By Jeff Appelblatt
Heading into the playoffs, no team wants to change what’s been working for it. But sometimes, there is just no avoiding changes. An injury to a key player would always be one of the worst reasons to change things up.
Just ask Woodbridge High School football coach Kevin Coleman. Things were finally clicking for the Barrons when quarterback Donovan Tabon went down for the year with a shoulder injury. But Woodbridge not only held on to win the game he left Oct. 28, but it also won its regular-season finale Nov. 4 without its usual starter able to play.
Coleman sent Quassim Glover out in place of Tabon in the Nov. 4 outing against North Brunswick Township High School. And in the senior’s first start as quarterback, he completed 10 of 16 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s trying to do whatever he needs to do,” Woodbridge’s coach said about Glover. “It’s always a little rough having a new quarterback out there.”
The win was the third in a row for the Barrons. But even if the team had its usual hurler available going forward, Coleman knows the upcoming playoffs will be a big challenge to continue with the wins.
“We’ll see what happens,” Coleman said. “We’ll take it one game at a time.”
Woodbridge, which was given the No. 7 seed in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section II, Group IV playoffs, has its first playoff game Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. on the road against No. 2-seed Middletown High School North
“We know we’ll need to sharpen up [going forward],” the Barrons’ coach said. “We’ll watch video and see what we’ll need to do. We’ll make sure we’re prepared for the playoffs.”
Before and after the game against North Brunswick, Coleman stood by the fact that the Raiders aren’t as bad as their record (1-7) indicates.
“That team is not as bad as people think,” Coleman said before admitting he knows his club will need to have a much stronger showing than it displayed most of the season if it wants to make any noise in the playoffs. “We haven’t beaten too many winning teams.”
In fact, after defeating crosstown rival Colonia High School (5-4) in the opener, the other four wins came against teams that combined for only seven victories during the regular season.
Still, Woodbridge handled its final three opponents of the season, and that has Coleman ready for the playoffs.
“I’m confident,” Woodbridge’s coach said, before adding that he hopes his confidence will rub off on the team.
Woodbridge will need Da’Avian Ellington and Keshaun Henry to find themselves as open targets for Glover in order to get past the Lions from Middletown North (6-2). Henry caught a team-high, 33 passes for 445 yards for the Barrons this year. Meanwhile, the two rushed for more than 1,000 yards.
If Glover yearns for the chance to catch a few passes, Henry has connected on five of seven passes he’s thrown this season, resulting in a pair of touchdowns.
