Hogan a hero as Piscataway holds on for dramatic win

PISCATAWAY - As a linebacker in a Piscataway High School defensive unit that frequently bent but did not break until the fourth quarter, senior Trey Hogan turned in what proved to be the biggest play of the biggest regular-season game of the year, intercepting a pass in the closing seconds as the Chiefs held on for a thrilling 27-21 victory over Sayreville at Ciardi Stadium on Friday night.

The Bombers, ranked No. 2 in the Home News Tribune Top 10, rallied from a 27-7 deficit as senior quarterback Jayson DeMild connected with 6-foot-7 receiver Jahsim Floyd on fourth-quarter scoring strikes of 4 and 30 yards.

The latter came with 5:16 remaining in the game and was immediately followed by a successful onside kick.

After Sayreville recovered the onside kick, DeMild, who completed 22 of 41 passes for 294 yards, drove his team to the Piscataway 12 yard line but could not convert a fourth-and-9 as the Bombers turned the ball over on downs with 2:27 remaining.

READ: Greg Tufaro's Week 5 predictions and analysis

READ: Greg Tufaro's preview of the Sayreville vs. Piscataway game

READ: Greg Tufaro's Top 10 GMC football rankings

Sayrveille’s defense held, forcing the Chiefs to punt out of their end zone for the second time in the game.

Unlike the initial punt attempt out of the end zone – which resulted in Sayreville closing to 20-7 when Colton Redding pounced on a loose ball in the end zone after Piscataway’s punter fanned on the attempt with 3:31 left in the third quarter – the Chiefs got this one off and the Bombers took over near midfield with 44 seconds remaining.

DeMild, looking for Floyd one more time, launched a pass across the middle of the field, where his lanky target appeared to have found a seam between two defensive backs.

Hogan, however, who apparently never entered DeMild’s field of vision, leaped in front of Floyd for a victory-preserving interception.

“I read the quarterbacks eyes and just picked it,” the 5-foot-7 Hogan said matter-of-factly. “As a whole, our defense did well. We stepped up in the red zone and we got the win. Our motto is: Bend. Don’t break.’ ”

DeMild, who was brilliant on the road against the top-ranked Chiefs for the second straight year (he engineered a game-winning drive in the closing seconds of a 23-21 victory last season), was victimized by several drops, the two most damaging of which should have been touchdown receptions on fourth-down plays in the opening half.

Instead, the Bombers went into the locker room down 14-0 at the intermission, thanks in large part to the play of Piscataway running back Elijah Barnwell, who accounted for both of his team’s first-half scores. Barnwell finished with 217 yard on 29 carries.

Piscataway’s unsung hero was sophomore quarterback Joseph Hatcher, who stepped up after starter Danny Haus left the contest early in the third quarter with a lower back injury.

On the first pass attempt of his career, Hatcher, who was rolling out to his left, threw across his body and found a wide open Nasir James, who slipped behind the secondary, for a 61-yard scoring strike that gave the Chiefs a 20-0 lead. The huge pass play came with not only Haus, but Barnwell also on the sideline, as the workhorse back limped off the field two plays prior on a tender ankle.

“We have a lot of confidence in ‘Hatch,’ ” Piscataway head coach Dan Higgins said. “He runs our scout team every day, so we know he has a really good arm. Knowing Sayreville well – knowing how well they scheme – I knew they probably were thinking we were just going to run the rock (in that situation); we are going to play it safe. So we said, ‘Hey. Why not take a shot?’ ”

On the ensuing series, Sayreville drove to the Piscataway 10, where the Bombers’ march ended on fourth down when Hogan broke up a pass in the end zone intended for Andrew Wille. Four plays later, the Bombers finally got on the board when Redding recovered the botch punt attempt.

The Chiefs got the seven points back on the very next series when Mike Petite capped a 71-yard march with a 14-yard touchdown run as Piscataway rebuilt its advantage to 27-7. Barnwell carried four times on the drive for 57 yards as the Chiefs returned to their trademark double tight end formation and challenged Sayreville to stop their vaunted running game.

“When Danny went down, I knew I had to step up big time and put the team on my back and help us keep going and help the team keep having momentum,” said Barnwell, who praised Hatcher for stepping up. “When Danny went down, Hatcher did what he had to do. That (touchdown pass to James) was a great throw. It caught me in shock. I didn’t see (the pass play) coming at all.”

With the victory, the Chiefs (4-0) took sole possession of first place in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division, while the Bombers (4-1) ad a string of three consecutive on-field victories over Piscataway (the Chiefs claimed a forfeit in 2014) snapped.

“We never slept on them,” Barnwell said of his team protecting leads of 20-0 and 27-7. “We knew we had to stay focused and disciplined. We knew they were going to keep coming at us.”