HS Football: South Plainfield cruises to victory

SOUTH PLAINFIELD - South Plainfield and Lawrence high schools appeared destined for a high-scoring football affair in their Central Group III playoff encounter after each scored a touchdown in the opening 68 seconds.

But Lawrence would not sniff the end zone again, while the Tigers scored on three of its next five  possessions to cruise to a 27-6 victory Friday evening.

South Plainfield will travel to Ewing, a 17-7 winner over Carteret, for next weekend's semifinal as it continues its quest for its first sectional title.

The Tigers played like champions Friday.

"I was very happy," South Plainfield coach Gary Cassio said. "Offensively, we played really well, our running game was there (41 carries for 243 yards). Special teams played well and our defense made stops."

South Plainfield got a huge lift from junior Charles Lovett, who shared quarterback chores with Ryan Marston and produced 124 yards and two touchdowns in five touches. Lovett, who began the season as the Tigers starting quarterback and made his return after suffering a high-ankle sprain and missing a month, ran four times for 80 yards,  including a 20-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds left in the first half for a 20-6 cushion, and completed his lone pass for a 44-yard scoring strike Jean Sapini to conclude the scoring early in the fourth quarter.

"That's a good system we have, Charlie's got the legs and Ryan has the brawn," Cassio said. "We've got a little thunder and lightning going on there and I'm very happy with the way it went."

Deshai Smith started the game the same way he opened the Tigers season, returning the opening kick 76 yards for a touchdown. Smith bobbled the kick but calmly gathered in the ball and erupted up the middle for an early 6-0 lead.

Lawrence, which was 0-10 last season and began this campaign lugging a 13-game losing streak, took advantage of a short field, taking possession at the Tiger 41 following a 35-yard kick return and the first of the of two penalties South Plainfield committed all evening. The Cardinals needed just three plays before Davon Hemingway ran for a 3-yard touchdown for a 6-6 tie with 10:52 left in the opening quarter.

"I thought it was going to be a long night defensively," Cassio offered. "Our kids bent, but they didn't break."

Lawrence did not score again despite quarterback Steve Denard completing 12 of 17 passes for 237 yards, averaging nearly 20 yards per completion. But every time the Cardinals threatened South Plainfield delivered a big play, with a Michael DeAngelis intercepting a pass in the red zone in the first half and Luke Niemeyer recovering a fumble in the red zone in the second.

Sapini pout South Plainfield on top to stay with a  a 9-yard touchdown pass from Marston with eight minutes left in the half, with Lovett contributing the Tigers final two scores.

Zachary Delvecchio did most of the heavy lifting for the Tigers offense, carrying 27 times for 128 yards. But even his brightest moment came on defense in the form of a 14-yard sack with Lawrence facing fourth-and-3 at the South Plainfield 24 on the Cardinals' penultimate possession, sealing the outcome midway through the final stanza.

LAWRENCE (7-3)  6-0-0-0-6

SOUTH PLAINFIELD (7-2)  6-14-0-7-27

SCORING SUMMARY

SP - Smith 76 kick return (kick failed)

L - Hemingway 3 run (kick failed)

SP - Sapini  9 pass from Marston (Smith kick)

SP - Lovett 20 run (Smith kick)

SP - Sapini 44 pass from Lovett (Smith kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - L: Hemingway 5-31, Adamczyk 2-24, Mitchell-White 5-20, Posarski 1-12, Kaelbien 1-6, Smith 4-minus 9, Denard 5-minus 21; SP: Delvecchio 27-128, Lovett 4-80, Lundy 3-15, Cohen 4-16, Marston 1-3, Smith 2-1.

Passing - L: Denard 12-17-1-237, Kaelblein 1-4-0-5; SP: Lovett 1-1-0-44, Marston 5-6-1-24.

Receiving - L: Mitchell-White 5-93, Hemingway 2-73, Toatley 4-60, Adamczyk 1-11, ; SP: Sapini 3-61, Lundy 3-7.