Dominant First Half Launches Middletown North Past Woodbridge

Above Photos courtesy of Tom Smith: #19 Brendan Kube, #22 Connor Welsh, #12 Donald Glenn, #5 Dwight Wilkerson and #11 Austin Dewise

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP – Despite the cold and blustery conditions at the start of Friday night’s NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 opening-round state playoff game between Middletown North and Woodbridge, the Lions bolted out of the locker room smoking hot.

The Lions (7-2) received the opening kickoff and immediately went 57 yards on 11 plays eating up over six minutes on the clock for a quick 7-0 lead. Junior running back Connor Welsh took a pitch from senior quarterback Donald Glenn off right tackle and broke it up the middle for the final 23 yards of the drive as No.1 seed Middletown North went on to defeat seventh-seeded Woodbridge 33-14 in their first meeting since 2000.

Welsh, who returned from a season-long injury last week, saw more playing time Friday night and looked like his old self carrying the ball eight times for 47 yards on the drive, including the final six plays.

“We wanted to come out and see if we could run the ball,” Middletown North head coach Steve Bush said. “We made a couple third and fourth down conversions there and the guys did a good job finishing off the drive with a score and that was a great way to start the game."

“It’s nice to have him (Welsh) back,” Bush added. “It frees up Dwight (senior running back/free safety Dwight Wilkerson) to play in the slot and to do some things there. I think Connor will continue to get better. He’s just really been back with us now for a week and is kind of just getting back into the swing of things.”

Welsh did more than just get back in the swing of things rushing for 132 yards on 23 carries often picking up critical yardage to keep drives alive and help keep the ball out of the hands of Woodbridge’s explosive offense.

“Having Connor back is definitely a lot of help,” senior wide receiver/strong safety Brendan Kube said. “Now we can set up the pass with the run having him back and he’s a bruiser too; he had a great game tonight.”

Kube didn’t have a bad night himself.

After the North defense held Woodbridge to a three-and-out on their first possession of the game the Lions took over 49 following the punt and were facing a third-and-5 from the Barrons 44-yard line when Kube and Glenn noticed the Woodbridge defenders pressing at the line of scrimmage.

“We saw that they were pressed up on me so then Donald gave me a signal to run a fade,” Kube said. “I gave the defender a good move, got in front of him and caught the ball.”

“They’ve been huge,” said Bush of the two-year Glenn-to-Kube connection. “They work together well and Donald knows where Brendan’s going to be and has a lot of trust in him. And Kube runs good routes and gets himself open - they always feel that they can connect.”

Kube was brought down just short of a touchdown at the 1-yard line for a 43-yard reception and three plays later sophomore running back Connor Robbins ran wide right for the score expanding the lead to 14-0 after sophomore kicker Joey Cavanagh’s extra point with 2:23 left in the first quarter.

After the ensuing kickoff, Woodbridge (5-5) took over at their own 38 when on first down senior defensive end Justin Muller strip-sacked Woodbridge quarterback Keshaun Henry with senior outside linebacker Nick Kish recovering the ball at the Barrons 35-yard line.

Two incompletions sandwiched between a 3-yard Welsh run set up a fourth-and-7 from the 32 and Glenn again found Kube, this time for a 32-yard touchdown on a slant over the middle. Kube eluded a couple of defenders on the play as he raced into the end zone pushing the lead to 20-0 after a failed extra point kick with 1:14 still remaining in the first quarter.

“That play was designed, we just put that play in this week after seeing something on film,” said Kube, who grabbed five passes for 153 yards and a touchdown on the night. “It worked well. I got the ball and went straight up the middle, made a couple of moves, got good blocks from my other receivers and got down to the end zone.”

Following the kickoff, two long runs by Da’avian Ellington and a face mask penalty gave the Barrons a first down at the Lions 25-yard line before Muller again sacked Henry for a 6-yard loss as the quarter ended setting up a second-and-16 from the 31.

“Muller did a nice job for us tonight,” Bush said. “We had a bunch a guy’s making plays for us on defense; they came out ready to play.”

The Lions defense held the Barrons to just 32 yards and two first downs in the first quarter.

On second down, Henry faded back to pass but Wilkerson stepped in front of the intended receiver at the 25 and returned the interception eight yards to the 33-yard line handing the ball back to the Lions.

The Lions got as far as the Woodbridge 41 but were forced to punt and the Barrons took over deep in Lions territory at the 14-yard line.

Five plays later, on first-and-10 at their own 47-yard line, North outside linebacker Brock Zenker forced Woodbridge into their third turnover of the half causing a Ellington fumble with senior defensive tackle Kyle Ewington recovering at the 49.

Welsh went back to work running the ball on five straight plays gaining 40 yards and setting up a first-and-goal at the 9-yard line. After a 5-yard illegal procedure penalty, Glenn found Wilkerson on a screen pass for a 14-yard score and a 27-0 lead with 3:36 still left in the half.

Woodbridge then had a 42-yard touchdown run by Henry called back on a holding penalty before Kish and junior defensive lineman Nicko Cofone stopped Henry on fourth-and-12 from the 25 as time expired in the half.

The Woodbridge turnover plague continued as they fumbled the second-half kickoff with senior linebacker Ryan Stark recovering at the Barrons 32. Six plays later, Cavanagh drilled a 35-yard field goal after the drive stalled at the 18.

Following a Woodbridge punt on their ensuing possession, the Lions had a 18-yard touchdown run by Robbins nullified on a holding call before Glenn hit Kube over the middle to the 8-yard line. But the Lions had to settle for a 22-yard Cavanagh field goal ballooning the lead to 33-0 with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter.

Woodbridge went on to score two touchdowns against a relaxed Middletown North defense which didn’t sit well with the North coaching staff.

“Our defense got a little sloppy at the end,” Bush said. “We didn’t finish it off well so we were a little upset about that. We wanted to keep it going and finish with some momentum going into the next game.”

Of the Barrons 274-yards rushing, 190 of those yards came after intermission with most coming after the Lions had built a 33-0 lead and then seemed to let up.

That next game Bush was referring to will be played at Middletown North next Friday against the winner of Saturday’s No. 6 seed Colonia (5-4) vs. third-seeded Summit (7-2) game.

Despite the howling wind all night, Glenn finished going 10-of-19 for 199 yards and two touchdowns leaving him 83-yards short of last season’s career best 1,982 yards passing for the four-year starter.

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