Football: Somerville wraps up undefeated season with win over Summit

SOMERVILLE - After the Somerville High School football team concluded its first undefeated regular season since 2004 with a surprisingly easy 42-7 triumph over Summit on Friday, first-year coach Jeffrey Vanderbeek was asked if he had such lofty aspirations when he took over the team.

"Sure," Vanderbeek said with a smile. "This program had won four games over the last four seasons, so we had to turn that corner. Winning breeds winning, losing breeds losing, and It means a hell of a lot."

Somerville (9-0), No. 4 in the Courier News Top 10, generated its ninth one-sided victory despite producing its lowest point total since the opening game of the season. And while its offense, which entered averaging a whopping 51.5 points per outing, churned out 460 yards of total offense, it was the play of the Pioneers defense that Vanderbeek credited for a mercy-rule decision over a one-loss team.

"We weren't really running on all cylinders in the first half on offense, but the defense picked it up," Vanderbeek said of a unit that has limited its last four foes to a single touchdown each. "We knew we had players for the skill positions on offense, but the defense is a work in progress and they just keep getting better and better, and I'm so proud of them."

Though Somerville uncharacteristically scored on only three of its six first-half possessions, the defense held Summit in check by limiting it to a mere 36 yards and just one first down before intermission. In fairness, Summit began the game with a backup quarterback and had to replace him  because of an  injury early in the second quarter, with a pair of sophomores taking over.

Somerville built its 21-0 halftime edge on short touchdown runs by Keyshawn Newton, Marcus Burnside and quarterback Nick Couzzi. Couzzi, who completed 16 of 26 passes for 211 yards, triggered the mercy rule with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter after long touchdown passes to Burnside and Chris Ciempola.

Summit's Matt Murdock stopped the clock temporarily with a 5-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, before Somerville backup Ryan Kovacs hooked up with Duke McDuffie for a 21-yard score.

It was then that Somerville, with the remnants of a 25-game losing streak fading from its rear-view mirror, could begin its preparations as the No. 1 seed in the Central Group III bracket.

SUMMIT  (7-2)  0-0-0-7-7

SOMERVILLE  (9-0)  7-14-14-7-42

SCORING SUMMARY

SO - Newton 1 run (C. Ciempola kick)

SO - Burnside 6 run (C. Ciempola kick)

SO - Couzzi 1 run (C. Ciempola kick)

SO - Burnside 42 pass from Couzzi (C. Ciempola kick)

SO - C. Ciempola 34 pass from Couzzi (C. Ciempola kick)

SU - Murdock 5 run (Johnson kick)

SO - McDuffie 21 pass from Kovacs (C. Ciempola kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Sum: Murdock 15-30, Tyler 5-14, Froschauer 3-1; Som: Newton 8-66, Couzzi 13-36, Lee 3-27, McDuffie 3-21, Burnside 2-12, Kovacs 1-5, Petties-Jackson 1-4, C. Ciempola 1-minus 1.

Passing - Sum: Schlueter 6-14-0-57, Tyler 1-3-12, Froschauer 3-5-9; Som: Couzzi 16-26-211,    Kovacs 5-7-1-79.

Receiving - Sum: Tyler 4-51, Hanford 2-12, Murdock 1-12, Jackson 2-2, Zanelli 1-1; Som: Burnside 3-69, Newton 6-64, C. Ciempola 2-51, Petties-Jackson 4-29, Lee 3-24, J. Ciempola 2-22, McDuffie 1-21.