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North Brunswick football gets shutout win over Sayreville in battle of top area teams

NORTH BRUNSWICK – Maybe this sequence best encapsulates North Brunswick’s 22-0 win over Sayreville in Friday’s meeting between two of the top teams in the Big Central Conference.

The Bombers completed a long pass in a third quarter rally to set up a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. North Brunswick’s Willie Wilson recovered a fumble off a snap, though, and the Raiders drove downfield for its own first-and-goal.

Enter North Brunswick’s turn to fumble on the snap at its 5-yard line. However, receiver Zahmir Dawud scooped it up and darted down the left side for the score.

It just seemed that every bounce, every leaping catch, every key stop went the Raiders way.

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“All the little things,” Dawud said. “Great blocking. Great tackling. Great catching. All the little things that brought us to a big win.”

Dawud also scored a 12-yard run in the first quarter and the ensuing two-point conversion for an early 8-0 lead. The Raiders made it 15-0 with 18 seconds left in the first half on a six-yard TD pass from Frankie Garbolino to his brother Jack Garbolino. Justin Batts made two PATs in the game.

North Brunswick and Edison high school football teams met Friday night on Sept. 9, 2022, at Edison high school football field.
North Brunswick and Edison high school football teams met Friday night on Sept. 9, 2022, at Edison high school football field.

What does it mean

The game featured two teams in the MyCentralJersey BCC Top 15. No. 5 North Brunswick (4-0 overall, 2-0 in division) earned the key BCC National Silver win and is now in the driver’s seat to capture the division.

No. 3 Sayreville (2-2, 2-1) had a two-game win streak snapped after falling to Phillipsburg 14-7 in the opener.

Key plays

North Brunswick coach Mike Cipot said the team wanted to put together drives. That was apparent in the first series following a Sayreville punt. The Raiders drove 77 yards in a seven-minute drive caped by Dawud’s 12-run with 12 seconds into the second quarter. The drive featured four first downs and a jumping catch by Dawud for a 22-yard gain from Frankie Garbolino on a third-and-13. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior also caught a 14-yard pass on the drive. Tamir Gladden notably recovered a North Brunswick fumble to keep it going.

On North Brunswick’s second scoring drive, the Raiders went 79 yards in 4:08 keyed by Garbolino connecting with Dawud for an 11-yard gain and to Danny Breheney for 19 yards. The quarterback also broke free for an 18-yard gain.

In the Raiders’ final scoring march following the fumble recovery, North Brunswick went to the air. Garbolino threw an 18-yard reception to Dawud and two passes to Alani Ajigbotosho for 26 yards to help set up Dawud’s 5-yard TD run with 5:05 left in the third quarter and the 22-0 lead.

Sayreville's best chance came early in the third quarter when Caidan Holmes threw a 40-yard pass to Bryan Clyne down the middle to North Brunswick's 8-yard line. The Bombers fumbled two plays later on the snap as the Raiders regained possession.

Game balls

It's not easy to shutout Sayreville. Among the defensive leaders were Justin Batts (9 tackles), Isaiah Barnes (6 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 forced fumble), Amanuell Gray (7 tackles), while Jack Garbolino, Jared Tynes and Dawud each had four tackles. Additionally, Tamir Jenkins recovered a fumble.

They said it

Dawud, also a safety, on the team effort, “I want to say thanks to my o-line. To my QB, all my teammates for pushing me all practice. They told me I can go out there and show out and I went and handled business. And we’re going to continue to handle business. Everybody’s sleeping on us, but we’re just going to continue to do our thing.”

North Brunswick coach Mike Cipot, “I mean, coach (offensive coordinator Danny) Gorzynski put one heck of a plan together and we didn’t think home run. We thought drives and first downs. You credit the o-line.

“… I just feel like we’re improving and we keep getting better and better. We were composed and we made the big plays when we needed to. So, credit everyone. Offense did a great job. We knew it was going to be a grind-out game. Sayreville is tough and that’s who they are, but we came out on top.”

Cipot on the shutout, “That’s huge. That might be the first one in school history against them. Not easy versus a Coach Beagan team. I mean, they do a great job, but our defense was locked in all week. We preach being aligned 100 percent perfect and they certainly did that. They played hard. … The defense staff did a great job all week and the kids bought in. Again, this is a special group and they care. This is a game that they circled on their calendar a long time ago and they did the job.”

What’s next

Next Friday, North Brunswick travels to Franklin and Sayreville goes to East Brunswick

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: North Brunswick NJ football gets shutout win over Sayreville