Football: Somerville's run game leads to victory over Voorhees

The Somerville High School football team faced some rare adversity Friday night, the kind it hasn't experienced much in Jeff Vanderbeek’s time as coach.

Voorhees (2-1) held a 17-6 second quarter lead as junior quarterback George Eberle and teammates John Roncoroni, Will Rodenberger, Jack McCabe and Colin Tong made it clear early why they came to Brooks Field with a 2-0 record.

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The Pioneers’ surplus of skill and a rejuvenated ground attack eventually made the difference in a 34-20 victory in a Mid-State Conference 37 Mountain Division game. 

Somerville (3-0) won its 12th-straight regular season game and improved to 13-1 in Vanderbeek’s time as head coach. 

Junior Duke McDuffie scored three times and had one of three Pioneer interceptions along with junior Tyjir Williams and junior Kasi Miller. Junior Jalahn Dabney’s  66-yard touchdown run broke a 20-20 tie with 4:17 left in the third period.

Voorhees got out to 10-0 lead on Eberle’s 3-yard pass to Roncoroni on its first series and Eberle’s 36-yard field goal on its second. Tong’s interception was the catalyst of that score. A 58-yard TD pass from Eberle to Rodenberger gave the Vikes a 17-6 lead with 9:20 left in the half.

But Somerville responded.

“Games like this are supposed to help make us better, especially with a young team, a young team that has to learn how to deal with adversity and tonight we certainly had it,” Vanderbeek said. 

The comeback could be described as a team effort, but it was the inside tackle game of junior back Robbie Fiorentino that set the tempo for the second straight week. He had 150 yards and a touchdown in last week’s  54-25 win at North Plainfield. 

Fiorentino carried 23 times against Voorhees for 141 yards and a touchdown. Somerville ran for 335 yards. 

“Our game plan was to just ground and pound, we had success last week and we just tried it again, so we kept on doing it,” junior tackle Charlie Byrkhardt said.

Byrkhardt and junior tackle Ethan Sandler, senior guard Ryan Hrabinski, junior guard Marcus Lauber, senior center Owen Booker and senior guard Mike DeSarno paved the way for Fiorentino, McDuffie, Dabney, senior slot back Marcus Burnside and senior quarterback Ryan Kovacs.

“This offseason and certainly this preseason we challenged the offensive line so we would be able to run the ball, and with the hurry up offense we want to be able to run the ball a bunch of times,” Vanderbeek said. “They are now starting to gain confidence in doing that. It started last week against North Plainfield that we were able to run the ball and it was the first time since I’ve been here that we could run it consistently and it followed right into tonight.”

The pass complimented the run this time.

Kovacs was 19-of-23 for 228 yards and four touchdowns last week against the Canucks and threw for 135 yards in the 36-16 season-opening win against Cranford. He threw  8-of-14 for 67 yards Friday night. 

“All credit to the guys up front,” Fiorentino said. “The holes were there. I just ran hard, did my job and it was easy for me because the line was really pushing it.”

“(Voorhees) went to a three man line, daring us to run the ball and we were able to,” Vanderbeek said. “It’s a testimony to our lineman. They are coming of age.”

Senior defensive end Hamza Akel had a sack and seven tackles, Hrabinski, a linebacker on defense, had a sack and four tackles and junior lineman Quron Smith had two sacks and four tackles for Somerville.

VOORHEES 10-10-0-0-20

SOMERVILLE 0-20-7-7-34

V: Roncoroni 3 pass from G. Eberle (G. Eberle kick)

V: G. Eberle 36 FG

S: McDuffie 1 run (pass failed)

S: Fiorentino 9 run (Fiorentino run)

V: Roddenberger 58 pass from G. Eberle (G. Eberle kick)

S: McDuffie 2 run (run failed)

V: G. Eberle 20 FG

S: Jalahn Dabney 66 run (Wortman kick)

S: McDuffie 19 run (Wortman kick)