GMC FOOTBALL: Zamar Brake stars again in Carteret victory

Carteret 21, South Plainfield 7: Quarterback Zamar Brake completed 14 of 27 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown and also found the end zone on a run as the Ramblers (4-2) won their second straight.

Brake opened the scoring on a 16-yard run in the second quarter. The Tigers forged a 7-7 tie before the half on Josiah Harvey’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Nieves. The South Plainfield score came after Carteret fumbled a punt deep in its own territory.

Brake completed a 34-yard scoring strike on a slant over the middle to Stephon Kelley-Gordon in the third quarter to give Carteret a 14-7 lead. The play capped a 99-yard drive on which Brake threw short passes and used his legs.

The drive followed a Carteret goal-line stand. After the Ramblers unsuccessfully attempted a fake punt, South Plainfield took over with great field position. Using a mixture of Zack Delvecchio runs and some well-timed jet sweeps, the Tigers would be set up with a first-and-goal from the 9 yard line. Four plays produced just 8 yards as the interior of the Carteret defense – Demond Bullock, David Pierre, Fizan Khan and Frank Coghan – came up with a big stop just 1 yard from the goal line.

James Henderson scored on a 32-yard run in the fourth quarter to produce the final margin. Sophomore Zaire Gilbert’s terrific block helped spring Henderson on his touchdown run.

Henderson finished with a team-high 91 yards on 13 carries. Kelley-Gordon had three catches for 46 yards. Brake finished with 26 rushing yards on three carries.

The injury-riddled Tigers (2-5) endured their fifth consecutive defeat.

Veteran head coach Matt Yascko, now in his 12th season, became the second winningest coach in Carteret’s storied history. He now has 76 career wins.

Francis McCarthy (106-79 over 22 seasons) is the winningest coach at the school.

Yascko’s winning percentage ranks third all-time at Carteret among mentors who have coached more than one season behind Jeff Weiner (57-11 record for 81.4 percent over seven years) and Bob Molarz (64-21 for 75.2 percent over eight years).