Posted Friday, December 05, 2008 by Bayshore Courier

M’town South fights, loses final
SCOTT STUMP,All Shore Media
Posted:12/12/08

(multiple images), Click to Zoom

Staring a 21-point deficit in the face and playing without the services of one of its top offensive players, Middletown South could have easily rolled over and died against Freehold in Saturday's NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III final at Rutgers Stadium.

Instead, a team with no superstars but plenty of hard workers roared back to make the Colonials sweat out the final minutes before succumbing, 21-14, to a Freehold team that won its first state sectional championship in school history and handed Middletown South its only two losses of the season. The Eagles were as close as the Freehold 6-yard line while down by seven points midway through the fourth quarter, but a fumble on a pitch resulted in a 12-yard loss that they could not recover from.

On Middletown South's final possession, Freehold sealed the victory when safety Damar Bivins intercepted a pass by senior quarterback Ryan Mullan with 52 seconds left in the game to allow the Colonials to run out the clock.

"I was disappointed, but I thought we showed some character,'' said Middletown South Head Coach Steve Antonucci. "We left the ball on the 6-yard line there after that long drive to start the fourth quarter. We should've never been pitching the ball down there. Still, I'm happy with how they rallied, and I thought we did a great job defensively in the second half.''

Freehold had come out on fire, taking a 21-0 lead on two short touchdown runs by quarterback Nick Tyson and one by running back Tezzy Thorpe as the Colonials converted two Eagles' turnovers into a pair of touchdowns. Just when Middletown South seemed dead in the water, a huge play shortly before the half gave the Eagles some life.  

Mullan found sophomore wideout Andrew Suarez streaking down the sideline for a 49-yard touchdown with 1:12 left in the half to put the Eagles on the scoreboard and cut the lead to 21-7 at the break. Suarez had a monster game, beating Freehold standout Brandon Brown twice for long catches on his way to a career-high 108 yards receiving on six catches.  

"I never thought [Middletown South] would roll over, that's for sure,'' said Freehold Head Coach Mark Ciccotelli, who was the offensive coordinator at South in 2001. "I told our kids when we went in, 'Get ready because they're going to counterpunch.' ''

A blocked punt in the third quarter that was recovered by defensive end Nick Bricker at Freehold's 35-yard line set up the Eagles' second touchdown and ratcheted up the crowd and Middletown South's momentum heading into the final period. Mullan, who had a career-high 177 yards passing in the game, finished off a six-play drive by floating a pass over the arms of two defenders to tight end Sean Campbell for an 11-yard touchdown with 1:39 left in the third quarter that cut the lead to 21-14.

Middletown South then had two cracks at tying the game in the fourth quarter, including an eight-minute drive that stalled when the Eagles fumbled on the errant pitchout at the Colonials' 6-yard line. They also were operating without senior fullback Matt Martino, one of the team's leading rushers, who was hobbled by an ankle injury suffered during a Thanksgiving Day win over Middletown North.

"I honestly believe it's a different game if [Martino] is playing,'' Antonucci said. "He's a physical runner. Down near the goal line, I should've put him in there. That was a coaching mistake on my part. Taking Martino out took defending the fullback out of the game plan for [Freehold].''

The Eagles (10-2) had been 4-0 in their last four sectional final appearances before falling to the Colonials (11-1), and also had their 10-game winning streak halted with the loss. After a season-opening, 22-7 setback to Freehold, the Eagles recovered to reach their seventh sectional final in eight years before falling to the Colonials for a second time to come up short of what would have been their 10th sectional title in school history.

"One thing I can tell you about this team is that there were no superstars,'' Antonucci said. "This was the best team I coached in terms of 'team.' We could have bagged it week one after falling from number two in the Shore off the face of the earth (with the loss to Freehold), but we rallied back.''

The silver lining is that the factory is still stocked with talent at one of the state's top programs. Suarez, a budding star with blazing speed, returns along with several offensive linemen and the majority of the defense, including Campbell and Bricker, who are standouts at linebacker and defensive end, respectively. The bad news is that big names like Mullan, Martino and senior running back/defensive back Chris Bunge will all be walking the aisle in June. Regardless, expectations will once again be high at a program that always expects to play 12 games.  

"We've got 16 guys coming back, but of the guys we lose, the quarterback, the fullback and the running back are going to be hard to replace,'' Antonucci said.