GMC Hoops Blogosphere

GMC Football–Piscataway @ Sayreville–September 17, 2009

Bomber Defense Bends, But Doesn’t Break In Sayreville 14-7 Victory Over P-Way

SAYREVILLE, NJ–We all know the old saying that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Well, that statement couldn’t be any truer when Sayreville hooked up with Piscataway in a key GMC Red showdown to open conference play at Sayreville War Memorial High School. The Bombers only had three significant drives the entire contest while the Chiefs had numerous drives start inside the Sayreville 50 yard line only to either get stopped on downs, fumble it away, or get intercepted.

Piscataway had the ball to start drives on the Sayreville 43 (twice), Sayreville 19, Sayreville 35, and Sayreville 46, and each time, the Chiefs came up empty. Meanwhile, the Bombers offense had drives of 85, 80, and 50 yards. Two of those drives resulted in touchdowns with the latter coming on a one yard run by Alex Yanuzzelli with 7:30 to play in the contest for a 14-7 victory. Shakir Goodrich played a pivotal role in all three of Sayreville’s drives. On the first drive in the opening quarter, Goodrich took a rollout screen pass up the left sideline for 58 yards to turn a 1st and 19 at the Bomber 21 into a 1st and 10 on the Piscataway 11. Then, in the fourth quarter, Goodrich came up with a 14 yard run on 2nd and 11 at the Bomber 19, and followed that up with a 30 yard run from the Sayreville 49 to the Piscataway 21. On the final drive, Goodrich came up with a 3rd Down and 2 conversion at the P-Way 44 with a four yard run.

Delon Stephenson (4 receptions for 50 yards) also chipped in on the go ahead touchdown drive midway through the fourth with catches of 16 yards and 20 yards while Dave Milewski caught a first quarter touchdown pass from Joe Geiger, picked up a second quarter fumble, and then caught a 17 yard pass from Geiger on a rollout to the right side to convert a 4th Down and 3 play that sealed the seven point victory. Syd Holt, George Koblentz, and Basim Fain were the heroes on defense as Holt stopped a Piscataway drive deep into Sayreville territory with a sack of Griggs on the 19 yard line while Koblentz came up with a sack of Malcolm Griggs on a 3rd Down and 8 play at the 28 yard line. Fain came up with an interception of Aaron Stith at the Sayreville 11 yard line, and picked off a Griggs pass into the end zone late in the second period.

Although Anthony Tillman scored Piscataway’s lone touchdown, he was held in check by the Sayreville defense as was teammate, and wide receiver, Javaun Wynn. Tillman was stopped for either no gain, or for a loss at least five times in the contest while Wynn only had one catch the entire game. The Rutgers recruit did have an interception for Piscataway in the third quarter. The Chiefs committed three turnovers, and were stopped on downs twice. Joe Geiger, who came up big in the Bombers opening weekend victory at Brick Memorial, played well again for Sayreville with 11 completions on 16 pass attempts for 151 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

For Sayreville, the win capped off a huge week with the Bombers defeating two state sectional champions to start the season. After holding off defending Central Jersey Group IV Champion, Brick Memorial on the road (29-26), the Bombers knocked off defending North Jersey Section 2 Group IV Champion, P-Way. For the Chiefs, it was the second straight loss to start the 2009 campaign after losing 26-14 in their opener against Howell at Rutgers Stadium. Sayreville started the game strong after Piscataway’s first drive ended with a punt.

Starting on their own 15 yard line, the Bombers began their march with a three yard run by Goodrich. Sayreville picked up several more yards before converting a 3rd Down and 2 at its own 24 yard line on a five yard run by Alex Yanuzzelli. Following a ten yard penalty against the Bombers, Geiger rolled to his right, and threw back to his left to Goodrich, who turned up field, and burst up the Piscataway sideline for a 58 yard completion to the Chief 11 yard line. Two plays later, on a 3rd Down and 9 from the Piscataway 10, Geiger rolled right again, and found Milewski for a touchdown to cap the eight play, 85 yard drive. Daryl Stephenson added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

From this point on until early in the fourth quarter, Piscataway dominated the game. Problem was, the Chiefs weren’t able to show it on the scoreboard. The second quarter began with P-Way having the ball on the Sayreville 43 yard line after moving the ball up the field to end the first quarter. On third down, Griggs run for the first down marker, but was stopped short. Piscataway then went for it on fourth down, and Griggs rolled to his right, and passed to Taj Watkins for a 23 yard pass play to the Sayreville 16 yard line. After Tillman was stopped for no gain on 1st and 10, Stith ran for five yards before absorbing a hard hit by a Bomber defender at the Sayreville 10 yard line. Tillman was again stopped for no gain on 3rd and 5, and then Holt got his pivotal sack of Griggs on 4th and 5.

