With the state football playoffs ready to kick off in a few weeks, teams are trying their hardest to make big statements in their final games.
Both Old Bridge High School and Jackson Memorial High School made convincing statements on Oct. 27 in Old Bridge.
The host Knights built an early lead and came away with a 28-14 victory over the Jaguars.
Coming into the game, both teams only had two losses on their records. A victory or an impressive loss would go a long way to helping both schools build their résumés for the playoffs. The triumph improved Old Bridge to 5-2 on the season, while Jackson Memorial’s loss dropped it to 5-3.
Old Bridge seeks a berth in Central Jersey, Group 5 state playoff field and Jackson Memorial bids for a spot in Central Jersey, Group 4.
The Knights were able to jump on the Jaguars early, going into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
Senior running back Chancellor Cooper broke off an 80-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter to give Old Bridge the game’s first score. Senior slot back Julian Rivera and slot receiver Liam Knowles also produced touchdown runs in the game, with Knowles rushing for a 26-yard score in the first quarter and Rivera hitting the end zone on a 22-yard run in the second quarter.
Cooper broke off another big gainer in the fourth quarter to set up Rivera for a 3-yard touchdown on the ground to seal the game.
Cooper finished the game with 152 rushing yards, while Knowles and Rivera delivered 85 and 55 yards on the ground, respectively.
“Our offense was clicking,” Rivera said. “And our defense was strong up front, as always.”
“Our men up front were doing a great job blocking all night,” Cooper said. “That’s one of the things we practice the most, and it showed tonight.”
Rivera and Cooper want to continue to improve as the playoffs get closer.
“We want to play our best football in December,” Rivera said. “In order to do that, we need to get better every week.”
“We need to prepare like never before — preparation all the time,” Cooper said.
The two have championship aspirations after the victory over Jackson Memorial. Rivera said the team needs to get better every week, while Cooper stated that the goal is for the team to win a championship.
Old Bridge’s head coach, Anthony Lanzafama, loved his team’s fighting spirit against Jackson Memorial, praising a total team effort.
“I’m proud of the guys’ effort tonight,” he said. “We played hard for all four quarters. We play pretty good football in phases at times, and we made some mistakes in phases as well. We got some things we would like to clean up, but I’m really proud of the guys’ effort tonight.”
Lanzafama still thinks his team can get better, and more consistency will help.
“We can get better in all three phases [by] just being more consistent,” the coach said. “We played really well in all three phases in spurts, and now we have to put it all together. That’s the goal. We try to do better every week, and we’ve been doing that, and we have to continue to do that as we head into November.”
The Knights will head to Sayreville War Memorial High School on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
The Jaguars’ effort, especially in the second half when they outscored Old Bridge, 14-7, was impressive and should help going their next game.
Jackson Memorial coach Vinny Mistretta loved that his team fought for all four quarters, despite being down early.
“We put ourselves in a hole,” he said. “We just don’t have the offense to climb out of a 21-0 deficit. But in the second half, we started doing the things that we practiced, and we started executing better. We outscored them in the second half. We were really behind the eight ball from the jump, and hats off to Old Bridge. They came out ready to play. They broke out some big runs against us, and we had to get used to their speed. They’re a good team.”
Mistretta wants his team to use the loss as a way to get better.
“We have to get better in all facets,” he said. “We have guys in different positions, but guys have to execute, stay disciplined and stay focused. I don’t think we did a great job up front, and I don’t think we did a great job tackling. The good thing is, those are things that can be fixed. For 100 years, football’s been the same thing. If you ain’t blocking and if you ain’t tackling, you ain’t winning a ball game.”
Mistretta hopes the game helps the team for its next opponent, Brick Memorial High School, on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in Brick.
“We’re just worried about Brick Memorial next week,” Mistretta said. “It’s a divisional game. They’re a rival. They are very similar to Old Bridge, so this was a great warm-up for that, and we’re hoping to win that game. Hopefully, we can sneak into the playoffs and go on a run. But right now, it’s all about Brick Memorial.”
Senior quarterback AJ Tolmachewich scored both touchdowns for Jackson Memorial against Old Bridge. He threw for 130 yards as well as a touchdown, and he led the team in rushing with 45 yards on the ground, including a 1-yard touchdown to give the Jaguars their first score of the game.
Tolmachewich was proud of his teammates’ never-say-die attitude.
“Our team never gave up,” he said. “We were down, 21-0, quick, but we stepped in the locker room and said we weren’t getting shut out first of all, and that we still wanted to play our game. We tweaked little things here and there but came out in the second half and really started playing our game, and it showed.”
Tolmachewich was on Jackson Memorial’s back-to-back Central Jersey, Group 4 state championship teams in 2014 and 2015, and he believes that experience will help this team going forward.
“I’m expecting for us to go on a run,” Tolmachewich said. “These Jaguar teams, we always go on a run. I’ve been a part of two championship teams, so we know what it takes to win, and we know how to play in December. So we’re going to keep that tradition going.”