Turnovers, poor field position plague Carteret football team in tough loss

Benefitting from outstanding field position throughout the third quarter, the Ewing High School football team pulled away from Carteret en route to a 17-7 victory in the opening round of the Central Group III playoffs on Friday night.

With the win, second-seeded Ewing (7-3) advanced to next weekend’s sectional semifinals, where it will host third-seeded South Plainfield, a 27-6 first-round winner over sixth-seeded Lawrence.

Unable to extricate itself from horrible field position in the third quarter – Carteret punted from its 27, 9 and 21 on three consecutive possessions – the Ramblers defense held on two straight occasions before Ewing finally converted a short field into points.

Tyquan Parker’s 15-yard touchdown run with 11:37 remaining in the fourth quarter capped a short drive and gave the Blue Devils a 17-7 lead.

The Ramblers turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter – two interceptions and a fumble – as their late-season offensive woes continued.

Carteret (5-4) entered the playoffs on a three-game losing streak during which its once potent offense was limited to just seven points. The Ramblers will close out the season on Thanksgiving Day against Perth Amboy.

The Ramblers scored on their first possession. Angelo Golino capped an 80-yard drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak. James Hart added the PAT for a 7-0 advantage with 2:58 remaining in the first quarter.

Ewing unsuccessfully attempted a fake punt near midfield on the ensuing series, giving Carteret possession at its own 45 yard line. The Ramblers, however, could do little with the sound field position and were forced to punt.

Ewing responded with Ed Doggett’s 7-yard touchdown run, evening the score at 7-7 with 7:59 remaining in the second quarter.

Carteret then drove from its own 19 to the Ewing 25 but the march ended on an interception in the closing minute of the opening half.

Ewing returned the pick to the Carteret 47, setting up Matt Hunkele for a 34-yard field goal that gave the Blue Devils a 10-7 lead with two seconds left in the second quarter.

Carteret endured horrendous field position on its first two possessions of the second half, punting from its own 27 and its own 9, but Ewing could not benefit from the short field on either occasion.

The Ramblers made a huge stop on fourth-and-goal from the 2 to keep the score 10-7 with less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter.