Old Bridge High School’s Nick Sodano scored five touchdowns to help the Knights advance to the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group V semifinals with a 38-35 victory over Edison High School Nov. 13.
In a track meet of a game, where the momentum swung back and forth, third-seeded Old Bridge (6-3) regularly ran the ball down the field, led by Sodano, who piled up 190 yards on 24 carries. The sixth-seeded Eagles (3-7) moved the ball through the air as sophomore Haaziq Daniels completed 15 of 25 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns. The two teams had a similar encounter earlier in the year with the Knights prevailing, 45-27.
“It was a great game with two good teams that kept going at each other,” Old Bridge coach Anthony Lanzafama said. “It came right down to the end.”
Sodano scored on runs of 41, 38 and 2 yards as Old Bridge got into the end zone on each of its first three possessions to jump out to a 19-0 lead. The jubilant crowd at Lombardi Field was stunned as Edison bounced back with three touchdowns of its own to take a 20-19 edge into halftime.
Things looked bleak when the Eagles intercepted an Artur Sitkowski pass early in the third quarter, converting the turnover into eight points for a 28-19 edge.
With their collective backs against the wall, the Knights persevered, scoring 19 straight points to go up 38-28. With time running down in the third quarter, it was Sitkowski who bounced back and scored on a 31-yard keeper. Old Bridge got the ball back quickly, and Sodano scored his fourth touchdown on a 29-yard run to give the Knights a 32-28 lead. The home team seemingly put the game away when Sodano scored again late in the quarter, but it was Edison’s turn to show resiliency.
Daniels hooked up with Ben Baez for a 69-yard touchdown pass with about two minutes remaining to make it 38-35.
Old Bridge got the ball back after an unsuccessful onside kick. The Knights turned the ball over on downs at the Edison 38-yard line after a fake punt failed to move the chains. Daniels marched his team into Old Bridge territory, but the Knights defense held.
“Our players showed a lot of poise, and our seniors led the way,” said Lanzafama, whose team came from behind to down Sayreville War Memorial High School earlier in the season. “[Edison] seemed to have the momentum when they scored at the beginning of the second half, but somehow we got it back.”
The win sets up a meeting at New Brunswick High School (9-1) Nov. 20 against the second-seeded Zebras.
New Brunswick is coming off a 21-14 victory over Freehold Township High School (4-6). The Zebras recovered a Patriots’ fumble at their own 2-yard line with just two seconds left to preserve the win.
Game time is 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in New Brunswick.