Old Bridge wins on late field goal against South Brunswick

MONMOUTH JUNCTION - For all the highlight film players and college talent and defensive spark plugs, it also helps to have a 5-foot-4 gutsy kicker.

Old Bridge High School’s Jon Sammarco nailed a 32-yard field goal with 6 minutes remaining, and the Knights held down the stretch to beat South Brunswick 31-28 in a Greater Middlesex Conference game between two Red Division heavyweights.

“This game’s back and forth, back and forth,” Old Bridge running back/defensive back Nick Sodano said. “And that little kick is the reason why we won. So I’m happy for that.”

For a season opener, there couldn’t have been much more hype—a rematch of last season’s NJSIAA Central Group V title game and the Home News Tribune’s Game of the Week. Last December, it was the Vikings winning 42-0. What did Old Bridge think when the 2016 schedule came out?

“We were pumped, “Sodano said. “We wanted that game first.”

And the Knights, ranked third in the HNT’s Top 10, played pumped from the beginning, scoring first and taking a 28-21 lead at halftime against the No. 1 Vikings. Sodano scored two rushing touchdowns—a four-yarder and a 19-yarder. NCAA Division I quarterback recruit Artur Sitkowski rushed for a 4-yard score and threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Imbimbo.

Defensively, the Knights scored two touchdowns on drives following interceptions by Paul Ferrali and Liam Knowles, while Alston Amegbenyo added two key sacks (the second one he was aided by Lorenzo Jorge) to help stop South Brunswick drives.

“It feels real good,” Old Bridge coach Anthony Lanzafama said. “It feels real good. I’m really proud of the guys. They worked extremely hard in the offseason. South Brunswick’s a good football team. It could have went either way. They had more momentum in the second half and we’re lucky to come out with this one.”

After a scoreless third quarter, South Brunswick tied the game 31 seconds into the fourth quarter when Jayvon Palmer rushed for a 6-yard touchdown, and Mitchell Fisher’s extra point made it 28-28. In that drive, South Brunswick’s quarterback Josh Liao missed a couple plays after gingerly walking off at the end of the third quarter. No matter, receiver and Penn State recruit Justin Shorter came in to get the snap and picked up a first down on a 10-yard run. Earlier in the second half, the versatile Shorter threw a 50-yard pass to Pritt Desai on a halfback toss.

On Old Bridge’s ensuing drive, Sodano picked up a first down on fourth-and-one at the Vikings’ 24-yard line with a two-yard spurt up the middle behind a strong line. Four plays later, the 5-foot-4, 175-pound Sammarco kicked the 32-yard field to give Old Bridge the 31-28 lead.

“I just had a lot of confidence,” Sammarco said. “I mean, we practice all the time (with) game scenario field goals. I was confident that my snapper was going to give me a good snap and my holder, too. Confident in that and just wanted to make sure I kept my head down and drive through the ball. And I knew that we would get it through.”

On South Brunswick’s possession, the Vikings got a first down on 12 rushing yard by Jayvon Palmer off of three carries. But South Brunswick Liao had a long pass downfield go incomplete, and the Vikings got stuffed on a run. On third-and-seven, Amegbenyo wrapped up Liao with the first hit, and Jorge finished the sack. On the fourth-and-20, the Vikings couldn’t complete a pass as Old Bridge was then able to run the clock out.

For the Vikings, Anthony Blakey electrified the home crowd with an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that tied the game 7-7 in the first quarter. While senior quarterback Josh Liao ran for a 6-yard touchdown, and threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Felix Quinones as he was getting hit.

But in the end, the night belonged to Old Bridge. There may even be a playoff rematch down the line. That’s something, though, the Old Bridge players and fans will think about another day.

“This is only one game, but honestly, this whole locker room was buzzed,” Sodano said. “In the state championship, we’re not expecting to lose 42-0. It’s a big reason why we won—because we wanted revenge. But this is just one game. We still have a whole season. But it was a nice win. I’m not going to lie.”

OLD BRIDGE (1-0) 14-14-0-3-31

SOUTH BRUNSWICK (0-1) 7-14-0-7-28

SCORING SUMMARY

OB – Sitkowski 4 run (Sammarco kick)

SB - Blakey 89 kickoff return (Fisher kick)

OB - Sodano 4 run (Sammarco kick)

OB – Sodano 19 run (Sammarco kick)

SB – Quinones 32 pass from Liao (Fisher kick)

SB – Liao 6 run (Fisher kick)

OB – Imbimbo 36 pass from Sitkowski (Sammarco kick)

SB – Palmer 6 run (Fisher kick)

OB – Sammarco 32 FG

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - OB: Sodano 20-104, Sitkowski 8-34, Imbimbo 3-22, Meyer 2-16; SB: Palmer 9-56,Liao 11-48,  Shorter 3-17, Lawson 3-8, Joe-Karma 3-2.

Passing - OB: Sitkowski 12-19-0-134; SB: Liao 6-13-2-61, Shorter 1-1-0-50.

Receiving - OB: Knowles 4-60, Imbimbo 3-61, Wheagar 2-11, Sodano 2-2, Meyer 1-0; SB: Desai 1-50, Quinones 3-42, Blakey 2-23, Joe-Karma 1-minus 4.