.jpg)
GROUND AND POUND: MIDDLETOWN SOUTH GRINDS OUT 24-7 VICTORY OVER HAMILTON
By Mike Ready
MIDDLETOWN – Fourth-seeded Middletown South established its running game early on a frigid night in the ‘Swamp’ and their defense continued its dominant play in the Eagles’ 24-7 win over No. 5 seed Hamilton (7-2) Friday in a NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV first-round game.
The Eagles will now travel down to South Jersey to play No. 1 seed Hammonton (8-2) next Friday after the Blue Devils routed Brick Township, 35-0, a team the Eagles easily defeated by the score of 28-7 a week earlier.
The Eagles used two time-consuming drives in the second half to take control of the game, including a 70-yard, 17-play touchdown drive that ate up over eight minutes of clock to take a 24-7 lead and secure the win leaving only 3:07 left to play.
“That’s huge when you can do that,” said Middletown South head coach Steve Antonucci referring to possession time. “That’s been our M.O. for a long time. When you can ground-and-pound and take time off the clock it keeps your defense fresh and makes it easier for them.”
Sixteen of the Eagles’ 17 plays on the drive were running plays with senior Chris Lotito taking it in from 6-yards out on second-and-3. Lotito, who finished with 85-yards rushing and one touchdown on 18 carries, rushed for 32 yards on six carries on the drive and had a nifty 18-yard run called back by a holding penalty.
Senior quarterback Tyler Cuccia kept the drive alive avoiding pressure and scrambling for an 11-yard pickup on a key third-and-10 play from the Eagles 41-yard line. Cuccia had 28-yards rushing on five attempts on the drive and 82-yards on the night on 18 carries.
“I just got the yards I needed,” said Cuccia, who ran the run/option to perfection all night. “The O-line was blocking giving me enough time to read it, I didn’t see anything there so I just took off running and got a first down.”
Antonucci felt Cuccia’s first down run was a crucial play in the game.
“That was huge, that was a huge play for us in the game,” said Antonucci. “That’s the thing he can do when he’s back there, he has the ability to do that.”
Workhorse Vinny Condito, a senior defensive tackle/fullback, led the Eagles in rushing going for 104 yards on the ground and two touchdowns on 18 carries with 24 of those yards coming on the Eagles final drive of the game.
“We mixed it up a little bit tonight with Vinnie, Chris and Cuccia,” said Antonucci. “Honestly, when you have three guys like that it’s a nice luxury to have.”
For the game, the Eagles rushed for 271 yards on 54 carries and had 19 first downs.
“We just got in our groove and the guys just started flying upfield,” said Condito of the Eagles rushing attack. “They started giving the ball to me and I got in my groove and I made some plays.”
“Smashmouth football,” Cuccia added. “Either give it to Vinny ‘The Train’ Condito, pitch it to Chris or call my own number.”
On the Hornets’ ensuing and last possession of the game, junior defensive end Joe Stanzione had a 7-yard sack of Hamilton quarterback Mike Nielsen on second down and following an incompletion, senior Michael Dunn and Stanzione combined to sack Nielsen on fourth down to clinch the victory.
It was still anyone’s game as the second half began with the Eagles holding a slim 14-7 lead, especially after the Hornets’ Chris Cronce recovered an onside kick on the opening kickoff of the second half.
Taking over in excellent field position at the Eagles 36-yard line, the Hornets picked up a first down at the 26 but a false start pushed them back to the 31-yard line.
Stanzione and Lotito stuffed Hamilton’s star running back Kevin Boswell after a 1-yard pickup on first down and after two Nielsen incompletions, senior Matt Krellin sacked Nielsen for a 6-yard loss on fourth-and-14 turning the ball over to the Eagles.
Middletown South then got a little breathing room marching 64 yards in 13 plays capped off by Mike Damato’s 25-yard field goal, extending their lead to 17-7 with 2:39 left in the third quarter.
The defense forced a three-and-out on Hamilton’s ensuing possession with senior Jack Pranci and Stanzione recording tackles for loss and the Hornets punted.
Hamilton caught another break though on the punt with Lotito fumbling and giving the ball back to the Hornets at the Eagles 48.
However, Middletown South’s defense held, forcing another Hornets’ three-and-out but instead of punting on fouth-and-8 from the 46, Boswell faked the punt and heaved a pass downfield that Krellen intercepted.
The Eagles then took over and secured the win with their text-book drive on their final possession.
Middletown South’s defense was outstanding throughout, limiting the Hamilton offense to just four first downs and 74 total yards of offense for the entire game.
Boswell came into the game as Mercer County’s leading rusher with 1,325 yards and averaging close to 11-yards per carry with 17 touchdowns but he was held to 31-yards rushing on 13 attempts by the swarming Eagles defense, which allowed Hamilton just 1-yard rushing on 20 carries for the game.
“We knew he was a good runner; I’ll give him that,” said Condito. “But we came in and did what we wanted to do and just shut him down.”
.jpg)
The Eagles defense set the tone for the game on Hamilton’s opening possession. Facing a fouth-and-1 from the 50, fullback Chase Cronce was stopped short by a gang of South defenders, including Nick Bonfiglio, T.J. Latore and Lotito.
The Eagles took over and Lotito picked up 11 yards on a third-and-6 from the Hornets 14 and two plays later Condito bulled his way into the end zone from a yard out for a 7-0 lead after Damato’s extra-point kick.
Lotito then intercepted Neilsen on the Hornets’ next possession and the Eagles cashed in.
Taking over at their own 26 following Lotito’s pick, the Eagles drove 74 yards in 16 plays taking close to 10 minutes off the clock while keeping the ball out of Boswell’s hands at the same time.
“For them it was find No. 4 (Boswell) the ball, for us it was keep it away from him,” said Antonucci. “And we did a good job at that tonight.”
Cussia picked up 16 yards on a keeper as the Eagles churned out small chunks yardage carry-after-carry picking up five first downs on the drive which culminated in Condito’s second 1-yard touchdown of the night extending the lead to 14-0 with 4:21 left in the half.
“He’s tough to bring down,” said Antonucci of Conditio. “He’s a physical guy who loves running between the tackles. You got to love a fullback that loves doing that and Chris is a nice changeup with his speed.”
With time now running out in the first half, Nielsen found Boswell downfield on a second-and-24 from the 50 for a 47-yard catch-and-run down to the 3-yard line. Boswell then ran it in on the next play to pull the Hornets to within 14-7 with 44 seconds left in the half after being thoroughly dominated the entire first half.
The Eagles’ four scoring drives alone took a whopping 28 minutes of the clock.
“We’re happy with three, four yards at a clip and just get us in a makeable third down,” said Antonucci of his team’s dominant time of possession. “Even if it’s a makeable fourth down we’re going to go for it. The way our defense is playing there’s no problem doing that either.”
The win was the Eagles’ third straight by a combined score of 72-17, and evened their season record at 4-4.
“We’re definitely on a roll here,” said Condito. “We just got to face No. 1 seed Hammonton and we’ll see what we can do; hopefully we can pull out a win.”
“We’ll have our hands full next week, that’s a good football team and we have to go on the road,” said Antonucci. “But tonight’s plan was to get after them on the ground and we did a nice job of that.”
Latest posts by admin (see all)
- 2023 JSN Awards Finalists Announced - December 18, 2023
- Sunil Sunder Raj Recaps Day One of State Football Finals With OnNJ (VIDEO) - November 27, 2023
- Mental Health and Exercise: Finding Balance in New Jersey's Fast-Paced Life - November 27, 2023