The Chiefs eventually got the ball back, and had a 1st and 10 at the Sayreville 43 yard line when Stith threw a pass down field, and up for grabs. Fain came down with the interception at the Sayreville 11 yard line. The Bombers couldn’t do much with it though, and after a shaky punt by Milewski that went about 25 yards before being picked up by Anthony Gratz for a 21 yard return to the Sayreville 19, P-Way was back in business. However, it was not for long. On a subsequent Chiefs play, Tillman got the ball on a handoff, and fumbled. Milewski picked up the turnover at the Sayreville 15 ending that drive. Once more, the Bombers weren’t able to produce much on offense, and Milewski was forced to punt again. This time, it was a better kick that sailed to about midfield before Jahaad Coleman returned the punt to the Sayreville 35.

This drive for Piscataway started out with some promise as Griggs found Wynn for a 23 yard gain to the Sayreville 12. Griggs followed that up by battling is way up the middle for a five yard gain to the Bomber 7. However, the Chiefs were unable to get any closer, and punch it in. On 4th and 5 from the Sayreville 7, Griggs began to run left, then moved to his right before throwing an interception to Fain in the end zone. Sayreville then ran out the clock to take a 7-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. The third quarter started with Piscataway taking the ball at the 38 yard line after stopping Sayreville. Griggs passed on the run again to Watkins for a 30 yard gain to the Sayreville 32.

Once gain though, the Sayreville defense would hold as the Bombers got a huge stop by Koblentz, who sacked Griggs on a 3rd and 8 play from the Bomber 28 yard line. The Bombers continued to have short possessions on offense as Geiger threw his only interception of the game to Wynn, who ran the ball back to the Sayreville 46 yard line. On first and ten for the Chiefs, Tillman ran for five yards. On the next play, Tillman only got one yard, and on 3rd and 4 from the Sayreville 40 yard line, Griggs scrambled for just a yard setting up a 4th and 3. At the 39 yard line of Sayreville, the Chiefs handed off to Tillman, who was then stopped short of the first down by Vincent Ford. Once more though, Sayreville couldn’t sustain a good drive, and the Chiefs would get the ball back.

Nearing the end of the third quarter, Piscataway began their best drive of the game in their own territory. P-Way got a nice first down run from Matt Recine to start things off. Then, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Tillman was stopped for a loss of four yards. On second and long, Griggs picked up half the yardage with a seven yard play to the Sayreville 43. After both teams called timeouts, Griggs found Rutgers bound, Kyle Polk for a 38 yard pass play to the Bombers five yard line to not only keep the drive going, but set up a tying score. Following a run of two yards, Tillman crossed the goal line on a run to the left from three yards out to knot the score at 7-7 with 9:14 remaining.

On the ensuing Sayreville possession, the Bombers offense came to life again. After Fain was stopped for a yard loss on first down at the Bomber 20, Goodrich came up with a 14 yard run to the Sayreville 33. Geiger then followed that up with a 16 yard pass to Delon Stephenson to the Bomber 49. Goodrich added a 30 yard run on first down to the Piscataway 21. On the next play, Geiger went to Delon Stephenson again for a 20 yard gain to the Chiefs one yard line, where Yanuzzelli burst through for the go ahead score. Daryl Stephenson added the extra point, and the score was 14-7 in favor of the Bombers with 7:30 to play. When Piscataway got the ball back, its final drive started with some promise.

