By Bob Badders – Senior Writer
E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com
TOMS RIVER — If it is to be a defining moment for the Walt Currie era at Brick Memorial, we probably won’t know for at least a few more weeks. But what happened on a wet Dvorak Field on Friday night on both the offensive and defensive sides for the Mustangs certainly bodes well for a return to prominence.
And it definitely didn’t hurt to put an end to a string of dominance by one of their biggest rivals.
In Currie’s second season as head coach after a 4-6 campaign in 2007, the Mustangs showed the Shore Conference what kind of team they intend to be in 2008 by topping Toms River East, 28-14, in a Shore Conference nondivisional game on opening night. Brick Memorial senior quarterback Brian Staub ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns while juniors Glenn McGinnis and Vinnie Sabba also scored on the ground as part of a 193-yard rushing effort that gave the Mustangs their first win over Toms River East since 1997 and just the fourth for the program over the Raiders since 1989. The Mustangs’ defense was also solid, holding the Raiders to under four yards per rushing attempt while coming away with two crucial interceptions.
“It feels great,” Staub said. “We hadn’t beaten them in over 10 years so this wasn’t just for this team, it was for the whole program. We wanted this bad.”
“The kids are definitely excited,” said Currie, who is a Toms River East graduate. “And why wouldn’t they be? They’ve worked hard from the first Monday after Thanksgiving until now and the best way to honor that hard work is to come out with a victory in Week One.”
The implications of Friday’s victory will not be as great because the Raiders are now in the Constitution Division with the Mustangs remaining in the American Division. But 1-0 is 1-0, and Brick Memorial is less concerned with its place in the standings after one game than the potential its team showed.
Currie, regarded as an option offense guru whose teams are inevitably at or near the top in rushing statistics every season, has to be pleased with the progress his team has shown running the flexbone. The offense made a statement on the game’s opening drive by marching 78 yards in 13 plays and taking a 7-0 lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Sabba. Senior halfback Anthony Piezzo had the drive’s biggest run when he took an option pitch from Staub on a third-and-seven and raced 42 yards down to the Raiders’ 32-yard line. Staub and McGinnis took turns pounding the Raiders between the tackles and on the edge to set up Sabba’s one-yard plunge.
“That was big,” Staub said. “We wanted the ball and wanted to build some momentum by putting points on the board.”
Then it was the defense’s turn. After Brett Yajcaji opened Toms River East’s first possession with an eight-yard run, the Mustangs’ front seven stuffed the Raiders on consecutive plays for a quick three-and-out. The Raiders’ punter was unable to handle the snap on the first of several miscues on the night by both teams and was forced to fall on the ball at his own 18-yard line. An 11-yard run by McGinnis and a six-yard run by Sabba brought the ball down to the one-yard line where Staub scored the first of his two touchdowns with a quarterback sneak. There was 2:23 left in the first quarter, and just like that Brick Memorial had a 14-0 lead.
“I think the rain helped us out a little,” said Piezzo, also a linebacker who played a big role in neutralizing the Raiders’ speed on the edge. “That, and we came out ready to play.”
While the Mustangs looked well on their way to an impressive win, it didn’t come easy. Behind the running of Yajcaji and junior Nico Steriti, the Raiders answered with a nine-play, 55-yard drive to cut the lead to 14-6. Steriti had a 21-yard run and followed it up with an 11-yard run early in the drive to put the Raiders offense inside the red zone. A 12-yard run by Yajcaji put East inside the five and set up Steriti’s two-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-goal. The extra point snap was mishandled and the ensuing pass fell incomplete.
Brick Memorial held that lead into halftime, but when Toms River East received to start the third quarter it wasted no time driving down the field to erase what was once a 14-point deficit. The running of Yajcaji and Steriti was key again, but it was a 25-yard pass down the seam from quarterback Ryan Leonard to running back Jude Baldaccini that had the Raiders on their way to the end zone for a second time.
The Mustangs’ defense actually looked like it might prevail on this drive, however. Toms River East had a first-and-one from the Brick Memorial 21, but a run for no gain by Yajcaji followed by a sack suddenly had the Raiders in a third-and-seven hole. But Steriti was able to take a toss and run off tackle for a 27-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14-12. He ran a similar play around right end for the two-point conversion that tied the score at 14.
