CLARK, NJ- The third-seeded Johnson Crusaders varsity football team defeated the sixth-seeded Holmdel Hornets in the NJSIAA Central, Group 2 First Round by a final score of 34-6. The game featured a strong outburst on the ground game, courtesy of the Crusaders running game that helped Johnson take major control and come through with the win. The offensive line provided all the protection and space needed to complete the running plays and the defense forced four turnovers.
It is also the first home state playoff game for Johnson since the 2011 season.
The offense was fueled by senior fullback and co-captain Joe Turek, who got 17 carries for 134 rushing yards, in addition, to recording two rushing touchdowns (both one-yard strikes on the ground). Junior Sebastian Iakouchevitch was another force on the running game, who got eight carries for 111 yards, along with recording a 43-yard rushing touchdown and powering Johnson with key rushes in the fourth quarter to lead to the scores in that quarter. Senior Kevin Metz got three carries for 26 yards, in addition to recording an eight-yard rushing touchdown and senior Brandon Rapp got eight carries for 70 yards, along with an eight-yard rushing touchdown as well.
The defense pounced on Holmdel, slowing them down in the first half and forcing three turnovers, including two lost fumbles and an interception. Also, limiting them to one touchdown on the ground, that coming in the third quarter, and overall, players on both sides of the ball doing their assignments.
Here Are Three Things We Learned From the Home Win:
1.) Running Game and Defense Were Intact
On a very cold and windy night, you weren’t going to have the opportunity to try and throw any trick plays, so the running game was going to really have to come up in a huge way and they did. It all started following Holmdel’s second fumble of the evening. In the 34-6 win over Holmdel, the Johnson running game overwhelmed the Hornets for 374 yards on 44 carries.
The Crusaders began their second drive at their own 41-yard line and would waste no time going right to work. Turek powered Johnson with a 48-yard gain deep inside Hornets territory. Johnson would continue pushing harder and harder as they kept going and Turek finished off the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown to give Johnson the 7-0 lead.
Holmdel would get the ball and try to drive to get back in the game, as junior quarterback Jeff DeCicco threw a deep pass, but was intercepted by senior Mike Casalino, as Johnson would take back over. Johnson drove right into Holmdel territory and capped it off with an eight-yard rushing touchdown from senior Kevin Metz that made the score 13-0 Johnson. The Johnson offensive line featuring sophomore Patrick Brennan, senior Dan Olenick, junior Luke Giltner, seniors James Greenbush and Eddie Weingartner and junior Rico Veltre provide the running game for the explosiveness on the field, allowing it to happen.
Later in the second quarter, another defensive stance led to another Holmdel turnover. Junior Sebastian Iakouchevitch exploded through the Holmdel defense and went to the end zone for a 43-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 20-0 Johnson. Senior Brandon Rapp added an eight-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter and Turek got his second touchdown of the evening on a one-yard rushing touchdown to finish the scoring on the night for the Crusaders.
On the other side of the ball, the Johnson defense stepped up huge on the evening, only allowing Holmdel to really even gain much on their first drive of the third quarter, where they got their only touchdown of the game, a five-yard rushing touchdown by junior Cameron Lamountain. They also stepped up in moments of adversity that came about in the game. The Johnson defense came up huge as a whole and the coaches saw the hard work at practice the entire week translate into the great game they did on the evening. Senior quarterback Mike Bruno continues to lead the offense, although he didn’t have the high numbers on the evening, the leadership quality always standing out.
Defensive coordinator Chris Di Nucci said it perfectly following the win, saying the players were working hard at practice in the days leading up to the victories and beating their opponents and sticking to the game plan for the Holmdel game and all the hard work paid off on the defensive side, especially with the three forced turnovers.
“We just talked about physical football,” Johnson assistant coach Chris Di Nucci said. “Two-option football teams playing each other. We knew they were going to play low, hard, pad-levels down. Holmdel is a tough football team, they had a good season. We just talked about our physicality.”
2.) Adversity: They Faced It and Handled It Well
The major moment of adversity came in the first drive of the game for Johnson, when the Crusaders lost a fumble that was recovered by the Hornets defense, giving them the ball at their own 38-yard line and giving them a chance. The Crusaders defense stepped up and recovered a loose football to get the ball back to the offense. The second major dose of adversity came as the fourth quarter started.
Right after Holmdel got the touchdown in the third quarter, Johnson lost the football and the Hornets began their next subsequent drive and a potential major turning point of the game on hand, the Crusaders defense got the stop they needed.
They forced Holmdel to punt and giving them back the football with everything falling into place after that. Overall, they got the stops needed, were physical the entire night and did their jobs to give themselves a chance to be successful.
3.) UNICO Bowl Rematch Coming Up
Head coach Anthony DelConte said it perfectly when asked following the game what the main message is for his players now that the regular season is in the books and now the preparation, both in the weight room, conditioning and on the practice field for the semifinals of the NJSIAA Central, Group 2 state playoffs. He said that the physicality has to continue to be good, as the competition heats up.
With the way the brackets are situated, the Johnson Crusaders will have a home state playoff game on Saturday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m., their second trip to the semifinals in the past three seasons.
Johnson worked so hard all regular season and with the PowerPoint system lining up, they were able to get the points to get the home game, especially with wins against tough competition during the season.
The Crusaders have made the playoffs in all of Anthony DelConte’s years at the helm of the Crusaders. This especially means a good week of practice is hugely important, if they want to keep the games coming for the rest of the season.
What’s Next?
The Johnson Crusaders (8-1) advance to the NJSIAA Central, Group 2 Semifinals, where the third-seeded Crusaders will take on seventh-seeded Hillside HS on Saturday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m., in a rematch of the UNICO Bowl matchup from Friday, October 6.
The Comets, who have a 7-3 record, defeated second-seeded South River HS in the NJSIAA Central, Group 2 First Round by a final score of 28-7.
The Comets lost their home opener against Rahway HS by a final score of 35-21. They defeated New Providence HS on the road in Week 2 by a final score of 42-7. They returned home and defeated Bernards HS by a final score of 42-0 in Week 3.
They won Week 4 against Roselle-Abraham Clark HS at Rahway River Park by a final score of 14-12. They went back on the road and lost Week 5 to Arthur L. Johnson HS by a final score of 22-13.
They returned home and won Week 6 against Dayton HS by a final score of 51-8. They remained home and won Week 7 against Delaware Valley by a final score of 49-8.
They went back on the road and lost Week 8 to Cranford HS by a final score of 34-21. They returned home and won Week 9 against Brearley by a final score of 21-15.
Hillside is led by quarterback Tajie Irby, who is 75-for-114 on the season with 1,661 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes and six interceptions.
Other players on Hillside for Johnson to watch on Friday night include receivers Boris Nicolas-Paul and Nahree Biggins, who are major targets on the passing game, while Brian Ugwu and James Louis lead the way for Hillside on the rushing game.
If the Johnson Crusaders continue to play the way they’ve always been playing, hard, fast, physical and going at the football and charging through other team’s defenses on offense and drawing up good game plans, they will compete on Saturday night.
Hillside is a football program that’s always been good in years past, an improved team from last year, so we will see what develops Saturday night.
