Brief Look At The Five Week Nine Contests Around The GMC On Saturday
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Friday night, GMC Gridiron is looking to build off its 11-3 week last week, and 23-3 stretch over the past two weeks with more good picks for week ten. The site has continued to travel around for both the fall league and gridirion action, and is hoping to get things rolling with the other action from the fall leagues this weekend. In the meantime, the site will be heading out to Sayreville War Memorial High School to see the second rankec Bombers in action against the fourth ranked Piscataway Chiefs in a renewal of an annual rivalry. It will be the second time that the site will be seeing both Sayreville and Piscataway this season. There are 15 games on tap for this week. Eight are on Friday night, and seven are on Saturday. Let’s take a look at this week’s outlook for Saturday afternoon’s games:
Wall (7-0) at #6 Colonia (6-1)–The Crimson Knights of Wall Township have defeated Colonia handily at home the past two seasons. This year’s squad pays a visit to Colonia High School on Saturday to face a Patriots team that is much improved even over last season despite the losses to graduation and transfer. Since losing its opening week game on the road at Carteret, the Pats have ridden the combination of Greg Jones’ running and a solid defense to win six straight games including shutouts over North Brunswick, Perth Amboy, and J.F. Kennedy. Jones has put up big numbers with 1,300 yards rushing, and recently seven TDs against South Plainfield. Colonia will give a spirited fight, but Wall will likely prevail. Prediction: Wall wins 35-24.
#7 Dunellen (7-0) at Mater Dei (0-7)–This game is another contest featuring haves and have nots. Dunellen has an experienced squad that is yet to lose this season after losing two games last year. Mater Dei is yet to have a victory this season, and has struggled to find much success in recent years. The Destroyers are led by Vinnie Grausso, Jeff Puckett, D.J. Ditter, Sean Gibney, and Zach El-Halim. DHS is looking to get its third straight win over a Shore Conference team after defeating Keansburg (36-28) two weeks ago, and Point Pleasant Beach (28-22) last week. Prediction: Dunellen wins 56-7.
#10 Metuchen (5-3) at Shore Regional (5-2)–Metuchen is looking to qualify for the Central Jersey Group I state playoffs for the first time in two years. A solid come from behind wind over Middlesex at home in the snow last Saturday did a lot to help the Bulldogs chances. Meanwhile, Shore Regional is looking to repeat as CJ Group I champions this year. Errol Lindo runs behind Dorian Miller while Adam Feltre leads the squad at QB. Shore is coming off a win over Mater Dei on Monday thanks to the snow. The Blue Devils will be playing on short rest, but are at home, and defeated Highland Park earlier this year. The Owls defeated Metuchen. Prediction: Shore Regional wins 27-14.
Cardinal McCarrick (1-7) at Middlesex (5-2)–After getting off to a surprising 5-2 start, the Blue Jays have tumbled to earth with back to back losses to Point Pleasant Beach (20-6) and Metuchen (35-18) last week. Al-Tarik Rushing, Sean Gilbert, and Will Roach lead a ground game that should fare better against an inexperienced and not so deep team in McCarrick. Jahmal Pryce leads Cardinal McCarrick. The Blue Jays should roll here to get back on track, and qualify for the CJ Group I playoffs. Prediction: Middlesex wins 34-6.
Brick Township (4-4) at J.F. Kennedy (2-6)–Both of these teams will be playing in their final regular season game, but will have one more contest thanks to consolation games next week. The Mustangs are led by Tom Farley, Nick Hart, and Mike Tenpenny along with basketball standout Josh Kamenas on the line. JFK has been competitive in a number of games this season, and has a couple nice wins. Brick is a perennial powerhouse in football looking to regain past glory. The Green Dragons should win here. Predicition: Brick Township wins 27-12.
Keyport (3-5) at Highland Park (4-4)–Both of these teams played Metuchen earlire in the season with the Owls winning despite playing with a depleted squad while Keyport lost to the Bulldogs handily. The Red Raiders got their first win against the GMC last week with a 30-0 shutout at Spotswood. The Owls still have a chance to qualify for the Central Jersey Group I playoffs while Keyport will be playing for pride. The Owls have a good deal of talent and athletic ability with the likes of Quawi Batchelor, Quatay Niesmith, Tyler Rios, and Manny McClain as well as QB John Buck. Highland Park also defeated Spotswood earlier this season, and should win here at home. Prediction: Highland Park wins 34-21.
South River (1-7) at Keansburg (1-6)–The Rams have struggled this year after being projected to finish high in the GMC Blue earlier in the season. Keansburg has had troubles as well, but gave Dunellen some difficulty a couple weeks ago. The Titans are playing at home, and both teams are playing for pride, but South River has a chance to finish the season on a positive note. Dylan Hayes and Taariq Philips lead the Rams, which should prevail here on the road. Prediction: South River wins 21-16.
GMC Hoops will be posting the preview of Friday night’s game shortly.