NJ Football: Rahway continues to roll, defeats Carteret for fourth straight win
RAHWAY — As Rahway coach Brian Russo addressed his troops following their latest conquest Friday evening he glanced at the scoreboard, shook his head, and said, “what can I tell you, we’re pretty good.”
Ya think?
Since dropping a season-opening, 11-point decision to Somerville, ranked 10th in the USA Today Network NJ Top 20, Rahway (4-1) has run off four consecutive victories by a combined margin of 170 to 34.
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“We just told ourselves that we’re not losing no more,” Rahway quarterback Ja’Kir Robinson said, defining the team’s mindset since that loss. “We feel we’re going to win every game on our schedule.”
Friday’s tally was Rahway 61, Carteret 15, after the hosts amassed a 55-8 halftime advantage. The entire second half was played with a running clock and without any Rahway starters.
“I think being able to shut out Cranford in their place was a tremendous confidence booster for our team,” Russo said.
Rahway has been dominating its opposition on both sides of the ball, and both were on display on Friday. It scored touchdowns on eight of its nine first-half possessions — losing a fumble for the exception — and the defense gave it the ball in Carteret territory on six of those drives. Rahway set the tone early, running for first downs on each of its first four plays from scrimmage and scoring its first two touchdowns a mere 23 seconds apart after a Carteret fumble.
“The last few games we’ve really been able to click on all cylinders, defensively, offensively, special teams,” Russo added. “Our offensive line has done a great job this year winning the battles up front.”
Rahway amassed 296 yards on the ground in the first half, getting 143 and four touchdowns on nine carries from Zi’on Pendleton and 115 yards and two scores on six carries by Da’Shon Moore. Even 5-9, 295-pound lineman Jymier Anderson got into the act, blasting his way into the end zone from 3 yards out late in the first half.
“They’re great, it’s like we can give it to anybody and they’re going to score or get a first down, big gains,” Robinson said of the offensive weapons at his disposal.
Rahway has adopted a killer instinct, looking to dominate its opposition without running up the score. The only occasion Russo had to be irate was when a backup quarterback attempted a pass in the second half.
“We all have a running motor, ready to go, even if something bad happens you have to keep going, push through,” said center/DE Joshua Barthelus.
And Rahway needed all of that to overcome a stellar performance by Carteret’s James Henderson, who reeled off a dazzling 49-yard run on the game’s first play from scrimmage, carried 16 times for 150 yards and a 34-yard touchdown, and scored on a 51-yard screen pass for the Ramblers’ other touchdown.
Although these towns share a border, not to mention Exit 12 on The Turnpike, the schools hadn’t met on a football field since Carteret posted a 19-14 triumph in the Central Jersey, Group 2 semifinals in 2007. The Ramblers went on to win the sectional title that year.
If there was a champion-in-waiting on the field Friday, this time, its was one the other sideline.