GMC Football: Sayreville wins big over Old Bridge

OLD BRIDGE - Boom. It just seemed that every time the Old Bridge High School football team had momentum, Sayreville came up with a sack or pressure or a big hit.

Friday, the Bombers broke open a one touchdown game in the second half to win 37-17 in the last regular season contest before the NJSIAA playoffs. While the pairings weren’t determined immediately after the game, Sayreville hopes the momentum snowballs.

Jahsim Floyd caught two touchdown passes thrown by Jayson DeMild (a 28-and 13-yarder) and scored on a 43-yard interception return. JaQuae Roberts added two rushing touchdowns (an 8- and a 25-yarder) and Matthew Crowley kicked a 30-yard field goal.

“We were a balanced offense, and our defense, they kicked up today,” Floyd said. “We all saw that we had to make big plays on third downs. That’s what it came down to. We play as a team. We all do our assignment, and we know that we’re going to come out with a big win. They’re projected to put up big numbers with a D1 quarterback, so we had to come out hard.”

Indeed, the Knights led by quarterback Artur Sitkowski and running back Nick Sodano moved the ball at times. But it was Sayreville’s defense that stalled Old Bridge’s drives, including twice within Sayreville’s 15-yard line.

Floyd, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound senior defensive end, kicked in two sacks with Bryce Christian and Michael Liberti also getting sacks and pressure from Christian Platon and Michael Porcaro led to interceptions (from Floyd and Michael Liberti). Additionally, Jacari Carter had an interception on the game’s third play.

It was a matchup of Greater Middlesex Conference heavyweights as Old Bridge (4-3-1) entered as No. 1 in the Home News Tribune Top 10, while Sayreville (7-2) was ranked fourth.

“Sayreville’s a good team and they played well,” Old Bridge coach Anthony Lanzafama said. “They deserved to win tonight.”

There won’t be a possible rematch in 2016. Check back next season as Sayreville competes in the North 2 Group IV bracket, and Old Bridge is in Central Group V.

Last season, Old Bridge scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 28-21 win over the Bombers. This time, the Knights trailed 17-3 at halftime and nearly rallied again.

The beginning of the second half featured a wild sequence. After a Sayreville fake punt picked up a yard, the Knights took over on their own 43. Four plays later, Sitkowski threw a 31-yard touchdown strike to Liam Knowles and Jon Sammarco’s extra point cut the deficit to 17-10 with 9:31 remaining in the third quarter.

On the ensuing squib kickoff, the ball bounced off a Sayreville player’s chest and Knowles recovered it at Sayreville’s 42. After a 16-yard pass to Anthony Imbimbo, the Bombers recovered a fumble.

“That killed our momentum,” Lanzafama said.

After the teams traded possessions, Sayreville took a 24-10 lead following a 78-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown run by JaQuae Roberts with 11:35 remaining in the game. On that drive, DeMild threw a 23-yard pass to Floyd.

Floyd finished with three catches for 68 yards, and DeMild was 10-of-19 for 104 yards. The Sayreville senior quarterback was mobile when needed, rushing three times for first downs.

“That’s my brother,” Floyd said. “We got a special connection. We know what we want on the field.”

For the Knights, Sammarco booted a 34-yard field, in which the ball hit the crossbar and bounced over with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter. While Imbimbo, the backup quarterback, threw a 40-yard touchdown to Tyson Townsend late in the game.

Sayreville displayed its defensive prowess in the first half.

Old Bridge drove to Sayreville’s 11-yard line midway through the second quarter helped by a 20-yard run by Sodano. But Sayreville’s Floyd and Christian combined on a sack for a 10-yard loss. On the next play at Sayreville’s 21-yard line, the Bombers’ Porcaro led the charge in stopping Sodano for a 3-yard loss. The next two passes went incomplete as Sayreville held and continued to lead 10-3.

On Old Bridge’s last possession of the first half, the Knights moved the ball to Sayreville’s 32-yard line, helped by two passes from Sitkowski to Imbimbo for 30 yards. But Sayreville’s Christian came through with a sack for a loss of 12 yards and the Bombers held, once again, en route to the big win.

SAYREVILLE (7-2) 7-10-0-14-31

OLD BRIDGE (4-3-1) 3-0-7-7-17

SV – Floyd 28 pass from DeMild (Crowley kick)

OB – Sammarco FG 34

SV – Crowley FG 30

SV – Floyd 13 pass from DeMild (Crowley kick)

OB – Knowles 31 pass from Sitkowski (Sammarco kick)

SV – Roberts 8 run (Crowley kick)

SV – Roberts 25 run (Crowley kick)

SV – Floyd 43 int. return (kick failed)

OB – Townsend 40 pass from Imbimbo (Sammarco kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - SV: Roberts 8-62, Liberti 10-39, DeMild 9-38, Wille 1-11; OB: Imbimbo 4-22, Sodano 11-15, Sitkowski 7-minus 9.

Passing - SV: DeMild 10-19-0-104; OB: Sitkowski 14-30-3-169, Townsend 1-1-0-40.

Receiving - SV: Floyd 3-68, Liberti 3-20, Wille 3-11, Carter 1-5; OB: Imbimbo 8-82, Knowles 5-79, Townsend 1-40, Rivera 1-5, Jurgelevicius 1-3.