Cassius Carter – Central Jersey Sports Radio

The Middlesex football team looked nothing Thursday night like they did in the first four games of the season, which included a 27-0 loss to Highland park and a 40-6 loss at Belvidere.

Since runningback Brian Cilento returned to his home school after transferring back from Immaculata – sitting four games since he made the move after practice had started in August – the Blue Jays may be 0-2, but they have been much more competitive.

Still, it was not enough Thursday night at Mountainview Park, as Manville came in and left with a 28-20 victory, improving to 6-1 on the season, 4-1 in the Big Centrals’ Freedom Silver Division where they sit a half-game behind Belvidere, which beat them last week, 34-28.

All the first half scoring came on the first three drives of the game.

Manville scored on its opening possession, with a long drive tat ate a good deal of clock capped by a one-yard run by Elijah Bennett at the 4:51 mark, giving them a 7-0 lead.

But Middlesex, punched by the Mustangs, punched right back. The Blue Jays took less than three minutes to get on the board on their opening possession, with Matt Petti, Jr.’s seven-yard run getting Middlesex within one, but a failed PAT left them down 7-6 with 1:57 left in the first.

Manville would add to its lead on the next possession, taking nearly four minutes this time. QB Jonathan Gosk hit Cassius Carter for a 59-yard TD strike that put the Mustangs up 14-6 with 10:17 to go in the half, and that’s the way it would stay when the teams hit the locker rooms at half time.

In the second half, Middlesex got the ball first, and scored on that drive, with Cilento running it in three yards for a score at the 6:36 mark to cut it to 14-12, but with 3:24 left in the third, Gosk hit junior Aiden Johnson from 18 yards out for his second TD pass of the game, putting the Mustangs ahead 21-12.

Middlesex wasn’t done yet, though. Jo Jo Pham found a hole on the left side of the line and ran it all the way into the end zone from 41 yards out to cut the score to 21-20, thanks to a successful two-point conversion.

But they would get no closer, and Manville would add one more score to put it out of reach late, as Carter scored his second touchdown of the game – this time a 25-yard run with 2:10 to go – with the Mustangs stopping Middlesex in the red zone as time expired.

The Blue Jays fall to 1-5, 1-2 in the Freedom Silver, but now have played two of their most competitve games of the season since Cilento’s return, falling 29-28 in overtime last week before Thursday night’s loss to Manville. They close out with winnable games next week at Bound Brook and on Friday night of Cutoff Weekend with JP Stevens at home.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Marcus Borden with ….. presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

The Manville football team had only made the playoffs five times prior to this season, which has been a dominant one against Big Central competition any way you slice it.

Turns out, after coming up empty in all five previous appearances, the sixth time was the charm.

The fourth-seeded Mustangs got two touchdowns from Isaiah Bennett, two from Sam Echeverri – one on a run and one on a pass from Josh D’Ambrosio – and a run from D’Ambrosio himself en route to a 35-0 dismantling of fifth-seed Asbury Park Friday night in the Central Jersey Group 1 first round, to give Manville its first playoff win in program history.

In the Friday night “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, the Mustangs – who started on offense – needed just three plays to score, on a 61-yard TD catch by Echeverri. After a long Asbury Drive took six minutes off the clock and came up empty, the teams traded possessions before Manville went ten plays in just under five minutes, capped by a Bennett two-yard run to make it 14-0.

The rest of the scoring came in the second half, and the Blue Bishops only really threatened once, late in the third quarter, when they made it as far as the eight yard line. But they got driven back, and Matt Gorbatuk had a big sack to get out of danger and preserve the shutout.

The victory makes Manville 10-0 – setting a new program record for wins – and will send the Mustangs down to top-seed Burlington City for a 6 pm game next Friday. (No early dismissal will be needed, as there’s no school for the teachers’ convention.) The Blue Devils (8-1) were 49-0 winners at home over eight-seed Bound Brook, 49-0, Friday night. The Crusaders’ bounceback season ends at 5-5.

Click below for Mike Pavlichko with postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!