Fullback Jaleel Hunter ran up the middle for about eight yards on first down, but the Chiefs weren’t able to convert a first down, and were forced to punt. Sayreville got the ball on their own 34 yard line. The Bombers moved the ball for eight yards on first and second down before Yanuzzelli converted a key 3rd Down and 2 run from the Bombers 42 yard line. Several plays later, Sayreville was faced with another critical third down at the Piscataway 44 yard line. This time, it was Goodrich that came through with the conversion. After Davon Jackson was stopped by Jonathan Kinslow on third down. Geiger rolled out to his right on a 4th and 3, eluded the Piscataway blitz, and threw to Milewski for a 17 yard completion that sealed the victory.

With the win, Sayreville improved to 2-0 while Piscataway fell to 0-2. Both teams were back in action on Friday, September 25 as the Bombers defeated Woodbridge (23-8) and the Chiefs beat North Brunswick (28-15).

See video highlights from this game by following the links below:

• GMC Football–Video Highlights–Piscataway @ Sayreville–September 17, 2009–First Quarter
• GMC Football–Video Highlights–Piscataway @ Sayreville–September 17, 2009–Second Quarter
• GMC Football–Video Highlights–Piscataway @ Sayreville–September 17, 2009–Third Quarter
• GMC Football–Video Highlights–Piscataway @ Sayreville–September 17, 2009–Fourth Quarter

GMC Football–Video Highlights–Piscataway @ Sayreville–September 17, 2009–Fourth Quarter

Here are the video highlights from the fourth and final period of play between Piscataway and Sayreville at Sayreville War Memorial High School on Thursday, September 17th. The Chiefs managed to tie the game on a three yard touchdown run by Anthony Tillman after a huge play on third down was converted on a pass by Malcolm Griggs to Kyle Polk. The Bombers responded though by driving right down the field with nice runs by Shakir Goodrich and good passes from Joe Geiger to Delon Stephenson. Alex Yanuzzelli capped the drive with a one yard run for the 14-7 lead. Sayreville then made two key third down conversions and a fourth down play to seal the victory after forcing Piscataway to punt. Enjoy the video.

GMC Football–Team Stats–Through Week Three

With all of the results from week three compiled and posted, here are the current team stats for football from around the Greater Middlesex Conference. The team stats are broken down by division: Red, White, Blue, and Gold.

GMC Football–Red Division Stats

GMC Football–White Division Stats

GMC Football–Blue Division Stats

GMC Football–Gold Division Stats

GMC Football–Week Four–Schedule

We are now approaching the fourth week of the GMC Football season, and things will be heating up as we have a couple key matchups in the Gold and Blue Divisions as well as two huge matchups in the Red between Piscataway and East Brunswick, and Sayreville and Old Bridge. Games will just be played on Friday night and Saturday afternoon as they normally are. Below is the schedule for this week:

GMC Football–Week #4–Friday Night–October 2, 2009

• Carteret at Bishop Ahr, 7:00 PM
• Metuchen at Highland Park, 7:00 PM
• Piscataway at East Brunswick, 7:00 PM
• Sayreville at Old Bridge, 7:00 PM
• Woodbridge at South Brunswick, 7:00 PM
• New Brunswick at J.P. Stevens, 7:00 PM
• Edison at Monroe, 7:00 PM

GMC Football–Week #4–Saturday Afternoon–October 3, 2009

• J.F. Kennedy at Colonia, 1:00 PM
• Perth Amboy at North Brunswick, 1:00 PM
• South Plainfield @ Monmouth Regional, 1:00 PM
• Middlesex @ South River, 1:00 PM
• Cardinal McCarrick @ Spotswood, 1:00 PM
• Red Bank Regional @ Dunellen 1:00 PM

GMC Hoops will be out at Bishop Ahr High School on Friday night to take in the contest between the Trojans and Carteret.

GMC Football–Top Ten–September 30, 2009

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–GMC Hoops has put together a Top Ten for football in the Greater Middlesex Conference for the first time ever. Sayreville remains atop the poll following its win over Woodbridge (23-8) on Friday night. The only major change in the poll was Highland Park moving into the ninth spot ahead of Spotswood following its convincing victory over Middlesex on Friday (44-21). Below is the teams listed in this week’s Top Ten.

1. Sayreville (3-0)
2. Piscataway (1-2)
3. East Brunswick (3-0)
4. Monroe (1-1)
5. Old Bridge (3-0)
6. South Brunswick (1-1)
7. Bishop Ahr (2-1)
8. North Brunswick (1-1)
9. Highland Park (2-1)
10. Spotswood (3-0)

Other teams getting consideration: Metuchen, New Brunswick, Carteret, and Perth Amboy.

2009 Immaculata Fall League–Updated Standings–September 29th

SOMERVILLE, NJ–With all of the results compiled from the first week of action, here are the latest standings from the 2009 Immaculata Fall League, which began play on Sunday. There are a total of 18 teams in this league including six from the GMC.

2009 Immaculata Fall League–Standings–Week One

• Bridgewater (1-0)
• Cardinal McCarrick (1-0)
• Franklin (1-0)
• Hillsborough (1-0)
• Hopewell Valley (1-0)
• Immaculata (1-0)
• Montgomery (1-0)
• North Hunterdon (1-0)
• St. Joseph’s (1-0)
• Colonia (0-1)
• Hunterdon Central (0-1)
• Mendham (0-1)
• Middlesex (0-1)
• Monroe (0-1)
• Watchung Hills (0-1)
• Westfield (0-1)
• West Windsor-Plainsboro North (0-1)
• West Windsor-Plainsboro South (0-1)

GMC Hoops plans to be back out at this league next Sunday night.

2009 Immaculata Fall League–Results–Opening Night–September 27th

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ–On Monday, GMC Hoops received the rest of the results from the opening night of the 2009 Immaculata Fall League thanks to Chris Fox. All together there were nine games played including five at Immaculata High School and four at Raritan Valley Community College. Below are the results of all of the listed below:

Immaculata Fall League–Results–Opening Night

• Franklin 44–Hunterdon Central 35
• Montgomery 63–West Windsor-Plainsboro South 27
• Hopewell Valley 51–West Windsor-Plainsboro North 46
• Cardinal McCarrick 36–Middlesex 20
• North Hunterdon 42–Middlesex 35*
• St. Joseph’s 54–Watchung Hills 49
• Hillsborough 52–Monroe 49 OT
• Bridgewater 27–Colonia 23
• Immaculata 53–Mendham 47

*Westfield only had one player show up so Middlesex played a second game.

GMC Hoops will be back out at either Immaculta High School or Raritan Valley Community College next Sunday night.

2009 Hoop Group Headquarters Fall League–GMC Results–September 28th

NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night after work, GMC Hoops traveled down again to the Hoop Group Headquarters, formerly known as Rebounds, to take in action from three games in the 2009 Hoop Group Headquarters Fall League. It was opening night, and all six GMC teams participating in the league were in action. The site has results from three of those games listed below:

Hoop Group Headquarters Fall League–GMC Results–Week Two–September 28th

• Cardinal McCarrick 56–Southern Regional 54 OT
• Middletown North 29–Spotswood 26
• Manalapan 50–South River 40

GMC Hoops will have the rest of the results later this week.

2009 Immaculata Fall League–Some Results–Opening Night–September 27th

SOMERVILLE, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Immaculata High School, to take in action from a couple games on the opening night of the 2009 Immaculata Fall League. The site was unable to see any of the GMC teams in action because either they already played, or were in action over at Raritan Valley Community College. Below are the results of the two games listed below:

Immaculata Fall League–Some Results–Opening Night

• Franklin 44–Hunterdon Central 35
• Montgomery 63–West Windsor-Plainsboro South 27

GMC Hoops will have the rest of the results later this week.

Hoop Group Headquarters Fall League–September 21, 2009

NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Hoop Group Headquarters, formerly known as Rebounds to take in the opening night of action from the 2009 Hoop Group Headquarters High School Boys Fall League. This is the fourth straight year that the site is covering this league. Six teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference are competing in this league, and the site saw four of them in some sort of action. Check out the results of the four games along with the rest of the contests, and the latest standings.

In the first contest at 8:00 PM involving a GMC squad, East Brunswick took on Toms River East. The Raiders, which won Division B of the Spring League back in June, were no match for the Bears, which were without the likes of Mauro Tucci (football). The 9:00 PM round of games saw contests involving three teams from the GMC including South Amboy versus Lacey, South River versus Ocean Township, and Spotswood versus Shore Regional.

