No. 1 Phillipsburg stays unbeaten as do three others in Marcus Borden’s Week 5 Big Central Top Ten… plus rankings for BCC West, Middlesex and Union Counties

My Friday night game in Lambertville at South Hunterdon was my first time covering a game in Samuel E. Jefferis Athletic Stadium, which was named after the legendary coach who guided the smallest public high school in New Jersey for 40 years.

His record of 188-182-8 was impressive when considering they played against teams which had twice or more the enrollment size like Hunterdon Central or North Hunterdon. The Eagles won the Central Jersey Group 1 Sectional title in 1975 and 1979.

Toby Jefferis, Sam’s son, has been around the program since he was a youngster, and played for his father who retired in 2006. Toby took over the reins of the team as he was part of the fabric of a tight-knit small school community which supports their academic and athletic programs as well as having that toughness no matter who they play.

With the Brearley Bears entering the pristine confines of the real grass stadium – which looked like a golf course – the pink-clad student section, cheerleaders and band members welcomed the visitors and their local youth organizations as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

South Hunterdon would receive the opening kickoff and proceed to methodically run the football with sweeps, counters and a bit of option with an occasional play action pass by Junior quarterback Tucker Hicks, who is a running threat too.

Hicks would get the ball to the Brearley 12 yard line using his legs, however a penalty, a short gain and incomplete pass left the home team with a fourth down and about 10-yards. South Hunterdon would go for it with Hicks sprinting right looking like he was going to keep it, but instead he tossed it to sophomore Mason Currie who was short of the line to gain.

Brearley would get a first down running the ball with senior running back Mathew Resende, who ran inside and outside. The Eagles were up to the challenge and forced the visitors to pass on third and long which was well-defended resulting in a punt with 1:40 remaining in the first quarter of a scoreless game.

The Eagles would get great field position around midfield and run the ball two consecutive plays losing a few yards as the first quarter would come to a close with zeros on the scoreboard.

On third and long Hicks would open left and bootleg right looking to run or pass. As he tried to escape the defender, Brearley was called for a horse collar tackle which allowed the Eagles to continue their drive.

Once again South Hunterdon would mix it up running the dive option, counters and quarterback keeps moving inside the 10-yard line. On 3rd down and about 4-yards, Hicks would execute a perfect fake dive to the fullback and toss the ball to a wide open tight end at the near pylon of the end zone but he couldn’t secure the ball. There was no hesitation to go for it on 4th down, nevertheless Brearley was ready for the option and pitch which was just short of the first down marker with 7:38 remaining before halftime.

Brearley would run the ball with Resende moving out of the shadows of the scoreboard end zone getting close to midfield. Quarterback senior Joe Squillaro would try a play action pass across the middle which fell incomplete as the receiver could not hang on to the ball. An inside counter run would not get the first down so Brearley would sprint Squillaro right, he would stop and throw a screen to Carter Stein who would get the ball in the red zone.

Brearley would mix it up with Resende and Squillaro carrying the ball while milking the clock. On fourth and one with 1:19 on the clock Squillaro would call his own number easily getting the necessary yardage as the Bears were starting to feel the momentum shift in their favor.

With the ball on the Eagles 17-yard line, Resende would have consecutive runs as he was hit out of bounds on the Brearley sideline. The penalty moved the ball to the five-yard line setting up Squillaro’s shotgun keeper to the right as he put the visitors up 7-0 with 31 seconds before halftime.

After receiving the squib kickoff, South Hunterdon would run one play and let the clock run down as both teams headed to the locker room for halftime.

Brearley would receive the second half kickoff as they chose to play defense at the coin toss. The Eagles looked to recover a squib kick which was quickly recovered at the Bears 40-yard line.

It didn’t take long for the visitors to capitalize on their great field position, as Resende took the snap in the Wildcat formation sprinting down the Bears sideline for a 60-yard touchdown at 11:43 in the 3rd quarter for and a Brearley 14-0 lead.

Brearley would kick the ball deep into the Eagles end zone and force them to start from the 20-yard line. A fired up Bears defense would force South Hunterdon to punt from their 23-yard line, nearly blocking the rugby kick which went out of bounds near the Eagles 30-yard line.

Resende would have his second Wildcat run called back as the senior crisscrossed the field towards the visitors sideline. Two more runs by the senior tailback would set up Squillaro for a three-yard keeper and a 21-0 David Brearley lead with 7:26 in the third quarter.

South Hunterdon was not about to pack it as running backs Dayton Ratkowski, Kellen Healy continued to run hard while trying to get back in the game. Nevertheless, a spirited Bears defense continued to apply pressure as Squillaro from his free safety position intercepted an Eagle’s pass with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Brearley would run the ball as Resende and Squillaro would control the clock and the tempo of the game, driving into Eagle’s territory before missing a 27-yard field goal at 7:05 remaining in the game.

The young Eagle’ would have one more opportunity to score but were stopped on fourth down near the end of the game falling to 0-5, while the Bears improved to 3-3, having won their last three games and ending a 14-game losing streak.

Here are my Week 5 Top Tens for the entire Big Central Conference, plus the BCC West, Middlesex County and Union County: