First-year Dunellen football head coach Kyle Baach addresses his team after ending the Destroyers 24-game losing streak with an 8-6 win at South River. (Photo: Marcus Borden)
My Friday night game in South Plainfield on Senior Night for the Marching Band, Cheerleaders and the Football Team was full of big plays as the visiting Raiders of Scotch Plains Fanwood let everyone know they were better than their 1-4 record entering the contest.
The visitors would win the toss and elected to receive. They would find themselves forced to punt on their first series as the kick was slightly blocked by the Tigers Aiden Noblecilla and Michael Fiore.
South Plainfield would waste little time scoring on their third offensive play which was a play action pass to a dragging Noblecilla off the sweep action for a 19-yard touchdown and the early lead at the 9:41 mark of the 1st quarter.
Both teams would trade possessions with the Raiders moving towards midfield as the first quarter ended with the Tigers having a 7-0 advantage. Scotch Plains QB Junior Marcus Schomberg would launch a bomb to his receiver who was running a corner route but the pass went through his hands and into the arms of South Plainfield’s Nick France who raced down the home sideline on what many thought was a defensive score. He was ruled out of bounds at about midfield.
Sophomore QB Lucas Habe would execute a perfect waggle screen pass rolling to his right, pulling up and throwing back to the left to his senior TE Noblecilla and a convoy of lineman for a 33-yard score and a 14-0 lead less than 2 minutes into the second quarter.
The Raiders would mix the run and pass on their next possession with Senior wide receiver Yasir Oates putting the pressure on the Tigers defense and getting a pass interference call setting up fellow classmate Avery Snow for a 7-yard scamper to pay dirt closing the gap to 14-7.
The visitors would thwart a South Plainfield scoring threat at 29 seconds before intermission as both teams headed to the locker room with the hosts leading 14-7.
Both South Plainfield and Scotch Plains would try to establish the run and mix in the play action pass in the 3rd quarter but both turned the ball over on downs while going for it on 4th down entering the final quarter with the home team having a 14-7 advantage.
The Tigers would put the ball in the hands of a bevy of backs moving in to scoring position when Senior Micah Anderson scored on a 2-yard plunge up the middle of the Raiders defense at 7:08 remaining in the game for a 21-7 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff Raiders Senior WR/DB Jayden Sanders took the bouncing kick to the house from around the 15-yard line weaving his way avoiding would-be-tacklers at 6:53 remaining in the game making it a seven point game again at 21-14.
The fireworks were not over as South Plainfield’s true freshman Mason Smith would show his track speed as he made one cut upfield while bursting for a 70-yard touchdown a 6:11 in the fourth quarter and a 28-14 lead.
Schomberg and Oates would not give up but the Raiders would turn it over on downs as South Plainfield would run out the clock improving to 4-2 on the season.
Saturday’s game between South River and Dunellen was a 2:00 p.m. Homecoming event which featured both teams seeking their first win of the season. Dunellen would win the toss and defer to the second half.
Both teams would try to feel each other out with the Rams punting three times and the Destroyers fumbling on their first possession, punting once and driving as the 1st quarter came to an end with no score.
Dunellen would get close to the Red Zone and call a time out to decide if they would go for it on 4th down or punt. They decided to line up in punt formation as the punter faked the ball being snapped over his head while Colin DaSilva took the short snap and hit Geramiah Burgess for a first down at the Rams 26-yard line.
On the ensuing play Sophomore QB Kayson Boyd would roll left and pull up and throw a dart to Junior WR Jermal Goodridge who was dragging to the right for a 26-yard touchdown pass. Boyd would score on a 1 and a half yard 2-point conversion up the middle of the South River defense as the Rams were offsides on the PAT attempt making it 8-0 at the 8:45 mark of the 2nd quarter.
South River would drive to the Destroyers 4 yard line behind the running of Dominic Harris and Ethan Chamberlain. They would turn it over on downs as Dunellen would run out the clock and go into the locker room up 8-0 at halftime.
The visitors would take the 2nd half kickoff and be forced to punt at 9:06 in the 3rd quarter up 8-0. The punt was shanked as the Rams were pressuring the kicker. South River would get a big run on their first play but it was called back. They would be forced to punt and tried to run for the first down coming up short at 7:15 in the 3rd quarter down 8-0.
The Rams would drive to the Destroyers 31-yard line and attempt their own punt fake but their punter was swallowed up by the Dunellen defense.
South River would force Dunellen to punt again on their next series and they received the short kick around midfield. Ethan Chamberlain would take the toss down the visitors sideline for a 48-yard score with 3:24 remaining in the 3rd quarter but the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game failed making the score 8-6 late in the 3rd quarter.
The Rams would have multiple chances to take the lead as their defense would recover two fumbles but the Destroyers were up to the challenge intercepting a Rams pass as well as forcing them to turn it over on downs multiple times in the 4th quarter.
Dunellen would stop South River one more time with 2:09 remaining in the game up 8-6. The Rams would use their timeouts and force Dunellen to either punt on 4th and 4 or go for it.
Boyd would break the huddle and look to run for the the first down marker being chased by the Rams defense while casually tossing to Goodridge who a was wide-open in the flat for the first down.
The celebration was on as there were loud cheers from the Dunellen fans and players as they rushed to the end zone opposite the scoreboard shedding tears of joy as they washed away the stigma of a 24-game losing streak for this young team under their new head coach.
Here are my Week 6 Top Tens for the entire Big Central Conference, plus the BCC West, Middlesex County and Union County:
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