No. 8 Middletown South Upsets No. 3 Rumson-Fair Haven

Photos above: #40 Matt Tardy, #33 Dylan Walling, #71 Joe DellaValle and #64 Brady Smith

MIDDLETOWN – Senior linebacker Matt Tardy harassed Rumson-Fair Haven quarterback Colin Coles into hurried throws all night long, but his last quarterback pressure of the evening was the one that counted most.

The eighth-ranked Eagles (6-2) were clinging to a 14-7 lead with just over a minute to play in the game when Rumson marched to the Eagles 30-yard line. A third-and-12 Coles to Matt Caldwell completion set up a fourth-and-1 at the Middletown South 32-yard line. Rumson’s John Volker then picked up two yards for a first down at the 30 to set the stage.

With time now running out on the Bulldogs, Coles went to the air again looking for his big tight end Ian O’Connor. But Tardy beat the left tackle coming off the edge to get a hand on the ball deflecting the pass into the hands of senior linebacker Dylan Walling, who made a clutch diving interception to seal the Bulldogs 14-7 upset win over No. 3 Rumson Fair Haven (6-2).

“I was coming off the left side and had the tackle and running back on me, so I knew it was going to be a tough time getting there,” said Tardy of his huge pass deflection. “I was just trying to get my hands into the passing lane and I got my hands up and tipped the ball and Dylan came up with the interception.”

Walling was in the right spot at the right time to grab the ball exhibiting a high level of concentration that allowed him to make the play.

“I was just dropping back looking for a receiver and didn’t see one,” said Walling of his game clinching pick. “So the ball got tipped and was in the air for a while and I just dove for it and went in and got it - it was a great win.”

Early in the fourth quarter on the Bulldogs first possession following the Eagles go-ahead score, Tardy’s speed as an edger rusher forced a critical Rumson turnover after the Bulldogs drove to the Eagles 36-yard line and were threatening to score.

Middletown South defensive back Chris Lotito pulled Rumson wide receiver Jackson McCarthy down after a five-yard pickup off a Coles pass on second-and-nine. Then, a third-down Coles incompletion brought up a fourth-and-4 situation for Rumson at the Eagles 36-yard line, but it was Tardy again wreaking havoc in the backfield.

“Matt’s been great, what a great year he’s having,” said Eagles head coach Steve Antonucci of his star linebacker. “If there aren’t people looking at him now, they should open their eyes. I’ve seen that kid for three years play for us and quite honestly he’s just gotten better and better each year. We moved him to linebacker and this has been his best year – he’s been sensational.”

Coles took the snap out of the shotgun looking deep for a receiver, but Tardy beat his man and got a hold of Coles pressuring him into wobbly pass that was picked off by senior linebacker Troy Burbank at the 26 and returned to the 41-yard line thwarting the drive.

“We were down after last week but this is a big one for us,” said Burbank. “Now we have momentum going into the playoffs. We’ve got to continue to be aggressive, play smart and play together as brothers.”

Rumson took an early 7-0 lead on their first possession of the game on a time-consuming 18 play, 68-yard touchdown drive that took over eight minutes off the clock. But the Eagles big-play defense would shut them out the rest of the way.

Since allowing 62 points in their opening night loss to Pennsylvania state power Coatesville, the Eagles defense has given up just 43 points in the ensuing seven games for a 6.14 points per-game average.

“We just come in prepared every week,“ said Tardy of the defense’s stellar play. “Coach Bigos (defensive coordinator Al Bigos) he’s just on every key, every tendency that offenses have, so he puts us in the right spots and we just know what offenses are doing.”

“Our defense has been solid,” Antonucci added. “You look at what we’ve done since we left Pennsylvania and these guys have been great. Al’s been doing a great job and the kids have been flying around. We love the scheme we’re in right now and the kids are buying into it.”

On the Bulldogs scoring drive, Rumson’s star running back Alex Maldjian carried the ball nine times for just 22 yards before taking it in from six-yards out to put the Bulldogs in front 7-0 after Chris Kaldrovics extra-point kick.

Maldjian, who came into the game as the Shore Conference rushing leader with 1,093 yards averaging over 11 yards per attempt, injured his ankle in the middle of the second quarter and did not return finishing with 45 yards on 13 attempts.

After Rumson took the lead the two teams traded punts before the Eagles went on a 58-yard, 12 play scoring drive tie the game with 3:59 left in the first half.

A roughing the passer penalty on second down gave Middletown South a first down and excellent field position at the Rumson 40-yard line.

Unheralded senior quarterback Trevor Brey picked up eight yards on a keeper on third-and-6 from the 36 for a first down to keep the drive alive and senior running back Ken McCarthy extended the drive converting a third-and-4 from the 10-yard line picking up six-big yards giving the Eagles a first-and-goal from the four.

Bruising 5-foot-10, 230 pound junior running back Vincent Condito bulled his way up the middle for three yards on first down and Brey finished off the drove scoring from a yard out on a quarterback sneak to even the score at 7-7.

With the score still knotted at seven, the two teams traded punts to start the second half before the Eagles went ahead on their second possession of the half.

Punting from his own 36-yard line, Coles felt pressure from Tardy bearing down on him and shanked his punt out of bounds handing South great field position at the Rumson 46-yard line.

Six plays later on second-and-8 from the Bulldogs 33, Brey, off a perfectly executed play action fake, found senior Jamie Petrillo wide open on a post pattern at the one-yard line for a 32-yard gainer.

“That pass play is in every week, that’s nothing new,” said Antonucci. “That’s part of this triple-option offense when you get people sucking up and the safety’s come flying up. You just got to protect, that’s the problem and sometimes you can’t get if off, but we were able to do so tonight.”

Two plays later Brey scored his second one-yard touchdown keeper of the night and the Eagles had a 14-7 lead as time ran out in the third quarter.

“It’s a huge win,” Tardy said. “We had a little blip on the radar last week but coming into this game we were confident. They were coming off a tough loss too, but we wanted this win bad and we came in kind of angry and the win is huge for seeding in the brackets and we wanted it."

Antonucci knows the significance of what a win like this can do for his team.

“This is huge, it’s a signature win,” said Antonucci. “You work all year for something like this. Rumson’s a great program that’s had a lot of success over the last few years. We’re trying to climb back into the picture, and I told the kids if we can keep it close and execute we’ve got a chance. And that’s what we did tonight. We put our hard hats on and go to work every day and try to do what we can to win football games. And it might not be pretty.”

The game lived up to its billing as both defenses dominated as expected with Rumson gaining just 174 yards of total offense while Middletown South accumulated 164 yards of total offense. Brey was 8-of-13 for 68 yards while rushing for 18 yards on seven attempts and Coles completed 16-of-26 passes for 89 yards and two interceptions. Conditto led the Eagles with 44 yards on the ground on 12 carries.

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