East Brunswick Cruises Past Toms River East, 53-39

The Bears of East Brunswick have become a fixture at the Spring and Fall Leagues put on by the Hoop Group. Playing in Division B this fall season, the Bears opened up their schedule with a contest on the Celtics Court against Toms River East, which won the Spring League’s Division B. GMC Hoops just so happened to catch the very end of this game after getting out of work a bit later than usual. Arriving with 4:15 left in the contest, the game was already well within hand.

Leading by a score of 51-34, EB had nothing really to worry about. Just run out the clock. Neither team scored for about the first 2:30 after the site arrived. The Raiders netted two free throws for a 51-36 EB lead at the 1:44 mark. The Bears answered in the form of a short baseline jumper from the right side by John Genco a little less than a half minute later for a 53-36 advantage with 1:18 left. Seconds later, Toms River East came right back down the floor for a three pointer at the 1:07 mark for a 53-39 East Brunswick lead.

The Raiders then had opportunities to make the final score even more respectable, but EB prevented them from doing so thanks to charges drawn by Genco at the 39 second mark, and Dan Sclafani at the 20 second mark. With the 53-39 victory, the Bears start off the fall at 1-0 while Toms River East slips to 0-1. Next week, EB will be back in action against Middletown South at 6:00 PM on the Nets Court.

Ocean Township Pulls Away From South River, 52-35

South River is one of the new teams in this league from the Greater Middlesex Conference, and they were competing without the likes of Brandon Walsh, Shawn Fenton, and Xavier Foster. Their opponent is no stranger to the Hoop Group leagues, and playing against GMC competition. Ocean Township has competed in the past against the likes of South Amboy, Spotswood, and East Brunswick.

On this opening night, it was a victory for the Shore Conference, which actually went 2-4 in games versus the GMC as the Spartans went on a 9-0 run midway through the first half, and after the Rams started out strong with an 18-10 run over the first 11:29 of the second half to close within five at 36-31 with 8:31 left, Ocean Township went on a decisive 9-0 run over a span of 4:26 to take a 45-31 lead en route to a 52-35 victory.

This game was going on while South Amboy was taking on Lacey and Spotswood was taking on Shore Regional, so there was a lot to cover. Nevertheless, the contests started with Ocean Township scoring six of the first ten points over the opening four minutes. South River fought back though with five of the next seven points in a span of only 1:46 to grab a 9-8 lead at the 14:14 mark. The Spartans went back out in front on its next possession with a fadeaway jumper along the baseline for a 10-9 score at the 13:30 mark.

The score sparked a key run for Ocean Township. Over the next 4:56, Ocean scored nine unanswered points including a three point play at the ten minute mark to take a 17-9 lead before the Rams got a bucket, and called timeout with the score, 17-11 with 8:34 to go in the half. Following the timeout, Ocean Township, which actually outscored South River by a margin of 18-4 over the final 14:14 of the half, padded its lead with a 7-2 spurt over a 4:24 span for a 24-13 lead at the 4:10 mark.

The final field goal of the first half was scored by Ocean at the 3:45 mark as neither team could muster any offense the rest of the period. In the second half though, the Rams showed some resiliency by scoring 18 of the first 28 points of the new period to pull within five at 36-31 with 8:31 to go. However, South River wouldn’t get any closer. On its next possession, Ocean scored a reverse layup from the right side at the 7:42 mark to spark another 9-0 spurt that included a three pointer from the top of the key at the 6:54 mark, and a couple of field goals for a 45-31 lead with 4:05 to play.

The final four plus minutes saw Ocean outscore the Rams by a margin of 7-4 for a 52-35 victory. With the win, the Spartans start at 1-0 while South River drops to 0-1. The Rams are back in action again on Monday night when they take on Manalapan at 8:00 PM on the Celtics Court.

Spotswood Rolls In Opener Against Shore Regional, 65-43

On the other side of the Hoop Group Headquarters facility, the Spotswood Chargers were doing battle with the Blue Devils of Shore Regional on the Knicks Court. The Chargers have become no strangers to the spring, summer, and fall leagues at Rebounds. Although it didn’t play in the Spring League, Spotswood did compete in the Summer League. This game was no contest as the Chargers, a Group II team took it to Shore Regional, a Group I team. Spotswood jumped out to a 30-8 lead over the first 10:30 of the contest en route to a 45-19 halftime advantage, and never looked back in a convincing 65-43 win over the Blue Devils.

