By Warren Rappleyea
Sayreville War Memorial High School football is back to where it wants to be: the finals of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section II, Group IV tournament. The fifth-seeded Bombers will take on second-seeded Middletown High School North Dec. 3 for the crown at Rutgers University’s High Point Solutions Stadium.
Both teams come into the title game with identical 9-2 records, and both have impressed in making their way to the finals.
The Blue at Gray traveled to top-seeded Middletown High School South in the semifinals and came away with a 42-28 triumph. Sayreville took a 14-7 lead into the break, as both defenses were solid in the first half. The Bombers again outscored their hosts when the game opened up in the second half. Quarterback Jayson DeMild keyed the win, completing 16 of 27 passes for 345 yards and four touchdowns.
“It was kind of like two different games,” Sayreville coach Chris Beagan said. “I don’t think that anyone who watched the first half would have expected 49 points in the second half.”
Sayreville earned a 21-7 win at fourth-seeded Phillipsburg High School in its playoff opener after going to Old Bridge High School and winning its regular-season finale, 37-17. The coach has said the team embraced the concept of being “road warriors” and turned it into a positive that brought the team closer together.
Beagan also gave a shout out to Bombers fans.
“We have a lot of support throughout the town, and we travel well,” the coach said. “The visiting stands were packed at Middletown South. It was the same way in Phillipsburg and Old Bridge. It’s always like that. That means a lot to our team.”
Middletown North enters the game after shutting down third-seeded Summit High School (8-3), 20-0, in its semifinals matchup. The Lions took a 33-14 decision over seventh-seeded Woodbridge High School (5-5) in its playoff opener. After the Summit game, Middletown North outscored Middletown South, 24-6, to win the annual Thanksgiving matchup between the two teams.
The Lions boast a versatile offense led by quarterback Donald Glenn, who threw for 240 yards in the win over Summit and another 200 yards in the Woodbridge game. Sure-handed Brendan Kube, also a talented cornerback, is Glenn’s favorite target. Running back Connor Welsh picked up 104 yards against Summit after running for 132 yards in the Woodbridge game. Place-kicker Joey Cavanagh is another valuable weapon.
The emergence of DeMild as one of the best quarterbacks in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC), if not the state, has really upped Sayreville’s offense. The Bombers have an array of receivers for DeMild to choose from: Jahsim Floyd, Andrew Wille, Jacari Carter and Michael Liberti coming out of the backfield.
DeMild has completed 125 of 218 passes for 2,057 yards and 24 touchdowns running the no-huddle attack. Opposing defenses cannot key on any one aspect of the Bombers offense. As a result, Liberti has run for more than 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns, while DeMild has 408 yards and six rushing touchdowns to his credit.
While the offense has deservedly attracted plenty of attention, the Bombers defense has been equally good. Sayreville dominated the line against Old Bridge and Phillipsburg and was more than up to the task of handling Middletown South’s powerful attack.
“Our team has worked very hard to get here, and they deserve it,” Beagan said. “This is how they’ve wanted it to play out. Right now they’re just living in the moment and getting ready for the game.”
