Bears win another close one, advance to finals

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Above, Sayreville’s Vinnie Otero rumbles his way through a pair of Jackson defenders during the Bombers’ state semifinal loss on Friday night in Jackson. At right, the Bombers’ Shaune Thomas runs over Jackson’s Travis Wilton. EAST BRUNSWICK — The East Brunswick Bears are no strangers to exciting football games.

Head coach Marcus Borden has found his team in tightly-contested battles throughout this season, and has watched his team respond time and again en route to a 9-1 record, and a berth in the Central Jersey Group IV championship game.

Last Friday night’s state semifinal game with Hillsborough was no exception. The Bears and Raiders battled back-and-forth through four quarters and into an overtime period before East Brunswick’s Jim McCloskey sealed a 28-21 win for the Bears with his second interception of the game after the Bears scored on their first possession of the extra session.

After Hillsborough forced the overtime by knotting the game at 21-21 with just over a minute remaining in regulation, the Bears found the end zone in overtime to put the pressure on the Raiders. Quarterback Matt Mariano (26 carries, 143 yards, two touchdowns) ran to the Hillsborough 11-yard line, before the Bears faced a third-and-two from the 3-yard line. McCloskey, who only had four yards rushing for the game, picked the ideal time to get half of them, giving the Bears the first down by about an inch.

On the next play, Mariano found the end zone, giving the Bears the lead. Mariano then made 28-21 with the PAT kick.

On Hillsborough’s possession, the Bears’ John Parke stopped running back Chris Jordan for a one-yard loss on the first play, before McCloskey picked off a pass over the middle to end the game, and send the Bears into the Dec. 5 final against 10-0 Jackson.

East Brunswick opened the scoring in the first when Mariano scampered into the end zone from five yards out. EB then fumbled the ball on its own 18 (their only turnover of the game) in the second quarter, leading to a game-tying Raider touchdown with 2:31 left in the half.

Hillsborough took a 14-7 lead in the third, before the Bears got within one on a Nick Dzielak one-yard run that capped a 63-yard, eight-play drive. East Brunswick then took the lead with 8:52 left in regulation when they took advantage of McCloskey’s first interception and drove 73 yards on 13 plays, with McCloskey fittingly capping the drive with a two-yard TD run on fourth down. Dzielak then made it 21-14 game with a one-yard, two-point conversion run.

The Bears will have their work cut out for them on Dec. 5 when they travel to Rutgers Stadium in New Brunswick to face the undefeated Jaguars.

Jackson knocked off the Bears GMC Red Division rival Sayreville, 38-7, on Friday, overcoming an early deficit to dominate the Bombers on both sides of the ball.

The Bombers took the early lead when Vinnie Otero rumbled into the end zone from 25 yards out, and the Sayreville defense looked strong early on en route to a 7-0 lead after the first quarter.

But it was all Jackson from there, as the Jaguar offense exploded for 407 total yards of offense, led by running back John Reggio, who rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries.

Reggio, who scored on runs of 55, two and 12 yards, has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season. In fact, it was Reggio’s dazzling 55-yard TD run in the second quarter that sparked the Jackson offense, Jackson coach Mike Smith said.

Jackson trailed 7-3 at the time Reggio broke off the scoring run.

“I think that play let us settle into the game and relax a bit,” Smith said. “I think that our kids were a little nervous coming out. We didn’t move the ball well at first. We needed that kind of play to wake us up. We began executing at both ends of the field much better after that score.”

When Reggio wasn’t running wild over Sayreville’s defensive front, Jackson quarterback Bill Fenimore was busy shredding the secondary.

The senior signal caller completed 11-of-18 passes for 130 yards. Fenimore tossed TD passes to his two favorite receivers, Joe Arneth and Bobby Cole.

“We looked real good on offense,” Smith said. “Between Reggio and Fenimore and our receivers, we couldn’t do anything wrong. Bill made a number of good reads and threw the ball well.”

Of course, Smith admitted offensive linemen Kevin Solomon, Barry Murphy, Asil Mulbar, Scott Marshall, Tim Nolan and Mike Schoch made it all possible.

It marked the first time this season Jackson had all of its linemen healthy and in the lineup at the same time, which should be a cause of concern for the Bear coaching staff as they prepare for the state final.

However, before the Bears can concern themselves with the Jaguars, they have to focus on tomorrow’s rivalry game with Old Bridge.

And if you think the Bears will be looking past this game, think again.

The Bears have plenty of incentive to give it their best tomorrow. With a win, the Bears would match the school record for wins with 10 (1984). But more importantly, the Bears are looking for their first win over the Knights since 1994, as Old Bridge has taken the last nine meetings of these two neighboring rivals.

As for the 5-4 Knights, a win over the Bears would provide a fitting end to another solid season, and would allow head coach Bob DeMarco’s squad to hold on to the all-important bragging rights for at least one more year. Game time is 11 a.m. in Old Bridge.

Rams run out of steam in semifinals

The South River High School football team ran into an impressive New Providence team in its sectional final on Saturday, and the results were not what the Rams had hoped for.

South River’s offense struggled against a big, quick Pioneers defense, which shut down the Ram rushing game, and continually pressured quarterback J.J. Adelino, who struggled a bit in his final game at South River, completing just 7-of-14 passes for 81 yards, and reaggravating a foot injury that has nagged him throughout the season.

New Providence jumped ahead early, turning a Ram fumble into a touchdown drive and a 6-0 lead just 6:45 into the game. Another Ram fumble in the second quarter led to another Pioneer touchdown, and a 12-0 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the Pioneers put the game way with a third score, while the Rams continued to struggle to get anything going offensively, eventually losing 33-0 — the worst Ram defeat since the playoff format began in 1974.

With the loss, the Rams’ season came to a close at 8-3, but it was anything but a lost season for head coach Rich Marchesi’s squad, who will return a number of starters next year, when they look to continue the success the Rams have enjoyed over the past several years.