Coach Borden's South Plainfield-JFK football analysis

Saturday Morning Rewind

Louis M. Bartha Memorial Stadium in Iselin was all decked out in green last night as the JFK Mustangs and the South Plainfield Tigers enjoyed the new field turf and a perfect night of exciting high school football. It wasn't until Andrew Roberts took a knee in the Victory formation with less than a minute to go in the game that the hometown crowd could take a sigh of relief as the Mustangs held off the Tigers for a 22-16 win.

The game started slowly with both teams punting on their first possessions. It was however, the two quarterbacks that provided most of the excitement with long runs that put their respective teams in position to score in the red zone. Jason Lee who played the 1^st half at QB for South Plainfield had runs of 60 yards and 71 yards that netted a botched FG attempt and a missed FG in the 2^nd quarter. Andrew Roberts had a 56-yard QB sweep down to the 30 yard line however the drive ended with a Mustang turnover. It's was Robert's arm and legs that would get Kennedy back into scoring territory just before the half resulting in a 24-yard Scalia FG and 3-0 Mustang half-time lead.

Roberts and JFK wasted little time seizing the second half momentum as he lofted a perfectly thrown 57-yard bomb to Terrance Young down the right sideline for the game's first touchdown with only 17 seconds off the 3^rd quarter clock. The PAT was blocked and Kennedy had a 9-0 lead. Kyle Dickerson was inserted at QB in the 2^nd half for the Tigers as Jason Lee went to receiver. An apparent Dickerson long run for a 1^st down into Mustang territory was called back and the Tigers would lose possession 2 plays later on an interception by JFK's Carlos Rojas. The very next play saw an inside zone hand off to Terrance Young as he burst through the line and up the right sideline again for an electrifying 68-yard touchdown run. The 2-point try was intercepted by South Plainfield leaving the score 15-0 with 8:37 left in the 3^rd quarter.

Dickerson would rush the Tigers to the Mustang 35 but an incomplete 4^th down pass to TE Trey Martinez gave Kennedy the ball. They in turn would punt the ball right back to the Tigers. A 33-yard Dickerson pass to Leonard Scarpitto would set the Tigers up on the Mustang 40 yard line. After an incomplete pass and a loss, Dickerson hit Jason Lee on a quick hitch screen that resulted in a 46-yard touchdown and a successful PAT with 34 seconds remaining in the 3^rd quarter. The Tigers narrowed the deficit to 15-7.

With Roberts on the sideline, Terrance Young was at QB after the kickoff by South Plainfield. The ball was on the Mustang 41 yard line and it quickly became apparent who was going to run with the ball. The Tigers dropped Young for a 5-yard loss on 1^st down. They then forced consecutive losses and a punt by Scalia that was blocked by the Tigers John Chillemi for a safety. Kennedy had a 15-9 lead with 11:03 remaining in the 4^th quarter.

The ensuing kickoff by JFK saw Dickerson return the ball to the Mustang 40 yard line. However, the drive stalled and the Tigers were forced to punt. JFK took over at their own 19 as QB Anthony Roberts returned to the game. After a 1^st down on a Robert's run, the Mustangs were forced to punt. A short kick gave the Tigers the ball on the Mustang 40-yard line. On the 1^st play Dickerson sprinted to the edge for a 36-yard scamper down to the 4-yard line. He had to come out for a play as he looked to have the wind knocked out of him. Lee returned for one play and no gain on 1^st and goal. With Dickerson back on the field the Tigers attempted a slant pass to Chillemi that was tipped and intercepted in the end zone. There was a flag on the play for pass interference resulting in a half-the-distance to the goal penalty. Dickerson scored on a 2-yard run up the middle and the Garcia PAT made the score 16-15 South Plainfield with a little more than 3 minutes to play.

Kennedy would start their winning drive from their 41-yard line. A quick dump to the tight end for 9-yards was followed by a 50-yard slant wheel route to Terrance Young for his 3^rd touchdown of the night and a 22-16 Kennedy lead after the PAT by Scalia with 2:28 to go in the game.

South Plainfield looked for some more magic from Dickerson but this time with his arm. It was not to be however, as it was an incomplete pass on 4^th down that allowed the Mustangs to line-up and take a knee in the Victory formation to run out the clock.

Kennedy improves to 2-1 while the Tigers drop to 1-2.