Rumson-Fair Haven (2-0) quickly put aside any fears that it might be looking past Monmouth Regional High School (1-2) to a meeting with resurgent St. John Vianney High School (3-0) on Oct. 2. After last week’s impressive 31-10 win against Matawan Regional High School, Bulldogs coach Bryan Batchler stressed the need to focus on the Monmouth Regional game.
His team clearly heard the message. Rumson-Fair Haven built a 28-6 lead by the half and went on to win 35-20, as the Falcons scored twice late to make the final score look respectable. Charlie Volker looked fully recovered from a minor knee injury he suffered in the Matawan game. The senior carried the ball 21 times for 184 yards and scored on runs of 2, 3, 32 and 40 yards.
Sophomore quarterback Michael O’Connor had another strong game for the Bulldogs. O’Connor ran for 102 yards on 15 tries, while completing 5-of-9 passing attempts for more than 100 yards. Murray McHeffy caught three of those passes for 60 yards.
Batchler credited his linemen for controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage before saying, “Now we’ll worry about St. John Vianney.”
The Lancers have been impressive in winning three straight games under new coach Mark Ciccotelli. St. John Vianney has piled up 114 points and has allowed just 35. Ciccotelli’s team is coming off of a 41-12 victory against Central Regional High School that saw the Lancers dominate the second half after taking a slim 13-12 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Rumson-Fair Haven’s defense will have to contend with junior quarterback Anthony