SPORTS

South River football rebounds with win over Keyport

Steven Macri
Correspondent

SOUTH RIVER – When opponents travel to South River five jerseys stare them in the face from the far end zone.

These names include the likes of Joe Theismann and Drew Pearson. History and tradition hovers over the football field at South River.

Doug Ryan was on his way to becoming the sixth jersey hanging up along the fence. He was writing a legacy that most players do not even dream about. That was before a nasty horse-collar tackle knocked him out for the season. Ryan broke his leg and now sits on the sidelines with a set of crutches and a big boot around his leg.

Ryan was not only considered one of the best running backs in Middlesex County, but also in the state of New Jersey. He now has to coach from the sidelines.

“To Lead,” those were the first two words out of Ryan’s mouth when asked about what his job is this season, “I give them speeches before the game and tell them what they need to do. The team listens to me.”

The Rams did not start life without Ryan in a positive way last week against Metuchen. The offense was blanked by the opposing defense, on their way to a 9-0 loss.

South River made sure to supply their defense with plenty of breathing room on Saturday when the Keyport Raiders came to visit, posting a 26-18 triumph.

The Rams led Keyport 26-0 at halftime thanks to Mario Nigro and the rest of the offense. South River played a ground-and-pound style of offense. The offense ran the ball 37 times and only threw the ball nine times on the afternoon. Head Coach Richard Marchesi made a statement. It was even if they didn’t have Ryan; South River was still going to run the ball and try to make opponents stop the attack.

“We really went back to our old style of offense,” Marchesi said about his team’s strategy this week. “Run the ball inside and play action pass. We simplified things because we were too fancy last week.”

The scoring began with Nigro 13-yard touchdown untouched. Nigro did not start last week, but sent a message that he is here to stay during the game against Keyport. He finished the afternoon with 121 yards rushing on 21 carries.

“There was a little pressure, but the linemen played great and they kept pushing,” said Nigro about his first start. “It helped take a lot of pressure off of me.”

The Rams quickly marched down the field during their second drive. Quarterback Nicholas Lepore dove in for the touchdown on a quarterback keeper to help make it a two-possession game.

South River offense did not let up in the second quarter. After several great runs from the Rams offense, Lepore rolled out and found Jared Smith in the back of the end zone. Smith provided a spark on both sides of the ball. He had an acrobatic interception during the closing seconds of the first quarter. Smith even helped on special teams when he jumped on a loose ball during the second quarter.

The Rams finished off their scoring for the afternoon when running back Khaliyl Everet forcefully pushed pass the goal line to give South River a 26-0 lead.

Marchesi relies heavily on the defense. The defense kept the team in the game last week against Metuchen and this week they were a vital part of the win. Richard LeoGrande clogged up the holes all afternoon, which made it tough for Keyport to find any room to run. Senior captain Sean Darrar supplied plenty of game changing moments in the secondary, he had two interceptions on the afternoon.

“No matter what happened in the preseason our defense was going to keep up in the game,” Marchesi said.

Keyport battled back during the second half, but the 26-point deficit proved to be too much to bare.

Quarterback Desmond Underwood broke up the shutout when he connected with Dan Williams for a 15-yard touchdown.

Underwood did not stop there, he once again threw a 15-yard touchdown during the fourth quarter, this time to Chase Bright.

Underwood finished the afternoon with 111 passing yards and two touchdown tosses.

South River were heavy favorites to win the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division for the second season in a row. The South River Rams showed today that behind great defense and a strong rushing attack, they may be able to repeat without Ryan on the field.

“I preach good week of practice,” Marchesi said. “We didn’t have the best week of practice; I tossed them off the field on Thursday. We have a long way to go, we have to get better.”

Keyport (0-2) 0-0-6-6-18

South River (1-1) 13-13-0-0-26

SCORING SUMMARY

SR - Nigro 13 run (kick good)

SR- Lepore 1 run (run failed)

SR- Smith 5 pass (run failed)

SR– Everet 1 run (kick good)

K – Williams 15 pass (run failed)

K- Bright 15 pass (pass failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing - K: Underwood 8-51, Pryor 14-34, Walker 1-10, Acuna 1-5, Bright 2- minus 2; SR: Nigro 21-116, Everet 7-22, Byrd 3-16, Pacheco 2-5, Darrar 1-4, Lepore 3-3.

Passing - K: Underwood 9-20-111-2; SR: Lepore 3-8-34-1, Pacheco 1-1-17-0.

Receiving - K: Smith 3-21, Bright 1-15, Williams 1-15, Ochs 2-13, Pryor 1-8; SR: Darrar 1-24, Lepore 1-17, Byrd 1-5, Smith 1-5.