After losing 17 seniors to graduation last spring and then its season opener to Woodbridge High School on Sept. 7, Saint Joseph Regional High School looked like a rebuilding football program.
Surely, the Metuchen school wouldn’t be able to maintain its lofty standard of the last three seasons, when it amassed a record of 25-5.
Then the Falcons beat one of the most talented teams in the state.
On Sept. 14 in Metuchen, Saint Joseph Regional topped North Brunswick Township High School, 22-20, improving to 1-1 in 2019. North Brunswick fell to 1-1 after beating South Brunswick High School, 26-0, on Sept. 6 at home.
Saint Joseph Regional quarterback Matt Stanton threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to K’Shawn Schulters in the third quarter, breaking a 7-7 tie. Later in the third, Falcons’ running back Jordan Kinsler raced for a 13-yard score, putting the Falcons up by nine. Near the end of the fourth, he ran for the first down that allowed the Falcons to kneel down on the ball and close out the game.
The Metuchen school was not perfect, as North Brunswick won the yardage battle, 262-205. But the Falcons did enough to win and get their season back on track.
They will try to improve to 2-1 on Sept. 20 at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Iselin.
North Brunswick will try to get back on track with a road game at Sayreville War Memorial High School on Sept. 20. Kickoff for that one is also scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Raiders lost at Sayreville in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 5 sectional playoff championship last fall, 6-0. But the Bombers, at 0-2, are off to a tough start to 2019.