SPORTS

Bound Brook football topples Belvidere for first time in 11 meetings

Josh Rosenfeld
Correspondent

BOUND BROOK  --There are certain tell-tale signs in these parts that autumn has arrived. The leaves begin to change color. The days start to get shorter. And Belvidere beats Bound Brook in football.

But not this year.

Bound Brook snapped a seven-game losing streak to its nemesis with an impressive 28-6 victory Friday night, only its second triumph in 11 tries against the County Seaters.

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The victory was significant for the Crusaders in numerous ways as they seized control of the Mid-State 38 Conference's Union Division by knocking off the league's only other undefeated team. Bound Brook maintained its standing on top of the power points race in the NJSIAA Central Group I bracket and improved to 4-0 for this first time since going 10-1-1 in 2008, the last year it defeated Belvidere.

"I think we've reached a new plateau," said Bound Brook coach Dom Longo, who came up short in his first five outings against Belvidere. "Usually we beat some of the other teams in the conference, and then we get to the tough teams and get beat up a little bit. This is a whole new direction for our program, beating a quality program like Belvidere."

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Bound Brook received touchdowns from four different players behind a multi-pronged attack that picked up 237 rushing yards on 40 carries. Senior quarterback Alexander Navarro completed his first eight passes on a misty evening, finishing 8-of-9 for 76 yards.

The Crusader offense got off to a sluggish start in last week's 14-6 decision over Pingry but took control of this contest from the opening drive.

Bound Brook marched for touchdowns on its first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead at intermission, storming 77 yards in 11 plays over five minutes for its first score on a 5-yard run by Joshua Eliogu.

"Once we scored on the first drive we knew that this was going to be something good," said guard/linebacker Joseph Solis Vargas, who helped the Crusaders dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. "We had to keep working hard and we kept pounding and kept pounding and we felt it."

Navarro capped another five-minute, 10-play, 59-yard march for Bound Brook's second touchdown on an 8-yard keeper. The Crusaders required just two plays for its third score, a 51-yard jaunt on a double reverse by sophomore Mason-Gage Horsburgh, the game's leading rusher with 94 yards on seven carries.

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Both defenses stiffened in the second half, as Belvidere forced Bound Brook's lone two punts in the third quarter. But the Crusader defense maintained its edge as it limited Belvidere to just four first downs over the first three quarters, three of those earned by penalties.

The County Seaters finally broke through with 2:23 remaining but needed a gadget play to do so, David Kinney hooking up with Tyler Gilmartin for a 36-yard touchdown pass on a halfback option.

Bound Brook answered with a 5-yard dash to the end zone by Joseph Warren, who ran 18 times for 91 yards after sitting out last week's game against Pingry due to a bruised knee.