#35 (Aaron Van Cleaf) & #16 (Mo Anderson) work together on and the tackle and take down. Photo by Amanda Ruch
By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
Oct. 9: Double figure leads weren’t working, so Steinert switched to double 5s.
And it worked like a charm.
The Spartans rolled to a 55-0 advantage before cruising to a 55-18 victory over Princeton Saturday, snapping a two-game losing streak in which they let sizable leads slip away both times.
“It was important for us to bounce back to get back in the win column,” coach Dan Caruso said. “We had a very bad taste in our mouth after losing those two games, especially the way we lost them. This was a good test for my kids and gave them a bit of confidence. It hopefully proves to them that they can be a very good football team when we execute.”
Jordan Morrison breaks out and has room to run. Photo by Amanda Ruch.
The Spartans had a last-minute meltdown against Lawrence and let a 21-6 lead disappear at Pemberton. The only way they could have let this one slip away is if the game lasted until Tuesday. Steinert took advantage of a week off to revamp a few things.
“It is always great to have a bye week and get an extra week to prepare for a team,” Caruso said. “That certainly played a role in the outcome of the game. We were well prepared and my coordinators, coach (Todd) Zimmerman, coach (Bill) James and coach (Brad) Harris all came up with great plans.”
More importantly, the players followed those plans.
“It was more about the player execution,” Caruso said. “We stressed all week that we needed a great game from our offensive line. Princeton has a very good defensive lineman in Ethan Guerra. The best we have faced so far in my opinion. We knew we had to get him blocked to be successful and I am very happy with how my linemen responded to that challenge.”
They wasted precious little time responding. After the defense forced a three-and-out on Princeton’ s first possession, Steinert went right to work. On the second play from scrimmage, Kyle Gankiewicz found Jordan Morrison in the seam for a 61-yard touchdown pass.
“That was all set up by a great read and ball fake by Gank,” Caruso said. “The linebackers and safeties all jumped the ball fake and Morrison was able to get behind them.”
Rather than stop scoring and allowing the Little Tigers an opportunity to come back, Steinert just kept building on the advantage. It was 20-0 after one quarter and 48-0 at halftime.
#76 (Matt Olsen), #35 (Van Cleaf), & #17 (Conner Braddock) swarm for the tackle. Photo by Amanda Ruch
Jordan Goodarz has room to run. Photo by Amanda Ruch
The unofficial “coaches code” is all efforts to score is legitimate up until halftime before taking the foot off the gas. Steinert played by that rule as the only score in the second half came when Morrison returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a score.
It was a banner day for the junior, who rushed for 30 yards, caught two passes for 73 and also had a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown. Gankiewicz was a super-efficient 4-for-8 for 125 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 37 yards and a TD.
“Gankiewicz did a great job managing the game and executing on his passing opportunities, and he ran the ball well,” Caruso said. “Morrison did what we need him to do to win games, which is make big plays and give us a spark.”
Conner Braddock had a 44-yard touchdown reception, Jordan Goodarz grabbed a 9-yard scoring strike and was 7-for-8 in PATs, and Angelo Sanger and Tim Brown each rushed for nearly 30 yards and a TD.
“I was very happy with how we were able to spread the ball around,” Caruso said. “We had all six of our starting offensive skill positions score TDs.”
Conner Braddock makes the catch for a touchdown. Photo by Amanda Ruch
Steinert also did a great job on Vince Doran, who has put up some nice numbers this year but was held to just 95 yards.
“I was very pleased with my defense,” said Caruso, whose team is at Hopewell Friday night. “We held Princeton to two completions in the first half and we were able to get great pressure on the quarterback, registering a few sacks from guy like Kyle Young and Nick DiLissio.”
It all led to the Spartans best all-around game in years, while building a lead that would have taken three days to relinquish.
