Middletown South Remains Undefeated With 38-7 Win Over Freehold

Photo above: Cole Rogers rushed for 211 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Eagles

FREEHOLD – While it took a while for Middletown South to shake off their bye-week rust, once they did there was no stopping them in Saturday’s 38-7 win against division foe Freehold.

“I love the bye week but I hate the bye week,” Middletown South head coach Steve Antonucci said. “You play seven straight games and gain some momentum and then you got to stop and then try to pick that back up again. I think we came in here a little flat. I’m not taking anything away from them, I just thought the energy wasn’t there we’re used to playing with and that comes from having two weeks off; it’s a little different.”

After Eagles quarterback Matt Mosquera was intercepted on their first possession of the game, Freehold quarterback/punter Jake Curry faked a punt on fourth-and-6 from their own 30 running it out to the South 42-yard line. Eagles linebacker Dylan Rogers then stopped Asante Worthy for a one-yard loss on third-and-3 from the 34 before Curry’s fourth down pass fell incomplete.

Taking over at their own 35, running back Cole Rogers bolted 51 yards on first down to the 14, but a holding penalty bogged the drive down and they settled for a Mosquera 35-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The Colonials (6-3, 4-2) were having success with their short passing game with slants over the middle and outside the numbers driving 80 yards in eight plays for 7-3 lead with 9:08 left in the half. Curry hit Markee Gill with a three-yard swing pass for the score.

“They did a nice job game planning,” Antonucci said. “It is part of their package but we expected more of the run with Worthy. It wasn’t a surprise by any means but they executed well. Once we made a couple of adjustments things started to calm down for us.”

The Eagles (8-0, 5-0) then received excellent field position on the kickoff starting at the Colonials 43-yard line. Rogers carried the ball three straight times before taking it all the way in on third-and-3 from the 36 for a 10-7 lead.

Freehold had one last gasp at making it a game after driving to the Eagles 23 with 2:19 in the half, but on fourth-and-5 Curry was stopped by hurd of tacklers, including James McCarthy and Will Gullick, for no gain. The Eagle defense held the Colonials scoreless the rest of the way allowing only two first downs in the process.

The Eagles then took control of the game right before the half, going up 17-7 after marching 77 yards in just five plays as Rogers finished it off with an eight-yard run with 1:04 remaining. A 42-yard Mosquera to Jeff Lewandowski pass completion set up Rogers run.

Rogers, who finished the half with 150 yards rushing on 11 carries, is an incredibly patient runner which allows him to follow his blockers and finesse his way to daylight as soon as he sees the slightest opening.

“No matter what we’re running my offensive line gives me a hole,” Mosquera said. “I just do what I have to do but I give them the credit. I take pride in being patient because I know they’re going end up opening a hole; it’s just a matter of time.”

A Freehold squib kick on the second half kickoff backfired with the Eagles taking over deep in Colonial territory at the 33-yard line.

Three straight runs by Rogers for 12 yards set up a Mosquera fake handoff to him for nine yards that was executed beautifully, fooling everyone, with Mosquera almost breaking free for the score. Another five-yard run by Rogers was followed by a seven-yard touchdown run by McCarthy for a 24-7 advantage.

Now down by three scores, the Colonials were forced into the long passing game which didn’t go well for them. The Eagles front seven pressured Curry into rushing his passes leading to an interception by Tom Coffey and a couple of vicious hits on Freehold receivers by Max Imsho and Kevin Higgins that jarred the ball loose for incompletions. Coffey also knocked down three passes in the fourth quarter alone and Donald jack Urhig had a third-down sack of Curry that forced a punt.

“I knew with the score at the time they were going to go deep on hitches and stuff,” Coffey said. “I just played off and played the outside wheel the whole time and just tried to get under it. I misjudged a few balls, tipped a few, and then the one at the end I had the pick on. It’s huge having those guys in front of us making the tackles and we just have to cover.”

Mosquera threw a 29-yard scoring strike to Lewandowski to push the lead to 31-7 with 14 seconds left in the third quarter and Rogers completed the scoring with a 13-yard burst up the middle at 6:24 of the fourth going virtually untouched.

Rogers ended his day rushing for 211 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns while Mosquera went 12-of-15 for 138 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions.

The win clinches at least a tie for the Shore Conference Class A North title with a chance to win it outright for the first time since 2009 with a win on Thanksgiving against cross-town rival Middletown North.

As it stands now, the Eagles –ranked No.1 in the state by the Star Ledger - would be the No.1 seed in the NJSIAA North 2 Group IV bracket and face No.8 seed West Windsor. The Eagles are in search of their first state title since 2006.

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