South Brunswick High School and Edison High School were both able to locate areas in need of improvement when they met on the football field on Oct. 6.
South Brunswick head coach Joseph Goerge might have been pleased with receiving the 21-6 victory in Edison, but he would like to see his team more focused and locked in.
“I thought our defense played really well,” Goerge said. “We gave up a score toward the end of the game. [Senior quarterback] Felix [Quinones] has been phenomenal all year long. [Edison] jammed us up inside today. They’re a good physical team. We had to get outside a lot more, but we had to do it, and Felix and [senior wide receiver and cornerback] Justin [Shorter] took care of it.”
Goerge also wasn’t thrilled with some of the officiating in the game, but he looked at it as a learning opportunity for his team, which raised its record to 3-1 with the victory.
“I tell these guys all the time, there’s going to be tough games every week,” Goerge said. “There’s going to be tough times every week. They can’t just look at the newspapers and hear all the praise they’re getting and think they can’t lose. We can’t do that. We have to battle everybody. There’s no one that you’re just going to line up against and beat.”
Goerge loved the leadership that Quinones and Shorter showed during and after the game against Edison.
“Felix was the first guy to speak after the game,” the coach said. “We didn’t have the best week of practice, and he challenged them to do better next time. I mean, that’s where the game is won, during that week. You have to take it seriously, and he and Justin have been our leaders all year. Their leadership has been great.”
Quinones threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third score. Shorter had a touchdown catch in the game and was one of the leading rushers for the Vikings.
Shorter believes South Brunswick’s versatility and leadership helps it when it’s in a rut.
“I think we are able to make plays out of nothing, and that’s big,” Shorter said. “That really helps the team. It’s a lethal combination.”
Like Quinones, Shorter challenges his team to make the most out of its preparation.
“I think we’re going to be fine,” Shorter said. “We just need to practice harder and stay focused on the task that we have each week.”
Edison head coach Matt Fulham wasn’t thrilled with the outcome, but he was proud of his team’s fight during the game.
“Our kids competed,” Fulham said. “That’s what we want from them. Our execution wasn’t where it needs to be. We had a couple costly turnovers, which has been killing us. But we competed. South Brunswick is an excellent football team. They’re very well coached. But our kids weren’t intimidated. They worked hard, and I’m real proud of the effort they gave.”
Fulham would still love to see better execution by the Eagles, who fell to 1-3 on the season with their third straight defeat after opening the 2017 campaign with a victory against Monroe Township High School.
“We had some plays [on offense]. We overthrew a pass. We threw a couple balls late. We missed a couple of assignments here and there, and that disrupted some stuff,” Fulham said. “Defensively, we played tough. We had two breakdowns, and unfortunately, they both led to scores. But overall, I thought our defense has played well all year, and I thought they played well against a really good, really athletic football team.”
Senior middle linebacker and running back Donavan Benoit thought Edison was more aggressive defensively than in its previous game against Old Bridge High School on Sept. 28
“We knew what we were dealing with and stayed focused the entire time,” Benoit said. “The line did a decent job, but we need to learn to keep pushing and finish until we hear the whistle.”
Benoit believes the team’s effort in the first half of games needs to be stronger.
“We just need to come more together as brothers in the beginning and not just in the second half,” Benoit said.
Both teams hope for improved performances when they return to the gridiron for games on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
Edison is the host to New Brunswick High School (1-4), while South Brunswick welcomes East Brunswick High School (1-3).
