Sherwin Appiah – Central Jersey Sports Radio

In a series that has been back and forth over their first 40 meetings, Sayreville now has a 21-20 lead.

The eighth-ranked Bombers trailed No. 5 Piscataway 7-0 late in the first, and while they controlled the ball for most of the first half, just couldn’t get in the end zone.

Even on their 18-play, seven-minute drive that ended the first half, they had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Phillip Sayouwah to cut the Chiefs’ lead to 7-3 as time expired in the first half.

After the Homecoming break, they kept Piscataway off the board, and got two touchdowns to move ahead, and put the game out of reach. The first was a one-yard run by quarterback Marcus Butka, capping an eight-play, 50-yard drive with 40 seconds to go in the third, giving the Bombers their first lead of the game, 10-7.

With 10:13 to go in the fourth, Shewrin Appiah came up with one of the most brilliant runs you’ll see at the high school level. With the ball on the Piscataway 34, he took a handoff, ran towards the middle, saw nothing, and made a 90-degree left turn on a dime. Then, he turned upfield, and with about five defenders scattered in front of him, turned up his speed to eleven and darted through all of them for a touchdown that put them up 16-7, as they missed the extra point.

Piscataway had chances, but missed a 40-yard field goal, and could not find the passing game to complement the run, with Landon Pernell often forced to throw the ball away – or just past everyone downfield – to avoid a sack, with the Sayreville defense hounding the Chief signal caller at every turn.

The Bombers improve to 7-2 on the season, and appear to have wrapped up at least a top eight finish in North Group 4, while Piscataway drops to 7-2, and should also finish in the top eight. Had they won, they would likely have had a No. 1 seed. Instead, the overall No. 1 appears it will go to Elizabeth, which beat Somerville at home Friday night to clinch a perfect 9-0 regular season.

Click below for postgame reaction from Sayreville head coach Mark Poore and runningback Sherwin Appiah with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

When two excellent teams meet, no matter their skill players, often it’s line play that determines who will come out on top.

And while Friday night’s “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving was by no means a blowout, No. 8 Sayreville controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and came out of Kenny Armwood Stadium with a 42-24 win over the No. 7 Chiefs.

The win Keeps Sayreville undefeated (6-0), while Piscataway drops to 4-2.

Shaun Jackson, the star runningback for the Bombers, was the biggest beneficiary of the superb line play by his teammates. He scored four times, the first coming after Landon Pernell scored from 20 yards out on the game’s opening drive for the Chiefs, on a 74-yard touchdown catch that tied the game at seven.

Then, he gave Sayreville its first lead, with a 15-yard run on the next possession. He also scored from a yard out just 2:12 before the half to give his team a 21-14 lead that would shrink to 21-17 after the Chiefs booted a 28-yard field goal with 25 seconds left before the break.

Jackson added a 24-yard run with 5:14 to go that sealed the deal, while Sherwin Appiah scored two touchdowns, on runs of six yards and one.

Jackson unofficially finished the night with 192 yards on 24 carries – putting him over 1,000 on the season – as the Bombers scored on all six full possessions. The only times they didn’t score was when they got the ball at the end of the first half with 20 seconds to play, and took a knee to head into the locker room, and in victory formation at the end of the game.

Sayreville also used multiple looks on offense that kept the Chiefs’ defense on their toes. They would direct snap to Jackson and Appiah, and it was a challenge just to keep up

The Bombers visit Franklin next week, while Piscataway hosts East Brunswick.

The win evened the all-time series at 20 wins each. No one has won back-to-back games in the series since the Chiefs won four straight from 2016 to 2019.

Click below for postgame reaction from head coach Mark Poore and runningbacks Sherwin Appiah and Shaun Jackson, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!