Ram Tough: Southern goes on the road, defeats Toms River North 24-13

In football parlance, to win on the road, your defense has to travel. Your offense may struggle on the road in a hostile environment, but it is imperative that your defense shows up.

In two big road games, Southern’s defense has done more than show up. Behind a stingy defensive effort that gave up 152 yards and forced two turnovers, Southern defeated Toms River North, 24-13, in a nondivisional game at a raucous Gernerd Field.

In their two road games, Southern, ranked No. 5 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12, has outscored its opponents 61-13 after beating Central 37-0 in Week Three.

“Our focus is always on defense, first and foremost,” Southern head coach Chuck Donohue Sr. said. “Our focus never changes.  Defense is something we can control. Coach (Matt) Abbato and his staff do a great job week in and week out putting together the game plan. With four defensive coaches, we can work in small groups and put things together. Our defense is always scrappy, gritty and tough.”

After Southern forced a three-and-out to start the game, Toms River North’s punt only went 15 yards. Southern then wasted little time getting on the board.

A seven-play, 35-yard drive was capped off by a 5-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Carson Abbato to sophomore tight end Lukas Iliescu. The PAT by Cole Celeste was good, giving Southern a 7-0 lead with 6:50 left in the first quarter.

Toms River North junior Lucas Elias then took the ensuing kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown, but the play was called back on a holding penalty, bringing the ball back to the Mariners’ own 32-yard line.

They did not take long to make up for that mistake, going 68 yards in nine plays, helped along by a 15-yard personal foul on Southern. They finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass by junior quarterback Logan Brill.

On Toms River North’s next possession on a third-and-10 from the Rams’ 32-yard line, Brill was picked off by sophomore defensive back Jared Brown, who returned it to the Mariners’ 41-yard line.

On their sixth play from scrimmage after the turnover, Abbato found senior tight end Colton Oravets for his second catch of the drive, a 4-yard touchdown strike, giving the Rams a 14-7 lead they would not relinquish.

Southern got the ball first in the second half. A 21-yard catch by junior wideout Chris Raub brought the ball to the Mariners’ 49-yard line. On the next play, senior receiver Ace Williams came in motion, took a handoff from Abbato and lofted a pass to fellow senior Darren Hamlin, who made a great adjustment and out-jumped the Mariners’ defender for a 49-yard touchdown catch, making it 21-7 Rams with 10:47 left in the third quarter.

“That is a play that we worked on, and I thought it was a good time to run it,” Donohue said.  “Nobody expected it that early in the second half. It’s also a safe play. If we complete it great; if it’s intercepted, the ball is deep in their own end. It was a great call, and the kids executed it.”

Southern added a field goal by Celeste with 3:54 left in the third quarter, bringing the score to 24-7.

The Mariners cut into the lead on their next possession. Going 80 yards, sparked by a 36-yard run by Elias, the Mariners scored on a 9-yard pass from Brill to junior tight end Jack Baker. The PAT was blocked, making it a 24-13 lead early in the fourth quarter.

On the next Rams’ possession, facing a third-and-four from their own 39, Nico Iliescu fumbled, and the Mariners recovered it at the 34.

Two plays later, the Southern defense came up big.  Junior linebacker John McGinnis picked off a pass by Brill and returned it 14 yards to the Mariners’ 48, sealing the victory for the Rams.

Donohue lauded the play by McGinnis, saying a tweak to his positioning during the week contributed to his interception.

“We used him (McGinnis) as a dropper this week. He is normally a down lineman,” Donohue said. “He even had an interception in practice this week. That is always a good sign for a kid that is doing something different. Sometimes those plays don’t work out, the ball gets dropped or bounces off them. He squeezed it and held onto it, and it was a huge momentum swinger for us.”

Southern remains undefeated on the season (5-0, 2-0 B South). The Rams play on the road next week at Lacey (2-3, 1-1) on Friday at 6 p.m.  Toms River North drops to 1-4 on the season and will next play at rival Toms River South (1-4, 1-1) in the “Civil War” on Friday at 6 p.m.

 

Statistics:

Passing

Southern:

Abbato 6-10 54 yards, 2 TD’s

Williams 1-1 49 yards, 1 TD

TRN:

Brill 4-10 34 yards, 2 TD’s

Rushing:

Southern:

Covell 18-52

Abbato 4-14

L. Iliescu 3-9

N. Iliescu 5-28

TRN:

Garrison 10-47

Brill 2-21

Elias 13-50

Receiving:

Southern:

Raub 1-21

L Iliescu 1-5 TD

Oravets 2-16 TD

Hamlin 2-54 TD

Williams 1-7

TRN:

Garrison 1-7

Tanner 1-12

Baker 2-15