Rockets, Eagles in the title hunt once again BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer CHRIS KELLY staff Middletown South quarterback Patrick Campbell and his Eagle teammates had little trouble finding running room in their CJGroup III semifinal win over Monmouth Regional in Middletown on Nov. 17, and hope for the same type of success in Sunday's sectional final at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway. You know it's the first weekend in December when the football teams from Middletown South and Raritan are converging on Piscataway. In what has become an annual tradition, both the Eagles and Rockets will be making a return trip to Rutgers Stadium on Sunday where the two teams will be looking to capture state sectional titles. First up is Raritan, who will be taking on Weequahic in the Central Jersey Group II final at 11 a.m. Then, at approximately 2 p.m., the Eagles will take the field in search of their fourth straight sectional crown, squaring off against Moorestown in the Central Jersey Group III final. Then at 5 p.m. another of the Shore Conference's top teams, Howell, will take on Hunterdon Central in the CJ Group IV final. Needless to say, Shore Conference football will be well represented on Sunday in Piscataway. Raritan enters its sectional final clicking on all cylinders. The Rockets reached the final via a thrilling 20-19 win over Governor Livingston in their semifinal on Nov. 18, when Carmen Falco kicked his second game-winning field goal in a two-week period. Falco hit on two second-half field goals on the day, but it was his second one, from 18 yards out with just 1:09 to play, which sent head coach Bob Generelli's team to its third consecutive sectional final (and fifth overall). The win was an impressive one for the eighth-seeded Rockets, who entered this season as a bit of an unknown having graduated the majority of its starters from last year's sectional runner-up (they lost to Manasquan in the final). With a relatively young team, Generelli has gotten the best out of his seniors this year, guiding the Rockets back to Rutgers this weekend in surprising fashion. "Our guys, to their credit, have been a very focused group from the start," Generelli said. "They've shown tremendous character throughout the season. "It's hard when you only have one or two starters back on offense, so for that reason, this season has been very rewarding, very special." Raritan tuned up for Sunday's final with a 40-7 pasting of Pinelands on Friday in Hazlet. Senior running back Carmen Dente was impressive in the first half, rushing for 109 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries, to lead the Rockets to a 33-0 lead at the break. Raritan played well in all phases of the game on Friday, and appear to be playing their best football of the year at the right time. They'll be facing a Weequahic team that is also playing very well. The Indians (10-1) are attempting to become the first Newark high school since Barringer in 1975 to win a state title, and have looked up to the challenge through the first two rounds. "They're very athletic, with great team speed," Generelli said. "They're kind of a new look for us. I don't know if there's anyone (we've played) that we can compare them to." Weequahic, ranked 20th in the state, is the Iron Hills Conference Hills Division champion, and has been winning on the strength of its defense, which allowed just 19 points in its two victories over Rumson-Fair Haven and Rahway. Meanwhile, the Indian offense has scored 48 points, and will challenge the Rocket defense with its speed at the skill position. "(Tailback) Adonis Thomas (who is headed to Kansas State) is the focal point of their offense," Generelli said. As for the Rockets, you can expect more of the same types of things offensively, with players like Dente, Brian Kalarjian and Antonio Payne being asked to make big plays. Generelli's teams are always well-prepared, and this weekend they'll need to execute against one of the more athletic teams they've seen this year. "I feel good about the way the kids have worked for this," the coach said. "They should be ready to put forth our best effort on Sunday. We just want to take the game into the fourth quarter and let the chips fall where they may." As for Middletown South, they are expecting to celebrate another championship on Sunday. And who can blame them. Following their shocking loss to Ocean Township about a month ago (which ended their conference record 43-game winning streak), the Eagles have regrouped, and in a big way. Their re-emergence started with a 42-0 blanking of Hightstown in the first round of the state playoffs, before they played host to a good Monmouth Regional team which was coming off a win over Ocean Township in its first round game. But very quickly, the Monmouth Regional football team learned something about Middletown South that a lot of teams have discovered over the last four years - they are very tough to beat in November. The three-time defending state champion Eagles were in every bit as good as advertised in routing the Golden Falcons, 55-19, on Nov. 17, bringing an end to Monmouth's storybook run at their first state sectional title. Monmouth was simply over-matched from the start in this one, as the Eagles came out firing on all cylinders, scoring on their first four possessions en route to the lopsided win. After falling behind 14-0 on a pair of Dave Dosil rushing touchdowns, the Golden Falcons got on the board when senior quarterback Tom D'Ambrisi orchestrated a seven-play, 63-yard drive, highlighted by D'Ambrisi's 45-yard scamper. Monmouth's touchdown came on a two-yard pass from D'Ambrisi to tight end Kyle Fagan. South then responded with a methodical 21-play, 69-yard drive that resulted in Dosil's third touchdown for a 21-7 lead, then jumped ahead 28-7 on their next possession when sophomore Matt Martinho caught a short Patrick Campbell pass and raced 75 yards to the Monmouth one-yard line, setting up Dosil's fourth TD of the night. Monmouth kept it relatively close on their next possession when D'Ambrisi hit Kelly Fisher for a 74-yard touchdown pass to get within 28-13, which was the score at the break. Once the second half started, however, it was all Eagles as they got two more TDs from Dosil (from 20 and two yards out) before Tye Coleman got the Falcons' final score in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run. South added a couple of fourth-quarter touchdowns before the final whistle sounded, putting an emphatic stamp on what was one of their more dominant state playoff performances. They followed that performance with a workmanlike 20-0 win over rival Middletown North on Thanksgiving Day, overcoming the torrential rain to beat the Lions on their home field. Once again it was the South running game which was the difference, while the Eagle defense was equally effective, shutting down the Lion offense time and again. South may have graduated 19 starters from last year's championship team, but the cupboard was left far from bare. Middletown South will take on eighth-seeded Moorestown on Sunday in the sectional final at Rutgers Stadium. Moorestown advanced to the final with wins over top-seeded Lawrence, 19-14, and fourth-seeded Hamilton West, 24-14, in the first two rounds. They enter Sunday's game at 8-3, but have won their last five games. In defeating top-seeded and previously unbeaten Lawrence, 19-14, in the quarterfinal round, the Quakers had three different running backs - Domenic Sebastiani, Mikey Reynolds and Kim Harris - combine for 80 yards rushing, but they didn't complete a pass. While not impressive statistically, the Quakers have found ways to win games against quality teams down the stretch. That fact alone makes them a dangerous team. On paper, they are not an imposing team, certainly not like the Eagles. The Eagles appear to be the better team in every statistical category, however, statistics don't win football games. That being said, Middletown South has always come ready to play under head coach Steve Antonucci, and will likely be ready to claim its fourth straight title on Sunday. If they play their game, they should be brining another trophy back to Middletown.