Battering Rams: Covell, Offensive Line Lead Southern over Central

BAYVILLE – In a Class B South battle featuring unbeaten rivals, senior running back Aidan Covell carried the ball 19 times for 80 yards and a touchdown as the Southern Regional offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage, leading the Rams to a 37-0 win over Central on Friday night.

The Rams’ win avenged last year’s 26-21 home loss to the Golden Eagles. The two teams have been carried by their defenses so far this season, but Southern found a way to grind out yards and bleed the clock in its favor to bring the Boyd-Emmert trophy back to Manahawkin.

“Some people on the outside might call our offense boring, but I describe it as hard-working,” Covell said.  “We get five yards a carry, then another five yards a carry. That drains the defense. We get a long drive going, which kills the defense. It might seem boring, but that’s football.”

After a punt by Central on the game’s opening drive, Southern capped off a 9-play, five-minute drive with a short field goal by sophomore Cole Celeste to make it 3-0.

On Central’s next play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Jacob Halpin’s pass was intercepted by sophomore linebacker Niko Iliescu, who returned the pick eight yards to the Central 21-yard line. Four plays later, Covell took the handoff up the gut for a 3-yard touchdown run, making it 10-0 Southern.

Central got the ball with 2:36 left in the first quarter and marched down the field with effective running by senior Austin Jarvis. Jarvis carried the ball 11 times on the 19-play drive, moving the ball from the Golden Eagles’ own 20 to the Southern 2-yard line.

On second-and-goal from the 2, Halpin dropped back and threw a pass to the goal line intended for junior wide receiver CJ Yates that was picked off by Southern senior safety Ace Williams. He returned the interception 100 yards for a touchdown, upping Southern’s lead to 17-0 and putting a dagger in the heart of the Golden Eagles.

“I saw the QB [Halpin] staring at #80 [Yates] the whole time,” Williams said. “Coach taught us all week to take away the receiver’s leverage, so I just jumped the slant, and that was awesome. The sideline got turned up a lot after that play.  We just turned it over to the defense, they got stops, and #1 [Covell] is just a dog.”

“That was a gigantic play,” said Southern head coach Chuck Donohue Sr. “That was possibly a two-score swing there. Ace has been making plays all year, he’s just that kind of kid.  That turned the game around.”

Central went four-and-out on its next possession, and Southern got the ball back at Central’s 48 with 4:36 left in the first half.

On fourth-and-two from the 44, sophomore running back Lucas Iliescu got outside for an 8-yard gain and a new set of downs.  On third-and-seven from the 33, junior quarterback Carson Abbato hit Covell on a screen pass that was blown up for a 6-yard loss. After a timeout, Southern decided to go for it on fourth-and-13 from the 39. Abbato dropped back and hit junior wideout Chris Raub in stride for a 39-yard touchdown. Celeste’s extra point was wide left, and Southern took a 23-0 lead into halftime.

On the first play from scrimmage at Southern’s 21-yard line in the third quarter, Abbato hit a streaking Raub for a 74-yard pitch and catch to the Central 5-yard line. Two plays later, Abbato scored from a yard out, making it 30-0.

“We ran the ball so well in the first half, we figured their safeties would be cheating up, and we caught them with a deep pass down the middle,” Donohue said.

On the ensuing possession, Central drove from its 20-yard line to the Southern 28, aided by a 15-yard personal foul by the Rams.  On second-and-six from the 24, Halpin hit senior wideout Valentino Nastasi for 14 yards to the Rams’ 10-yard line. Junior running back JJ Twohig scampered up the middle for an 8-yard gain to the 2, but an unsportsmanlike penalty on Central would make it first-and-goal from the 17-yard line. After gaining 8 yards, on fourth-and-goal from the 9, Halpin was sacked by junior defensive back Luke Iorio for a six-yard loss to kill the drive.

Southern took possession with 6:45 left in the third quarter and went on a 16-play, 86-yard drive that chewed up 10:05 of the clock. The drive was capped off by a 7-yard run by Covell for his second touchdown of the game to make the score 37-0 with 8:40 remaining.

“I was very pleased with our offensive line, ” Donohue said.  “We wanted to have runs of 3 yards, 5 yards, and really eat up the clock on them because they are very talented and athletic. Covell is really learning to trust his instincts and run without looking for the holes.  He has great instincts, and it showed today.”

“I also really need to give credit to our defense. Matt [Abbato], our coordinator, and his defensive staff do a great job all week, and we treat defense as our number one priority. We start out meetings with defense, we start our practices with defense, and our kids know if we play good defense, that will keep us in ballgames.”

Southern moves to 3-0 (1-0 B South) and will be home next Friday to take on undefeated Brick Township (3-0, 1-0 B South) in a game that will go a long way in determining the B South race.  Central (2-1, 0-1 B South) will be on the road as the Golden Eagles take on Manchester (0-3) on Friday night.

 

Statistics:

Passing:

Southern:

Carson Abbato  8-10-151 1 TD

Central:

Jacob Halpin 9-15-93 2 INT

Rushing:

Southern:

Covell 19-80 1 TD; L Iliescu 3-23; Abbato 2-13 1 TD; Eck Art 3-10; N Iliescu 2-0; Raub 1- minus 3

Central: Jarvis 12-38; Twohig 5-20; Carroll 5-42; Trotta 3-15; Prasad 1- minus 2; Halpin 3- minus 2

Receiving:

Southern: Raub 3-118 1 TD; Wolfer 1-16; Covell 3-9; Eck Art 1-8

Central: Nastasi 2-25; Yates 2-20; Reeder 2-20; Smith 1-6; Paden 1-13; Prasad 1-9