J.F. Kennedy's Young is GMC Football Player of the Week

Terence Young didn't just patiently wait his turn to become a focal point of the J.F. Kennedy High School football team's offense.

The junior wide receiver and defensive back worked tirelessly in the offseason to help the Mustangs compensate for the graduation of Anthony Roberts, one of the Greater Middlesex Conference's best running backs.

"Coming into this year, he really wanted to rise to the occasion," J.F. Kennedy head coach Andrew Maurizio said. "He wanted to be the leader of the team. He wanted to just flat outwork everybody on the field. Not just us, but our opponents, too. He has a purpose to be the best football player on the field. His purpose for 48 minutes is to do just that."

Young fulfilled his mission, accumulating 203 all-purpose yards, scoring all three of his team's touchdowns and recording an interception to lead the Mustangs to a 22-16 comeback victory over South Plainfield on Friday night.

He is the Home News Tribune's Football Player of the Week.

After Young hauled in a 57-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter and subsequently broke off a 68-yard touchdown run, J.F. Kennedy squandered a 15-0 lead and trailed by a point with under three minutes remaining.

WATCH YOUNG'S 57-YARD TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION

The Mustangs (2-1), ranked No. 8 in the Home News Tribune Top 10, returned the ensuing kickoff to their 41 yard line. Following a dump pass to the tight end that gained nine yards, quarterback Andrew Roberts connected with Young on a slant wheel route that went 50 yards for the winning score.

South Plainfield coach Gary Cassio said his team was supposed to be in a Cover 3, but a defensive breakdown resulted in Young being left wide open for the reception.

WATCH YOUNG'S 50-YARD TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION

"Going into the game we knew Young was their (go-to) player," said Cassio, noting Young rushed eight times for 84 yards and caught four passes for 119 more yards. "He made some good plays when the team needed them. Everything he got, he earned."

MyCentralJersey.com football analyst Marcus Borden, who first met Young while doing his Camp Caravan tour of preseason practices in August, recalls the J.F. Kennedy star introducing himself as an athlete upon being asked what positions he plays.

"He himself said that and I have to agree with him," said Borden, noting Young can return kicks and punts, play wide receiver, slot receiver, running back and even quarterback (which he did for a series when Roberts had to briefly leave the game after getting nicked up).

"Do I think they win (against South Plainfield) without him? No. Not with that performance. He dominated the second half."

With his team clinging to a 3-0 lead at halftime, Maurizio said he and his coaching staff talked in the lockerroom about throwing a pass to either Young or Step Oziegbe out of a formation from which the Mustangs almost exclusively run the ball.

"We said let's take our shot going up top," Maurizio explained. "We had Terence on one side and Step on the other. We told Andrew whatever side you feel more comfortable. He just trusted Terence was going to flat out beat (the defense), which he did."

The perfectly thrown bomb down the right sideline gave the Mustangs a 9-0 lead with just 17 seconds elapsed in the third quarter.

After South Plainfield lost possession two plays later on Carlos Rojas' interception, Maurizio barked Young's number on the very next play from scrimmage, calling for an inside zone handoff on which Young burst through the line and up the right sideline for an electrifying 68-yard touchdown that gave the Mustangs a 15-0 lead.

WATCH YOUNG'S 68-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN

"We can put him anywhere on the field," Maurizio said. "He's just a dynamic football player. If we wanted to put him at defensive end, he'd probably lead our team in tackles. He's just a great football player period."