By Ed Birch, Special Writer
The South Brunswick Vikings team easily defeated the J.P. Stevens Hawks 35-7 during the annual Homecoming Game Friday.
South Brunswick spotted the Hawks with an early 7-0 lead as J.P. Stevens running back Jared Mincey ran 37 yards for a touchdown just six minutes into the first quarter.
From that point, however, the Hawks seemed to take the rest of the night off.
At the 9:43 mark of the first quarter, Dahrae Ford dove into the end zone from the four-yard line to tie the game.
The second quarter saw a nine-yard run by running bank Dion Hooper and a 30-yard punt return by Rutgers-bound wide receiver T.J. Taylor to put the Vikings safely in the lead 21-7 at halftime.
The halftime break was much longer than usual due to Homecoming activities including performances by the cheerleaders and Viking Marching Band as well as the Homecoming ceremonies.
The Vikings used the extended rest period to fire up their canons.
After just one minute into the third quarter, quarterback T.J. Perkowski hit his favorite target, T.J. Taylor with a 43-yard pass down the sideline for another Vikings score.
The Vikings then went into their time eating ground game for the rest of the bitterly cold evening.
Perkowski closed out the evening’s scoring with a 37-yard run with just four minutes remaining in the contest.
Head Coach Joe Goerge then started playing his substitutes in an apparent act of kindness to the struggling Hawks.
The final statistics clearly showed how the Vikings were able to control the game.
South Brunswick had 18 first downs compared to 10 for the Hawks. The Vikings controlled the rushing game, outperforming the Hawks 273-91 yards.
Total offense also went to the Vikings, 346-189 yards.
The biggest offensive statistic of the day was the Vikings converting six of eight third down situations.
Individually, quarterback T.J. Perkowski rushed for 124 yards complimented by Dahrae Ford’s 74 yards. T.J. Taylor accounted for 43 receiving yards. Perkowski completed four of five passes for 73 passing yards. Dylan Olsson was a perfect five for five kicking points after.
Defensively, Dylan Olsson was credited with 6.5 tackles along with Alex Berkuta’s six tackles.
Taylor leads the squad with 354 passing yards for the season, averaging 23.6 yards per reception. Perkowski has accounted for 349 rushing yards and 743 yards in the air. Dion Hooper leads the team in scoring with eight touchdowns.
The steady kicking foot of Dylan Olssen has converted 23 of 24 extra point attempts, along with one field goal.
Despite the freezing cold weather, “a come from behind 35-7 win really warms us up” Head Coach Joe Goerge said after the game.
”This team has the hearts of champions,” Coach Goerge said. “They are a no-nonsense team full of poise and calmness. The did a great job playing both sides of the football. The Stevens team was just never a threat to us at anytime during the game.”
The victory dimmed the sting of the team’s first loss to Piscataway last week.
”It was a big game. Dahrae (Ford) and Perkowski (T.J.) provided the team with a big momentum change. From that moment, everything went our way” said Taylor.
The Vikings travel to Middletown North High School tonight, and will return home on Oct. 26 against Sayreville.
That game will feature “Senior Night” as graduating football players, cheerleaders, and marching band members will be honored.
The South Brunswick Vikings will also be retiring the team’s jersey #2, worn by Mohammed Sanu that night. The ceremony will take place at halftime.

