A fter suffering disappointing defeats on Sept. 27, both the Sayreville War Memorial High School and Old Bridge High School football teams will be looking to get back on the winning track on Oct. 2.
SAYREVILLE WAR MEMORIAL
Sayreville (2-1) will host undefeated South Brunswick High School (3-0), which dominated the line of scrimmage in downing Old Bridge, 34-14. The Vikings will test the Bombers’ young line, while looking for another huge game from all-purpose back Dontae Strickland, who scored on runs of 54 and 50 yards against the Knights.
The game will have implications in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division, as well as in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group V standings, where South Brunswick tops the charts with 33 power points.
Coach George Najjar’s team returns to the borough after a 64-28 loss at Manalapan High School. The score is a bit misleading, as the Bombers hung with the Braves through three quarters of what was as much a track meet as a football game.
The game got away from Sayreville late in the third quarter when Manalapan went on to score four straight touchdowns. Manalapan is tied with Montgomery High School for second in Central Jersey Group V with 31 power points. Both Sayreville and Old Bridge have 25 power points and are tied for fourth.
Najjar said his team needs to put the loss behind it to prepare for South Brunswick’s big-play offense. As always, the Bombers’ coach said one of the keys for his team will be limiting turnovers. The blue and gray will also need to keep the Vikings offense off the field by keeping the ball.
Sayreville quarterback Jayson DeMild had some big moments against Manalapan, connecting for four touchdown passes, three of them to Myles Hartsfield. The sophomore signal-caller was 7-for-15 on the day for 181 yards with two interceptions. While the Braves managed to shut down Hartsfield on the ground, Linwood Crump was able to run for 74 yards on 15 carries.
Manalapan, however, piled up 352 rushing yards, led by Imamu Mayfield, who picked up nearly 250 yards and scored five times. Braves quarterback Dan Anerella threw for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
In South Brunswick, the Bombers will be facing an offense that doesn’t throw a lot. However, quarterback Amir Johnson and fullbacks Phil Campbell and Matt Golden give the Vikings other options in addition to Strickland.
“They have a lot of talent and a good line,” Najjar said. “Obviously we want to prevent the big play. Strickland is a threat whenever he gets the ball. We’ll need to execute defensively and make them work for their yards.”
OLD BRIDGE
Old Bridge (2-1), meanwhile, will look for its third win against a J.P. Stevens High School (0-3) team that lost to Monroe Township High School, 28-27. Only a blocked PAT kept that game from going into overtime.
The Knights will be without running back Myles Williams, who broke his leg in the South Brunswick game.
Nevertheless, the Vikings limited the Knights to less than 75 yards on the ground, with quarterback Michael Gargano getting 51 of them. The senior was forced to throw 24 times. He completed 10 of those passes for 175 yards.
After Strickland scored on South Brunswick’s third play from scrimmage, the Knights fought back to tie things up on an 8-yard run by Gargano, but Strickland scored again to send his team into the break ahead 14-7. Old Bridge had managed to move the ball on two other drives, but it turned the ball over on a fumble and an interception.