The football game looked over. Sayreville War Memorial High School seemed finished.
South Brunswick High School had just taken an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, on a touchdown run on fourth down and 11. It was still a one-score game, but the Vikings were smiling and slapping fives on the sideline.
Then, Sayreville answered.
Anthony Jackson fielded a low kickoff inside the 10, sprinted up the left sideline and cut across the field, into a seam. He galloped the next 50 yards untouched into the end zone. The Sayreville fans went wild.
But, the Bombers still needed a two-point conversion to tie the game. Quarterback Mark Whitford took a shotgun snap, faked a handoff up the gut and raced around the right edge into the end zone. Tie game.
After Sayreville got the ball back, it drove deep into the red zone. That’s when the Bombers called the same play, just to the other side. Whitford took the shotgun snap, faked the handoff and zipped around the left edge for a touchdown.
Now, the Bombers were smiling and slapping fives on the sideline. Less than two minutes later, after a four down stop on South Brunswick’s final possession, the Bombers were celebrating on the field.
With the 34-28 victory, Sayreville clinched the No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 5 sectional playoffs. It finished the regular season with a 7-1 record.
Sayreville will open the state playoffs at home on Nov. 2 against Hillsborough High School. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
“We got a lot of people stepping up,” said Sayreville lineman Agustin DelValle.
“This win is huge,” added Bombers’ center Nino Oneto.
“We have to practice hard Monday and Tuesday so that (next) Friday we’re ready to go,” said Sayreville lineman Glenn Wright.
The Bombers should be well prepared for the postseason. They won close games all year.
Sayreville beat Woodbridge High School, 21-19, on Sept. 14. They topped Edison High School, 13-12, on the last play of the game on Oct. 5. And, of course, they beat South Brunswick on Oct. 26 in a game that came down to the last few minutes.
Whitford, a stoic junior, is a big reason why Sayreville has triumphed in these close games. He threw the last second touchdown pass that shocked Edison on Oct. 5. He also chose to keep the ball and run with it on those two big plays, the two-point conversion and the touchdown, that stunned South Brunswick.
“I just had trust in my line,” Whitford said. “When every guy does his job, that’s the outcome.”
The quarterback hesitated when asked if he is normally a runner. But he seemed open to the idea.
“Yeah, I mean I try to be (a runner) at least,” he said, keeping a straight face.
The players who allowed Whitford to be a runner on Oct. 26, his linemen, supported the quarterback’s newfound identity.
“Oh yeah, he’s a tough runner, man,” said Sayreville tackle Micah Chudkowski.
“We trust him,” Oneto said. “He’s a running back, too.”
The Bombers believe in their quarterback, and in each other. And they should.
Sayreville overcame a 14-point deficit and beat a solid opponent on Oct. 26. South Brunswick won the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 5 playoff championship in 2017, beating Manalapan High School, 18-14, in the final. The Vikings had also beaten Sayreville in four straight matchups before Oct. 26.
So, Sayreville’s victory was a major confidence booster. The first seeded Bombers expect nothing short of a championship in a few weeks.
“Everybody has to do their assignment,” DelValle said. “That’s it.”
