The NJSIAA counts power points, and Strength Index, but luckily for Old Bridge, style points aren’t a thing, only the points on the scoreboard.

And that’s where the Knights were a winner Saturday evening, as third-seed Old Bridge topped sixth-seed Freehold Twp., 38-31, on a late Brody Nugent touchdown and a fumble recovery on the Patriots’ ensuing drive.

Nugent scored from 32 yards out with 6:32 to play to give his team a 38-31 lead. But a bad snap exactly a minute later on the clock went right over the Freehold quarterback’s head, and Justin Valinotti fell on it to give Old Bridge the ball back, allowing them to eventually ice the victory.

The win was Old Bridge’s first in the playoffs since 2017, when they beat Trenton in the opening round of Central Jersey Group 5.

Nugent got the Knights on the board first at 6:44 of the first quarter with a two-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0, and the period ended that way. But just 45 seconds into the second, Dakota Lasater ran in a score from a yard out, and a fake PAT netted two to make it 8-7 Patriots.

Lasater then gave Freehold Twp. a 14-7 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Lorenzo just over three minutes before halftime to make it 14-7, Nugent tied it up at 14-all with a 19-yard run, but a 37-yard Freehold field goal with 1.2 ticks left before the break made it 17-14 at halftime.

After halftime, Michael Firetto hit from 28-yards out on a field goal to make it 17-all with 6:54 to go in the third, then Brody Nugent took back the lead with his third touchdown of the game, this one from 68-yards out, making it 24-17 with 4:58 to go in the third.

And after Xavier Diaz picked off a long Freehold pass downfield, Chase Rizzo scored from 61 yards out to give the Knights some breathing room: a 14-point lead with just under 14 minutes to go in the game.

That proved to be important, as Freehold Township would get the next two scores in a nine-second span of game action to even it at 31 late in the third, recovering an onside kick after Lasater hit Jake Schultzel for a TD. The two hooked up again for the second score right after.

But then Nugent took over, and his run from 32-yards out with 6:32 left gave Old Bridge a 38-31 lead, after which Justin Valinotti recovered a Freehold Twp. fumble with 5:40 to go. And yet, it still wasn’t over. Old Bridge failed to score, then Freehold did, too, and the Knights were able to run out the final 1:36 thanks to a big first down run from Nugent.

The win sends Old Bridge (9-1) to the semifinals of Central Jersey Group 5 next Friday at 6 pm at second-seed Sayreville (9-1), which beat seventh-seed Trenton 36-0 Friday night. Freehold Township’s season ends at 5-5.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden in Old Bridge, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!