Post by admin on Sept 14, 2008 9:22:56 GMT -5
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FREEHOLD — Freehold delivered a message on Saturday.
Middletown South and the rest of the Shore Conference received it loud and clear.
The Colonials' win over the Eagles and their Federal Division championship last season were no fluke.
Saturday at the Cal Dean Wilson Athletic Facilities, Freehold rushed for 299 yards and punished Middletown South, ranked No. 2 in the Asbury Park Press Top 10, 22-7, in a key Federal Division game.
The Colonials, who became the first team since Long Branch in 1999 and 2000 to defeat the Eagles two consecutive years, were fueled by the talk that nobody thought they could do it again.
All six of the Press' writers who participate in the paper's weekly picks segment and 83 percent of those who voted in the Press' online poll selected Middletown South.
"In the Asbury Park Press, everybody picked Middletown South across the board," said Freehold junior free safety Damar Bivins. "We were mad because we're the defending champs, and nobody was showing us any respect. We had to come out and play with our hearts, and that's what we did."
Frank Nicosia, a 5-foot-8 senior running back, exemplified the heart Freehold showed. He scored two touchdowns in a span of 1:44 in the game's final 2:54, including a 62-yard run down the left sideline in which he broke four tackles. Both of his TDs were set up by interceptions by Bivins.
"We feel we're legit, and this year, we're going to really bring it to everybody," Nicosia said. "I don't think that anybody except the people in Freehold took us seriously."
"We got our rear ends whipped, bottom line," said Middletown South coach Steve Antonucci, whose team lost a season opener for the first time since 2002 when it was defeated by Red Bank. "We got outcoached again. We're not doing a good job right now as a staff and a football program."
The most impressive part about Freehold's performance was the play of both its offensive and defensive fronts. An offensive line that lost all five starters from last year wore down an experienced Middletown South front eight on defense.
The Colonials rushed for 186 yards in the second half.
Freehold's defense, which lost five of its front seven on defense, held the Eagles to just 188 yards of offense and came up with five turnovers. Middletown South had 42 yards rushing on the game's first three plays and then just 114 yards rushing on its final 41 attempts.
"By the second quarter, we saw they had their hands on their hips," Bivins said.
"We tell them defensive and offensive line is usually what takes care of the outcome," Freehold coach Mark Ciccotelli said. Coach (Mike) DeLucia and coach (Pete) Christathakis do an outstanding job coaching those guys every day and preparing them."
Freehold did its scoring in spurts. Game-breaking senior wide receiver Brandon Brown got the Colonials on the board with 5:10 left in the first half, when he took a middle screen, cut back to the near sideline and rocketed 33 yards for a TD.
Middletown South took its only lead with 1:36 left in the opening half, when senior quarterback Ryan Mullan faked a handoff to Matt Martino and sped 37 yards down the far sideline for a TD. Dan Kahan's extra point made it 7-6.
However, the Eagles did not make it into halftime with the lead as senior quarterback Nick Tyson, seeing his first regular season game action since he broke his C5 vertebra last year when he was with Marlboro, scrambled 31 yards to the Eagles' 26. He then completed a 14-yard pass to Brown, which led to a 29-yard Gerry Plescia field goal with no time left in the half.
Bivins' first INT and a 35-yard run by junior running back Tezzy Thorpe (111 yards on 20 carries) set up Nicosia's first TD, a 9-yard run. The 62-yarder on a third-and-5, in which Freehold was just trying to run out the clock, closed out the game.
"They played with more heart than we did," Antonucci said. "When push comes to shove right now, they're better than we are."
FREEHOLD — Freehold delivered a message on Saturday.
Middletown South and the rest of the Shore Conference received it loud and clear.
The Colonials' win over the Eagles and their Federal Division championship last season were no fluke.
Saturday at the Cal Dean Wilson Athletic Facilities, Freehold rushed for 299 yards and punished Middletown South, ranked No. 2 in the Asbury Park Press Top 10, 22-7, in a key Federal Division game.
The Colonials, who became the first team since Long Branch in 1999 and 2000 to defeat the Eagles two consecutive years, were fueled by the talk that nobody thought they could do it again.
All six of the Press' writers who participate in the paper's weekly picks segment and 83 percent of those who voted in the Press' online poll selected Middletown South.
"In the Asbury Park Press, everybody picked Middletown South across the board," said Freehold junior free safety Damar Bivins. "We were mad because we're the defending champs, and nobody was showing us any respect. We had to come out and play with our hearts, and that's what we did."
Frank Nicosia, a 5-foot-8 senior running back, exemplified the heart Freehold showed. He scored two touchdowns in a span of 1:44 in the game's final 2:54, including a 62-yard run down the left sideline in which he broke four tackles. Both of his TDs were set up by interceptions by Bivins.
"We feel we're legit, and this year, we're going to really bring it to everybody," Nicosia said. "I don't think that anybody except the people in Freehold took us seriously."
"We got our rear ends whipped, bottom line," said Middletown South coach Steve Antonucci, whose team lost a season opener for the first time since 2002 when it was defeated by Red Bank. "We got outcoached again. We're not doing a good job right now as a staff and a football program."
The most impressive part about Freehold's performance was the play of both its offensive and defensive fronts. An offensive line that lost all five starters from last year wore down an experienced Middletown South front eight on defense.
The Colonials rushed for 186 yards in the second half.
Freehold's defense, which lost five of its front seven on defense, held the Eagles to just 188 yards of offense and came up with five turnovers. Middletown South had 42 yards rushing on the game's first three plays and then just 114 yards rushing on its final 41 attempts.
"By the second quarter, we saw they had their hands on their hips," Bivins said.
"We tell them defensive and offensive line is usually what takes care of the outcome," Freehold coach Mark Ciccotelli said. Coach (Mike) DeLucia and coach (Pete) Christathakis do an outstanding job coaching those guys every day and preparing them."
Freehold did its scoring in spurts. Game-breaking senior wide receiver Brandon Brown got the Colonials on the board with 5:10 left in the first half, when he took a middle screen, cut back to the near sideline and rocketed 33 yards for a TD.
Middletown South took its only lead with 1:36 left in the opening half, when senior quarterback Ryan Mullan faked a handoff to Matt Martino and sped 37 yards down the far sideline for a TD. Dan Kahan's extra point made it 7-6.
However, the Eagles did not make it into halftime with the lead as senior quarterback Nick Tyson, seeing his first regular season game action since he broke his C5 vertebra last year when he was with Marlboro, scrambled 31 yards to the Eagles' 26. He then completed a 14-yard pass to Brown, which led to a 29-yard Gerry Plescia field goal with no time left in the half.
Bivins' first INT and a 35-yard run by junior running back Tezzy Thorpe (111 yards on 20 carries) set up Nicosia's first TD, a 9-yard run. The 62-yarder on a third-and-5, in which Freehold was just trying to run out the clock, closed out the game.
"They played with more heart than we did," Antonucci said. "When push comes to shove right now, they're better than we are."
