GL Football Team Takes on Undefeated Cranford Tonight

The gridiron rivalry between Gov. Livingston and Cranford has been heating up over the past several years, and tonight, the flames will be fanned even more.

That's because Cranford boasts an undefeated 4-0 record, which gives the Highlanders a chance to take down another top-notch opponent.

"It's always a big in-conference game," said senior captain Tony Manganiello. "They're looking really tough, but it's going to help us out in our playoff run if we get this."

GL (1-2) is coming off their first win of the season -- a thrilling 19-13 overtime victory over North Warren. And while the offense has been keyed by fullback Andrew Romeo's 300 yards of rushing offense, they will need a big defensive effort from Manganiello and company as they try and slow down Cougar quarterback Reggie Green and a potent spread offense.

"Their quarterback is very elusive, so we're going to have to slow him down," said Gov. Livingston head coach Terry Hanratty. "He's been very effective the first four games."

"Reggie looks really good on film," said Manganiello. "We just have to attack him the entire game from both sides. We're going to be sending pressure. I saw him against Scotch Plains and he looks phenomenal, so we're just going to have to attack him and force him to make a couple of mistakes."

Hanratty knows there are no pushovers on the schedule, which has his team even more focused.

"I don't know if it's a must-win, but we would like to knock somebody off and it seems like this year and last year we have a very competitive schedule where everybody we play is undefeated or has one loss," noted Hanratty. "We go up against Cranford who's 4-0 and then the next week we play Summit. We have to play some good football and limit our mistakes. It's been a challenge."

After falling to Delaware Valley and Immaculata, last week's victory was crucial for a Highlander team that holds playoff aspirations.

"It was very important. It's tough to start the season 0-3 and make the playoffs. It was an hour and thirty minutes away and we knew it would be a big one," added Manganiello. "It was pouring rain and they had a grass field, so it was just a mud bowl out there, and we knew if we just ran it in between the tackles, that we could control the game."

The Highlanders have already seen a similar look to Cranford's attack, with Immaculata also running a spread offense. GL was trailing 21-19 going into the fourth quarter, before the 9th-ranked team in the state pulled away for the win.

"Our scheme is going to look similar to what it did against Immaculata. That was a lot closer game than the score looked," said Manganiello.

Tonight's game will feature different offensive styles -- Cranford's wide open attack versus GL's ground-and-pound.

"When we go out there offensively, we want to pound the ball and just control the clock, keep the clock running," continued Manganiello. "We just want to run it down every play."

Manganiello has been a defensive stalwart, with a team leading 23 tackles so far. He remains upbeat about what lies ahead during the rest of his senior campaign.

"Coming into the season, we had a lot of guys coming back, so we thought we were going to be a pretty good team this year," said Manganiello. "Last year was more of a building year with a lot of young kids, so we knew we were going to have a lot more wisdom and leadership out on the field. That win (against North Warren) has put us on a roll right now. Practices have been better. Everyone is looking really good."

And that's a good sign for a team looking for their second straight road win.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Field in Cranford.