Colts Neck football team wins its playoff debut
Unbeaten Keyport is
next on Saturday
In its brief history, the Colts Neck High School football team has proved that it plays better on the road than at home. Maybe it all started with their first game as a varsity team back in September when they shocked Mater Dei in Middletown.
Whatever the reason, Mike McArthur’s Cougars have been good on the road, and that was good news for them Saturday when they battled in their first-ever state playoff game.
Colts Neck, the fifth seed in Central Jersey Group I, packed its powerful ground game with it and used it to grind down the fourth seed, Highland Park, 42-20, making the Cougars a winner in their postseason debut.
Fullback Mark Savard ran over, around and through the Owls’ defense to the tune of 246 yards on 21 carries. He scored on runs of 23-, 11-, 86- and 2-yards as Colts Neck (6-3) won the line of scrimmage battle and rolled up 385 yards on the ground.
Savard’s backfield mate Obi Nkwuo added 106 yards on 10 attempts. His 56-yard run midway through the second quarter set up quarterback Brad Emmons’ two-yard scoring run that put the Cougars up 21-6.
With his 246-yard outburst, Savard now has 946 on the season. Nkwuo is up to 1,011. The Cougars have the chance to have two 1,000-yard rushers in their first year of varsity play.
Mike Marziotto was Colts Neck’s other touchdown maker, scoring from eight-yards out in the third quarter. That gave Colts Neck a 28-14 lead which the Cougars took into the fourth quarter.
The Owls (4-5) were clinging to hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback, thanks to the play of quarterback Terrance Highsmith, who accounted for 226 total yards, 152 on the ground and 74 through the air (8-18, including one touchdown). He single-handedly kept the Owls close, while giving the Cougars’ defense fits with his open-field running.
Savard dashed all hopes of a rally with his 86-yard romp early in the fourth quarter.
His 2-yard blast through the line later made it 42-14, and Colts Neck could look ahead to Saturday’s semifinal opponent, the top-seeded and defending champion Keyport Red Raiders.
It will be a rematch for the Cougars, which could be a break for Colts Neck. Yes, the Red Raiders won the first game in Keyport 20-7, but the Cougars left that game knowing that they can play with Keyport. The fear factor is gone after playing the Raiders, even through three quarters (7-7) and losing the game on two critical turnovers in the fourth quarter, one a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by Rich Cline.
The Cougars still face a major hurdle in Keyport on Saturday. The 8-0 top-seeded Raiders have the second-ranked offense in the Shore (335.8 yards per game) and third-ranked defense (160.4 yards per game). The Raiders are plus-16 in turnover ratio, best in the Shore. They have a backfield that can match Nkwuo and Savard in Ken Cattouse (762 yards) and Jamie Gutridge (752). The Raiders also have one of the leading passers in the Shore in Rich Cline (617 yards and nine touchdowns). This triple threat makes Keyport a difficult offense to bottle up.
Even though Colts Neck contained the Raiders that day (less than 200 total yards), Gutridge still picked up 91 yards on 18 carries and Cattouse, 78 on 21 attempts. They were hard-earned yards for the duo.
Colts Neck’s biggest concern is the Keyport defense which completely shut the Cougars down. Nkwuo and Savard were held to a combined 53 yards in the loss and the Cougars turned the ball over four times. Keyport took advantage of its ability to take the running game away to force Colts Neck into the air where the Raiders came up with three interceptions.
Staying even, if not winning the turnover battle, will be key for Colts Neck on Saturday. The Cougars know that their defense will keep them in the game; it may come down to making plays on offense, and the Cougars couldn’t ask to go into a game on a better offensive roll than they are.
In consolation games last weekend, Freehold Borough and Manalapan were victorious. The Colonials (5-4) moved over the .500 mark with a 34-13 rout of the Monroe Township Falcons in Freehold. Manalapan (3-6) won its inter-Freehold District rivalry game at Howell (2-7), 21-14. Freehold Township (3-6) lost to J.P. Stevens, 13-8, at home while Marlboro (1-8) lost to Old Bridge, 34-13, at home.
Saturday, Howell and Freehold Township will conclude their seasons in Howell at noon. Manalapan and Marlboro will play on Thanksgiving Day in Marlboro, and Freehold Borough and Colts Neck will play in Colts Neck in what will be the inaugural edition of this new Turkey Day rivalry.
That game could be subject to change if Colts Neck gets by Keyport.