coach (Nick) Steffner did a great job,” Smith said. “He’s done a great job all year just taking over the defense. We had a lot of question marks coming in, but I think the biggest one was we have a brand new coaching staff. And these kids just adapted to them well and everybody is doing a great job. Especially Nick Steffner is doing a great job with the defense. I’m really happy with the way they played.”
The Pirates used the stop for momentum of their own as they turned and drove 89 yards in 11 plays with Chris Evans connecting with Austin Gioseffi for a 3-yard touchdown pass and a 13-0 lead. The lead grew late in the second quarter on Schoenauer’s 1-yard run that was preceded by Evans’ 51-yard completion to Tom Efstathios.
Barely two minutes later, the Pirates were back in the end zone after a blocked punt by Patrick Boyle gave them prime field position. Evans hit Efstathios, who earned a game ball from Smith after the game, with a 13-yard touchdown pass for a 27-0 lead.
”It was a big boost going into halftime, up 27 points,” DeMilt said. “It was a big momentum boost. We were told all week, these guys play with momentum. And taking that away from them was amazing.”
Said Smith: “That’s been happening all year. We’ve been capitalizing off turnovers. We haven’t been turning the ball over. I thought our defense responded when we fumbled the ball deep in our end in the first quarter. They stood strong and held them off the board. Again, kudos to defense and Coach Steffner.”
After North Brunswick scored on their first play of the second half after some missed tackles, the Pirates tightened the defense again to grind out the win. Schoenauer closed the scoring with a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but his best work was done at running back. The junior back rushed for 152 yard to move into first place all-time in career rushing yards for the Pirates program with 3,189 yards, ahead of Ryan Lupo’s 3,082 established in 2006. Schoenauer also accounted for 70 receiving yards Saturday and a field goal and three extra points for good measure.
”He’s always been great,” said DeMilt, who plays left guard for the Pirates on offense. “Everyone knows they have to stop him, and they just can’t do it. We’re a big part of that as the O-line, and our coach tells us that all the time, but he’s an amazing back. He’s going to be great going on into next year and into college.”
Schoenauer and the offensive line, along with Gioseffi, who made some punishing blocks out of his fullback spot, set the tone early for the Pirates on Saturday.
”The biggest thing you worry about when you play playoff football is physicality,” Smith said. “I thought we came out and established the line of scrimmage right away and the way Schoeny was running the ball right away, kids were coming off the football, it was fantastic.”
And when North Brunswick attempted to creep back in the game, it was the WW-P South defense that came up big. The Raiders took their drive of the fourth quarter all the way to the 2-yard line where DeMilt made the stop on 1st-and-goal. From there, the Pirates sent North Brunswick backwards and stopped them on fourth down. The drive took more than six minutes, but did not get the Raiders any points.
”They were kind of getting the momentum back in the second half,” DeMilt said. “When they were down there and we stopped them, that was big. The quarterback tried rolling out twice, and we stopped them. It was big giving us the ball back to be able to waste time off that clock.”
Time is a big deal for DeMilt and the Class of 2012. It’s their final high school season, and they want to keep it going as long as possible. WW-P South is back in the semifinals for the first time since 2008, and they haven’t been to a final since 2007. The Pirates didn’t even make the playoffs last season while going 4-6.
”Being a senior and after what happened last year with not having a great season, you just have to go all out every play,” said DeMilt, a two-way player since freshman year. “Especially being a senior, you have to play. You’re not going to get another chance.”