Local football teams gear up for postseason play
Sayreville, Spotswood,
South River and North
Brunswick seeking titles

The North Brunswick Raiders football team begins its quest for a state title tomorrow night, in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group III playoffs.

The Raiders (8-0) enter the Group III tournament as the No. 3 seed behind Hamilton North (7-1) and Hamilton West (7-1). As a result, they will host sixth-seeded Wall (7-1) tomorrow at 7 p.m.

From there, Coach Sal Mistretta’s team would face the winner of the Long Branch (5-2)-Hamilton West game in the semifinal. Mistretta’s Raiders have been as dominating as anyone in the Greater Middlesex Conference this year, behind the strong play of a dynamic offense and a surprisingly stingy defense. North Brunswick has only given up a handful of touchdowns all year, although the defense has often been overshadowed by the offense’s big play ability and tendency to put the ball in the end zone almost at will.

Mistretta’s Raiders look like the sleeper of the Group III tournament, although the teams from Hamilton will surely present quite a challenge.

However, three other local teams will also be in search of state titles when the playoffs get under way this weekend, with top-ranked Sayreville leading the list. The Bombers used Saturday’s game at J.P. Stevens as a warm-up for their postseason run, beating Stevens 41-14 despite playing without their star quarterback Brandon Hoyte, who missed the game due to a family commitment.

Sophomore quarterback Dan Huff filled in admirably for the 9-0 Bombers, who were led by senior running back Jimi Miller (seven carries for 94 yards, two touchdowns) and Dejon Spruill (three rushes, 115 yards, one touchdown).

The Bombers got off to a good start, going up 14-0 behind a pair of Miller TDs. But Stevens fought back to get within 21-7 at halftime.

The Bombers used their powerful running game to put the game out of reach in the second half in their final regular-season contest.

Sayreville will now set their sights on Trenton (4-4) Saturday in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group IV Tournament. The Bombers will look to pounce on the Tornadoes so they can meet the winner of the Hamilton East (7-1) and Edison (6-2) game. Game time is 1 p.m.

Rounding out the Group IV bracket is No. 2-seed Woodbridge (6-2), who will host seventh-seeded Middletown North (4-4). Number three seed Piscataway (6-2) will host sixth-seeded Hillsborough (6-2).

The Spotswood Chargers also played what equated to a warm-up game for them this weekend, but with very different results. The previously unbeaten Chargers (8-1) fell to their cross-town rivals, the Monroe Falcons, 24-22, behind the strong right leg of Monroe kicker Stephan Kowaleski.

Kowaleski booted a 42-yard field goal with 8:02 to play in the game to lift the Falcons (2-7) to the upset win. The field goal was the junior’s school-record seventh of the year.

The Falcons jumped out to the early lead when Ross Mendoker returned the opening kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown. From there, quarterback Jared Axelrod added a two-yard scoring run, and Mike Spiga ran into the end zone from four yards out to give Monroe a 21-7 lead at halftime.

The Chargers, who played without their starting tailback Walter Herres, couldn’t get anything going in the first half other than an 18-yard TD pass from quarterback Sal Petruzzi to wideout Jeff Ternyila in the first quarter, which was set up by a botched Monroe punt attempt.

The Falcons’ defense, which sacked the elusive Petruzzi six times for 44 yards, managed to hold Spotswood’s powerful offense to 27 total yards of offense in the first half.

The Chargers tried to mount a comeback in the second half, which was sparked by Petruzzi’s second-half kickoff return of 84 yards for a touchdown. Spotswood then got a 4-yard TD run from Dustin Katcher to close out a 43-yard drive on its next possession.

But the Falcons’ defense stiffened, not allowing the Chargers past the 40-yard line on their last four possessions, to help set up Kowaleski’s game-winning kick.

The loss meant little to the Chargers’ playoff hopes, since they were virtually guaranteed the third seed in the Central Jersey Group II tournament. This weekend, Spotswood will host Delaware Valley (6-2), the sixth seed, in the opening game of its postseason run. Game time is 1 p.m.

If they win there, they will face the winner of the Raritan (4-4)-Manasquan (8-0) game. Manasquan enters the postseason as the No. 2 seed behind Somerville ( 8-0). However, Manasquan is also riding a 32-game unbeaten streak which goes back to their 1997 loss to Neptune in the CJ Group II final.

Spotswood will have to play its best football of the year if it has any hopes of taking the Group II title this year.

Monroe did not qualify for the state playoffs, but did earn a consolation game at Freehold Borough on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m.

As for the South River Rams (6-2), they will enjoy a bye as the second seed in the Group I tournament, and will await the winner of the sixth-seeded Dunellen (5-3) and third-seeded Middlesex (6-2) game.

The Rams are coming off a 14-7 loss to Carteret (4-4) in a game where their offense was shut down by a surprisingly strong Rambler defense. The Rams managed just a single touchdown, which came when quarterback Mike Feaster hit Renee Ferreira from four yards out in the second quarter. Tailback Zack Earvin was held to just 38 yards on 13 carries, just one week after rushing for 285 yards.

However, the loss didn’t affect the Rams’ placement in the Group I tournament, and they will look to get back on the winning track next weekend.

South River comes into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the area, with Earvin scorching the opposition for well over 100 yards rushing per game.

The Rams will need Earvin to be his dominant self again if they have any hopes of knocking off top-seeded and two-time defending Group I champion Keyport (8-0).

The Red Raiders knocked off South River last year in the Group I final, and appear to be even stronger this year, dominating their opposition throughout the season. Keyport will also have a bye this week and will await the winner of the Colts Neck (5-3)-Highland Park (4-4) game.

The only other teams in action this weekend will be playing state consolation games, all of which will be Saturday at 1 p.m. The South Brunswick Vikings will host West Windsor South, the East Brunswick Bears will host Bridgewater, and Old Bridge will host Marlboro.

— Doug McKenzie