Woodbridge QB Derek Anderson stretches to get the ball across the goal line on a second-half TD run in a 36-34 season-opening win at Old Bridge on August 29, 2024. (Photo: Marcus Borden)
The game may have been far from perfect for the Woodbridge football team, but the end result was perfection.
Barrons senior quarterback Derek Anderson led his team from 14 points down late in the third quarter to beat St. Joseph-Metuchen back on Friday night, 36-35, capping a perfect 9-0 regular season, the program’s third in the last six years.
Anderson finished with 246 yards passing on 13-of-21 with three touchdowns, while also rushing for 106 yards on seven carries, including a 48-yard touchdown run.
But it was what he did when the game was on the line against an excellent opponent that earned him this week’s accolades.
Down seven late in the fourth, he found Izaiah Toliver for a 13-yard touchdown. The Barrons went for two to win it, and failed, but there were offsetting penalties, and the two-point try was replayed, with Anderson running it in to give Woodbridge a 36-35 lead, and eventually, the win.
And for that, Derek Anderson of Woodbridge is the Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week for Week Eight.
Woodbridge is the third seed in the North 2, Group 4 playoff bracket, and will open up sectional play this Friday night at 6 when they taken on seventh-seed Watchung Hills
Click below to hear from Week Eight Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Derek Anderson of Woodbridge:
The Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week is chosen from nominees by Big Central coaches. At the end of the season, one player will be chosen to receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Bellamy & Son Paving. As always, we will recognize selected “Honorable Mentions,” and recognize all other all nominees in our weekly story.
Honorable Mentions:
- Na’quavere “Junior” Thomas, Manville: In their rivalry game with Bound Brook, the senior was a beast on both sides of the ball. He ran 19 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns, while racking up 13 tackles on the defensive side of things; eight solo, three TFLs, and a five-yard sack.
- Aaron Potts, North Plainfield: In their final regular season home game, Potts led the Canucks to just their second win of the season by scoring both touchdowns in a 12-0 win over Metuchen Friday. He finished with 106 yards on 19 carries, along with two catches for 32 yards.
- James Bodley, Piscataway: The senior rushed for 141 yards on eleven carries with two touchdowns. His 60-yard run in the first quarter set up the Chief’s opening score on a field goal. Defensively, at linebacker, he had eight tackles and a TFL as part of a unit that held Monroe to 15 yards rushing in the game and just 105 total yards.
- Edward Cooper, South Hunterdon: The senior runningback carried 15 times for 279 yards and a whopping six touchdowns – the longest of which went for 64 yards – in a 38-7 win against Dunellen Friday night. The half-dozen scores set a single-game South Hunterdon record.
- A.J. Perales, South Plainfield: The senior defensive end had the big play in a 21-14 win at JFK Saturday: a 99-yard defensive touchdown after stripping the ball at the one-yard line. The win helped the Tigers clinch a share of the Big Central Conference United Silver Division at 3-1 in league.
Other Notable Performances:
- Logan Stevens, Bernards: The junior runningback – who’s also a Cornell lacrosse commit – rushed seven times for 77 yards and three touchdowns, while adding three catches for 52 yards in just one half of work, in a 35-7 road win against Carteret on Friday.
- Anthony Calantoni, Edison: The senior QB had a “perfect” night passing, going 11-for-11 for 220 yards and two touchdowns in a 46-28 victory over Paterson Eastside that helped the Eagles clinch a spot in the playoffs, winning four of their last five games after a 1-3 start.
- Jack Dally, Governor Livingston: In a 38-0 win at New Brunswick Friday, the senior runningback carried ten times for 168 yards and four touchdowns. That effort makes him just the third Highlander runningback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2010.
- T.J. Munn, New Providence: The senior quarterback went 4-for-7 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown, while also carrying 13 times for 102 yards and a score. Both those TDs came at key times: the pass allowed the Pioneers to take a 21-14 lead, and his run gave them a much-needed “insurance score” as they hung on to win 28-21.
- Brody Nugent, Old Bridge: In an epic, three-and-a-half hour, double-overtime game, the junior quarterback threw for 131 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 146 and a TD in a 36-29 win at Colonia on Friday night. The victory helped the Knights earn a first round home playoff game.
- Ja’Quan Robinson, Rahway: In a 28-3 win at Montgomery, the sophomore quarterback went 11-for-18 for 189 yards and three touchdown passes, of ten, 12 and 59 yards. And of his 11 completions, they went to seven different receivers.
- Joseph Dachnowicz, Ridge: The senior H-back had 104 yards rushing on 14 carries, while also adding four tackles and a pick from his safety position, in a 28-10 home win over Westfield Friday.
- Ryan Foster, Spotswood: The freshman wide receiver had four catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns Friday in a 38-6 win at Roselle Park that kept the Chargers in the playoff race. They made it – with some help.
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