Absegami Football Players Stick Together

Family was one of the themes Friday night when Absegami High School took on St. Augustine Prep on the gridiron.

It was easy to see that Braves' coach Dennis Scuderi Jr. was visibly upset that the Hermits coach—his father Dennis Scuderi Sr.—was coaching his last game for St. Augustine.

He felt that his father got a raw deal when St. Augustine decided to let his father go. It is especially hurtful to the Scuderis that his dismissal came midseason.

Scuderi Jr. stuck up for his father with his postgame comments.

That’s what family does.

They stick together through tough times.

That goes for football teams, too.

That was the lesson the younger Scuderi tried to deliver to his team in the week leading up to the game.

The Braves were 2-3, and not living up to their own expectations.

When quarterback Rashad Kinlaw had to leave the game less than four minutes in, the team had to come together even more, as Mike Dolan came off the bench.

Dolan didn’t disappoint. He only threw the ball three times, but he completed all three passes, including a perfect pass on a touchdown to Dustin Miller.

Although he doesn’t have the running ability of Kinlaw, he still made smart decisions, and made no mistakes.

When he came in the Braves players greeted him with high-fives and showed him support.

“I can’t say enough about Mikey Dolan,” Scuderi Jr. said. “He threw a touchdown pass and kept drives going and he ran the offense the way it’s supposed to be run.

“We talked about family and how important family is. Sure there are times we argue, but families stick together. That was the case tonight.”

Kinlaw Injury

Kinlaw couldn’t put weight on his injured ankle and needed help coming off the field.

It is still unknown how long the quarterback will be out. He was on crutches while he watched the game on the sidelines.

Scuderi Jr. said the quarterback has a sprained ankle.

De-Fense, De-Fense!

The Absegami defense looked rejuvenated during last night’s game.

The Braves defense admittedly played poorly in last week’s game against Millville.

If the Braves are going to start to win games consistently the defense has to play like it did against the Hermits.

Absegami’s Tiger Kirvay, Bruce Seldon, Kyle Wiggins and Darryl Loveland led the way last night, keeping the Hermits off the scoreboard until late in the game with the score out of reach.

A week after allowing more than 500 yards, the Braves allowed just 22 yards on the ground.

“They did a lot of work and the coaches did a lot of work to get us back on track,” Scuderi Jr. said. “I’m really proud of the effort they put together.”

Bing is Back

Absegami junior running back didn’t get many carries last week as the Braves played catch up for most of the game.

However, on Friday night, Tyler Bing made his mark scoring twice and rushing for 216 yards, including 79 on a fourth quarter touchdown.

Bing actually lost yardage in the third quarter, but rebounded in a big way with 109 yards in the fourth quarter.

Bing has the ability to score any time he touches the ball, and had runs of 15, 25, 26, 37 and 79.

“We go into every game trying to get the ball to all three options,” Scuderi Jr. said. “Honestly we haven’t done a good job utilizing all our options we have. It doesn’t matter who gets the ball we feel like we have four or five guys who can touch it.”

Last night was Bing’s night.

Trick or Treat

Halloween is coming up, but the Braves started pulling tricks early.

Absegami executed a perfect fake punt that set up the team’s second touchdown of the night in the third quarter.

Kyle Wiggins took a direct snap and rushed for 16 yards and the first down.

“(Coach Scuderi) asked if I wanted to do the fake punt and I said okay I will do it,” Wiggins explained. “I just got a great block by Kevin Duncan.”