The hopes and dreams of another state championship were gone almost instantly.
By Ed Birch, Special Writer
The hopes and dreams of another state championship were gone almost instantly.
The South Brunswick Vikings lost its semi-final round playoff game 42-7 to the Hunterdon Red Devils Friday night.
”They came right out and dominated us from the beginning,” Coach Joe Goerge said following the game. “We made some mistakes early, then (we) made a little effort to come back.”
The Vikings were down early in the contest as Red Devils star Jason Cabinda scored on a 39-yard run on the second play from scrimmage following the opening kick-off.
It all went downhill from that point as the rain fell during the game.
A Michael Knight to Dan Scassera pass from the 16-yard-line gave the Red Devils a 14-0 lead with the help of two point-after successes by kicker Steve Barr.
The second half saw another run, this time from the 1-yard-line, by Cabinda along with an 18 yard passing connection into the end zone from Knight to Walter Winkopp.
The Vikings had a lone upbeat moment as Dante Strickland broke free from the offensive line and scored on a 53-yard running play from the scrimmage.
A Drew Fahte kick was also successful.
The Vikings retreated to their locker room with a 28-7 deficit.
A strong Viking drive began the second half, but ended with an interception in the end zone for a Red Devils touchback.
After a score free third quarter, Cabinda and Malik McGee added additional rushing touchdowns and the game was virtually over for the defending state champions.
Cabinda finished the game with 212 yards rushing and caught passes that amounted to 63 yards gained and three touchdowns. Quarterback Knight threw two touchdown passes, all before the intermission.
Coach Goerge appeared to have emptied his bench, giving all players some playoff experience.
Reserve quarterback Drew Fahte appeared to be bringing some life to the Vikings lineup, but the clock started expiring with the Vikings facing a huge uphill battle.
Despite the disappointing loss for the now 6-4 Vikings, Coach Goerge told the team that “the sun will come up tomorrow.”
He also encouraged the team to come back to practice ready to take on rival North Brunswick on Thanksgiving Day.
”You can’t judge us by this (game) here,” Coach Gorge said.
It was the third time in as many years that the team made the semi-final round.
Losing in 2011 to Sayreville, and then going all the way to the championship game and beating Manalapan last year.
Manalapan will return to the title match this year against Hunterdon on Dec. 8 at Rutgers University in Piscataway.