South Plainfield football blanks Ewing in Central Group III

EWING — Every once in a while Zach DelVecchio will try a spin move or a jump, but his coach cringes at anything too fancy from the South Plainfield running back.

“I want him to run people over,” Tigers coach Gary Cassio said. “That’s what I want him to do. Lower into people. Wear them out in the second half."

Friday, DelVecchio mostly ran downhill, but it was all uphill for South Plainfield in its 26-0 win over Ewing in the NJSIAA Central Group III semifinals. The third-seeded Tigers (8-2) will play No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven, which beat No. 1 Somerville 21-13 in Friday’s other semifinal. The final is slated for Dec. 3.

First, South Plainfield had to beat No. 2 Ewing (7-4) of the West Jersey Football League, which was led by senior quarterback Edamiyon Doggett (entered with 865 yards and 14 touchdowns and 1,578 passing yards).

The Tigers won with a power running game led by DelVecchio. The 5-foot-9, 225-pound sophomore rushed for 175 yards on 30 carries and three touchdowns. He broke for a 27-yard score up the middle and had touchdowns of 1-and 2-yards. Ben Lundy added an 8-yard score as the Tigers led 14-0 at halftime and burned clock in the second half. For the game, South Plainfield had five passes.

“We played a great team game today,” Cassio said. “Offense, defense, special teams. We work hard. This is a very good Ewing football team. A very well coached Ewing football team. We had a game plan and the kids executed. We bent a little bit on defense. I keep saying that every week. But we locked it down once they got in the red zone.”

South Plainfield got two interceptions—Charles Lovett had a pick around his team’s 15-yard line early in the second quarter and Michael DeAngelis had one early in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers also got some splash from sophomore Dondre Tate. On the second-half kickoff, the 5-foot-9, 155-pounder broke down the left sideline for an 85-yard return, getting caught on the 4-yard line. Three plays later, DelVecchio took it in from 2-yards out for a 20-0 South Plainfield lead with 10:09 left in the third quarter.

That negated any momentum the Blue Devils were hoping to get coming out of halftime.

“I sensed the game just turned to all our way right there after he got to the 4-yard line,” DelVecchio said.

While South Plainfield got a 21-yard run from Deshai Smith, it was mostly plowing ahead with DelVecchio and the line. Cassio noted, “We’re a blue collar team. We don’t have any superstars. … I got a balanced football team. They play as a team.”

In the press box, officials from Ewing were surprised to learn that DelVecchio is just a sophomore, figuring he must be a senior with his effective bowling ball-style of running. He knows what works, despite his desire sometimes to juke. (“I’m on Zach every day,” Cassio said. “He did it a couple times tonight. He tries to stop his feet and move outside. Zach’s got to go downhill.”)

“I’m a ground and pound,” DelVecchio acknowledged. “I’m pretty big. … I just follow my blocks, hope for the best. Hope they just get their blocks down. If I don’t, I just try to pound it through the linemen. Get through the little holes. Get two to three yards, at least.”

That Ewing would have a long night was evident early on. In the first half, South Plainfield had no problems moving the ball with sustained drives. The Tigers scored twice, missed a 32-yard field that went wide left and then took a knee at the end. Ewing punted twice, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs.

At quarterback, the Tigers switched up Ryan Marston and Charles Lovett, who returned last week from a high ankle sprain that benched him a month.

“We’re finally healthy and we’re clicking on all cylinders right now,” Cassio said. “We got to get ready in two weeks. I don’t know who we’re playing, but like I said to the kids, we’re not going to lay down for anybody and we’re going to go play football. ... They’re a good bunch of kids on and off the field. And they want to win”

SOUTH PLAINFIELD (8-2) 14-0-6-6-26

EWING (7-4) 0-0-0-0-0

SCORING SUMMARY

SP - Delvecchio 27 run (Smith kick)

SP - Lundy 8 run (Smith kick)

SP - Delvecchio 2 run (kick failed)

SP - Delvecchio 1 run (pass failed)