By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
It didn’t take long for the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North football team to put their season-opening loss to Allentown behind them.
On the first play from scrimmage in last Friday’s game at WW-P South, quarterback Brian Murphy connected with Miles Fye-Moore on a 71-yard touchdown pass and the Knights were off and running on their way to a 41-0 win over the Pirates.
“We worked hard all week in practice,” said North senior Isaiah Miranda, a two-starter who hauled in his first career touchdown catch in the game. “We knew because it was the North-South game there would be a lot of hype and they would play their best game. We just had to come out and get the job done.”
The Knights scored on three of their first four possessions and led 21-0 at halftime on their way to evening their record at 1-1. WW-P South fell to 0-2 with the loss. Murphy, the Knights’ junior quarterback, completed 13 of his 21 passes for 284 yards and five touchdowns. He connected once each with Fye-Moore, Miranda and Matt Phelan for touchdowns, while John Owens had a pair of touchdown catches. Tyrell Williams ran for the Knights other score.
“We know we’re not the biggest team, but we have a lot of guys at the skill positions,” Miranda, who is in is first season a full-time player on offense. “So if we can spread teams out we’re able to use our abilities on the outside.
“Last year we had a lot of depth at the skill positions. We lost some guys but we’re still pretty good. We make sure we spread it out. And our line stepped up today. They did the job.”
North finished with over 400 yards in total offense, while holding the Pirates to just 112 yards in offense. The offensive line played a huge role in the win and for their efforts, senior Jeremy Lockwood was named the 12th Man Touchdown Club Offensive Lineman of the Week.
Miranda, who was a starter on defense last year, was part of the unit that stifled the South offense. And he also enjoyed getting in on the scoring.
“We run a different defense and we get the job done,” Miranda said. “Last year I was just defense. I played here and there on offense. Tonight I got off the field for one play. We just have to make sure at practice we are well conditioned. I like helping out on offense and defense. Tonight was my first touchdown and that was exciting to get it in my last North-South game.”
The Knights rebounded well from their opening loss and will next play Princeton, which posted an impressive 33-0 win over Hightstown to even its record at 1-1.
“We have good balance,” North coach Jeff Reilly said. “Our offensive coordinator (Jeff Torralba) has a great understanding of what they are doing and how to attack it. Our kids are learning it to and how to ready it. Jeff has done a great job with that. We have guys like John Owens, who can break a big one. But we also have some guys like Isiah Miranda, Matt Phelan, Miles Fye-Moore, in all parts of the game they broke a big play. We were able to run the ball decently. It was a good night for us.
“Defensively, we bend a little bend but we didn’t break. Early in the game they were moving the ball but we didn’t break and the kids really got after it.”
Princeton also bounced back nicely from an opening game loss with the win at Hightstown. Vince Doran threw for 271 yards and five touchdowns in the win, with Isaac Webb hauling in four of the touchdown passes for 172 yards. Webb, a sophomore, was named the 12th Man Touchdown Club Offensive Back of the Week for his efforts. Fellow sophomore Carson Giles led the rushing attack with 76 yards rushing.
Montgomery was also able to even its record at 1-1 as the Cougars rallied for a 22-21 win over Franklin. Damien Bland scored a pair of touchdowns in the win, while Jared Reinson ran for the other score.
Mike Patrizio threw for 221 yards in the win, in which the Cougars rallied from 15 points down.
“I was really pleased with the way we played on both sides of the ball in the second half,” Montgomery coach Zoran Milich said. “I am really proud of the way we battled back from being down 14-0 and 21-6. The players played the full 48 minutes and we were able to take the lead with 11 seconds left in the game. It was a true team effort. This was a game we really needed to win. Being 1-1 is so much better than being 0-2. Mentally, it is so much bigger.”
