Mid South football falls short of another state crown
Eagles lose to Freehold Borough in title game
BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent

JEFF GRANIT staff Middletown High School South's Ryan Mullan fights for yards as Freehold Borough's Rakim Thorpe tries to tackle him during their Central Jersey Group III championship game at Rutgers Stadium on Dec. 6. South lost by a score of 21-14.

Middletown South has historically been a virtual lock in state championship games (with five titles since 2001 and nine overall).

In fact, in their last three sectional title games, the Eagles have been downright dominant, outscoring the opposition by a combined 74-0.

None of that mattered to the Freehold Borough Colonials, who defeated South 21- 14 for the school's first state sectional crown in school history.

Freehold Borough entered Saturday's Central Jersey Group III championship game at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway brimming with confidence, having beaten Middletown South in each of the teams' last two meetings. Simply put, the Colonials were not going to be intimidated by the Eagles, regardless of their championship pedigree.

From the game's first snap on Saturday, Freehold Borough proved to be a team that fully expected to win its first state title. Taking advantage of their big-play ability, the Colonials dominated the action early on to the tune of a 21-0 lead.

The Colonials came out and immediately took control of the game with a 45-yard pass play down to the Eagle 4-yard line from Nick Tyson to Gerry Plescia on the first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, Tyson (who was 9-for-15 for 140 yards throwing, while also carrying the ball 13 times for 60 yards) was in the end zone, and with a Plescia extra point, Freehold had a 7-0 lead.

"They just ran their offense," South head coach Steve Antonucci said. "They didn't do anything to surprise us. On that first play, they may have caught our corner off-guard a little bit.

"We helped them out early on, too, by turning the ball over, which we knew we couldn't do."

The lead swelled to 14-0 when Freehold put together a 10-play, 58-yard drive, capped by a one-yard TD plunge from Tyson. Then, with time winding down in the first half, the Colonials got a Tezzy Thorpe one-yard TD with 2:46 to play to make it 21-0.

Antonucci credited Tyson with setting the tone for his team offensively throughout the first half.

"He's been the difference for them all year," the coach said. "He's a very good player and a very good leader. He's got some weapons at his disposal over there, and he takes full advantage of it."

Despite the daunting deficit, Middletown South would not go quietly. Showing the same resolve that has become a trademark of this Eagle team, Antonucci's squad got back in the game when quarterback Ryan Mullan hit sophomore wideout Andrew Suarez for a 49-yard TD pass with just 1:12 to go in the half. Down 21-7 at the break, Middletown South was able to capture some much-needed momentum heading into the third quarter.

"I think they showed a lot of character," Antonucci said of his players. "They could have bagged it, down 21-0, and it could have gotten ugly. But they showed a lot of poise, and we got that score and the momentum began to swing in our favor."

Both defenses began to assert themselves in the start of the second half, and the Eagles were able to get within a score when Mullan hit Sean Campell over the middle for an 11- yard TD to make the score 21-14. While the South defense continued to clamp down on Freehold's explosive offense, the Eagles had a great opportunity to tie the game up, reaching the Freehold six-yard line in the fourth quarter. However, it was at this point that the Colonial defense seized the moment, making the biggest players of the game, and essentially sealing the deal.

Junior strong safety Martin Corso initiated the defensive stand, stopping running back Chris Bunge for a 12-yard loss. Mullan then found Campbell for 11 yards to get back to the 6, but on a critical fourth-down play, Mullan's pass to Suarez was overthrown in the end zone, ending the threat.

"We made a bad decision down there," Antonucci said. "The play call was not great, and we did not put our quarterback in a good situation."

South had another chance to tie the game on its last possession, but facing a fourth-and- 13 on the Freehold 42-yard line, Mullan was forced to heave a desperation pass down the right sideline, which was picked off by junior free safety Damar Bivins.

With the stop, Freehold (11-1) locked up its first state championship ever, while the Eagles (10-2) found themselves on the wrong end of a state championship outcome.

Antonucci, however, remained as proud of his team as he was when the game began.

"They fought right to the end, which is all you can ask," he said. "We were sloppy through the first half, but in the second half we fought hard."

The Eagles' ability to nearly overcome the 21-point deficit speaks volumes for the type of adversity this team exhibited throughout the season.

"I think they overachieved in some ways this year," Antonucci said. "They were a good football team, but they just continued to get better as the season progressed."

And with 16 starters coming back, the Eagles will be anxious to get back on the playing field next fall.

"Losing guys like [Matt] Martino, Bunge and Mullan will be tough, but we've got some good players coming back," Antonucci said.

History doesn't always repeat itself, as was proved on Saturday. However, it would surprise very few to find Middletown South back in the state title hunt next fall.