Greg Dunkerton – Central Jersey Sports Radio

Two long drives told the story of this game, Roselle Park’s first of each half.

The Wing-T is difficult enough to defend, but when you have strong runningbacks that are tough to bring down, that makes it even tougher.

Three of those backs were on display Friday night for the Panthers in a 35-20 win at Highland Park, the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Nick Salas, Anthony Cianfrocca and Nasir Cheston routinely dragged defenders an extra five, ten, fifteen yards on play after play.

But those two drives.

The first took 7:38 off the clock in the first quarter, after the Owls failed to score on their first possession, It went eight plays for 82 yards and still took more than half the period. Cheston took his first touch of the game nine yards into the end zone to cap the drive.

The second came right after halftime. The Panthers took 15 plays this time, and 8:36 off the clock, finished off by quarterback Anthony Damiano, his first run of the game. He got a little push from behind on fourth-and-goal from less than a yard out, giving his team 28-12 lead with 3:02 left in the third.

Cianfrocca finished with 177 yards on 13 carries unofficially, with two touchdowns.

Roselle Park, now 4-2, still may not make the playoffs. They were 23rd in the North 1 supersection entering the weekend, and should tick up slightly. But with two of their four wins over winless teams in Dunellen and South River, and another coming up next week at JP Stevens, the odds are quite long, and they’d have to beat Spotswood – undefeated coming into the weekend – on Cutoff Weekend to have a prayer. It’s no fault of their own, just the schedule they’re dealt.

Highland Park drops to 2-4 after having started 2-0, and visits undefeated Manville (7-0) next Friday night.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen with senior runningback Anthony Cianfrocca and head coach Greg Dunkerton:

Friday night, when Roselle Park travels to Highland Park for a Big Central Conference Freedom Division game, both certainly need a win. But the effect on the playoff race for both teams will be markedly different.

Their records aren’t much different. The Owls are 2-3, with the Panthers are 3-2. But Roselle Park – despite the better record – is sitting at 24th place in the North Group 1 supersection, eight spots out of a playoff berth. Highland Park is in 14th in South Group 1.

It might not even be that one section is stronger than the other. Even though only seven teams in North Group 1 have an OSI over 40, and the first 14 are all 40 or higher in the North, Roselle Park would still be in a similar situation in the South.

Of Roselle Park’s three wins, two are over winless teams in South River and Dunellen, whose SI values average around 25. In fact, Dunellen is under 20, which kicks in the NJSIAA rule that – for OSI purposes – no team can be awarded fewer than 20 points for a win, and ten for a loss (Dunellen’s SI is calculated as 20 for playoff seeding purposes).

Fortunately, they have better competition this week. They’ll probably have to win at Spotswood to get in on Cutoff Weekend, but … one game at a time.

For the Owls, they also need wins. They finished 6-3 last season at the cutoff, but didn’t make it. If they keep winning, they should be able to fend off the teams behind them.

But Friday’s game – the first in a “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving twin-bill this week – is all that matters now. Both teams need to win.

The Owls have a new quarterback with the graduation of Markos Hantsoulis, but his cousins Kosta and Stamatis remain, and new QB Marcus Smith – a junior – has looked good, passing for 526 yards and five touchdowns through five games. Defensively, they have six sacks, led senior defensive end by Matthew Adamczyk-Zapor with two.

For Roselle Park, they’re more a run-heavy team, with three ball carriers in triple digits, led by junior Nick Salas (75 carries, 459 yards, and a team-best 17 touchdowns). Senior QB Anthony Damiano has thrown for 351 yards on the year and four TDs. He’s not turnover prone – with just one pick – but they just don’t throw it a lot. He’s only attempted 32 passes this season, and doesn’t run it a lot either. He lets the backs do that.

Defensively, though, they get after it. Damiano has two interceptions on the year, one for a touchdown, and is one of three players with two sacks apiece, while senior Jose Candelaria leads the Panthers with three.

You can hear Friday night’s game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau on the call. Kickoff is at 7 pm, pregame at 6:45. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear preview interviews from both head coaches: