By Warren Rappleyea
South Brunswick High School’s football team is coming off an NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group V championship and with plenty of key players back, the Vikings look to repeat.
After surrendering a 21-0 lead and then losing the season-opener to Middletown High School South, 41-21, South Brunswick reeled off 11 straight wins to capture the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division before plowing through the state sectional playoffs and besting Old Bridge High School, 42-0, in the finals.
“Our strengths are the skills position, but we’re bringing four new players onto the offensive line,” coach Joe Goerge said. “The good thing is they’re ready. If you have a good program, your seniors should be playing and that’s the case.”
Offensively, Goerge will looks for another strong year from senior quarterback Josh Liao, who became a starter midway through his sophomore campaign. A year ago, Liao completed 82 of 130 passing attempts for nearly 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also ran for 281 yards.
Also back is Justin Shorter — one of Liao’s favorite targets. The 6-foot-4 junior hauled in 29 passes last fall for 575 yards and eight touchdowns. Seniors Anthony Blakey and Pritt Desai round out the receiving corps.
In the backfield, the Vikings have to replace the dynamic duo of Wendell Allen and Phil Campbell, which is no easy task. But Goerge has a pair of talented junior slot backs in Jaylan Lawson and Felix Quinones. Junior Dylan Kriz and sophomore Thomas Joe-Kamara will also contribute.
Up front, South Brunswick returns guard Darius Tisdale. He will be joined by Andre Eldridge and junior Nate Rodriguez at guard. Collin Seavers and junior Xavier Cargile are the tackles, and A.D. Sharma will play center.
Defensively, Tisdale is back at tackle, where he will be joined by Tai Woods. Eldridge returns at nose guard. Cargile moves from outside to middle linebacker. Marcus Cerminaro will again man one of the outside spots. Junior Jayvon Palmer and sophomore Mike Slover will play on the outside.
Shorter is back as the free safety, with Blakey and Quinones at the corners. Lawson, Joe-Kamara, Pritt Desai and Davey Weiss give the Vikings a deep and quick defensive backfield.
Sophomore Mitchell Fisher will handle place-kicking duties with Evan Sooby taking over for kickoffs.
“Overall our depth is good and we have a lot of experience,” Goerge said. “Right now, everyone is just itching to get going.”
South Brunswick opens at home against Red Division rival Old Bridge in a rematch of the Central Jersey, Group V championship game. Goerge expects the Knights to contend for the division crown along with Sayreville War Memorial High School and Piscataway Township High School.
“The Red Division is just so tough,” the Vikings coach said. “You really can’t count anyone out. Look at Edison; they continue to get better and better. It really does come down to the fact that you can only play one game at a time. High School kids sometimes look ahead — all players do — but you can’t do that in the Red Division. You have to come prepared to play every Friday night.”
