Memorial, Twp. gearing up for Turkey Day game
BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI Staff Writer
Along with the longstanding rivalry that enters its 27th reunion, this year's Thanksgiving Day football game in which Brick Memorial plays at Brick Township has important goals for both teams regarding their final records.

Brick Township leads the series, 18-7-1. Brick Memorial has won five of the last seven games, including last year's 22-20 thriller decided on a field goal by Dan Burke with 1:48 left. The lone tie came in the fourth matchup, 6-6, in 1985.

The team trophy will go to the winning team for a year until the next game, with this year's score engraved into the plate, and football helmet trophies with the insignia of each school will go to the Most Valuable Player on each side.

Brick Township comes into the game with a 5-4 record and will try to avoid a third straight .500 season. Brick Memorial took a 7-2 record and a four-game win streak into Friday night's NJSIAA Central Jersey semifinal playoff game at South Brunswick and is looking to match and possibly surpass the eight-win seasons earlier in this decade, depending on the outcome of the game. Its best season, however, was a 10-2 mark three years ago when it lost a thriller to Jackson, 30-28, in the NJSIAA Group IV Central Jersey championship game. The Mustangs had four wins last season.

The outcome of Friday night's state playoff game also will determine whether the Thanksgiving showdown will be played on Thursday or this weekend, according to the Brick Township athletic office, whose coach, Warren Wolf, has deferred that decision in the spirit of sportsmanship to Brick Memorial coach Walt Currie. If Brick Memorial won on Friday night, it would play the following Saturday, Dec. 6, in the playoff championship game.

"We have done that in the past. It really is the call of the team in the playoffs," Wolf said of deferring to Currie. "If they win [last Friday], we would play the game on Thursday morning. If they lose, we would play on Saturday morning.

The game features the cerebral matchup of Brick Memorial's triple option offensive that Currie brought in from his success at Point Pleasant Borough when he took over Brick Memorial last season against Brick Township's Delaware wing-T that legendary coach Wolf revived after it was put aside in recent years. Wolf had used that scheme throughout his 51 seasons with Brick Township and carries a 360-122-11 record into the game that ranks him among the nation's elite coaches in all sports.

Brick Township, powered by Joe Goble's 12 touchdowns, is co-champion of the Shore Conference Constitution Division this season. With a 180-178 scoring ratio, the Green Dragons are looking for their first winning record since going 9-1 in 2003, when they went unbeaten in the regular season, including a 14-3 victory over Brick Memorial, en route to the Shore Conference Constitution Division championship. Brick Township lost its NJSIAA playoff opener to Manalapan that season, which Brick Memorial later beat in its Group IV Central Jersey championship game. Brick Memorial was 8-4 that year.

Brick Township this season has lost its last two games after winning four in a row, and both of them were big ones — a 20-14 loss to Middletown North that cost it the Constitution Division outright in its firstever overtime game, and a 28-7 loss to Triton Regional High School in its return to the South Jersey bracket of the NJSIAA Group III playoffs. Triton held Brick Township to a season-low 79 total yards.

Quarterback John Applegate suffered a head injury in the third quarter against Triton but was expected back in the lineup and on the practice field when the team resumed workouts last Thursday. Applegate also is part of a hard-hitting defense in the secondary and is the punter. Brennan Candito, Paul Heatter, Justin Kamen and Dylan McDonnell also are hard runners, giving balanced support to Goble. John Scandone, a clutch pass receiver, missed the Triton game with a broken collarbone and will miss the Thanksgiving Day game as well, and defensive back Joe Spinella may be out because of nerve damage to his shoulder.

"They're coming off wins and we're coming off major losses. If our spirit can come back is a major factor, because we were completely outclassed against Triton," said Wolf.

Brick Memorial, which had outscored its opponents 206-175 going into last Friday's semifinal playoff game, has made the playoffs five of the past six years and features the scoring of Vin Sabba, who has come on strong of late to complement quarterback Brian Staub's 14 touchdowns. Sabba suffered an ankle injury in the game prior to last Friday's state playoff game, a 10-7 triumph over North Brunswick in the opening round of the playoffs, but is expected back in action for the season finale. Glenn McGinnis chips in six touchdowns.

Anthony Lepore has three touchdown receptions from Staub, including a gamewinner in a 24-17 overtime victory over Howell. Alex Berardi, Tony Piezzo and Anthony Altilio also are dangerous receivers.

"They have an experienced team and an outstanding quarterback. We have to control all aspects of their game," Wolf said of his defense that faced the triple option only one other time this season (as well as last year's Thanksgiving game against Brick Memorial) when it played Toms River East in a scrimmage.

Avoiding penalties is key for Brick Township, while Brick Memorial has to be wary of fumbles in its high-risk offense.

But the Thanksgiving game also offers the best matchup in memory of kickers, which could become the deciding factor. Brick Memorial's Jordan Loiodice has made three of four field goals, including the game-winner against North Brunswick, and has missed only two of 28 extra-point kicks. Brick Township's Patrick Kearns has 16 extra-point kicks and one field goal. He also converted a game-winning field goal attempt against Middletown North in overtime that was called back because of a penalty, and he missed the follow-up try from a greater distance.