Eagles top Rockets in a battle of the unbeaten
By DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

FARRAH MAFFAI Middletown South senior quarterback Brendan Kennedy drags a Raritan defender for a few yards during the teams’ game in Middletown on Friday.

Two of the area’s top high school football teams did battle on Friday night in Middletown with the top spot in the Shore Conference’s Federal Division on the line, and in the end, it was a familiar name sitting alone as the division’s only remaining undefeated teams.

When you travel to the "Swamp" at Middletown South for a football game in October, you had better be prepared to play a team with championship aspirations, as the Eagles always seem to be in position to stake their claim for a division championship this time of year.

And Friday night was no exception, as the undefeated and rejuvenated Raritan Rockets came to town to try and knock off the Eagles, who have been flying high to this point behind the spectacular play of senior quarterback Brendan Kennedy.

The Rockets, under first-year coach Derek Sininsky, have been impressive themselves in the early going, but were facing their toughest test yet in the Eagles.

FARRAH MAFFAI Middletown South’s Chris Oesterheld gets tackled near the goal line during a first-half play in Middletown on Friday.

From the start, Middletown South showed why many people believe they will run through the regular season undefeated and will make a serious run at another state title. The Eagles jumped out to a 20-0 lead as Kennedy, who finished with 180 yards rushing, scored three touchdowns by halftime. The first came on a 66-yard scamper, followed by a three-yard plunge, and eventually a 26-yard run.

At the half, Raritan looked like a defeated team, as they headed to the locker room in search of a way to stop South’s seemingly unstoppable quarterback. Once the second half started, it looked as though they had done just that.

Kennedy lost a pair of fumbles on two of the Eagles’ first three possessions of the second half, and the Rockets capitalized both times to get themselves back in the game. After the first fumble, Raritan got a one-yard TD run from Michael Fabozzi and 65-yard dash from quarterback James Papcun to set up their second score, and bring the score to 20-14.

The Rockets were dominating play in the second half, and appeared ready to shock everyone in attendance who had assumed that the game was virtually over at halftime.

But the Eagles, like all good teams do, regained their poise, with Kennedy again leading the way. The South signal-caller hit Andre MacCray with a 43-yard strike to get the Eagles on the Raritan one-yard line. From there, MacCray finished what he started, plunging in to the end zone to give South the 27-14 lead. The Eagles then put the game out of reach, when linebacker A.J. Boury recovered a Raritan fumble on the Rockets’ 24, setting up another MacCray score, this one from two yards out.

The 33-14 final doesn’t really do justice for the type of game it was, with both teams showing tremendous heart at different junctures of the game. But only one team can win the game, and on this day, the better team did.

The Eagles will look to make it 6-0 on Saturday, when they travel to Long Branch to take on the 3-2 Green Wave. This is another dangerous game for the Eagles, as they face the same team that beat them in the state playoffs last year. Revenge will be an issue for the undefeated Eagles. Game time is 2 p.m.

As for the Rockets, they’ll look to bounce back with a Friday night matchup with Red Bank. The Bucs are 2-2 but are being called one of the Shore’s most improved teams this year.

The Rockets will have their hands full once again on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m. in Hazlet.

The Eagles are not the only undefeated Middletown team featuring one of the Shore’s premier players. Their crosstown rivals at Middletown North notched their fourth win of the year on Saturday, beating a resilient Neptune squad, 21-16.

Once again it was junior tailback Billy Lyons leading the way for the North team, as he rushed for 160 second-half yards and a touchdown to enable his team to avoid an upset at the hands of the hungry Scarlet Fliers.

The Lions scored all 21 of their points in the third quarter on three possessions, coming back from a 10-0 halftime deficit. Lyons set up the team’s first score with a 45-yard scamper, before quarterback Rob Molinaro found the end zone on a 14-yard option run. Molinaro found the end zone again on their next possession, this time from seven yards out, while a 37-yard completion to Matt Inzerillo set up the Lions’ final score, a five-yard plunge from Lyons.

It was an emotional win for the Lions, who appeared to come out flat, despite their claim that they weren’t taking the 1-3 Fliers lightly. But in the second half, behind the running of Lyons, the Lions clawed their way back to remain unbeaten, and the top team in the Shore’s Constitution Division.

North will return to the gridiron on Friday, when they host a struggling Lakewood team. The Piners are off to a slow start but are a very dangerous team. Game time is 7 p.m.

Incidentally, if the Lions can continue their winning ways and match the Eagles win for win the rest of the way, Thanksgiving Day could be very interesting in Middletown.

Meanwhile, the Matawan Huskies delivered their most impressive performance of the season on Saturday, blanking Manchester 34-0 behind the running of Kevin Davis. Davis made his presence felt immediately, returning the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown.

From there, the Huskies continued to pour it on, as Davis ran for 124 yards and three scores, and the Husky defense was stellar throughout. The win pushed Matawan to 3-2 overall, and was a nice way to bounce back from the tough overtime loss they suffered to Long Branch the previous week.

Matawan will look to continue to bounce back on Saturday, when they travel to Pinelands to face a 1-4 Wildcats team coming off a 14-0 blanking by Red Bank. Game time is 2 p.m.

The St. John Vianney Lancers also scored an impressive win over the weekend, romping Monsignor Donovan 42-14 on Friday to get to 3-2 overall.

The Lancers scored early and often against the Griffins, as they put up 29 points on their first four possessions. Junior running back Sean Andrews (125 yards on eight carries with two touchdowns) and senior quarterback Kyle Williams (seven rushes for 47 yards and two touchdowns) were the offensive stars for SJV, although the entire offense for Vianney played well throughout the contest.

Vianney will look to continue their solid play on Friday, when they host a winless Manchester squad which has struggled from day one this year. Game time is 7 p.m. in Holmdel.

The Holmdel Hornets and Mater Dei Seraphs both suffered losses this weekend, and will look to bounce back this time around. The Hornets, who fell 27-21 to a strong Shore Regional team, will look to get to 2-3 with a win on Friday at Point Beach. Game time is 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Seraphs will have a tough time getting their first win this weekend, as they head to Freehold to face the undefeated Colonials on Saturday. Game time is 2 p.m.