One of the most anticipated matchups of the football season lived up to the hype when Manalapan High School squared off with Howell High School on Oct. 13.
The clash between two teams that entered the game undefeated went to Manalapan, which improved to 6-0 with a 49-28 victory on Homecoming night in Manalapan.
“It’s just two great teams,” Manalapan head coach Ed Gurrieri said. “We knew they were going to be the toughest team we faced to date. They played well tonight. We just played better.”
Despite the victory, Gurrieri still wants his defense to improve.
“We had some miscommunication in the back end of our coverage,” Gurrieri said. “We gave up some easy ones. That’s a great offensive football team, and we know they’re going to get theirs. But I don’t want it to be easy, that’s for sure. We want them to have to work for it.”
Senior running back Naim Mayfield exploded for 273 yards rushing and five touchdowns to lead the offensive charge for Manalapan. Mayfield stated that his team knew how important this game was.
“I was very excited because there was a lot of hype coming into this game,” Mayfield said. “I love pressure. I love it because I show up in big games, and today was definitely a big game.”
Mayfield admitted Manalapan knew Howell was a different team than most of the Braves’ other opponents.
“We always circle the big games,” Mayfield said. “We always take it week by week and act like every team is the best in the state. But for sure, this game was circled.”
Last year, the Braves beat Howell, 41-34, en route to an 11-1 record, a Shore Conference A North Division title and a trip to the state Central Jersey, Group 5 championship game, where they fell to Piscataway Township High School.
Mayfield wants to finish the job this year.
“[I expect] nothing less than what we had last year,” Mayfield said. “State champions and 12-0.”
The Braves are tied in the A North standings with Freehold Township High School, which shares a 4-0 record in division games and 6-0 overall mark with Manalapan, and are atop the standings in Central Jersey, Group 5 with 99 power points. The Patriots are second in the section with 75 power points.
Although the Braves’ players are thinking about championships, Gurrieri is only focused on the next game.
“Right now, we only want to win next week,” Gurrieri said ahead of Manalapan’s next contest on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at Neptune High School (0-5). “That’s it. We know what we have. We just want to improve every week. Our expectations are, after every game, we come out better than the week before. We’ll be fine.”
The Braves has some success containing senior quarterback Eddie Morales of Howell, despite Morales still throwing for 330 yards and three touchdowns and running for an additional 160 yards. Manalapan came up with three interceptions against Morales, who also had a costly fumble.
“Personally, I think offensively, we moved the ball well,” Morales said. “I made some turnovers. I had three picks today. But altogether, I think we moved the ball well. That’s a great defense in Manalapan, but my boys worked hard, and I’m proud of them.”
Morales credited the Braves’ constant pressure on him in the pocket as one of the reasons the offense stalled from time to time.
“I think they were trying to blitz me from everywhere they possibly could,” Morales said. “I’m talking all gaps; there was a man in every gap. For the most part though, I think we moved the ball well enough.”
Morales hopes the loss, which dropped Howell’s record to 5-1, is more of a blemish and not a blunder for the year.
“From here on out, [we need to] go undefeated,” Morales said. “Finish 9-1, hit [South] Jersey, Group 5 and go onto states.”
Howell, which made it to the sectional semifinals last season before falling to Toms River High School North, is third in the South Jersey, Group 5 standings with 72 power points and third in A North with a 3-1 record against opponents in the division.
The Rebels host Freehold Township in another big A North clash on Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.