The Sayreville War Memorial High School football team put an end to its three-game when it rallied to a victory over rival east Brunswick High School when the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Regional Crossover games were played this past week.
Sayreville defeated East Brunswick, 15-13, in a Regional Crossover game that was contested on Nov. 7 in East Brunswick.
The NJSIAA’s Regional Crossover games are provided to teams throughout New Jersey that did not qualify for the state sectional playoffs.
Sayreville trailed by a score of 13-7 at the half but rallied to the victory behind senior quarterback Mark Whitford. He finished off the opening drive of the second half when he scored from a yard out.
“It’s been a very difficult season, but the kids were very resilient all season long and I was happy to see them come away with a victory,” said Sayreville coach Chris Beagan. “It wasn’t pretty by any stretch, but they were able to stay together long enough to get this victory.”
Whitford rushed for 39 yards and threw for 42 yards on the go-ahead scoring drive.
The big play of the series was a 35-yard pass by Whitford up the seam to Javiion Simmon. That connection brought Sayreville down to the East Brunswick one-yard line and set up the eventual winning TD.
Senior running back Jayvis Rayside had a big night on both sides of the ball to spark the Bombers to the victory.
On Sayreville’s first possession of the evening, Rayside took the inside handoff out of the gun and scampered up the field for a 38-yard touchdown to give the Bombers an early 7-0 lead.
With East Brunswick driving into Sayreville territory with just under six minutes left to play, Rayside picked up a game-changing interception.
off East Brunswick quarterback Zach Zebra to give the Bombers the ball back.
“I was surprised I got it. I was baiting the quarterback the whole way and was able to undercut the route,” Rayside said. “Even though we had a rough season, it was great to come out with the win. I love every single one of these guys.”
Whitford sealed the Sayreville victory by converting a 16-yard pass to Simmon on fourth down and 10. That crucial pass play came with just 1:07 remaining in the game.
Sayreville finished the season with a record of 3-6.
Austin Percey and Noriano Smith each had a rushing touchdown in the loss for East Brunswick.
The Bears ended their season with a record of 4-5.
Monroe High School’s comeback falls short: Trailing West-Windsor Plainsboro High School, 56-42, with 2:48 left to play in a Group 5 Regional Crossover game, Monroe High School showed its heart by sparking a late rally attempt in Monroe on Nov. 7.
A 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dylan Gorhan on the following possession helped Monroe cut its deficit to 56-49.
On the pursuing kickoff, Monroe executed a perfect onside kick to get the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead in the game.
With 33 seconds left to play, running back Michael Torsiello ran in for a Monroe touchdown and the Falcons were just an extra point away from tying the game.
Monroe instead decided to go for two and gthje victory rather than try a conversion kick for a tie.
But Monoe could not convert and fell short of the victory in a 56-55 defeat.
Monroe finished the season with a 4-5 record.
Metuchen High School defeated in season finale: Metuchen High School dropped its Regional Crossover game to North Plainfield, 56-14, in North Plainfield.
Metuchen, under first-year coach Guy Jensen, finished the season with a record of 3-7.
Linden tops J.F. Kennedy High School: Iselin Kennedy High School lost to Linden in its Regional Crossover game in Linden. and end the season with a 1-9 record in Linden.
Spotswood High School: Spotswood (4-5) will be the host to Johnson High School of Clark in its Regional Crossover game on Saturday, Nov. 9.
NOTE: Both the North Brunswick High School and South Brunswick High School football teams qualified for the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 5 Tournament. No. 1 North Brunswick will be the host to No. 8 Eastern Regional High School, while No. 7 South Brunswick will travel to play No. 2 Toms River High School North. Both are slated for Nov. 8.
Follow Steven Bassin on Twitter @SBassin_Sports
