Tag: Cedar Creek

by Mike Pavlichko

Nugent carries Knights, gets Old Bridge 21-7 win over Cedar Creek in Battle at the Beach

Expectations around Old Bridge football this year are high, and maybe even higher for senior quarterback Brody Nugent.

Anyone who might have dared to question either of those statements probably has a stomach full of crow right about now. Nugent scored all three touchdowns Saturday afternoon in a 21-7 win over Cedar Creek on Day Three of the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Glassboro, and was named the game’s MVP.

Nugent opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run with 4:04 to go in the first quarter.

Old Bridge senior QB Brody Nugent holds the MVP belt, and gets the “Hat’s Off” honor from South Jersey sportswriter Mark Trible after a three-touchdown performance in a 21-7 win over Cedar Creek in the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Glassboro on August 30, 20205. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The Pirates tied it at seven in the second as quarterback Frenchmon Bethea hit Justus Payton from four yards out for a touchdown, but Nugent and Old Bridge answered right back with a 68-yard touchdown run.

A Knights’ interception by senior defensive back Xavier Diaz – his second of the game – four seconds before the half with Cedar Creek near midfield helped preserve the lead heading into the locker room.

Meanwhile, the Old Bridge defense played superbly. Sophomore DB Justin Burch grabbed another pick on Bethea. All that effort gave Nugent the chance to put the game away, which he did, with a 48-yard touchdown run with 3:04 to play that made it 21-7, the final.

Nugent finished just shy of 200 yards rushing in the game on just 15 carries.

Click below to watch postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Old Bridge senior quarterback Brody Nugent and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

MacNair to return for Somerville as Pioneers face unbeaten Cedar Creek in sectional semis

If Somerville is going to win its second state title of the Vanderbeek/Whitaker era – and head coach Dallas Whitaker’s first – it will have to get through one of the top teams in the state, then beat a team that will have an unplanned week off.

More on that second point in a moment; first things first for the Pioneers.

First comes this week’s South Jersey Group 3 semifinal game for The ‘Ville (8-2, one loss by forfeit) against top-seed Cedar Creek (10-0).

The Pirates are the 13th-ranked team in the state, and the fourth-highest ranked public school behind Millville, Northern Highlands and Rumson-Fair Haven. They average nearly 35 points per game scoring, and have only allowed one team – Winslow – to score double-figures against them. They won their first four games by shutout.

So, it will be a tall order for Somerville, but they good news is, Ethan MacNair – who was injured in the regular season finale against Summit, then sat out last week against Rahway – will be back in the lineup.

It will be the first ever meeting between Somerville and Cedar Creek, which is led by first-year head coach James Melody.

Should the Pioneers beat the Pirates, they would play at third-seed Delsea next week for the South Jersey Group 3 title, most likely Friday night at 7 pm.

Delsea gets a bye this week, advancing automatically to the title game after second-seed Wall pulled out of the state tournament, in response to a hazing scandal being investigated by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. The cancellation of the game was reported by multiple media outlets

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Somerville head coach Dallas Whitaker about the Pioneers’ sectional semifinal game against Cedar Creek: