SAYREVILLE—Nah, David Milewski didn’t really want to talk about his touchdown catch in Sayreville’s 14-7 win over Piscataway in a key Greater Middlesex Conference game Thursday.
For the tight end is also a linebacker, and that’s where his heart lies. It was also the difference. The Bombers held Piscataway’s playmakers in check while quarterback Joe Geiger directed the offense brilliantly in the winning fourth quarter drive. Don’t forget the offensive line helping the rugged backs eat the final 6 minutes.
The story for Sayreville, though, was the defense. Even Milewski thought it’d be a higher scoring game.
“Our defensive line played great and they kept the o-line off the linebackers,” the 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior said. “We were able to scrape to the ball and make tackles. They did a good job containing Griggs. Basim Fain played great with two interceptions. The whole defense—an all around effort.”
Milewski recovered a fumble and Fain had two key picks, one in the end zone. The defensive line led by Syd Holt kept pressure on the Piscataway quarterbacks of Malcolm Griggs and Aaron Stith most of the night.
This game usually determines the GMC Red Division championship and thrills the crowd. Thursday was no different.
“Any time you play Piscataway you never know what to expect,” Sayreville coach George Najjar said. “They’re an explosive team, they can score on any one play. We just wanted to put our game plan together and hope we could execute it and prevent them from getting big plays. And I thought for the most part, we did that.”
Sayreville entered the season with question marks after returning four starters from a Central, Group 4 runner-up team. Even Najjar said he had concerns about the youth and inexperience. But the Bombers are now 2-0 with wins over two 2008 state champions (29-26 over Brick Memorial in a rematch of last year’s state title game in last week’s opener and now Piscatway, the North 2, Group 4 champs).
Sayreville is ready to kickoff to Piscataway.
“I’ve got to tell you with this team we didn’t know where we were going to go,” said Najjar, who is 112-40 in his 15th season. “But they’ve come on over the last couple of weeks, they’re growing up as a football team and I think they’re gaining some confidence.”
Especially after Thursday.
Sayreville put together bookend long scoring drives in the first quarter and fourth quarter. In-between, the Piscataway defense forced the Bombers into poor field position at times. The Chiefs were able to move into Sayreville’s red zone, but turnovers killed the drives. Piscataway also lost several starters including tailback Steven Miller and key offensive linemen.
“We’re trying to get better on the fly,” Piscataway coach Dan Higgins said. “It was a tough beginning for us, going from a Howell team that’s experienced to this team. They’re young, too, but they’re very, very well coached. They do a great job executing. We hurt ourselves. We had plenty of opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on. In football if you don’t score when you have a chance, you’re in trouble.”
After Sayreville forced a punt on the game’s first possession, the Bombers drove 85 yards in eight plays capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Geiger to Milewski. Milewski jumped in front of a defender to make the catch. The drive was keyed by a 68-yard pass from Milewski to running back Shakir Goodrich. The 5-foot-8, 170-pounder caught a screen pass and darted down the left side of the field to set up the score. Stephenson kicked the PAT.
Geiger threw for 151 yards on an 11-for-16 night.
In the fourth quarter, Piscataway tied the game at 7-7 after a five-play, 55-yard drive with Griggs in at quarterback. Tight end Kyle Polk caught a 37 yard pass from Griggs and his run was highlighted by a spin around two defenders. Two plays later, tailback Anthony Tillman scored from 3 yards out with 9:21 left in the game. Derek Maurer kicked the extra point.
A perfect evening for football in central New Jersey.
Sayreville responded with an 80-yard drive in six plays. Goodrich and Delon Stephenson—Daryl’s brother—took turns with highlight plays. It went: Goodrich 14-yard run; Stephenson 16-yard pass from Geiger; Goodrich 31-yard run; Stephenson 20-yard pass from Geiger. Then, Alex Yanuzzelli punched it in from 1-yard out with 7:30 left. Daryl Stephenson’s extra point made it 14-7. Credit the big guys up front also as center Mike Katz, guards Nik Esposito and Tyler Strauss and tackles Daryl Stephenson and Mike Bowidowicz created the needed space.
Sayreville forced a punt, helped by Fain knocking down a pass. The Bombers took over on their own 34-yard line with 5:54 left and Yanuzzelli, Goodrich and David Jackson ate the clock with two first downs. Milewski caught a first down pass with about a minute left that sealed the win.
But just ask him about the other side of the ball first.
“I love defense,” he said. “I love offense too, but it’s a good feeling to shut down a team like that. “
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