The South Brunswick Vikings prepared a gridiron feast for chilly fans by roasting the rival North Brunswick Raiders by 34-13 during the traditional Thanksgiving Day classic at home.
By Ed Birch, Special Writer
The South Brunswick Vikings prepared a gridiron feast for chilly fans by roasting the rival North Brunswick Raiders by 34-13 during the traditional Thanksgiving Day classic at home.
The Vikings started cooking the Raiders right away, leading early on touchdown runs by Dante Strickland and quarterback Amir Johnson.
The Vikings went into the locker room at the halftime with the 34-13 lead.
The cold, near freezing weather conditions saw the overflow crowd thinning out as both coaches started inserting their reserve players. By the time the referee signaled that the game’s end, the crowd was scarce.
By that time, most of the attendees had resorted to using their cell phones to report the score and to indicate that they were on the way home.
Senior Dontae Strickland was clearly the star of the day, making a great attempt to upstage both Tom Turkey and Santa Claus in his final game as a Viking.
Strickland accounted for two touchdowns, and gained 135 rushing yards on 12 carries. Johnson contributed with 110 rushing yards of his own on 11 attempts.
Nygel Bush and Rashaan Baker led the Viking defense with seven solo tackles each.
Special teams had a great overall performance with Strickland and Mohamed Jabbie credited with punt returns of 25 and 39 yards respectively.
”We all have a lot to be thankful for as a team,” Head Coach Joe Goerge said as the team finished the season with a 7-4 record. “We were hit by injuries from the very start of the season. Amir stepped in to the quarterback role in game number one in the season when Dylan (Olsson) went down in the East Brunswick game.”
At the end of the game, South Brunswick High School Athletic Director Elaine McGrath presented the Michael Elko Trophy to the Vikings captains and team.
In looking at the season statistics, the Vikings finished 7-4 and outscored their opponents 303-221.
The team’s home record showed its effort with a total of five wins against only one loss.
During the season, Strickland rushed for 906 total yards followed by Dahrae Ford’s 813 yards from scrimmage.
Middle linebacker ChrisJon Summers led the team’s defense with 76-unassisted tackles.
The sophomore was joined by the effort of safety fellow sophomore Phil Campbell with 60 unassisted stops.
The team of Strickland and Ford led the overall scoring with 72 points each.
Johnson finished a close second with 70 points.
South Brunswick Township Manager Bernard Hvozdovic supplied the historical statistics of the holiday match up.
North Brunswick leads the rivalry with a 23-15-1 overall record. However, the Vikings had won seven of the last 10 contests.
The early festivities of the day featured the recognition of the seniors from the marching band, cheerleaders, and football team.
Both the students and the parents were introduced to the crowd. This was followed by the Thanksgiving game tradition of the rendition of the National Anthem by the combined bands from both schools.
South Brunswick Director of Bands and Grammy nominee Mark Kraft coordinated this year’s massive project.
Next year, the scene shifts to North Brunswick, as that school hosts the event.

