Sayreville football rallies to win North 2 Group IV title

PISCATAWAY - The comeback came out of nowhere.

It happened quick, unexpected and snowballed into hugs with minutes remaining. Afterward, there were leaps into the crowd and tears from cheerleaders.

The joyous Sayreville scenes were the opposite of what many were expecting after the Bombers trailed Middletown North 14-7 at halftime Saturday in the NJSIAA North 2 Group IV final at Rutgers University’s High Point Solutions Stadium.

When it was over, fifth-seeded Sayreville rallied for a 41-14 win over the No. 2 Lions, in which seemingly nothing could go wrong in the second half. The Bombers got four turnovers, recovered an onside kick and prevented Middletown’s slippery quarterback Donald Glenn from making plays like he did in the first 24 minutes.

“It just shows what kind of kids we have at Sayreville from a town that supports us,” Sayreville quarterback Jayson DeMild said. “They always got our backs. Nothing can knock us down. No matter how bad it is, nothing can knock us down. We’ll always be back. This is where we belong. Right here, as champs.”

Sayreville (10-2) certainly took a difficult path to the finals with road wins over No. 4 Phillipsburg (21-7) and top-seeded Middletown South (42-28). But on the cold afternoon, it looked like Sayreville’s run might be coming to a hard end to the Shore Conference team. The Lions (9-3) led 14-0 after the first quarter and 14-7 at halftime, in which they outgained Sayreville in total yards 221-103. Sayreville’s prolific passing attack was stalled. DeMild entered as the Greater Middlesex Conference’s top passer with 2,057 yards, but was 0-for-4 Saturday in the first half and finished 3-of-9 for 29 yards.

Things didn’t start out so great in the third quarter, either, as Sayreville punted on the first possession. After a Middletown North punt, things started to change in the Bombers’ favor. In short, it was the defense, offensive line and fullback Jaquae Roberts. The 5-foot-10, 225-pound senior entered the game with 143 yards on 19 carries. For the season.

Saturday, he rushed for 159 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns. On that drive, he rushed 4 times for 42 yards and a 10-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-13 with 4:06 left in the third quarter.

“He’s the bus,” DeMild said. “Man, nobody wants to tackle him. You saw firsthand, nobody wants to tackle him.”

Sayreville coach Chris Beagan said, “Jaquae was the secret weapon for us today. He really came through.”

On the Lions’ possession, Sayreville’s Bryce Christian put pressure on the quarterback and nearly sacked him on a first-and-10 from Middletown North’s 45-yard line. Glenn got the pass off, but Brandon Cenci bent down to snag the ball with his fingertips and raced down the right sideline for a 41-yard touchdown. Matthew Crowley’s extra point gave Sayreville a 20-14 lead with 1:59 left in the quarter.

“I knew that I had to watch the back on that play,” said Cenci, a safety. “So once he slipped out, I just read it perfectly and he dumped it off. I barely caught it with my hands and just didn’t look back. I caught it with my fingertips. I just took off. Nothing was stopping me getting into that end zone.”

DeMild said that was the, “turning point of the game. And that just shows how our defense always got our back.”

On the kickoff, Sayreville got called for two illegal procedure calls. On the third re-kick, the Bombers’ Mike Germann fell on the onside kick as Sayreville took over on the Lions’ 41-yard line. Roberts picked up 30 yards on 8 carries, and tailback Michael Liberti caught a 15-yard pass on third down to keep it alive. The drive was capped by a DeMild 1-yard touchdown run for a 27-14 Sayreville lead with 4:46 remaining in the game.

The Bombers added two late touchdowns: a 22-yard run by Roberts with 4:01 left and a 35-yard scamper by Ciyro McMoore at 1:08 for the 41-14 win. Michael Porcaro added an interception, while Mohamed Turay recovered a fumble and Christian Platon recovered a fumble forced by Darren Gorczyca.

When it was over, players jogged near the stands and high-fived fans. They went through the tunnel to board buses with their uniforms still on. The last two players were DeMild, who stopped to pose for a picture with the sectional trophy, and Bryce Christian, who couldn’t get his phone to immediately work. Simply, they didn’t want to leave. Finally, the coaches had to jokingly urge them to get on the bus.

“Our team just has just been so unselfish all year long, and I couldn’t be more proud of their effort and resiliency all year,” Beagan said. “It’s an amazing feeling. Very proud for our town and for our kids and whole community.”

SAYREVILLE (10-2) 0-7-13-21-41

MIDDLETOWN NORTH (9-3) 14-0-0-0-14

MN – Kube 19 pass from Glenn (Cavanagh kick)

MN – Welsh 17 run (Cavanagh kick)

SV – DeMild 2 run (Crowley kick)

SV – Roberts 10 run (kick failed)

SV – Cenci 41 int. return (Crowley kick)

SV – DeMild 1 run (Crowley kick)

SV – Roberts 22 run (Crowley failed)

SV – McMoore 35 run (Whitford kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - SV: Roberts 25-159, Liberti 12-50, DeMild 11-42, McMoore 1-35; MN: Welsh 13-47, Glenn 3-22, Wilkerson 4-20, Robbins 4-17.

Passing - SV: DeMild 3-9-0-29; MN: Glenn 17-38-2-191.

Receiving - SV: Liberti 1-15, Floyd 1-10, Carter 1-4; MN: Wilkerson 7-108, Kube 6-57, Welsh 2-17, Zenker 1-minus 1.