Toms River North Makes A Statement In 41-21 Win Over Middletown South

Photos above courtesy of Tom Smith: Husni, Watts, Carrington and Day

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP – Leading up to this much hyped game at “The Swamp” in Middletown Friday night between No. 1 Middletown South and No.2 Toms River North there was a lot of debate on who’s actually the No. 1 team in the Shore.

Well that question was answered with a resounding boom as Toms River North got the statement win it needed crushing the Eagles 41-21 in front of a jam-packed standing-room only crowd ending any discussion on who should be on top of the heap in the Shore Conference.

The Mariners came into Friday night’s game averaging a flashy 49.5 points a game easily leading the Shore Conference, yet skeptics pointed out that they had yet to face a defense the caliber of Middletown South’s.

That conversation was answered as well as Toms River North (7-0) racked up 441 yards of total offense, including 182 yards receiving and three touchdowns by Rutgers commit Bryce Watts and 354 total yards and five touchdowns in yet another stupendous game by senior quarterback Mike Husni.

“Everyone was talking about how great their defense was, and they were a great defense, but we made a statement that we’re No. 1 in the Shore,” Husni said. “Mariner football is back, and we’re here to stay for a while.”

On Toms River North’s second play from scrimmage, Husni hit Watts on a quick bubble screen in the flats and Watts beat one defender before flashing his 4.35 speed taking all the way to the house for a 7-0 lead two minutes into the game.

“People really don’t know how fast he is,” Husni said. “Bryce can look like he’s jogging, and he’s still running a 4.5.”

Middletown South (5-1) drove to the Toms River North 18-yard line on their next possession but on fourth-and-8 Watts again demonstrated his pure athleticism. He knocked down a Aneesh Agrawal pass intended for Eagles senior wide receiver Jeremy Joyce at the last second on a ball that appeared good enough for a first down and possibly a lot more.

The Mariners took over and two plays later, Husni, who finished 8-of-13 for 282 yards and four touchdowns passing and 72 yards on 18 carries rushing, again found Watts this time for a 71-yard touchdown bomb with Watts catching the ball at around the 25 before breaking it to the right for the score to make it 14-0.

On South’s ensuing possession, defensive back Mickey Maldonado picked off Agrawal on a third-and-29 from the 37-yard line and returned it 35 yards to the South 25-yard line to put North’s offense back in business.

The Mariners then scored on their third straight possession to start the game going 25 yards in four plays with senior running back Parker Day taking it in from 11-yards out for a 21-0 lead with 26.8 seconds still left in the first quarter.

The Eagles were driving on their following possession but were called for holding on first down at the Mariners 35-yard line resulting in a first-and-20 from the 45. The penalty severely hurt the Eagles momentum and on third-and-12 from the 38, Watts picked off Agrawal handing the ball back to the Mariners.

“I thought the story of the game for me is our defense being physical, handling the run game and forcing them to throw the ball against our athletic secondary and making them be impatient,” Toms River North head coach Dave Oizerowitz said.

Middletown South then got its first stop of the game forcing a Toms River North punt but went nowhere on their possession and punted the ball back to North with 5:17 left in the first half.

On first down at their own 31, Husni faded back to pass but was sacked by senior Maxx Imsho who knocked the ball loose with Eagle teammate Will Gullick recovering at the Mariners 29-yard line.

Junior running back Chaz Alessi then got the Eagles on the board carrying the ball four straight times before running it in on his fifth for a 8-yard touchdown run to pull the Eagles within two touchdowns 21-7 at the 1:53 mark of the half.

North had a chance to add to the score before the half when senior wide receiver Darrion Carrington out-leaped three Middletown South defenders to haul in a third-and-9 bomb all the way down to the 3-yard line, but Kyle Bayha’s 20-yard field goal attempt on the next play with 3.3 seconds on the clock sailed right.

On Toms River North’s opening possession of the second half, Husni was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Imsho and Jack Krellin and an incomplete pass set up an important third-and-17 from their own 42.

With Middletown South now showing signs of life, Husni and Watts pulled the plug on the Eagles life support hooking up on a screen pass over the middle on an all-out South blitz as Watts turned on the afterburners for a 58-yard score and a 27-7 lead after the extra point was blocked.

“That was a great playcall,” Watts said. “It was wide open.”

“They had the momentum,” Carrington said. “If they would’ve stopped us and came back and scored again, it would’ve been a whole different story.”

The Mariners defense then came up with three straight stops, including a fumble recovery by Ian Briggs at the end of the third quarter that set up another Mariner scoring drive that essentially put the game to rest.

A Husni to Carrington 16-yard touchdown pass capped a 52 yard, eight play drive that swelled the lead to 34-7 with 9:27 left in the game.

Husni added a 5-yard touchdown run that made the score 41-14 after a Agrawal to Joyce touchdown pass and South added another score on a Agrawal 58-yard scoring strike to Jeff Lewandowski to make the final score a little more respectable.

“Mike (Husni) is as good as player as I’ve ever seen, I’ve ever coached,” Oizerwitz said. “I think he’s one of the players in Shore Conference history.

“We like going on the road and winning in someone’s backyard, so to do it here, where not too many people have come in here in the last 25 years and beaten a good Middletown South team, we can say we did it.”

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