SPORTS

Poindexter leads North Brunswick past East Brunswick

Josh Rosenfeld
Correspondent

NORTH BRUNSWICK – Kevin Poindexter wasn't perfect on Saturday, but he was close.

The North Brunswick quarterback completed 10 of 12 passes for 158 yards and four touchdowns to power the Raiders to a 40-13 victory over East Brunswick. North Brunswick displayed a balanced attack with 176 more yards on the ground to complement Poindexter, who has completed 29 of 38 passes this year, a dazzling 76 percent.

"Our offensive line was doing an amazing job, our running backs and receivers were doing a great job catching the ball and making plays in the open field, scoring touchdowns," Poindexter said. "The line is giving me time to throw and my receivers are catching the ball. It's not very hard to look good when your receivers are catching and your line is blocking."

North Brunswick controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and its defensive line, spearheaded by the relentless penetration of Zack Rowell, limited the Bears to just 30 yards on the ground on 34 rushes, registering 15 tackles for loss in the process.

"(Our defensive line has) a good balance between strength and quickness and they really showed that today," Raider coach Mark Zielinski said. "They set the tone for us up front and our linebackers and safeties came up well to support them."

North Brunswick, which snapped a four-game losing streak to the Bears in posting its first victory in the series since 2005, scored twice before Poindexter attempted his first pass. Max Emmanuel, the game's leading rusher with 86 yards on 15 carries, capped a brisk 51-yard, six-play march on North Brunswick's first possession with a 1-yard plunge up the middle for a 7-0 lead four minutes into the contest.

East Brunswick responded with its first scoring drive of the season, grinding 70 yards in 14 plays before Kevin Hemmings finished on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal at the 1. Any momentum change was short-lived --- 15 seconds to be precise --- as Rex Thomas returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and 14-6 North Brunswick edge with 38 seconds left in the quarter.

Poindexter didn't attempt a pass until after his interception on the first play of the second quarter gave the ball back to North Brunswick. He completed his first five passes, including second-quarter touchdown tosses of 18 and 29 yards to a wide open Joe Castellanos, before heaving his first incompletion on a hail Mary on the final play of the half.

"Football's a team game and our running backs have been blocking on passes so much better than they did last year and our line has been solid," Zielisnki said. "But I have to give a great deal of credit to Kevin, he's worked very hard and I know his passing efficiency has been excellent."

EAST BRUNSWICK (0-2) …6 0 7 0 — 13

NORTH BRUNSWICK (1-2) …14 12 7 7 — 40

SCORING SUMMARY

NB – Emmanuel 1 run (Pereyra kick)

EB – Hemmings 1 run (kick failed)

NB – Thomas 92 kick return (Pereyra kick)

NB – Castellanos 18 pass from Poindexter (kick failed)

NB – Castellanos 29 pass from Poindexter (kick failed)

NB – Omowole 45 pass from Poindexter (Pereyra kick)

EB – O'Sullivan 26 pass from Hemmings (Boyko kick)

NB – Krause 10 pass from Poindexter (Pereyra kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – EB: Tomori 9-21, Wiggins 11-11, Walker 5-9, Kennedy 1-0, Hemmings 8-minus 11; NB: Emmanuel 15-86, Poindexter 7-59, Carpenter 5-22, Bonds 2-9, Taylor 1-2, Vyas 1-2, Thomas 1-minus 4.

Passing – EB: Hemmings 9-14-132-2, Kennedy 2-3-8-0; NB: Poindexter 10-12-158-0.

Receiving – EB: Werder 5-84, O'Sullivan 2-33, Gambino 1-11, Chou 1-9, Walker 1-6, Bartus 1-minus 3; NB: Castellanos 3-57, Omowole 1-45, Rodriguez 2-37, Krause 1-10, Emmanuel 2-6,Thomas 1-3.