Brown caps career with monstrous performance
Senior RB goes over 1,900 yards, leads North Brunswick to upset win
BY GEORGE ALBANO Staff Writer
The North Brunswick High School football team cooked up the perfect Thanksgiving Day recipe against rival South Brunswick last week.

ERIC SUCAR staff South Brunswick quarterback Mohammed Sanu tries to get a passs off during the first half of his team's game against rival North Brunswick on Thanksgiving Day. North Brunswick won the game 21-14.

The Raiders served up a ball-controlling, time-consuming offense for appetizers. Then they topped it off with a big-play defense for dessert.

But the main course was a talented tailback who was determined to make his final high school football game a memorable one.

Add it all up, and Pushaun Brown and the visiting Raiders had the perfect feast and a 21- 14 upset victory over the Vikings to reclaim the Mike Elko Memorial Trophy.

The win also clinched a .500 season for North Brunswick, which finished 5-5 after winning three of its last four games. South Brunswick also finished 5-5, but the Vikings lost their final two games, including one in the Central Jersey Group IV state playoffs.

What's more, the Raiders snapped a two-year losing streak to their rivals and extended their lead in the series to 22-10-1.

"I think going into the game, most people didn't give us a chance," said NBHS head coach Mark Zielinski. "But I'm very proud of our guys. They worked very hard and finished the year very strong."

One person, however, who did give the Raiders a chance was South Brunswick head coach Rick Mantz.

"It really doesn't matter what the records are when these two teams meet," the Vikings' firstyear coach said. "Thanksgiving is always emotional. It's Senior Day, it's the last game. It's always interesting. You never know how kids will respond.

"When it comes to Thanksgiving, it's a whole different entity," said Mantz, who spent 12 years as head coach at Hillsborough High prior to coming to South Brunswick. "We knew North Brunswick would come out emotional and we knew they would play hard."

They also knew they had deal with Brown, something they had difficulty doing most of the game. The senior tailback carried the ball an amazing 37 times for 137 yards and scored two touchdowns and a crucial two-point conversion, which put the Raiders in front for good.

Brown, who scored 15 touchdowns this season, finished with 1,902 rushing yards on 313 carries to set a new single-season school record, eclipsing the old mark of 1,832 yards set by Aaron Hicks in 2003.

"He's a hard worker, and setting the record was very satisfying for him, for us as a coaching staff, and for the fans and people around the school," Zielinski said. "It's great to see him accomplish those things. He was a really great influence in our program and an example for the young players. He improved as a player, as a student, and as a leader during the course of the year."

And while his career at North Brunswick is over, Brown hasn't played his last football game.

"There's already interest from some colleges," Zielinski pointed out, "but right now it's in the very early stages. We'll sit down in the next couple of months with college coaches and recruiters and see who's really interested and see what's a good fit for him as a student and as an athlete."

Mantz, for one, has no doubt Brown will succeed at the next level.

"We knew we had to stop Pushaun [Brown] and we had a fairly decent game plan, but he ran the ball hard and had a great day," Mantz said. "A lot of credit goes to North Brunswick. They really took it to our guys."

It was South Brunswick, however, who struck first when the Vikings' tailback, Justin McLendon, scored on a 1-yard run to give the home team a 7-0 lead after one quarter. McLendon also had runs of 21 and 25 yards in the long scoring drive.

But North Brunswick came back in the second period when on fourth-and-one, quarterback Matt Primavera connected with Nick Genovese on a 12-yard touchdown pass - Genovese's first touchdown of the season - and Brown ran in the twopoint conversion to give the Raiders an 8- 7 lead they would never relinquish.

"We had taken the lead and were really hoping to seize the momentum," Mantz said. "But we didn't cash in on a fake punt in the second quarter, and they got the ball at midfield and cashed in. We didn't make it happen, and they did and got the momentum."

But the game may have been decided in the third quarter. Ahead 8-7 at halftime, North Brunswick's Devon Adams returned the second-half kickoff to the 45, and the Raiders put together a 13-play scoring drive, capped off by Brown's oneyard touchdown to make it 15-7.

Then on the ensuing series, South Brunswick fumbled and Sean Meagher, a 6-4, 240-pound junior defensive end, recovered for North Brunswick on his own 49. The Raiders proceeded to go 51 yards in 15 plays, with Brown scoring his second touchdown of the game from 15 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 21-7.

"I thought the real turning point of the game came in the third quarter," Zielinski said. "We led 8-7, so it was essentially an even game. But that first drive took five or six minutes off the clock. Then South Brunswick fumbled on their fourth play from scrimmage and we had the ball for another 15 plays and took up the rest of the quarter.

"So of the first 32 offensive plays in the second half, we had 28 of them. We wore the clock down and controlled the ball. South Brunswick has a great offense, but we basically held the ball the whole quarter and kept their offense off the field. Plus we were able to extend the lead to 21-7. That was a major turning point of the game."

"Without a doubt, their ability to run and control the ball was the key," Mantz agreed. "They were able to bleed the clock. They had a knack for converting on thirddown plays. One time they had third and a mile and we thought we had their quarterback sacked, but they still got the first down. North Brunswick just found a way to make the plays. They did what they had to do to keep drives alive."

The Raiders were actually even more efficient on fourth down, converting 5-for-5 situations on their three scoring drives.

South Brunswick was able to cut the lead to 21-14 when quarterback Mohamed Sanu fired a 30-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Acevedo, and Tyler Olsson kicked the extra point. The Vikings attempted an on-side kick, but North Brunswick recovered to all but seal the victory with two minutes to go.

"The key to the game was we didn't turn the ball over," Zielinski said, "and fortunately we got two turnovers."

Besides the fumble recovery by Meagher, the Raiders had a big interception by sophomore linebacker Brad Pastrick in the first half. Andrew Opuku, a 6-3 safety, also came up big with a 7-yard sack on Sanu, while later in the game the defensive line stopped the Vikings' standout quarterback a yard short of a first down on the North Brunswick 5-yard line.

"Our defense was magnificent," Zielinski said.

The Raiders outgained the Vikings 264-224 in total yards, with Primavera accounting for 71 yards on 9-of-18 passing.

"Our quarterback did a good job," the North Brunswick coach added. "We ran 63 offensive plays to 53 for them, so we controlled

the play. And many of their plays came in the last six or seven minutes when they had to try to come back, so that evened it out a little."

"I'm proud of our kids. They never quit," said Mantz, who coached Hillsborough to the Group IV state championship in 2000. "We lost our first three games of the season and we could have spiraled, but we had a great senior group and they came back and won five in a row. We finished 5-3 and had the opportunity to go to the state playoffs (where the Vikings lost to Montgomery).

"At the same time, it sends a message that we still have a way to go and you've got to play four quarters. So I was very pleased with the kids and the way they responded to finish 5-5, but obviously we have to get better and raise the bar."

Which is exactly what North Brunswick also hopes to do next season.

"The kids were excited to finish the season on a winning note," Zielinski said. "We have 16 or 17 positions with experienced starters coming back next year, and it's nice to take a win like this into the offseason."