Raiders football wants to finish strong
BY GEORGE ALBANO Staff Writer
The North Brunswick High Raiders certainly seem to be playing their best football of the season heading into the annual Turkey Day showdown with a 4-5 record and wins in two of their last three games, including an impressive 42-28 victory over Old Bridge last Friday night.

What's more, North Brunswick finished second in the GMC White Division with a 3- 2 mark, trailing only division-winner Colonia.

"We came within one game of finishing first in the division," head coach Mark Zielinski said. "If we had beaten Colonia, and we were tied with them in the third quarter, we could have finished tied for first.

In fact, five of North Brunswick's first nine opponents made the state playoffs this season. South Brunswick, which is 5-4, will make six.

And the nice thing is, the Raiders are doing the job with youth.

"We have a pretty young team," said Zielinski, who is completing his fifth season as head coach of the Raiders and 14th overall with the NBHS football program counting his nine years as an assistant. "Next year, as long as everyone is still around, we have something like 15 of 22 starting positions back."

Perhaps no one works harder than senior tri-captain Pushaun Brown, the Raiders' starting tailback. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound standout has broken the North Brunswick single-game rushing record on three separate occasions this season. He first broke the mark with a 300-yard game in the win over South Plainfield.

"He's starting to garner special notice," Zielinski said. "He's made a few college visits already."

Junior quarterback Matt Primavera is also having a good season and is coming off a 7-for-14 effort against Old Bridge, in which he passed for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"He's gotten better and better during the course of the year," Zielinski said. "He's really shown a great work ethic and has improved tremendously."

But neither Primavera nor Brown would be enjoying the success they have without a solid offensive line, which is led by two-way tackle Michael Cole, a 6-3, 255-pound junior who is already attracting interest from several major colleges, including Rutgers.

And because of injuries, Zielinski has had to work a trio of juniors - Brian Sivetz, Sean Meagher and Matt Bower - in and out of the line.

The Raiders are also solid on defense, particularly in the secondary where seniors Devon Adams and Darion Patterson have shined.

"Devon came back from an injury early in the season and has come on really strong," Zielinski said. "He plays a great cornerback and he's also made some nice plays at wide receiver. Against Old Bridge he caught a touchdown pass and had three receptions for 47 yards.

The Raiders certainly seem to be clicking on all cylinders heading into next Thursday's game with South Brunswick. One thing Zielinski doesn't have to worry about is making sure his players are motivated.

"They should be," he said. "It's a natural rivalry. That should be enough motivation. It should be a good Thanksgiving Day game this year."