By Jeff Appelblatt
Less than a week after one of its only true challenges of the year, Manalapan High School’s football team finished off the regular season on cruise control. Not much else was needed when Freehold Township High School sent its team to take on the undefeated Braves Nov. 4.
It took solid defense and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter for Manalapan to come back from a 10-7 deficit against Piscataway Township High School Oct. 29 to win, 21-10, and continue on with its perfect season.
Against Freehold Township, however, it could be said the game was determined in the opening quarter — one which included three sacks of Freehold Township quarterback Charles Sabbagh and a few touchdown runs by Manalapan’s Naim Mayfield and Chris Maksimik.
Nevertheless, even when the Braves’ first-quarter lead of 13-0 blossomed to 27-0 by halftime, Freehold Township knew it couldn’t give up. And its coach, Cory Davies, was happy his players kept trucking.
“I’m just proud our kids played hard all the way through,” Freehold Township’s coach said about his club after the game. “They didn’t give up. They kept fighting.”
Despite that fight, the Patriots were still shut out by the Braves, 35-0.
Shutouts have been a common theme for the Braves this season. Prior to shutting out the Patriots, they prevented Southern Regional High School, Old Bridge High School and Freehold High School from getting on the scoreboard. Manalapan’s defense, which allowed fewer than 9.5 points per game this season, was almost unbreakable all year.
The sharp defense against Freehold Township didn’t surprise too many, especially defensive coach Dom Lepore.
“The kids played lights out,” Lepore said about his defensive line. “They executed all of their assignments, were in the right spots and they played really hard and fast. I’m so proud of the way they played.”
Lazarus Marquez and Michael Cardinale had two sacks apiece against Freehold Township. Joe Ciraola, Richie Peters and Sal Tardogno each added another.
The momentum of the defense only grows when the offense does its job. And over the course of the season, the Braves have taken care of business when the ball is in their possession. Manalapan scored more than 37.5 points per game during the regular season.
One of the most frequent visitors to the end zone for Manalapan has been Mayfield. Another three trips for the junior into scoring territory against Freehold Township wasn’t surprising.
“It was just like every other week,” he said. “Our offense and our fullback made really big holes, and it was my job to run through them.”
Mayfield has carried the ball in for a team-high 17 touchdowns.
And there was nothing Freehold Township was able to do when Mayfield saw his opening.
“Three touchdowns in the game was just a statement of my running game,” Mayfield said. “It showed how I can run and how I could pound the rock.”
Fortunately for Freehold Township (7-2), the Patriots won’t face a runner that’s dominated the goal line like Mayfield when they host South Brunswick High School in the first round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group V playoffs Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. The Vikings (6-2), who are seeded fifth in the bracket, have won five straight games. The Patriots are seeded fourth.
“I think we’ll bounce back because the kids are resilient,” Davies said. “We just finished the regular season, and now we’ve got the playoffs — they’re two different things.”
As for top-seeded Manalapan (9-0), it will host No. 8-seed New Brunswick High School (4-5) in its first-round game in the same bracket. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Nov. 11.
Manalapan head coach Ed Gurrieri hopes the momentum from the season will carry over to the playoffs, but he won’t look at his team on a level above anyone else.
“We’re going to practice [this week], and then we’re going to start on a new season,” the coach said. “We want to win the state championship.
“But right now, we’re just worried about this week coming up.”
If Freehold Township and Manalapan each take care of business in the tournament’s opening round, the two teams will meet up again in the second second in Manalapan the following week.