Bears, Bombers move on in state playoffs

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

JEFFGRANIT staff East Brunswick’s Dave Dalton hauls in the winning touchdown pass from QBMatt Mariano in front of Brick’s Mike Moschella during the Bears’ thrilling win over the Green Dragons on Sunday. Both East Brunswick and Sayreville went into their Central Jersey Group IV playoff openers against a team from Brick Township expecting a battle.

And both got what they expected.

The Bears needed three consecutive defensive stands down the stretch to hold off a determined Brick Township squad on Sunday, while the day before, the Sayreville Bombers used some last-minute offensive heroics to knock off Brick Memorial.

JEFF GRANIT staff East Brunswick quarterback Matt Mariano fends off Brick’s Mike Farr for some extra yards during Sunday’s Central Jersey Group IV opener in East Brunswick. The Bears got a pair of scores in the first half — the first on a Matt Mariano 71-yard run in the first quarter, and the second on a 34-yard pass play from Mariano to Dave Dalton in the second quarter — but saw their offense shut down in the second stanza, as the Green Dragons fought back.

After trailing 13-3 at the half, Brick got its lone touchdown in the fourth, then forced a safety when EB the punter booted the ball out of the end zone with just over seven minutes remaining, and the Bears clinging to a one-point lead.

JOHN SZPARA A pair of Brick Memorial defenders try to chase down Sayreville’s Corey Hammond during the Mustangs’ CJGroup IV loss in Brick on Saturday. Brick Township had all the momentum, and the Bears were reeling. But the East Brunswick defense stepped up, stopping the Green Dragons on three straight possessions to seal the win. On the first possession, a Chris Fegan sack on fourth down ended that drive, while John Parke did the honors on the next Brick possession, intercepting a pass deep in Green Dragon territory on third down.

On their last possession, the Dragons completed four straight passes to go 53 yards, then got to the Bear 23 on a run with about 16 seconds remaining. On the ensuing play, Parke came up big once again, tripping up Brick quarterback Bill Winters in the backfield. With the seven-yard loss, Brick had no choice but to attempt a 47-yard field goal in the waning seconds, but it fell short, giving the Bears the hard-fought win.

East Brunswick will now host Hillsborough tomorrow night, a big team coming off a 20-6 win over Lawrence last weekend.

As for Sayreville, they found themselves on the other side of the equation on Saturday, trailing defending sectional champ Brick Memorial, 19-14, with about three minutes to play.

But the Bombers did what Brick Township could not, driving 88 yards and getting the game-winning score on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Corey Hammond to John Monaco with 54 seconds remaining. That pass play came two plays after a juggling nine-yard grab by Shaune Thomas on fourth-and-eight on Sayreville’s 23-yard line. Hammond then hit Moncao for a 21-yard gain before launching the game-winner.

Memorial made a valiant effort to respond, driving as far as the Bomber 23, but with four seconds left, Mustang quarterback Chris James tried to find a receiver in the corner of the end zone, only to have the pass knocked down by a pair of Bomber defenders.

Sayreville came from behind throughout this one. After falling behind 10-0, the Bombers (7-3) got on the board with a 54-yard scoring run from Thomas in the second quarter. Brick padded the lead again in the third, making it 16-7 with a touchdown, before the Bombers launched a 74-yard, 10-minute drive that ended with a Vinnie Otero one-yard plunge. Memorial added a field goal with five minutes left in the game, setting the scene for the Bombers’ heroic victory.

Sayreville will now travel to Jackson tomorrow night to take on an unbeaten Jaguar team coming off a hard-fought 30-22 win over Hunterdon Central last week.

Needless to say, both the Bombers and their rivals from East Brunswick can expect another battle tomorrow night.