NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ- As the Arthur L. Johnson Crusaders varsity football team entered halftime Friday night, they knew they were going to have make corrections and adjustments to their play on the night to rebound from a shaky performance in the first half. They also knew a different level of physicality was going to be needed to get back in the win column.
“When we went in there at halftime, we knew we weren’t playing up to where we should be,” Johnson senior Eddie Weingartner said.
The Crusaders responded to the adjustments at halftime with an offensive outburst in the second half, outscoring their opponent 27-6 to defeat the North Plainfield High School Canucks by a final score of 41-20 Friday night in North Plainfield.
As the Crusaders got the ball to start the second half, they recovered an onside kick for excellent field position and wasted no time when going right to work. With Joe Turek and Mike Casalino leading the way on the rush, the offensive line fought a North Plainfield defensive front to get into their territory. Senior quarterback Mike Bruno finished off the drive with a 14-yard rushing touchdown to give his team the 21-14 lead with 8:20 left in the third quarter.
The next play to come was one that no one saw coming. The Crusaders lined up to kickoff to the Canucks, but Casalino suddenly gave the football a short boot and the Crusaders charged to the ball and beat the Canucks receivers there, successfully recovering the onside kick.
He had 103 rushing yards on 16 carries to go along with his four-yard rushing touchdown in the win.
As a team, Johnson ran the ball 44 times for 330 yards on the ground in the road victory and only punted two times.
“We came out fired up from the first kickoff [of the second half],” Turek said. “From [Mike] Casalino’s kickoffs, we recovered two [onside kicks] in a row and those were huge. That gave us all the momentum [and] it’s onto [Governor Livingston].”
“Every day, we do special teams in practice,” Casalino said. “We work on kickoffs and [onside] kicks just like that. It translates right into the field.”
“We realized at pregame and coming into halftime, we needed to be more physical and we know we’re the better team. We had to prove it,” Fedak said. “So, we came out in the second half, [playing] fast, physical and tough and we got the win.”
Johnson would get the ball back, but lost a fumble, giving the ball back to North Plainfield, who would get a touchdown on their drive to cut the lead to 34-20. The two-point conversion attempt that followed was no good. The Canucks tried an onside kick, but the Crusaders recovered it.
Using the clock management in their advantage, Johnson chipped away at the North Plainfield defense on the ground continuously before another play in the air.
Bruno found Casalino for a 35-yard touchdown pass and his extra point increased the Johnson lead to 41-20 with 3:46 left in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders’ handling of the early adversity stood out to the coaches in the game.
“The biggest thing was watching how our guys responded [to the first-half troubles],” Johnson assistant coach Andrew Zub said. “It was a tough first half because [North Plainfield] is a good football team. They have some athletes, they do a good job preparing their own kids.”
“We came out with a fire that we had all season that we needed in the first half, something we have to build on,” he added. “The adversity these kids faced, [they] trusted the process and us, the biggest thing is that they trust each other.”
Johnson outscored North Plainfield in the second half 27-6, a complete turnaround from a sluggish first half.
One aspect the Johnson Crusaders have stressed that it’s like a family of brothers and it’s a quality that showed how the Crusaders dominated the Canucks, winning the second half.
“Something this program is built on is family and togetherness,” Zub said. “I’m proud of these guys, they did a great job tonight.”
Bruno, who’s been a standout for the Crusaders on offense and leadership throughout the entire season, finished the night with 61 yards on nine carries on the ground, featuring his 14-yard rushing touchdown. Through the air, he was 3-for-4 with 106 passing yards and the two touchdown passes to Fedak and Casalino.
“We stick together through thick and thin. This is the closest group of guys that I’ve ever played with,” Bruno said, echoing Zub’s words. “We love each other and we’re not going to let each other down, so we kept fighting for each other.”
On a five-play drive that began at midfield, senior Kevin Metz rocketed his way down the sideline and past a few North Plainfield players for a 38-yard rushing touchdown to open the scoring and after Casalino’s extra point, Johnson took the 7-0 lead.
The Canucks offense tried to move the football and they did on a drive in the final minute of the opening quarter, but ball security added to the issue, with another lost fumble recovered by the Johnson defense as the first quarter came to an end, with Johnson ahead 7-0.
Turek led the Crusaders on their next drive, making the Canucks pay for their turnover with a 30-yard rushing touchdown and following another extra point from Casalino, Johnson led 14-0 with both scores coming right after North Plainfield turnovers.
The Canucks answered back with a drive of their own, as senior quarterback Brandon Smith scored on a ten-yard rushing touchdown and following a successful two-point conversion, Johnson’s lead was down to 14-8 with 5:34 left in the second quarter.
After forcing the Crusaders to punt, the Canucks drove again and junior Al-Nasir Robinson scored on a six-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game 14-14. The two-point conversion that followed was no good, leaving the score knotted 14-14 at halftime.
Despite the first half adversities, the Crusaders were proud of the way they handled the first half struggles as North Plainfield hung around to come through to bury them with an explosive offense in the second half.
On the evening, the Johnson defense recovered two North Plainfield fumbles and recovered two onside kicks that fueled the victory.
The Johnson Crusaders (6-1) head back home to take on Governor Livingston HS on Friday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m. It will be the Crusaders’ Senior Night.
“Us seniors have been playing together our whole life playing football and we want to win for each other and go out of the regular season with a good win for each other,” Bruno said.
The North Plainfield Canucks (0-7) remain home to take on Rahway HS on Friday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m.
