PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Above, Metuchen’s Stephen Cooper slips as he tries to elude a Union County defender, while at left, J.P. Stevens’ Bart Piegdon lunges to successfully make a tackle. The top graduated gridiron stars from Middlesex and Union counties met at Kean University’s Alumni Field on Thursday to battle for bragging rights
And for the third year in a row, the Union County players were the ones doing the talking at the conclusion of Snapple Bowl XII, having knocked off their neighboring rivals, 21-14.
To their credit, the players from Middlesex showed resiliency, twice coming back from touchdown deficits to tie the game, but a third-quarter touchdown catch by Plainfield’s Jamal Elder turned out to be the difference in this one. His brilliant 39-yard scoring grab snapped a 14-14 tie with just over six minutes left in the quarter, and capped a 77-yard, nine-play drive.
The true winners of this annual contest are the charities for whom the game is played. All proceeds from the annual event, which has raised over $150,000 over the last 12 years, benefit the Lakeview School for cerebral palsy in Edison and the Children’s Specialized Hospital of Mountainside.
This year’s game featured a high level of play, with both sides featuring talented, disciplined players on both sides of the ball.
Union County was opportunistic in opening the scoring, as cornerback Mike Siessel of A.L. Johnson pounced on a loose ball in the end zone after East Brunswick’s Matt Mariano fumbled a snap on a punt attempt at the start of the second quarter. Just like that, Union had a 7-0 lead.
With the way the Union County defense has dominated play the last few years, Middlesex needed to respond immediately, and that they did, rumbling 91 yards to tie the game.
The drive was sparked by a spectacular play from Spotswood’s Dylan Bamrick, who caught a 30-yard pass from Piscataway’s Rob Rose on the first play from scrimmage, ducked a defensive back, then cut across the field and raced for another 35 yards, putting the ball at the Union County 15-yard line.
South River’s Eric McDaniel than capped the drive with a 4-yard scoring run a few plays later, and with a Mariano PAT (point after touchdown), the score was tied at 7-7.
Union County then responded with its second touchdown, a 2-yard run from Plainfield’s Aaron Hale, to take a 14-7 lead with 11:02 left in the half, but once again, Middlesex drove 91 yards to tie the game.
This drive was led by Mariano, who redeemed himself from the earlier fumble. After orchestrating a steady drive downfield, Mariano (who was named the team’s MVP, finishing with 109-yard passing and 53-yard rushing) hit Woodbridge tight end Matt Bouchard with a pretty over-the-shoulder pass from 15 yards out for the game-tying score with just 56 seconds to play in the half.
But Union County had the final say, scoring the decisive touchdown in the third quarter on the 39-yard pass play from Cranford quarterback Chris Dreschel to Elder at the 6:16 mark. The Union County defense took over from there, shutting down the Middlesex attack, and preserving the win.