Football: Somerville's season comes to an end in Central Group III semifinals
SOMERVILLE - The Somerville High School football team delivered one of the most remarkable turn-around seasons in recent memory this fall.
And if the Pioneers needed a lesson in how to become a championship team, they merely had to look across the field on Friday evening.
Trailing by two touchdowns in the first quarter, Rumson-Fair Haven calmly bounced back by capitalizing on four Somerville turnovers and shutting out one of the state's highest-scoring teams over the final three quarters to post a 21-13 victory in the semifinal round of the NJSIAA Central Group III playoffs.
The Bulldogs (8-2) will be seeking a fourth consecutive sectional title when they take on South Plainfield, a 26-0 winner over Ewing, for the sectional crown in two weeks.
"We always talk that we don't have a team, we have a program," Rumson-Fair Haven coach Jerry Schulte said. "These kids know what they're doing. I don't have to say a word to them for the next two weeks."
Rumson-Fair Haven did what championship teams do, committing no turnovers, going 33 minutes at one stage without a penalty, and maintaining possession behind a dominant rushing attack anchored by Matt Vecchiarelli, who carried 33 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Mike O'Connor (19-for-86).
"These games come down to turnovers, ball possession, winning in the trenches, and they got two turnovers and turned them into touchdowns, said Somerville coach Jeffrey Vanderbeek, noting that none of Rumson's players have ever lost a playoff game. "It's a maturation process."
Somerville (10-1), which was mired in the throes of a 25-game losing streak as recently as last season, entered averaging 50 points per game under its first-year coach, the former owner of the New Jersey Devils. Rumson entered yielding 7.6 points per game.
Something had to give and it appeared to be the Bulldogs' defense as the Pioneers' Nasir Petties-Jackson scored twice in the opening quarter to stake the hosts to a 13-0 lead. The first came on a 14-yard pass into the left corner of the end zone, the second on a 70-yard jaunt out of the wildcat formation on gutsy fourth-and 1 from his own 30.
The Pioneers were cruising along behind their 13-point cushion until a disastrous stretch at the end of the first half, as Rumson-Fair Haven scored twice in a span of 1:05 to take a 14-13 lead at the break.
The first score followed a fumble recovery by Ryan Tuorto and ended with Vecchiarelli scoring untouched from two yards out. James Melia picked off his first of two interceptions for Rumson-Fair Haven on Somerville's very next play from scrimmage, leading to the 5-yard pass from O'Connor to Colin Pavluk that put the Bulldogs on top to stay.
The Bulldogs ran 30 plays on offense in the second half and all but three were runs by Vecchiarelli or O'Connor. Two of the others were passes for first downs from O'Connor to Tyler Pierson, enabling Rumson-Fair Haven to sustain possessions and keep Somerville's potent offense off the field. Vecchiarelli concluded the scoring with a 1-yard plunge with a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Somerville's last two drives ended with interceptions in the end zone, the first by Melia, the second by Pat Russo. Rumson-Fair Haven shut out the Bulldogs for seven straight possessions to earn another trip to the championship game.
"We made a few mistakes (defensively) and we settled down," Schulte offered. "When you make errors against a team with that kind of speed they'll put points on the board. We figured out what the problem was and we solved it."
Somerville had a great season. Rumson-Fair Haven is still having one.