This could be JFK’s week to celebrate
BY VIN RAPOLLA
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff JFK High School’s Greg D’Aiuto (NO. 31) and Jamie Flecha (r), shown here tackling Colonia’s Charles Baakel in a recent game, will look to lead the Mustang defense this week when they look to earn their first victory of the season against a struggling Highland Park squad.

The JFK High School football team will have a good shot at its first victory of the season Friday when it travels to Highland Park.

The other two local teams will be looking to earn state playoff berths with wins in their final games before the cutoff.

The Mustangs nearly got win No. 1 Saturday, but were unable to come all the way back against a struggling Monroe team, falling to 0-7 on the year.

The Mustangs answered an early Monroe score with a touchdown when junior back Joe Russyk took a pitch and rolled left before throwing to wide receiver Ryan McCann for a 26-yard TD. Later in the first quarter, Mustang quarterback Rob Hennessy hit McCann with a 15-yard scoring strike, and the Mustangs had a 14-7 lead.

Monroe responded with 14 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 21-14 halftime lead. They padded that lead following a successful fake punt of a fourth-and-six on their own 30-yard line in the third quarter. After Chris Lajiness got just enough yardage for the first down, the Falcons extended their lead two plays later with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Jimenez to Nick Pennisi.

JFK cut into the lead in the fourth when Ray Gross scooped up a fumble and rambled 80 yards for a touchdown. But the Mustangs could get no closer, and now they must look to this Friday’s game at Highland Park for their first win.

Someone will leave the field extremely happy on Friday as both teams enter the game winless. The Owls are coming off a 47-0 loss to Spotswood and could be just what the doctor ordered for a JFK team that is hungry for the taste of victory. Game time is 7 p.m.

As for the Woodbridge Barrons, they come off their bye week looking for their sixth straight victory (something they haven’t done since 1997 when they started 6-0), and a berth in the state tournament.

The Barrons will have their work cut out for them though, facing a J.P. Stevens team that is reeling a bit following its embarrassing 45-0 loss to Sayreville and also in need of a win to earn a postseason berth.

"Sayreville played a great game," Stevens coach Frank Zarro said. "They had a great game plan, and they out-played us and out-coached us. As great as we were last week, they were as great this week."

"They ran a confusing offense, and we had trouble getting a good read on it," senior defensive end Jeremy Zuttah said.

The only bright spot in the loss for the Hawks was the performance of senior running back Derrick Williams. Forced to sit out the first five games of the season due to transfer rules, Williams has made an immediate impact for the Hawks in just two games.

Against the Bombers, Williams collected 135 yards on 12 carries and caught one pass for 5 yards in the loss. He tallied 140 of the 197 total yards for the Hawks.

It was a 40-yard run by Williams in the second quarter that gave the Hawks their best scoring opportunity. Trailing 10-0, the Williams run brought the Hawks inside the Bombers’ 20-yard line with a chance to get back in the game. The Hawks failed to score, and the Bombers remained unstoppable in their quest to capture the Red Division title.

Although Stevens was far from impressive against the top-ranked Bombers, it is the same team that knocked off Old Bridge the week before, and played Piscataway tough.

The upcoming match promises to be one of the week’s premier games between a pair of teams that have looked like playoff material all year, only to find themselves fighting for a spot as the cutoff date approaches.

Colonia is another team fighting for a playoff spot as it travels to Edison to take on a winless Eagles team.

This is a must-win game for Colonia but one that could be dangerous. The Patriots must take Edison seriously as they have been held winless by some very good Red Division teams and may be better than their 0-6 record indicates.