Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 123

H12 AshuryPark Press Sunday, Dec. 4, 1994 sBnck traffitlciii came Long arm of Press ATHLETE TTTT 'A I i don't fear tradition, they thrive on it. "Tradition is about making big plays," Valles said. And Brick made a bunch of them. The Green Dragons have not been higher than plus-two in turnover ratio all year.

Yesterday, they recovered two fumbles and intercepted two passes. "We didn't recover a fumble until the ninth game of the season," Brick defensive coordinator Ron Signorino said. "Today, we get four turnovers." Signorino shook his head in amazement. "I think our front four has been the strength of our defense all year," defensive line coach Tim Osborn said. "There have been other games when we've forced fumbles; it just seemed like they bounced the wrong Way." Magically, with a championship on the line, those same fumbles bounced the right way.

Valles forced one fumble and returned another 25 yards for a touchdown. He and Tom Zdanowicz hurried Central quarterback John Tice into an interception by defensive tackle Rob Sack. Sack returned the pass 20 yards for a score. "I've dreamed about making a play that would help us win a game," Sack said. "I've never scored a touchdown in my entire life.

I had not even come close to scoring even when I was a tight end in Pop Warner." But in championship games featuring Brick, dreams come true, prayers are answered and the unimaginable becomes imaginable. "It's hard to describe," said Osborn, a former Brick player himself. "It just happens." "It's Brick," Zdanowicz said. "We can't help it." joe Zedalis is scholastic editor of the Asbury Park Press. RICK TOWNSHIP The F'l-ti-j uiH-ft lligll otliuui luuiuau icaiu EinCi' entered Keller Field yesterday through a gauntlet of tradition thrown down by champions past.

The Brick High School football team exited Keller Field as perpetuators of the grandest collection of folklore the Shore Conference has ever seen. Like planes and ships that mysteriously disappear within the Bermuda Triancle. V7V what hap- i vJ oened at Brick High School yesterday will go down as an unexplained phenomenon. The Green Dragons joe ZEDALIS drove 63 yards for the winning touchdown in 45 seconds. The comeback rocked Central Regional 28-24 and gave Brick the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association South Jersey Group III championship.

Brick rallied with the aid of two penalties a pass interference call and a facemask penalty on a pass that was incomplete. They were the type of calls that always seem to go Brick's way. The winning touchdown pass a 20-yard strike from quarterback Matt Mantone appeared to have been intercepted. However, Brick receiver Steve Ryan took it away in midair. Only two plays earlier, Ryan was' knocked silly by a blow to the head.

"What can you say?" Brick senior Tom Zdanowicz said. "We're the Notre Dame of high school football." "Brick magic," Dragons' fullback-defensive end Brock Valles said. "You know Brick can't go out a loser. NOAH K. MURRAYAsbury Park Press Walter Dudley (34) of Central goes in to block a punt by Brick's J.J.

Stump during the first quarter. "Coach Duddy (Central coach Dan) is a Brick coach," Valles said. "He's trying to make Central just like us, but there is, really, only one Brick." Former Brick players, most clad in varsity jackets from as far back at 1961, lined the entrance way to the field. One of the former Dragons who led the team to the bench was Dale Koch. Koch helped begin Brick's state championship tradition in 1974 when he eats Ce heroics Brick def 4 They won the football game and did the things they had to do.

I'm not going to stoop that low and blame anything on the officials. Brick Township won the football game. Dan Duddy CENTRAL COACH 1 Jfa 1 I J. latched on to the winning touchdown pass against Camden in Atlantic City's Convention Hall. "When we saw those guys lined up, we couldn't wait to get on the field," Valles said.

"You could look in everyone's eyes and just see they were ready to play. God, that was inspiring." Brick is the only place in the Shore Conference where tradition plays like a 12th man. Green Dragons' players Cherokee's frustrations, perhaps agitated further by a downfield pass by the Mariners in the final minute, boiled over with 8 seconds left. Players from both teams left the sidelines when Mazur pulled a tackling Cherokee player off Dew, though order was restored quickly. "I thought the officials let the game get out of hand," Nani said.

"(Cherokee) players were twisting Dew's knee, knowing he had been hurt recently. These kids are warriors, so Mazur sees that happening to his teammate, he's going to go in there and pull the guy off." Next season, with eight returnees on offense and seven on defense, the Mariners may be under the microscope. Shore Conferencer football The Titans grounded out 140 rushing yards on a clock-burning 38 attempts, had four punts go for 130 yards on a day when Shea fumbled a snap and had to eat the attempt, and Kabengele kicked a PAT, a 22-yard field goal and fell a few yards short on a 48-yarder. But it was the big lugs on the line of scrimmage who did the most. They dominated both sides of the ball while playing just about every down.

They forced five fumbles, recovering four. Their pressure caused an interception and made the enemy quarterback get rid of the ball on pitches and passes a lot sooner than he wanted to do. "The defensive ends and ft iital on Me "That was facemask all." "Brick coach game and going to officials. Despite of resiliency Brick took 20-yard responded Fogerty. Tice then and it 21-16.

With 4:33 that was Tom needed just "At times, there," Wolf He was i CASTILLO'S 8-YARD touchdown run vs. Middletown South gave the( Lions' senior a school-record 206 points in his career. Castillo is one of the Shore's top kickoff returners with a 28.6-yard average. He also rushed for 1,050 yards for the Lions this season. From page Mil terday, the day the Titans won their first state championship since 1976.

"Coming into this game, he had 144 tackles this season, and we don't pad our stats," head coach Jon Schultheis was saying after Keansburg beat South Hunterdon 10-0 to win the Central Jersey Group I title. "And he's not being protected like the old linebackers at Keansburg, not the way we play," the coach went on. The way this Keansburg team plays defense, there's a little bending here and a little bending there, but very seldom does the prey get a break. Oh, and nobody scores on the Titans, who haven't given up a touchdown in four games. "We gave up a touchdown?" Jera-mie Hutchins said, feigning surprise.

Yeah. Despite Hutchins, who goes 6- foot-3, 280, and his equally large running mates along the defensive front Brian Riley's 6-6, 280, and Sean Chimenti's 6-6, 295 the Titans gave up a touchdown to Rumson four games ago, and they gave up one to Point Beach the game before that, and they gave up one to South Hunterdon the first time they met. And way back in the old days of early October they gave up two touchdowns against South River. That was the last time the Titans lost. It was also the first time they realized they could play with anybody.

They had just lost two games in a row, but something had happened, something had clicked. South River was good. So was Parsippany, the team they played to a 0-0 stalemate the following week. "We were 1-2-1 when we played these guys the first time," Schultheis said. "But we knew coming off the 0-0 tie that we could play defense." The offense was another matter.

When the Titans beat South Hunterdon the first time, it was one of those 7- 6 jobs. Point Beach was 13-7, Rum-son 10-7, Keyport 7-0, like that. "We're not flashy," Schultheis conceded. "I suppose every coach wants to be Bill Walsh, but we're more like Woody Hayes I guess, 3 yards and a cloud of dust." And that deadly defense, the one that found itself in the first South River game, the one that stifled South River next time around, in the playoffs. The one that averages about 275 pounds across the front.

The one that has a middle linebacker who's always there, wherever aimers From page 1 1 backfield, and with Rose, Mike Buray and Estes running routes. North became a three-dimensional squad. "We knew at the half we were going to ride Aamir in the second half," Sermarini said. "He sees holes no one else sees," Sermarini said. "He finds room where there is They rode the horse and they came away champions.

Next year eight of the 11 starters on offense six on defense fv a lucky call for us," Ryan said of the penalty. "My facemask wasn't grabbed at deserved to win the football game," Central Dan Duddy said. "They won the football did the things they had to do. I'm not stoop that low and blame anything on the Brick Township won the football game." the defeat, Duddy's team showed the kind that carried it to a 9-2 season. When a 21-9 lead with 9:48 left on Sack's interception return for a touchdown, Central with a 71-yard kickoff return by Tim rolled to his left, stiff-armed a Brick defender raced 17 yards for a touchdown to make left, Brock Valles forced a Tice fumble recovered at the Dragons' 23 by Brick's Zdanowicz.

Yet two minutes later, Central three plays to take the lead. (Tice) looked like Dan Marino out said. "He was incredible. Passing, running. outstanding." From page HI With Ryan and Roselli grasping for the ball, it was Ryan who came away with the catch.

The 6-foot-l junior then landed on the goal line for a 20-yard touchdown and Brick had done it again. "(Roselli) tried wrestling it away from me and I just held it to my body," Ryan said. "I knew I wasn't going to let it go." "Steve's basketball skills came into play," Wolf said. "He went up and stole the ball. He's played remarkably for us all year.

He's made a lot of critical receptions, but none more critical than this one." "I had the ball in my hands," Roselli said. "I had the interception. It was in my hands." Roselli could have been speaking for the entire Golden Eagles' team. When running back Ed Matturro ran for a 3-yard touchdown, Central had come back to take a 24-21 lead with 1:11 left. Matturro's score capped a 3-play, 61-yard drive in which quarterback John Tice completed a 21-yard pass to tight end Jim Zellman and a 37-yarder to Matturro, who got past Ken Flores and was tackled at the Brick 3.

"That was just a perfect pass by their quarterback," Flores said. "I guess you can say he burned me, but it was a great pass and a great catch." Brick, though, had one more possession left. Taking over at its 37, Brick moved 15 yards on a pass interference penalty. Mantone then hit Flores for 13 yards to the Central 35. On the next play, Ryan unknowingly drew a facemask penalty on an incomple-tion to put the ball at Central's 20.

Two plays later, Ryan made his touchdown catch. miDDLEToiun nORTH THERE may be. "We didn't really wake up until the (first) South River game," John Petru-celli was explaining after he had played the game of his life yesterday. "That's when we knew." Now everyone knows. About Keansburg AND about John Petrucelli.

They began early yesterday. Petrucelli forced one fumble and recovered another in the first quarter, and recovered another early in the second quarter after a big hit by Nick Knapp. Then he took the offensive and busted loose for 21 yards and got Keansburg its first first down of the day. Ultimately this led to the first score of the afternoon, Mike Kabengele's 22-yard field goal. Then, midway through the third quarter, with South Hunterdon pinned down deep in its own territory, Petrucelli popped quarterback Gary McGann.

Brian Riley recovered that fumble at the South Hunterdon 10. Four plays later, on fourth down, quarterback Jerry Stanzione sneaked over from the two, between Hutchins the center and Riley the right guard. With 4:15 left in the third quarter, it looked like curtains for South Hunterdon the way Keansburg was playing. But then, suddenly, McGann fires a quick pass to his tight end, Peter Ankner, and the corner slips and falls and the strong-side safety misses the tackle and there goes Ankner. The middle linebacker was there, though, everything was under control.

Later, when South Hunterdon was down to its final shot, realistically speaking, Jason Wim tried to barge over the right side on fourth and 2 with just over seven minutes to go in the game. He was stopped cold. And down at the bottom of the pile there was No. 31 again, the kid with the dirtiest jersey in the game. "Every time they go into that formation they run that play," Petrucelli explained later.

He also explained that this was "the proudest moment of my life," and that he felt no great need to celebrate right now because "I have all my life to enjoy the memory of this day." Which is pretty much the way Jon Schultheis felt too, although he had a broader frame of reference. Dating back to 1976. "Then I was happy for me," Schultheis said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy for me now, but I think I'm happier for them." And he looked out on the field and the Keansburg kids were so happy, some of them were crying. Bill Handleman is an Asbury Park Press columnist.

return. That includes Sermarini and Rose and Mazur and Dew. When the votes are counted tomorrow, they'll probably end the season as the top-rated team at the Shore. And when next season starts they'll probably be expected to do it again. That's a lot of pressure on any squad.