This is where the Mustangs proved a little something to themselves and showed how big a factor maturity can be. Piezzo had a 55-yard kickoff return that enabled Brick Memorial to start its drive at the Toms River East 42. But then the fumble bug that had plagued the Raiders started to bite the Mustangs. Alex Berardi had the ball slip out of his hands on a three-yard run but was fortunate enough to fall on it. Sabba wasn’t so lucky two carries later when he put the ball on the turf and Tyler Jones pounced on it for East. The momentum had shifted to the Raiders and it looked as if the the Mustangs’ stretch of futility against their rival might be extending another year.
“Once they tied it up at 14 and got the ball back we knew we had to step up and make a play,” Piezzo said. “And that’s what we did.”
Two plays after turning the ball over, the Mustangs got it right back when Berardi stepped in front of a pass by Leonard and returned it 28 yards down to the Raiders’ seven-yard line. Three plays later, Staub snuck in from one yard out to put Brick Memorial back on top, 21-14.
“We talked before the game and we felt both offenses were good and would score, and that the game could come down to turnovers,” Staub said. “That was a big momentum switch. He returned it close to the goal line and we just pounded it up the middle until we got in.”
“The two big things in this game for us was, No. 1 our defense and No. 2 the way our kids responded,” Currie said. “At 14-14 it’s a different game and the kids showed a lot of heart tonight.”
After a Raiders drive stalled on the Brick Memorial 38 and forced them to punt, the Mustangs squashed any hopes of a comeback for East with an impressive scoring drive. Starting at its own 25, Brick Memorial went 75 yards in 10 plays, and more importantly, carved 6:19 off the fourth quarter clock to take a 28-14 lead.
A roughing the punter penalty was called on Yajcaji, even though it looked as if he got a hand on the ball before making contact with the punter, that extended the Mustangs’ drive after it had run out of gas at the Raiders’ 45. On a second-and-13 from the 22, Staub showed the kind of poise and toughness that has the Mustangs coaching staff raving about his ability to run the offense. After faking the handoff to Sabba, Staub looked for some room to run but instead found a Toms River East defender right in his face. With nowhere to go, Staub absorbed a punishing hit as he flipped the ball to McGinnis, who then raced 22 yards down the right sideline to extend the lead to 14 points.
“I had the pitch a little late and I was fortunate to get it off,” Staub said. “I got crushed but we scored so I don’t care.”
“That’s the kind of leader Brian had been for us so far,” Currie said. “He has an excellent grasp of this offense to the point where he will come to the sideline and say, ‘Coach, if we run this I think we’re going to get them’.”
The Raiders had just 4:40 to attempt to score twice, and with a limited passing game that just wasn’t going to happen. Staub clinched the victory when he intercepted Charlie Diskin in the end zone with just over a minute to play. A couple of kneel downs was all it took from there.
“We came into tonight (Friday) thinking we could beat East and thinking we could be a decent team,” Currie said. “And we walk out of here now with a little more confidence.”
“This is definitely going to springboard us into Southern next week,” Piezzo said. “We just have to do the same thing against them.”
Box Score
Brick Memorial 28, Toms River East 14
BM TRE
First downs 11 9
Rushes-yards 40-193 36-141
Passing 0-2-0 3-7-2
Passing yards 0 61
Penalties 4-20 2-25
Fumbles-lost 4-2 7-0
Brick Memorial (1-0) 14 0 7 7 – 28
Toms River East (0-1) 0 6 8 0 – 14
Individual statistics
Rushing – BM: Glenn McGinnis 7-54, Brian Staub 14-53, Anthony Piezzo 2-42, Vinnie Sabba 16-41, Alex Berardi 1-3; TRE: Brett Yajcaji 13-69, Nico Steriti 12-66, Charlie Diskin 2-4, Jude Baldaccini 3-3, Ryan Leonard 6-(-1).
Passing – BM: Brian Staub 0-2-0 0; TRE: Ryan Leonard 2-5-1 44, Charlie Diskin 1-2-1 9, No. 9 1-1-0 8.
Receiving – TRE: Jude Baldaccini 1-25, Ray Cochran 2-17, Nico Steriti 1-19.
Interceptions – BM: Alex Berardi 1-28, Brian Staub 1-0.
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