South Brunswick High School’s Dontae Strickland picks up yardage through the middle of the Monroe Township High School defense during the Oct. 17 game played in Monroe. A second-half rally led the Vikings to a 20-17 road win. SCOTT FRIEDMAN South Brunswick High School’s football team has, for the most part, faced little adversity as it dominated its opponents prior to its meeting at Monroe Township High School on Oct. 17. The Vikings went into the half down 17-7, but they came back to disappoint the home fans and escape with a 20-17 win.
It looked like it would be business as usual for South Brunswick when the everelusive Dontae Strickland returned a Monroe punt 96 yards to give his team a 7-0 first-quarter lead.
Monroe, however, was undaunted and quickly answered back on a Stephen Karoly touchdown pass to Chase Santiago covering 35 yards to tie things up with just seconds remaining in the opening quarter. To make matters worse, Vikings quarterback Amir Johnson injured his ankle earlier in the quarter and would not be able to re-enter the contest.
After South Brunswick was forced to punt on its next possession, Monroe’s Akeer Franklin returned it 81 yards to give his team a 14-7 edge. After Vikings reserve quarterback Josh Liao was intercepted, the home team added a field goal before the quarter ended.
With its undefeated record on the line, South Brunswick came out strong following the break. Liao settled in and completed two passes, as the Vikings’ first possession of the second half ended with a 19-yard scoring run by fullback Phil Campbell to cut the deficit to just three points.
From there, both teams’ defenses were solid until the Vikings mustered a 12-play, fourth-quarter drive that covered 68 yards. Strickland, who ran for 75 yards on the night, scored on an 8-yard run with less than three minutes remaining to give South Brunswick the win.
“Our guys showed a lot of character,” Vikings coach Joe Goerge said. “They really stuck together when they were down, and they rallied around Josh [Liao], who came in and just did an outstanding job for us. You also have to give Monroe credit. They had a good game plan, and they played an outstanding game.”
The South Brunswick win sets up a huge Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) matchup at Piscataway Township High School (5-0) on Halloween. Goerge, however, was not looking past Oct. 24, when Edison High School (1-4) comes to Ridge Road.
The Eagles had a week off after picking up their first win on Oct. 10, a 37-27 victory over North Brunswick Township High School.
“We’re taking it one game at a time, and we’re thinking about Edison right now,” Goerge said.
Boys soccer
South Brunswick’s boys soccer team extended its undefeated streak to nine successive matches, and its record now stands at 11-3-2. On Oct. 18, Harrison Kudwitt scored twice, while Jake Foeldes and Arvind Swaminathan combined to make 12 saves to forge a 2-2 tie with Hopewell Valley Central High School.
On Oct. 16, the Vikings squeaked past North Brunswick, 2-1, on goals by Kudwitt and Alex Rissiotis.
Earlier in the week, the Vikings downed J.P. Stevens High School, 2-1, as Joe Mastro and Jermaine Small each scored, and Swaminathan turned aside seven shots.
Girls soccer
In girls soccer, the Lady Vikings improved to 15-1 with a pair of wins. South Brunswick has also earned the top seed in the upcoming GMC Tournament, which began on Oct. 21 with the preliminary rounds. The Lady Vikings will play on Oct. 25.
Julianna Franco netted a hat trick, and Francesca Dimitrakis and Brielle Errico each notched a goal and an assist in a 6-0 win over Nottingham High School on Oct. 18. Damali Simon-Ponte also scored, Stephanie Stojanovski picked up three assists, and Sydney Schneider and Brianna Spence combined to keep a clean sheet in goal.
Michaela Knoblock scored twice to pace South Brunswick to a 5-0 triumph over Columbia High School on Oct. 14. Franco, Nikki Cavett and Samantha Disario also scored for the winners.
Meanwhile, North Brunswick’s girls fell to 5-5-3 and will host Woodbridge Academy on Oct. 23 in a GMC preliminary matchup.
The Raiders are coming off of a 2-2 tie against Woodbridge High School, as Julie Youngman and Samantha Persaud tallied goals. Danielle Segerholm made 17 saves. Earlier in the week, North Brunswick dropped a 1-0 decision to Edison, despite an 11-save effort by Segerholm.
Girls tennis
North Brunswick’s girls tennis team now owns an 8-3 mark after downing Perth Amboy, 5-0, on Oct. 17. Colleen Binbinon, Nikitha Rangineni and Komal Grover swept the singles matches, while Arushi Bhatia and Taylor Lodise took first doubles and Nimisha Nandankar and Keertana Chirra won at second doubles. The Raiders also defeated Colonia High School, 5-0, last week with just one lineup change, as freshmen Carly Lodise and Abby Tan won at second doubles.
South Brunswick’s girls tennis team improved to 12-3 following a 5-0 win over Sayreville War Memorial High School on Oct. 17. Rashmi Venkatarama, Anisha Malhotra and Neeharika Kishore all won in singles, and the doubles tandems of Prathyusha Pandu and Nikita Roy and Tanya Deepish and Rachel Rebello were also victorious. Earlier in the week, the Lady Vikings edged East Brunswick High School, 3-2, as Kishore and both doubles teams won.
Girls volleyball
After easily downing West Windsor- Plainsboro High School North earlier in the week, the Lady Vikings’ girls volleyball team fell to Old Bridge High School, 2-0 (26-24, 25-20). Setter Elizabeth Ruley posted 16 assists, six digs, three aces and a block, while Sarah Weeden contributed six kills and eight digs. Kelly Matuszewski had four kills.
South Brunswick is now 14-2 on the year, with both losses coming against Old Bridge, which earned the top seed in the upcoming GMC Tournament. The Lady Vikings were scheduled to meet J.P. Stevens on Oct. 20 in their final match before the tournament begins.
North Brunswick’s girls volleyball team, 10-4 on the season, returns to action after having a week off with matches against Montgomery High School and West Windsor-Plainsboro North before the GMC Tournament.