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GMC Football: St. Joseph pulls out key White Division win over Colonia

Andy Mendlowitz
@andy_mendlowitz

WOODBRIDGE — Their SOS isn’t a distress call.

Rather, it’s a rallying cry. A mentality. An exercise in grit. The St. Joseph High School football defense buys into its SOS mantra of “Swarm. Offend. Suffocate.” Simply, get to the ball and not let anything muscle by your unit.

Sometimes, the Falcons defense gets overshadowed by their high-powered offense. But also sometimes, a game’s flow turns into that smash-mouth, back and forth tussle for field position.

That was the case in Friday’s 14-6 win over Colonia in a key Greater Middlesex Conference White Division matchup between undefeated teams. It was 0-0 until late in the third quarter. The Falcons, however, pulled it out powered by two Manny Resto rushing touchdowns; a first down on a gutsy call to go for it deep in their territory and a fumble recovery in their end zone.

“Colonia’s a good team, we knew it was going to be a gutty game,” St. Joseph coach Rich Hilliard said. “The kids had to reach deep.”

Neither team could generate any sustained drives, or really, seriously threaten until late in the third quarter when Resto broke for a 32-yard run to Colonia’s 3-yard line. The senior tailback then scored on a 2-yard run and Jon Sot’s extra point made it 7-0 with 1:31 left in the quarter.

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Resto unofficially finished with 162 rushing yards on 25 carries, while’s Colonia’s Luke Pero rushed for 100 yards on 21 carries.

On the last play of the quarter, Colonia’s Taj-Calvin Johnson completed a 55-yard pass down to St. Joseph’s 25-yard line. On the next play, Johnson broke to the end zone. St. Joseph’s cornerback Jordan Davis knocked the ball loose right before the goal line, and Derek Zelesnick jumped on it in the end zone for the touchback.

“I saw it rolling,” Zelesnick said, “so I dove and I hit it with my left hand and it came in front of me, so I just dove on it.”  

In the second quarter, Brian Reilly recovered a fumble around St. Joseph’s 25-yard line to squash another drive. Other members of the defense having stellar games included, but not limited to, Valentin Cintron, Tyree Ford, Jalen Murray, John Olmstead and Resto.

Zelesnick and Ryan Granito were filling in at safety for the injured Garrett Klurman. Zelesnick watched extra film during the week and was ready as the veterans helped guide everyone. He noted one of the unit’s strong points is “communication. Like if someone doesn’t know where to go, Brian Reilly or Olmstead, they tell them where to go. They’re team players.”

Hilliard credited first-year defensive coordinator Jason Frabasile, who starred for Bishop Ahr in the late 1990s, for their success.

“I tell everybody, I got the best defensive coordinator in the GMC in Jason Frabasile,” he said. “Nobody puts more time in film room and with the kids than Jay. And we’re fortunate to have him on our team.”

“We take a lot of pride,” Zelesnick said. “He brought it to us this year. His heart’s in everything. He stays up till 11 every night watching film, trying to help us. Gives us tips. He texted us, actually last night, at 11:30. He said he found a new play and he had to send it to us. ... We’re all sleeping. We woke up, we’re like, 'All right, this guy’s even watching film until like midnight.'”

The players' belief in the coaches, and vice versa, extends to the offensive side.

With about two minutes left, St. Joseph held the 14-6 lead and faced a fourth-and-one on its own 29-yard line. Considering the Falcons have one of the area’s top punters in Sot, who has committed to Harvard, it made sense to kick and try to pin Colonia back. But …

“There was no question,” Hilliard said. “I wasn’t going to give them the ball.”

But wasn’t it gutsy?

“It was a gutsy call, but you know what, I had a lot of confidence in my linemen,” he said. “Those kids work and they’re known as the hogs. They said, ‘We got you coach. We got this one. So please, keep the ball.’”

The fullback Reilly plowed ahead for the first down on a wedge play, and the Falcons ran out the clock for the victory. Some of the players seemed to enjoy the drama.

“Yeah, it keeps you on edge,” Zelesnick said. “That’s what the game’s all about.”

And when opponents hear St. Joseph’s defense say SOS, they’re the ones who should be worried.

ST. JOSEPH (3-0) 0-0-7-7 – 14
COLONIA (2-1) 0-0-0-6 – 6

SJ – Resto 2 run (Sot kick)
SJ – Resto 11 run (Sot kick)
C – Zawacki 24 pass from Johnson (run failed)