Colonia football wins fourth straight, secures sixth seed for playoffs

The Colonia High School football team, which extended its winning streak to four games, enters the postseason on a roll following a 38-12 victory over Perth Amboy on Friday night.

The NJSIAA will announce official playoff pairings on Sunday. The eight teams with the most power points in each section at the conclusion of this weekend’s action will qualify for the playoffs, which commence with first-round games next weekend at the site of the higher seed.

The Patriots (5-4) have likely garnered the No. 6 seed in North 2 Group IV and will play a first-round game at Summit or Middletown North.

Summit entered this weekend with the most power points in the section, but Middletown South unofficially leaped ahead of the Hilltoppers in the power point standings with a victory on Friday night.

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Running back Luke Pero rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, while quarterback Tyler Layton completed 10 of 17 passes for 92 yards to pace the Patriots, who led 31-0 at halftime.

Layton opened the scoring with a 1-yard keeper. Pero broke off scoring runs of 32 and 1 yards to help the Patriots build a 21-0 lead. Layton made the score 28-0 with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Taj Johnson. Branden Ribeiro’s 30-yard field goal created the 31-0 halftime lead. Mateo Campbell capped Colonia’s scoring with a 5-yard run.

“The kids never quit,” Colonia head coach Tom Roarty said of the Patriots rebounding from a 1-4 start to assure themselves of finishing with at least a .500 record. “They kept working hard and good things kept happening. We were inexperienced to start the season and we were making big-time mistakes that were hurting us. We started to eliminate them and put ourselves in better positions.”

Tahjmere O’Neal completed an 84-yard scoring strike to Tyler Jack in the third quarter and scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter to account for Perth Amboy’s points.