Conner Braddock dives in an attempt to make the catch. Photo by Michael A. Sabo
By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
Oct. 29: Things are not playing out the way Dan Caruso had hoped for his Steinert football team.
The Spartans’ 28-14 loss at Nottingham Saturday dropped their record to 2-5 and ran their losing streak to three straight.
Tim Brown picks up a block and has room to run. Photo by Michael A. Sabo.
Steinert has been without running back Xavier Thompson (dislocated shoulder) for much of the season and on the last play of the game against Hopewell Valley last week it lost quarterback Kyle Gankiewicz to a concussion. If anything, Steinert hopes he can return for Thanksgiving.
“We haven’t played a game this year with our entire starting lineup,” Caruso said. “But injuries are going to happen.”
Jordan Morrison did what he could to make up for Gankiewicz’s loss, as he rushed for 129 yards and threw for 77. Tim Brown chipped in with some solid running and gained 43 yards, but Steinert couldn’t put a full game together.
The first half came down to one big drive and one big turnover. Nottingham took a 6-0 lead on a scoring drive that took nine minutes. Steinert came right back and got to the Northstars 4-yard line before fumbling it away.
“Unacceptable football,” is what Caruso called it.
Steinert’s defense came around after the first drive and stuffed Nottingham for the rest of the half. But the Stars opened the second half with a 40-yard TD pass and an 80-yard scoring run by Jon Jacobs.
“It’s a situation where the kids played hard, they gave full out effort,” Caruso said. “But we made a mistake here, a mistake there. A team like Nottingham, you make a mistake against them and they make you pay.”
Steinert has two games remaining, both at home, against West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Hamilton. The Spartans need Hamilton to beat Nottingham next week, and then must beat the Hornets in order to force a three-way tie for the Joe Logue Trophy that symbolizes Hamilton Township superiority.
Despite the losses, it has not been a miserable situation for the coach.
“They’re hanging in there,” Caruso said. “The kids work hard, they’re busting their butts. This is one of my favorite groups I’ve ever coached the way they work every day. They don’t complain, they’re not selfish.
“We’re in a situation we don’t want to be in, we could complain about it, we could fold like tents but we’re not, we’re battling.”
