MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ–On Friday night, the semifinal round of the Central Jersey Group V state playoffs took place on the gridiron as third seeded Old Bridge traveled to second seeded South Brunswick. In a rematch of a game played between these two teams back on September 21st, the Vikings got runs of 51 yards and 24 yards by bruising fullback Dahrae Ford to help set up the go ahead score, and then seal the hard fought 14-7 victory. Ford ended up with 140 yards on 16 carries along with a touchdown. Dion Hooper got the go ahead score on a two yard run with 8:38 remaining after Old Bridge tied the game on a 14 yard touchdown pass by Vin Gargano to Dwayne Trawick with 10:47 to play. Below are notes from the contest.
Pre-Game Notes
Old Bridge, seeded third, enters the game with an 8-2 record thanks to a seven game winning streak. South Brunswick, seeded second, is also 8-2 with four wins in their last six games after starting the season with four straight wins. The Vikings defeated the Knights in week three by the score of 27-21. The only two losses for SBHS were to Piscataway (47-14) and Sayreville (28-14). Meanwhile, OBHS defeated Piscataway in week two by the score of 21-20 after losing to Sayreville on opening night (35-0). The Knights advanced by defeating Montgomery in the opening round by the score of 40-34 in overtime. The Vikes advanced by defeating Hillsborough (35-21). South Brunswick is making its second straight trip to a sectional semifinal. Last year, SB lost to Sayreville in the CJ Group IV semis.
First Quarter
11:55–SB–takes opening kickoff and returns it to its own 40 yard line.
11:14–SB–Perkowski throws a first down pass to Dontae Strickland inside midfield in OB territory.
9:55–SB–Perkowski completes pass to T.J. Taylor to the OB 35.
8:18–SB–calls first timeout on a 3rd down and 5 at the OB 21.
8:02–SB–no gain on run up the middle by Ford.
7:41–SB–stopped on downs–OB ball at its own 21.
6:16–OB–goes three and out with three running plays up the middle totaling 3 yards.–forced to punt.
5:41–SB–takes over at the OB 43 yard line.
3:42–OB–stops South Brunswick on a fumble off a pitch left at about the 5 yard line.
2:15–OB–gets their first 1st down of the game on a run over the left side by Chris Midddleton.
1:18–OB–Ford takes pitch left from Gargano and jaunts up OB sideline for first down.
0:28–OB–Gargano throws a pass toward OB sideline downfield to Aaron Ford, who makes a circus catch at about the SB 30 yard line.
0:20–OB–runs for a short gain inside the SB 25.
0:00–OB–quarter ends without them running another play.
Second Quarter
11:00–OB–gets a first down on a run right by Ford inside SB 20 yard line.
10:18–OB–faced with a 4th down at the SB 18 yard line settle for FG att.
9:47–OB–Ed Mish misses FG attempt of 35 yards. SB takes over at its own 20 yard line.
9:39–SB–Perkowski completes pass to Jesse Tanner for a gain for 41 yards to the OB 29 yard line.
9:06–SB–calls timeout after gaining about 5 yards on a run to the OB 24 yard line.
8:35–SB–Perkowski throws pass up for grabs, and Taylor catches it over a couple of OB defenders at about the OB one yard line.
8:15–SB–fumbles the ball on a pitch to the right. Recovers the ball at about the 15 yard line.
8:00–SB–called for unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for 15 yards.
7:42–SB–faced with a 4th and goal from the OB 30, Perkowski throws ball into the end zone, and OB knocks it down to take over on downs.
5:47–OB–forced to punt deep in their own territory…SB gets ball again in great field position at about the OB 40 yard line.
5:28–SB–Perkowski throws right to the SB sideline and completes pass to T.J. Taylor for about 30 yards to the OB 10 yard line.
5:11–SB–Dontae Strickland runs left for 9 yards to the OB one yard line.
4:32–SB–scores touchdown on a 1 yard plunge by Dahrae Ford. Olsen kicks extra point for a 7-0 lead. Vikes finally score on their fourth trip into or near the OB red zone.
1:54–OB–forced to punt after Knights player called for having his knee down just inside the midfield stripe on a reverse.
0:30–SB–calls final timeout of the first half with a 3rd and 12 looming on its own 18.
0:23–OB–calls timeout after SB gets a 6 yard run up the gut by Dahrae Ford to its own 24.
0:14–SB–Dave Olsen punts the ball 40 yards to the OB 36 yard line.
0:00–OB–Gargano takes a knee to run out the clock with SB leading 7-0 at the half.
Third Quarter
11:55–OB–deferred kickoff to second half, and received.
6:00–OB–Gargano tries to throw a pass into the seam, but it is overthrown, and Taylor comes up with the interception and returns it about 40 yards to the OB 28 yard line.
3:57–SB–after not gaining much yardage, the Vikings go for it, but Perkowski misses his target, and OB takes over on downs at its own 28 yard line.
2:45–OB–Gargano throws pass complete to near midfield.
1:57–OB–Middleton barrels up the gut for another first down at about the SB 40 yard line.
1:00–OB–Ford charges to the left, and runs to about the SB 30 yard line–SB called for a late hit out of bounds–15 yard penalty to the SB 15.
Fourth Quarter
10:47–OB–Gargano throws a 14 yard TD pass to Dwayne Trawick. Ed Mish makes the extra point to tie the score at 7-7. OB completed a 9 play 72 yard drive in 5:10.
10:41–OB–kicks off with a short kick recovered by SB at its own 36 yard line.
10:32–SB–Ford runs for six yards to the SB 42.
9:47–SB–Ford runs for another 5 yards and an SB first down.
9:19–SB–stopped for a four yard loss.
8:45–SB–Ford runs up the gut and breaks into the open for a 51 yard gain to the OB 2 yard line.
8:38–SB–Hooper runs right on a sweep into the end zone. Olsson makes the extra point for a 14-7 lead.
8:32–OB–receives a short kickoff at about its own 43 yard line.
6:37–OB–is unable to move the ball, and forced to punt. Mish punts ball to the SB 20 yard line.
5:00–SB–runs for a first down to its own 33 yard line.
3:41–SB–On 3rd and 7, Ford takes a straight up the middle handoff and runs 24 yards carrying and barreling over Old Bridge tacklers while being pushed forward by his offensive line.
2:03–OB–calls its last timeout.
1:18–SB–Perkowski runs it on the keeper for a first down.
0:00–SB–Perkowski takes two knees at the OB two yard line to wrap up the 14-7 victory.
GMC Gridiron plans to be at Ciardi Field to take in the game between Piscataway and Bridgewater in the North Jersey Section 2 Group V semifinals on Saturday afternoon.