GMC Hoops was taking in quite a bit of action from the games being played between South River and Ocean Township as well as South Amboy and Lacey. As a result, by the time the site got over to the Spotswood game, it was already well out of hand. With 9:30 to go in the first half, the Chargers were up by over 20 points. Shore Regional would get a couple of field goals including a putback at the 8:06 mark, and a bucket at the 7:37 mark, but Spotswood then closed out the half with a 15-7 spurt for a 45-19 lead at the intermission.

In the second half, Shore Regional started out strong with a 7-0 run that included a steal for a breakaway layup attempt that was missed, but rebounded for a foul and two foul shots at the 17:52 mark, a field goal, and then a three pointer at the 15:11 mark while the Chargers couldn’t take advantage of two offensive rebounds by James Pareti and Tyler Osofsky at the 16:58 mark. Despite all that, Spotswood was still in charge, 45-26, and would finally get on the board minutes later with a three pointer before the Blue Devils sank a pair of free throws at the 12:28 mark for a 48-28 Charger lead.

Spotswood got six straight points from one of its reserves including an offensive rebound and putback off an Osofsky miss at the 12:12 mark, another offensive rebound and follow of an Osofsky miss at the 11:40 mark, and then a short hook in the right low block for a 54-30 lead. The Chargers then added a three pointer at the 9:45 mark to cap a 9-2 spurt for a 57-30 lead. From there, Shore was able to make the score a bit more respectable with a 13-8 run to close out the contest, and round out the 65-43 final score.

With the win, Spotswood begins the fall at 1-0 while Shore Regional falls to 0-1. The Chargers will be back in action on Monday night when they face Middletown North at 8:00 PM over on the Nets Court.

First Half Surge Propels Lacey Past South Amboy, 47-36

The featured matchup of the night for GMC Hoops involved South Amboy, which the site didn’t really get as good a look at during the summer at Middlesex County College. The Guvs were facing the Lacey Lions from Ocean County, and the Class A South Division of the Shore Conference. The game started out on a good note for South Amboy as it took an early 9-2 lead with 13:35 remaining in the first half. However, Lacey roared back (no pun intended) with 23-0 rampage over a 13:24 span to take a 25-9 en route to a 47-36 win.

The Governors had gotten off to its fast start thanks to Joe Charmello, who drained a three pointer at the 13:35 mark to cap the 9-2 start. However, the senior had to go to the bench as he still appeared hobbled by the injury suffered during AAU season. Lacey took advantage of that by embarking on a decisiive 23-0 rampage over the next 13:24 to take a commanding 25-9 lead. The run consisted of the following:

• An up and under move for a score at the 13:07 mark to make it 9-4
• A three pointer and two field goals over the next 6:32 to take its first lead at 11-9
• Another three pointer and field goal over the next 1:35 to take a 16-9 lead at the 5:00 mark
• A three pointer from the top of the key at the 3:17 mark for a 19-9 lead
• A reverse layup at the 2:26 mark for a 19-0 run, and a 21-9 lead
• A field goal at the 1:07 mark for a 21-0 run, and a 23-9 lead
• Another bucket to cap the 23-0 surge inside the final minute for a 25-9 lead

Tim Simko closed out the first half scoring with a three pointer from the right corner for South Amboy to make it a 25-12 game at the intermission. In the second half, the Guvs played more respectably with a 14-13 start over the opening 9:40 to pull within a dozen at 38-26 with 10:20 to play. The Governors then got a three pointer to close within single digits at the 8:05 mark. Both teams exchanged baskets over the ensuing 31 seconds for a 40-31 Lacey lead, but the Lions swiped two steals for layups to take a 44-31 lead at the 5:59 mark.

South Amboy then scored four of the next six points over a span of 4:13 to make it a 46-35 Lacey lead, but it was too little, too late as the Lions closed out the 47-36 victory. With the win, Lacey starts the fall at 1-0 while South Amboy begins at 0-1. The Guvs are back out in action on Monday night when they play Brick Township at 7:00 PM on the Nets Court.

GMC Hoops plans to be back out at the Hoop Group Headquarters on Monday night for the second week of action from this league.