Tivald's big day not enough for Eagles
170 yards not enough as Edison loses to Old Bridge
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
An unfortunate turn of events in the fourth quarter prevented the Edison High School football team from beginning the young season with two straight wins as the Eagles fell to 1-1 after a 29-28 loss to Old Bridge last week.

Edison took an early lead in the opening quarter with a 15-yard scoring run from running back Zach Tivald. Tivald's score put an exclamation point on a 92-yard drive before Old Bridge responded on its next possession with a 65-yard scoring drive of its own.

After trading scores, Edison regained the lead on another Tivald score, his second of three touchdowns in the contest. When the Eagles recovered an Old Bridge fumble in the closing seconds of the first half and responded with another score, they appeared to be in the driver's seat. Edison linebacker Nick Magee recovered the fumble and scored two plays later when he took a pass from quarterback Erik Janz with the half coming to a close.

"We were feeling good with a 21-7 lead at the half," Edison head coach Matt Fulham said. "We definitely had plenty of opportunities to win the game."

The two teams traded touchdowns to open the second half as they did in the first quarter. This time Old Bridge got on the board first with a score courtesy of running back Chris Coffman's 35-yard run to cap an 80-yard drive. Edison answered with another Tivald touchdown to go ahead 28-13.

"Zach is our workhorse," Fulham said. "He had another big day for us with 170 yards and three touchdowns. He had some really big runs and did a great job."

Unfortunately, Tivald and the Eagles could not answer the late-game heroics from the Old Bridge side.

After Tivald's final score, Old Bridge put together a 66-yard drive that ended with a seven-yard scoring run from Greg Padin, who brought Old Bridge to within seven points when he converted the two-point conversion. A 40-yard run from Chris Suozzo on Old Bridge's next possession was followed by a successful two-point conversion to put Old Bridge on top 29-28.

The Eagles still had plenty of fight in them in the final quarter as they put together a long drive to reach the Old Bridge five-yard line. But a Janz pass was picked off by Old Bridge's Kyle Hoernlein in the end zone to put an end to Edison's hopes of a comeback.

Edison will look to rebound from the loss when South Brunswick pays a visit to the Eagles' nest at 7 p.m. Sept. 28. The Vikings enter this week winless at 0-3.

"You can't look past South Brunswick," Fulham said. "They have played three very good teams and played them all close. They have an excellent quarterback and they run the option really well. We have to put the loss behind us."