North Brunswick Township High School is off to a great start to the 2019 football season.
And on Sept. 14 at Saint Joseph Regional High School in Metuchen, the Raiders will try to continue their great start against the Falcons.
North Brunswick is 1-0 after beating rival South Brunswick High School, 26-0, at home on Sept. 6. The Raiders’ defense forced six three and outs and a turnover. Their offense and special teams units scored three long touchdowns. And their rushing attack racked up almost 300 yards.
Coach Mike Cipot’s club was so good that it ended the week as the No. 1 team in our Central Jersey Top 10. The Raiders are widely considered an NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 5 sectional playoff championship contender, and one of the best teams in the state in general, and they looked like that team in week one.
“We just want to enjoy this,” Cipot said on Sept. 7, a day after the South Brunswick victory. “It was an emotional game.”
The Vikings had beaten the Raiders eight straight times before this year, so despite the Raiders’ superior talent, that victory was cathartic for the program. But even on that day after the victory, Cipot knew he had to look ahead.
“We have to get ready for St. Joe’s,” Cipot said. “They have a good program. (Coach Rich) Hilliard does a good job.”
Saint Joseph has a really good program. The Falcons went 25-5 over the last three seasons, though they went 0-3 in the NJSIAA Non-Public playoffs against powerful northern New Jersey programs.
But this year’s Falcons got off to a rocky start at home against Woodbridge High School on Sept. 7, losing 28-12 after allowing 22 unanswered points to close out the game. Despite the loss, though, the Falcons have a lot of talent.
In order to win, North Brunswick will have to slow down Saint Joseph running back Jordan Kinsler, a Division 1 prospect who rattled off 143 yards and two touchdowns last week.
North Brunswick should be up to the challenge. Kinsler may be a Division 1 prospect, but North Brunswick has three Division 1 prospects in its front seven alone, defensive ends Samod Wingo and Leon Lowery and inside linebacker Chris Arnold. They combined for eight tackles and three sacks against South Brunswick. They also helped hold the Vikings to 60 yards on 18 carries.
“Our team speed was on display,” Cipot said. “Plus we were tough and physical up front and we can wear teams out like that.”
North Brunswick also has the scoring talent to build a lead and force the Falcons to throw the ball. Last week, quarterback Ramy Berberena threw a 98 yard touchdown pass to Lowery. Skill player Dahvey Hicks scored a 95 yard return touchdown and a 36 yard rushing touchdown.
“For North Brunswick fans, it’s exciting to watch our offense,” Cipot said.
But if Cipot wants to, he can just take the air out of the football. Behind a senior laden offensive line, North Brunswick’s top back, Myles Bailey, averaged almost 10 yards per carry last week.
This is the luxury of having a great team with talent and chemistry. Cipot’s team can do it all, so he can attack an opponent however he wants to. He did that against South Brunswick, and he will do it versus Saint Joseph Regional, too.
“We have a senior group and they work hard,” he said.