Strickland leads South Brunswick past J.P. Stevens

EDISON – For the second week in a row, South Brunswick found itself facing an early deficit. Fortunately for the Vikings, their offense has had little trouble this season manufacturing points.

The Vikings were down 7-0 and rolled up 36 points last week in a win over Middletown South, and scored 25 unanswered points to defeat J.P. Stevens, 46-20, in the GMC Red Division contest Friday night.

Dontae Strickland posted 246 yards of total offense for the Vikings, marking the second straight game where J.P. Stevens allowed more than 200 rushing yards to one player this season. The Syracuse-committed back focused his attack on the left side of the Hawks’ defense, registering touchdown runs of 48, 54, and 72 yards and a 38-yard scoring reception for South Brunswick (2-0).

“When he’s out in space like that, he’s tough to stop,” South Brunswick coach Joe Goerge said. “We were down a bit at the start but I tell our players that in this conference we have to play every week.”

Aided by several Vikings penalties, J.P. Stevens (0-2) opened the game with a 9-play, 69-yard drive capped by a DeAndre Perkins 36-yard touchdown grab for its first lead of the season at 6-0. The Vikings answered quickly, mainly with its ground attack, posting four touchdowns for a 25-6 third quarter advantage.

South Brunswick’s defense limited the Hawks’ backs to just 68 yards. Rotating quarterbacks Luke Jacobi, who had a team-high 110 yards of offense, and Jay’von Blacknall were sacked twice in total and the J.P. Stevens offense was sent back for a loss 12 times in the game. Linebacker Kyle Stankevitch and defensive back Phil Campbell wrapped up the quarterbacks, while the rest of the defense swarmed to the ball. Most of J.P. Stevens’ 138-passing yards came on two defensive breakdowns that led to receptions totaling 81 yards.

After that initial scoring drive by J.P. Stevens, South Brunswick had tackles for a loss or no gain by Marcus Jackson, Strickland, and Chrisjon Summers to stymie the Hawks attack.

South Brunswick’s Amir Johnson attempted just three passes in the contest but managed the offense efficiently. The senior quarterback added two touchdowns for the Vikings, who open their new field Sept. 27 against Old Bridge. Last season, the Knights handed South Brunswick a 27-8 loss before the Vikings closed the season with wins in five of their next six games.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Strickland said. “Noon game on a new field; it’s going to be quite an atmosphere.”

J.P. Stevens, which has been outscored 88-27 in its first two games, lost its fourth straight game, dating back to last season. The Hawks travel to Monroe next weekend.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK (2-0)… 12 7 13 14 — 46

J.P. STEVENS (0-2) …6 0 7 7 — 20

SCORING SUMMARY

J-Perkins 36 pass from Jacobi (kick failed)

S-Strickland 7 run (kick failed)

S-Strickland 48 run (run failed)

S-Johnson 3 run (Golden kick)

S-Strickland 54 run (kick failed)

J-Blacknall 1 run (Walters kick)

S-Golden 37 run (Golden kick)

S-Johnson 20 run (Golden kick)

S-Strickland 72 run (Golden kick)

J-Sutton 10 run (Walters kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: S-Strickland 13-208, Johnson 6-39, Golden 6-40, Campbell 2-32, Allen 2-14, Campisano 2-3; J-Chukwuneke 10-15, Blacknall 8-11, Jacobi 5-25, Perkins 5-4, Landerway 2-3, Sutton 1-10.

PASSING: S-Johnson 1-3-1-38; J- Blacknall 6-7-0-53; Jacobi 10-14-0-85.

RECEIVING: S-Strickland 1-38; J-Ballou 9-35, Perkins 2-39, Garrett 2-0, Sutton 1-45, Landerway 1-14, Chukwuneke 1-5.