Nugent’s 3 TDs power Old Bridge past East Brunswick, 31-7, in Battle of Route 18

The games have been close recently, but this one was a dominant performance from Old Bridge.

The Knights set the tone early against East Brunswick in Friday night’s game at Vince Lombardi Field, with junior quarterback Brody Nugent rushing for one- and 47-yard touchdowns to give his team a 14-0 lead they would never relinquish, in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy and Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The Bears made it 14-7 on a 14-yard catch by Felix Munoz with 2:10 to go in the first quarter, but Old Bridge got it right back on a 21-yard run by Nugent with just under a minute to go in the period, then added a 30-yard field goal by Lucas Michael to make it 24-7 just before the half.

By this point, the Old Bridge lines on both sides of the ball were dominating play over a young EB line on both sides. They wore the Bears down, though they added just one second-half touchdown, a five-yard toss by Nugent to Jeremiah Dixon.

Nugent was the Old Bridge Offensive MVP, rushing for 117 yards unofficially on 10 carries, running for three touchdowns and passing for one more.

Senior defensive end Zahmir Evans was defensive MVP for the Knights. For the Bears, defensive end Noah DeJesus was defensive MVP; receiver Felix Munoz was the offensive MVP.

Old Bridge improves to 2-2 ahead of a trip to Morristown for a non-conference game next week, while East Brunswick drops to 1-4 and will visit Hunterdon Central next week.

The game was the 31st in the all-time series, which dates back to 1994, following the merger of Madison Central and Cedar Ridge. The Knights now lead 28-3, and have won the last 14.

Click below for postgame reaction with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue and quarterback Brody Nugent, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: