The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 41

SUNDAY, DEC. 5, 2010 COURIER NEWS www.MyCentralJersey.com page cs School records fall as Chiefs cap perfect season 1 1 NORTH 2 GROUP IV FINAL Piscataway 34 Hunterdon Central 6 ing champion Phillipsburg on a touchdown with four seconds left in the semifinals. A brief respite from the tournament proved no relief, as rival Franklin pushed them to the brink in a Thanksgiving morning shootout. Four straight games, three decided by touchdown and none in the blowout fashion to which Piscataway faithful had become accustomed. That all led up to Saturday's final against the Red Devils, who earned the top seed in the brutally competitive section.

Hunterdon Central came right out and socked Piscataway in the mouth, marching 68 yards in 12 plays mostly rushes by tailback Brandon Brocklehurst and quarterback Chris Ibrahim as the Red Devils opened the game with a touchdown. But Piscata-way's defense dug in and slowed the Central attack. The offense finally got into the act, first on Nadir Barnwell's 19-yard toss to Daniel Cole midway through the second quarter, then again a few minutes later on Barnwell's 60-yard scamper for a 14-6 lead. Barnwell capped a record-setting half with a 19-yard touchdown for a seemingly insurmountable 21-6 lead. On the opening drive, he hit fullback Beniah Harrigan in the flat for a 34-yard score, and the rout was on.

Barnwell finished with a game-high 94 yards and the two scores on the ground. "We didn't think (it would be a four-touchdown win)," Shaw By MIKE NEW STAFF WRITER PISCATAWAY When the going got tough, the Piscataway High School football team never flinched. When the going got toughest Saturday afternoon against Hunterdon Central in the North 2 Group IV championship at Rutgers Stadium, the Chiefs responded in record-setting fashion. It took a couple of drives, but unbeaten Piscataway finally got its offense in gear, and by the end of the night had recorded a handful of program records to go with their shiny new sectional title. "One of my teammates, (senior lineman) Narmer Simeon in the locker room, he gave a speech about this being our last chance," said senior Brandon Stout, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown.

"So why not go out and take it? We all got a little riled up and took it." Piscataway claimed its second North 2 Group IV banner in three years with its 34-6 win, and ironically one of the records that fell belonged to that 2008 title club. Quarterback Nadir Barnwell's second touchdown of the afternoon put this year's team at 412 points on the year, besting the 409 they scored two years ago. "It all starts with the line, and after that we fall in," junior tailback Tevin Shaw said. "We work as hard as we can to try and utilize how well our line blocks. We hit the holes as hard as we can." Thanks in large part to the sophomore signal caller, Piscataway also broke program records for rushing yards and rushing 4 '( r.

ii i I'linV i- rrr-mjiit touchdowns, both set in 2005, as well as a 1998 mark for total yards. A lot of credit goes to Shaw, who had a monster regular season before spraining his ankle a month ago. The standout tailback has been limited in the playoffs since, but Barnwell and senior Brandon Stout have stepped up so the offense hasn't skipped a beat. The result Saturday was a surprisingly easy win. The Chiefs coasted through the majority of the regular season, winning their first seven games by an average of three touchdowns and never by fewer than 15 points.

"We try not to take a first hit at all," Stout said of the potent Piscataway rushing attack, which gained 194 yards against the Red Devils. "We talk and take it to a new level and try not to go down at all." That all changed the first weekend of November when the Chiefs welcomed fellow unbeaten Sayreville in Middlesex County's marquee game of the season. The Bombers came in with an impressive resume of their own, and the de facto Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division title tilt lived up to the billing. But at the end of that evening, Piscataway emerged with a 14-7 victory, and the Chiefs used that win to kick start a brutal stretch which ended Saturday in their own backyard. They held off persistent underdog East Orange in the sectional quarterfinals, then edged defend If wnGf! It, I a STAFF PHOTO: MARK R.

SULLIVAN Piscataway's Matthew Recine, left, and Brandon Stout celebrate Stout's second-quarter touchdown Saturday at Rutgers Stadium. Devils know there's work to do STAFF PHOTp: MARK R. SULLIVANCHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Hunterdon Central quarterback Christopher Ibrahim watches as time slips away on the Red Devils during the North 2 Group IC final Saturday at Rutgers Stadium. said. "Our coach told us it would be a hard matchup.

But two years ago, we beat them 38-0, so we knew anything was possible." Mike New: mnewnjpressmedia.com 1 1 mm tuntately, they got the best of us. They were a very athletic team, they brought it off the edge, they came up the middle. They are an all-around great team. They wanted it more, and it showed." Central scored first on senior Joe Natale's 2-yard run at 7:52 of the first period. But Piscataway cleaned up with a 21-point second period.

"We have to start to work to get back; that's all we can do," Perotti said. "We had a rough, rough night. Not a whole lot more we can say about it." Harry Frezza: hfrezzanjpressmedia.com Sadler was inconsolable after the loss. "I love this town," Sadler said with tears streaming down his face. "I'm happy to be a Destroyer." Greg Tufaro: gtufaronjpressmedia.com DUNELLEN (10-2) 0 0 6 0-6 SHORE (11-1) 7 7 0 16-30 SCORING 3 Koursaris 8 run (S.

Carroll kick) Ruane 1 run (S. Carroll kick) Sadler 48 run (kick failed) 5- FQ S.Carroll 27 Armstrong fumble recovery in end zone (S. Carroll kick) Carroll 24 pass from Ruane (kick blocked) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Sadler 6-79, Taylor 11-36, Puckett 8-14, Grausso 3-6, Deene 1-5, Nelson 1-2; Coleman 16-116, Maggio 17-74, Koursaris 3-16, Grlgos 6- 6, Armstrong 1-4, Ruane 1-1. PASSING Puckett 2-7-2-69; Ruane 3-5-0-39. RECEIVING Nicastro 1-53, Sadler 1-16; S.

Carroll 1-24, Grignjs 1-10, Maggio 1-5. Speed FROM PAGE CI Piscataway team to ever to go undefeated, so that makes it even better." Hunterdon Central (10-2) was seeking its seventh title and first since beating Piscataway 23-13 in the 2007 final. The Red Devils got here courtesy of the power running game, but junior tailback Brandon Brocklehurst managed just 56 yards on 18 carries. Senior quarterback Chris Ibrahim fared no better, completing 10 of 25 passes for 129 yards and one interception. "I wish I had an answer for you," Central coach Matt Perotti said when asked what went wrong.

"It was a rough day for us." All told, Piscataway's defense registered five sacks for 38 yards in losses, 10 tackles behind the line and two interceptions. Central netted 72 rushing yards on 35 attempts. "We had a great week of practice on defense," Piscataway senior linebacker Matt Recine said. "The linebackers had to stay in their zones, and we did. After last year we wanted this so bad." Last year the Chiefs fell in overtime at Phillipsburg in the quarterfinals.

Barnwell played under center as a freshman a rarity in such an established program. "I've never had a freshman quarterback play varsity before," Higgins said. "I was hesitant to even bring him up, but he showed great maturity and an 'understanding of the game." That came in handy as the Chiefs survived the playoffs with a limited version of standout tailback Tevin Shaw. The junior played in the final despite his injured ankle and completed a 39-yard option pass, but it was Barnwell and senior Brandon Stout (75 yards on 13 carries) who did the bulk of the damage outofthebackfield. With Piscataway, there is always someone eager and able to step up.

"That's one thing we pride ourselves on," Lane said, "being able to step up and reload and have a lot of soldiers coming in for battle." In this battle, it was Hunterdon Central that drew first blood. Aided by a roughing the punter penalty, the Red Devils opened the first quarter with a 12-play, 68-yard march that concluded with a 2-yard scoring plunge by fullback Joe Natale. The Red Devils looked to extend that lead after Natale recovered a Chiefs fumbled at midfield on the first play of the second quarter, but itheir momentum was snuffed out when Piscataway's Malcolm Brooks and Jonathan Kinslow sacked Ibrahim for a 10-yard loss. That turned the momentum on a dime. Piscataway needed just six plays to go 67 yards for the equalizer.

A 23-yard pass from Barnwell to Tajae Sharpe started it off, and a 19-yard pass from Barnwell to senior Daniel Cole ended it. Cole got behind the defense and hauled in Barnwell's spiral with his fingertips just inside the right pylon. Derek Mauer's extra point put the Chiefs up 7-6 8:13 before halftime. "I was taking my presnap reads and I knew with Danny and that corner there was a height difference, so I figured let's give Danny a chance," Barnwell explained. "I lobbed it up and I believed in him." After a Central three-and-out, Barnwell stunned the Red Devils with a 60-yard touchdown run on a draw.

Piscataway's next possession ended on an almost identical play from 19 yards out. On the first play Barnwell barreled through a hole as wide as the Raritan River. On the second play he dodged three would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone. "Going into the season I thought the line was going to be our strength, and it proved to be our strength," Higgins said. "They came to play." The one-two punch put Piscataway up 21-6 at halftime.

The onslaught continued on the first series of the third quarter when Barnwell hit Sharpe for 30 yards and then found fullback Beniah Harrington in the flat, and the senior turned on the jets for a 34-yard touchdown along the left sideline. That was the backbreaker, but the exclamation point came on the ensuing drive. Hunterdon Central moved 76 yards on 11 plays and faced fourth-and-goal from Piscataway's 4. Wideout Mike Bujnowski got the call on a sweep left and Stout pounced on him for a seven-yard loss. From then on it was time to celebrate.

"This is something special," Sharpe said. "We made our mark on Piscataway football Jerry Carino jcarinonjpressmedia.com PISCATAWAY (12-0) 0 21 7 6-34 HUNTERDON CENTRAL (10-2) 6 0 0 0-6 SCORING HC Natale 2 run (kick failed) Cole 1 9 pass from Barnwell (Maurer kick) Barnwell 60 run (Maurer kick) Barnwell 1 9 run (Maurer kick) Harrigan 34 pass from Barnwell (Maurer kick) Stout 14 run (kick failed) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Barnwell 12-94, Stout 13-75, Shaw 6-9, LaPorte 1-7, Marks 1-0, Farfan 1-(-1), Marshall 3-(-1); HC: Brocklehurst 18-55, Ibrahim 12-28, Skyzynl-arz 1-6, Natale 1-2, Bunowskl 1-(-7), Searfoss 2-(-12). PASSING Barnwell 6-9-0-117, Shaw 1-1-0-36; HC: Ibrahim 10-25-1-129, Searfoss 5-9-1-80. RECEIVING Sharpe 3-78. Harrigan 1 -34, Qu-' raishi 1-21, Cole 1-19, Marks 1-1; HC: Bunowski 6-64, DiTrolio 4-73, Cvetkoyski 3-27, Leonhauser By HARRY FREZZA STAFF WRITER PISCATAWAY One last moment one last chance came for the Hunterdon Central High School football team late in the third quarter of its North 2 Group IV title game against Piscataway on Saturday.

The top-seeded Red Devils, trailing 28-6, had a third-and-2 from the Chiefs' 4. A score would have given the Red Devils (10-2) a flicker of life, coach Matt Perotti thought. Junior back Brandon Brocklehurst was dropped for a 2-yard loss by Piscataway senior line-bcker Matt Recine. And then, on fourth-and-4 from the 6, Mike Bujnowski was thrown for a 7-yard loss by Brandon Stout. Top-seeded Central went on to lose 34-6.

"We score there and maybe we make a game of it," said Perotti, now 10-4 in playoff games with sectional titles in 2006 and 2007. "I thought that was the turning point right there." That was certainly an example. "It's disappointing, we didn't play well under the big lights," Perotti said. The remainder of the game was a blur for the Red Devils, now 3-3 against the unbeaten Chiefs (12-0) in their sectional final battles. Piscataway, which has won three of its past four against Central, won 38-0 on the same field in 2008.

Central beat Piscataway 23-13 for the sectional title in 2007 after winning the Central Group IV crown in 2006. "We're 0-2 against these guys, Dunellen FROM PAGE C3 Dunellen (10-2) failed to convert fourth downs on its first two drives, turning over the ball at the Shore 32- and 23-yard lines. Taylor appeared to be interfered with while trying to catch a fourth-and-23 pass attempt in the end zone with 44 seconds left in the half, but no call was made. After Sadler scored on the first possession of the second half, Dunellen drove to the Shore 27 on its next series but turned over the ball on downs following an incomplete fourth-down pass, and obviously this is a team we have to beat if we want to do it again," Perotti said. "We have to get better, and we have to beat this team.

They were the better ballclub today." Central was 5 of 16 on third downs and 1 of 3 on fourth. Brocklehurst, who came into the game with 1,225 rushing yards, was held to 55 yards on 18 carries. Senior quarterback Christopher Ibrahim, who came in with 1,701 yards passing ith 16 touchdowns, threw for 129 yards and was sacked three times. "They just wanted it more than us," Ibrahim said. "Unfor- Shore responded with Shane Carroll's 27-yard field goal for a 17-6 lead with 7:01 remaining.

Two plays later, Ruane returned an interception 42 yards to the Dunellen 12, setting up Shore's next score. Jake Armstrong recovered Maggio's fumble in the end zone on a second-and-goal run from the 2 for a 24-6 lead with 3:56 left. Following a successful on-sides kick, Ruane completed a 24-yard scoring strike to Carroll on fourth-and-9 with 2:24 remaining. Dunellen gave Sadler one more chance to break the county scoring mark, but Puck-ett's long pass for him was intercepted at the Shore 24 on the Destroyers' final possession..