"Normally, I'd agree with that," Nani said. "But if there ever was a team that loves pressure, it's this one," he said. "I think they'll look forward to the challenge." Joe Adduzi is executive sports editor of theAsbu rytPa rk Press. i fans are going to expect to see them in the state playoffs again. Rose said he relishes the opportunity to win back-to-back championships.

"This win is so sweet. Since freshman year, you talk about going to the big dance," Rose said. "The seniors did a great job and it will be tough to replace them, but we're looking forward to next year already. The offensive line this year, I think, is the greatest around. And our defense did a real good job." As for the pre-existing tendon injuries to both his 'ankles, Rose said, "I'm not in any pain.

I may feel sore tomorrow, but I feel real good right now." Hutchins) did a great job," said Riley, a defensive tackle. "We heard their running back (Jason Wim) had a bad ankle, that he'd be a little bit banged up. So we wanted to test him and their QB (McGann) with clean, hard hitting. "We thought if we could stop (McGann), we could shut them down," Riley said. "So we had the ends pinch as much as possible, keep him between the (offensive) tackles, not let him get around the corner.

"The end of the half says a lot about us. We weren't going to let 'em in (the end zone). They couldn't score because we wouldn't give in." In the end, the Titans didn't give in, didn't give up any points and played superior football mentally as well as physically. They dominated with their minds as well as their I- i Dew From page 1 1 down with 10:12 left in the third quarter. That gave the host Chiefs a 2-point lead, and Dew was seething, having been blown away on the play by fullback Tom Hines' block.

It could be said Dew made amends. Or rather, it could be said Dew alone took control of the game. Dew was part of the rush that successfully blocked the point-after kick. Two plays later, Dew gave the Mariners a 14-9 lead with his 71-yard run. Toms River North never relinquished the lead.

Keansburg From page 1 1 Mike Yarrow, whose pressured throw toward the end zone was picked off by sophomore safety Billy Shea. "I was coming up, then saw (Yarrow) rear back, so I backed up into coverage," Shea said, describing the key play of the half. "The coaches knew they threw the pitch-pass and told us to watch for it. We were totally prepared for anything they threw at us. We had to be, because the refs weren't giving us anything, so we we had to score some points and then stop them with our defense." being stopped on the opening iiive of Ue second half, Keansburg's Toms River North gained some breathing room on a touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter.

Junior quarterback Ron Sermarini was flushed from the pocket by 6-foot-3 end Sean Gallagher, but Sermarini hit tight end Mike Buray on the run for a key 20-yard completion. Three plays later, fullback Erik "Moose" Mazur devastated outside linebacker Jesse Gambone with a block that cleared the path for Dew's 4-yard touchdown. Hart gave Cherokee prolonged life with his 71-yard touchdown, cutting Toms River North's lead to 21-16 with 7:19 left, but the final three minutes belonged to Dew, who intercepted a pass and scored on an 8-yard run. Shea booted a rolling punt that settled on the 1-yard line. Two plays later Riley covered a Jesus Lee fumble at the eight and a major shift in fortunes was at hand.

Quarterback Jerry Stanzione, whose short passing game forced the Eagles' defense to respect the air attack, plowed into the end zone on fourth and 2 with 4:15 to play in the third quarter. Keansburg had the edge in running and the kicking game, while forcing South Hunterdon to throw the ball in an attempt to catch up. The Titans grounded out 140 rushing yards on a clock-burning 38 attempts, had four punts go for 130 yards on a day when Shea fumbled a snap and had to eat the attemot, and Kabengele kicked a PAT, a 22-yard field goal and fell a few yards short on a 48-yarder..