Jackson Liberty High School’s football players won’t have much time to recover from a 28-14 loss to Colonia High School in their first-ever NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV playoff game as they prepare for a Thanksgiving Day season finale at home against Jackson Memorial High School on Nov 24 at 1 p.m.
Jackson Liberty (6-3), achieving its first winning season in its young history, is looking for its first victory over Jackson Memorial (2-7), which comes off a 37-21 Central Jersey Group IV consolation playoff loss to Lenape High School after it had beaten Brick Township High School, 21-14.
In its playoff loss to Colonia, Jackson Liberty was held to 101 yards rushing and saw its three-game winning streak, which included a 21-0 victory over Shore Conference B South division leader Monsignor Donovan High School in its final game before the playoffs, come to an end. The victory against Monsignor Donovan kept Jackson Liberty in the running for a share of the division title, depending on whether the Warriors can win their finale against Barnegat High School.
“They controlled the line of scrimmage and we were unable to get going,” Jackson Liberty coach Tim Osborn said regarding the loss to Colonia. “We had trouble moving the ball. We were a little overwhelmed up front in the first half.”
Quarterback Matt Castronouva was held to 44 yards by Colonia in the option-style attack and Jackson Liberty hurt itself with three fumbles. The Lions still were in the game when their other quarterback, Bob Davies, threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Ahmed Foster to pull to 21-14. Bruce Almodovar gained 62 yards on the ground. Now Osborn’s team is preparing for the local showdown that could be another hallmark for the Lions.
“They’re (Jackson Memorial) much better than their record playing in A South, the most rugged division in the Shore Conference,” the coach said. “We want to beat them for the first time, and their guys don’t want to be on the first team to lose to us. So there’s motivation both ways.
“We have to run the football,” he added. “We struggled with that at times this season and that’s where we lost games.”
For Jackson Memorial, sophomores Joe Demaio and Charles Lombana have played quarterback and their leading receivers are Marcus Ademiola, and brothers Nick and Mike Specht. Khani Glover is the Jaguars’ leading ball carrier. Junior linebackers Ken Bradley and Vin Celidonia are leaders on defense.