Mustangs' defense leads the way against Rams
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

BRICK - James McConnell had high hopes of throwing the ball for Brick Memorial's football team as a candidate for the quarterback spot, but found himself back at the receiver position by the start of the season.

McConnell made the most of that opportunity when he caught his first three passes of the season - all for touchdowns - and grabbed another one on the defensive side as Brick Memorial shut out Southern Regional for the third straight year, 21-0, in Shore Conference American Division action Friday night at Brick.

Coming off a bye week, the Mustangs secured their second straight shutout victory behind some big defensive plays by Eric Shafer, while Prince Young rushed for 103 yards and sacked Southern's quarterback on fourth down on its deepest threat that reached Brick Memorial's 16-yard line early in the final quarter.

By that time, the Mustangs had all of their points on the board on McConnell's two 15-yard touchdown catches on fade patterns, first to the right and then to the left, in the second quarter. He later caught a 25-yard scoring strike late in the third.

"It was fun. They were playing our run with a lot of guys on the line, so were able to throw the ball," said McConnell. "I turned around and it was a perfectly placed ball over the safety's head on the first touchdown. The second touchdown was pretty much the same situation. In the third one, we practiced the play a lot. As soon as I saw the safety bite, I knew I could beat him over the top."

McConnell said he had accepted seeing Greg Penta get the quarterback job ahead of him and returning to his role as receiver, where he was the No. 3 man last year behind Mike LePore and John Rutowski, who both graduated.

"It was frustrating in the beginning when they were keeping two quarterbacks, but it was not frustrating later on, because I realized I could also help the team on defense. Quarterbacks don't play on defense in this system," said McConnell.

"He's really a good kid who played one hell of a game," said coach Fred Sprengel.

The Mustangs needed that kind of an effort after Sean Canaley had some passes overthrown and some tough-luck drops of a few others, when Penta went to him early in the game. Both teams came into the game with 1-1 records and Brick Memorial still has its toughest games ahead.

"I always knew he could do it," said Vin Falkiewicz, who added 77 yards to the rushing attack while Southern was held to 58 yards on the ground. "The way he played was amazing It was something we knew he could be capable of, and now we have that possibility. He needed to find a place on the field [for a starting assignment] and did."

Once McConnell made himself a threat, it gave the running backs a little more room behind a solid blocking line faulted only for two glaring holding calls that negated Young's 45-yard run to Southern's 28-yard line and his eight-yard touchdown run moments before McConnell caught his second touchdown pass with 12 seconds left in the half.

"We've been playing good, but we have to cut down on penalties when we play Marlboro [at Marlboro on 1 p.m. Saturday]," said Falkiewicz.

"The guys made some mistakes, but on the whole it was a good effort," said Sprengel.

"This was a real important game for us if we want to stay in the running for the playoffs," said McConnell.

Rob Phillips made a terrific block, pulling back into the backfield, that gave Penta time to throw the final touchdown pass before Dan Burke kicked his third extra point of the game. McConnell set up that score with an interception and 18-yard return to Southern's 38-yard line.

"Coach said before the game [that] we're looking at a .500 season if we lose this one," said Phillips.

The first scoring drive took 11 plays and 65 yards and the second one covered 66 yards in seven plays. On the first drive, Young ran 19 yards early on and scampered 8 with a reverse while Falkiewicz kept it going with a 5-yard run on fourth-and-four that spotted the ball on Southern's 27. Falkiewicz ran 19 yards and caught a 24-yard pass on the second scoring drive; the latter play spotted the ball on Southern's 11-yard line.