Sayreville Bombers live up to their moniker
Fast start paces Sayreville to big shutout win over Stevens
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
In its bid to start the new season with two straight wins, the J.P. Stevens High School football team ran into a brick wall in the form of the Sayreville Bombers last week.

Led by tailback Reinaldo Rodriguez, Sayreville coasted to a lopsided 50-0 win to drop Stevens to 1-1 on the year. Rodriguez rushed for over 200 yards with three touchdowns as Sayreville improved to 3-0 on the season.

"It was definitely a rough one for us," Stevens head coach Joe Riggi said. "We have a very young team, and we'll be looking for a big rebound against Old Bridge this week."

The Hawks could get very little going against a stalwart Bomber defense. Stevens had many three-and-outs all evening and fell behind 30-0 at the half. Sayreville's defense allowed Stevens nary a sniff of momentum the entire contest.

"We'll have another tough test this week and we'll have to see how well our kids respond," Riggi said. "We still have an entire season ahead of us."

Stevens will certainly look to its talented backfield to right the ship this week. The Hawks' b aackfield was a definite bright spot in the team's 34-0 win over Perth Amboy in the season opener. Backs Jahyere Bryant and Angelo DiPietro led the ground assault with plenty of help from Stephen Dumchus and Dejuan Fleming.

Bryant put the icing on a 69-yard drive with a six-yard run for the Hawks' first score of the season. DiPietro added a 13-yard running score later in the game and quarterback Rocco Mazza ran one in from a yard out.

"Our running attack really took control of the game," Riggi said. "We have a lot of versatility in the backfield this year. We don't just have one guy that can run up the middle or a guy that can run to the outside. All four of the guys we have back there can do it all."

The quartet of running backs nearly amassed 200 yards on the ground without a dominant performance from any one player.

"Nobody finished with really big numbers, but everybody did his share," Riggi said. "Jahyere got most of the carries, but I was very pleased with our overall performance."

Stevens will have to make some adjustments in practice this week to return to winning form in its home opener. The Hawks will host Old Bridge at 7 p.m. Friday.

"Old Bridge runs an option, and we haven't seen that this year," Riggi said. "They run it really well and it's tough to defend. The key for us will be to stay focused and to do a better job tackling. I know we have the physical tools, but the team needs to realize the loss to Sayreville didn't end the season."