By Warren Rappleyea
Sayreville
Sayreville War Memorial High School’s football team will square off against undefeated Piscataway Township High School Oct. 7 with first place in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division at stake.
The Bombers (4-0) are coming off a solid 28-0 victory in the rain at Brick Memorial High School Sept. 30. The Sayreville offensive line was superb, helping Michael Liberti run for 104 yards on 15 carries and Jac-Que Roberts run for 97 yards on nine tries. Liberti and Roberts scored two touchdowns apiece. With the run game working so well — combined with the poor field conditions — quarterback Jayson DeMild threw only four passes, completing two for 6 yards.
On the other side of the ball, the Blue and Gray shut down the Mustangs, who rolled out the triple option attack for the first time this season. Linebacker Mike Germann led the defense with eight tackles, while Roberts, who also plays linebacker, pitched in with four tackles.
“Our defense did an outstanding job on the field,” Sayreville coach Chris Beagan said. “That was because they worked hard all week to prepare for Brick Memorial. We didn’t know what offense they were going to use, but our guys did what they had to do to get ready. As a team, I thought we showed a lot of heart.”
Beagan had cautioned his team about looking past the Brick Memorial game, as Piscataway had a week off following its 26-14 win at South Brunswick High School Sept. 24. The Chiefs (3-0) have outscored their opponents, 97-34, and will host the Bombers.
While the Piscataway offense in general will be a concern, Sayreville will need to play close attention to speedy running back Elijah Barnwell. The senior ran for nearly 160 yards against South Brunswick, including a 63-yard scoring run.
“It’s going to be a physical game between two teams that know each other very well,” Beagan said. “It’s going to be exciting, too. There seems to be something special when we play them. The kids understand and the crowd is always into it — wherever the game is played.”
Old Bridge
For Old Bridge High School, there was an exciting evening of football at Lombardi field. Everyone got wet but no one won, as the Knights played Edison High School to a 42-42 tie that went to three overtime periods.
The visiting Eagles had a chance to in the third overtime with a first-and-goal setup from the Old Bridge 1-yard line. The Eagles had previously stopped their hosts and knew Old Bridge would not be getting the ball back, as NJSIAA rules call for no more than three overtimes. A fumble on the first play was recovered by the Knights’ Nick Sodano to end the game.
“We were able to make a big play to preserve the tie,” Knights coach Anthony Lanzafama said. “It was a tough game, and I think we need to be a little better. There were a lot of positives though. We were coming off of a bad loss to Manalapan, [41-0], and our guys responded well. They competed hard.”
Things looked good for the home squad at the start, as quarterback Artur Sitkowski scored on a 40-yard run just 44 seconds into the game. The Eagles responded to knot things up. Old Bridge threatened several times in the first half but were only able to take a 13-7 lead in the half, as Sodano ran 22 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
“We kind of hurt ourselves in the first half by not scoring,” Lanzafama said. “We had the opportunities and weren’t able to get it done.”
The second half was a more up-an-down affair. Edison eventually took a 28-21 lead, but Old Bridge scored 14 successive points before Edison made it 35-35 with 55 seconds remaining in regulation. The two teams traded scores in the first overtime to conclude the scoring.
Sodano ended the night with 163 yards on 18 carries and scored three touchdowns. Undeterred by the rain, Lanzafama let Sitkowski loose, and the junior completed 10 of 19 passes for 166 yards, including a touchdown pass to Keanu Reed covering 30 yards. Sitkowski also ran for two touchdowns.
Old Bridge has a week off before visiting Piscataway Oct. 14. With his team facing a bunch of minor, but annoying, injuries, Old Bridge welcomed the respite.
“This break is coming at a good time for us,” Lanzafama said. “It will give our guys a chance to regroup and we can work on things. I think we have to focus on the positives. We moved the ball very well in the second half and converted on a few third and fourth downs and our defense made some very big stops.”