Matawan looking to bounce back against Ocean
Coach sees good
things in loss to
Middletown South
By Warren Rappleyea
 
Staff Writer

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Matawan defenders tried chasing down Middletown South players like quarterback Nick Ernst (above) all night to no avail as the Eagles topped the Huskies by a score of 20-14.

AAfter a tough opening-game loss to Middletown South, the Matawan High School football team is preparing for its home opener on Saturday against Ocean.

The Huskies played well in their 20-14 loss against South Friday, before falling short late in the fourth quarter. After South jumped to an early 6-0 lead, Matawan tied it up in the second period on a 16-yard run by junior tailback Kevin Davis, who ran for 92 yards in 14 carries on the evening. The host Eagles, however, recovered to take a 13-6 lead at the half.

Things looked bleak for Matawan when South increased its lead to 20-6 midway through the third, but the Huskies stormed right back.

Davis capped an 11-play drive with his second TD, this time from 11 yards away. A Glennis Lester to Tolu Adeyami pass then cut the lead to six.

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Middletown South running back Anthony Macaluso tries to step over a Matawan defender during Friday night’s game.

Matawan threatened again late in the final quarter marching to the Eagles 3-yard line, but a penalty and then an interception ended the drive.

Matawan coach Joe Martucci cited solid individual efforts by Davis and flanker Chris Herring, who caught three passes for 41 yards and also ran for 38 yards. The coach also praised the Huskies’ defense for controlling the Eagles’ running game.

"It was an exciting game and we played well enough to win," Coach Martucci said. "We just came up short at the end, but Middletown South played a real strong game. We’re young and we’ll get better as the season goes along."

Although the Huskies put up just 14 points, the play of Davis and Herring suggests that Matawan, which led the Shore Conference in offense a year ago, will score its share of points.

Last fall, Davis ran for more than 1,100 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Herring caught 33 passes for 600 yards with nine TDs. In addition, Lester, in his first season at quarterback, became more comfortable as the game progressed. Overall he was 5-15 for 52 yards with one interception.

Returnees Uzoma Orji (6-2, 270), the right tackle; Aaron Wilson, the left guard; Pat Hoelz (5-9, 180), the center; and junior Ed Derechailo (6-4, 270), the left tackle, anchor the line. Sophomore Pat Callahan (6-1, 220) is the right guard and junior Mike Mairs plays tight end.

Besides Herring, Lester’s targets include Adeyami, Anthony Francis, Davis and fullback Charlie Brodbeck.

The defense features Orji and senior Stuart Littlewood (6-2, 210) at the ends, along with Wilson at tackle and junior Dale Curry (5-9, 260) at nose guard. Hoelz, Stephen Gallo and the versatile Bob Burseth, who led the Huskies in tackles, form the linebacker corps. Lester, Francis, Herring and Adeyami comprise the secondary.

In Ocean, Matawan will be facing another Shore Conference Federal Division foe. The Spartans are coming off a 35-7 success against Red Bank Regional on Friday. Dana Webster, on his way to a three-touchdown performance, returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a score. Overall he picked up 53 yards rushing on just three carries, one for 45 yards and another TD, while backfield mate Greg Sariotis ran 16 times for 103 yards.

"We’ve been looking at films the past few days and Ocean is very explosive. It was 21-0 before Red Bank realized what had happened," Martucci said. "They have good team speed, an experienced quarterback and they have momentum after their win. We’ll have to recover and get mentally ready because it’s an important game for us."

Game time is 1:30 p.m.