CLARK, NJ- After a rough season, without playoffs, the Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders varsity football team hit their home field on a blistering cold day for the annual Thanksgiving Day rivalry game against the Rahway High School Indians, looking to add to their three-game winning streak.
Despite the Crusaders leading 13-7 at halftime after a solid 24 minutes, the 24 minutes that followed was a completely different story.
The Indians made up for the sluggish first half, storming for 27 unanswered points and shut out the Johnson offense, capturing the Thanksgiving Day win over the Crusaders 34-13 Thursday morning in Clark. It’s the third straight win for the Indians, cutting the Johnson series advantage record at 25-22.
Rahway finishes the 2018 season with a 10-2 record, while Johnson finishes with a 5-6 record.
After the teams battled to a scoreless first quarter, Rahway struck first in the opening seconds of the second quarter, with senior running back Zion Pendleton making it 7-0 Indians with 11:39 left in the second quarter.
The Indians played four days after losing the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 sectional championship game to Summit, a 36-14 setback that ended a nine-game winning streak.
Johnson, coming off a bye week after winning two straight games against Spotswood and then Chatham, came out swinging in the opening 24 minutes against their annual Turkey Day rivals. On the fourth play of the ensuing Crusaders drive, sophomore quarterback Joe Greenbush (4 rushes, 75 yards, 1 TD) gave his team a boost with a 60-yard rushing touchdown, racing down the Rahway sideline, tying the game at 7-7 with 9:02 left in the second quarter.
“Our guys came out ready to go,” Johnson head coach Anthony DelConte said. “We came out, executed [and] we were flying around, that’s what we said we needed to do coming off the week and a half and making sure they were ready to go.”
“[Rahway’s] a great football team. Hats off to Coach [Brian] Russo and the rest of his staff. He got those guys going and they had a great year. It’s unfortunate they lost the sectional final. I think they should have won,” he added.
The Johnson defense put up a great fight in the first half, forcing Rahway into two failed fourth-down conversions and forcing them to punt, outside of Pendleton’s rushing touchdown.
With under seven minutes to go in the second quarter, the Crusaders started at their own 30-yard line, they embarked down Rahway territory, aided by a 15-yard penalty against the Indians. Greenbush found junior Evan Parenti for a 23-yard touchdown pass, giving Johnson a 13-7 lead with 2:43 left in the second quarter.
Full Coverage of Johnson Varsity Football Thanksgiving Day Rivalry Game with Rahway HS Here
