SPORTS

Woodbridge beats Colts Neck, snaps losing streak

Andy Mendlowitz
Correspondent

COLTS NECK – Finish.

That’s simply what the Woodbridge and Colts Neck High School football teams were trying to do after both squads surrendered fourth-quarter leads en route to losses earlier in the season.

Saturday, in another close one, Woodbridge applied the hammer to win 21-12 in a Greater Middlesex Conference/Shore Conference crossover at McChesney Stadium. With the victory, the Barrons snapped a 10-game losing streak that started last season.

“Finally,” Woodbridge senior running back Zahneer Shuler said. “Last time we won was week two of last season. So it feels good to finally get a W again. We just came together as a family. … We finally got it together.”

Shuler rushed for 98 yards and scored two touchdowns, while Barrons quarterback Tracy Fudge threw for 157 yards and a 20-yard score to Percy Martin. Quasim Glover added 122 receiving yards for Woodbridge. Colts Neck was led by Abdul Quddus’ 193 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Woodbridge’s Anthony Taveras and Colt Neck’s Carmen Catena each recovered a fumble. Colts Neck linebacker Nick Garguilo added a key sack and a tackle for a loss to help stop a Woodbridge drive in the first quarter.

Woodbridge had a 7-6 lead at halftime, but increased it to 21-6 with 2:14 remaining in the third quarter. Shuler scored on two short touchdown runs that were set up by long passes from Fudge to Glover.

The Cougars responded with Quddus sprinting across field and down the right sideline for a 56-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-12 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter. From there, Woodbridge’s defense held.

“The defense really stepped up,” Fudge said. “After that one long touchdown they had, the defense came to the sideline. They weren’t down. We made sure everybody knew what they were doing and everybody came there in the same intensity the rest of the game. And they came up with a big stop.”

In the fourth, Colts Neck drove into Woodbridge’s territory highlighted by a fake punt that kept the drive alive. Punter/quarterback Max Mullaney took off for a first down on fourth-and-eight from the Cougars’ 15-yard line. After that gutsy call by Colts Neck coach Pete Shaw, the Cougars moved the ball when Jordan deGroot caught a 21-yard pass from Mullaney off a deflection from the defender on third-and-16 at their own 24-yard line.

Quddus then gained 38 yards on four carries. But on fourth-and-14 from Woodbridge’s 25-yard line, the Barrons forced an incomplete pass with just over four minutes remaining. Woodbridge, keyed by a 30-yard run by Nathan Lanier, was able to run the clock out.

On Colts Neck’s final drive, two Woodbridge players suffered minor injuries. Shaw said that the stoppages slowed his team’s momentum.

“It basically stalls our offense,” he said. “So we had them on the ropes were we thought we were going to be able to score and they had two guys hurt—so they’re basically able to get their wind back. They’re able to recover. And that took away our momentum because I think we would have scored on that drive. … We had them on the ropes and they got us back on the ropes. So it’s kind of like a boxing match.”

In case fans are wondering, they’ll be no rematch in the playoffs. Colts Neck (0-3) competes in Central Group IV, and Woodbridge (1-2) plays in North 2 Group IV. For Woodbridge, though, the players are just glad they pulled it out after a 14-7 loss to Carteret and a 19-18 defeat to Bishop Ahr to begin the season.

“All week we wanted to finish,” Fudge said. “That was our thing—just finishing. We had an opportunity these past two weeks to win. But this week we wanted to finish. And we did a good job of that today. .. This week it was important that we didn’t let up. We kept playing. We came out harder.”

WOODBRIDGE (1-2) …7 0 14 0 — 21

COLTS NECK (0-3) …0 6 6 0 — 12

SCORING SUMMARY

WB – Martin 20 pass from Fudge (Rutkowski kick)

CN - Quddus 65 run (kick failed)

WB - Shuler 4 run (kick failed)

WB - Shuler 2 run (Glover pass from Fudge)

CN - Quddus 56 run (pass failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - WB: Shuler 12-98, Lanier 10-77, Henry 5-41, Fudge 9-minus 28; CN: Quddus 19-193, Mullaney 8-54, Sanchez 1-3, Catena 2-1.

Passing - WB: Fudge 11-14-0-157, Shuler 0-1-0-0; CN: Mullaney 6-15-0-58, Sanchez 1-2-0-5.

Receiving - WB: Glover 6-122, Martin 1-20, Shuler2-17, Opoku 1-0, Henry 1-minus 2; CN: Twynam 4-46, deGroot 1-21, Catena 1-0, Kokinakas 1-minus 4.