All Hands on Deck: Brick Memorial’s Defense and Tight End Joe Livio Help Take Down Unbeaten Southern

STAFFORD TWP. – In a season where its scoreboard-busting offense has seized most of the headlines, Brick Memorial needed the defense to make a stand if it was going to avoid a stunning comeback by Southern on Friday night. 

The home crowd at Ron Emmert Field was roaring when the Rams, ranked No. 2 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12, got the ball back down by five points with 2:23 left in the game. Southern had a chance to rally all the way out of a 19-point hole in the fourth quarter, but the No. 4 Mustangs slammed the door and showed just how complete their team can be.

Brick Memorial forced an intentional grounding penalty on third down and then senior Erik Pedre pressured Southern quarterback Carson Abbato into a desperation incompletion on fourth-and-19 to seal a hard-fought, 19-14 nondivisional victory over the previously unbeaten Rams. 

“Our defense definitely stepped up today,” said senior linebacker Mike Pappas, who had an interception and a tackle for a loss. “It was all about grit, dedication and discipline.” 

The Mustangs (6-2), who entered allowing 21.9 points per game, held the Rams (7-1) to 168 yards of total offense and only allowed six points on defense to lock down their third straight win. Their offense entered averaging 32.7 points per game but was facing a rugged Southern defense that had only allowed 35 total points all season, so it was imperative that Brick Memorial’s defense do its part. 

“We got big stops all night long,” Brick Memorial coach Walt Currie said. “We were in spots a bunch of times where (Southern) had (good) field position. We were just in precarious scenarios, and our defense came up big all night long.” 

They also welcomed back one of the Shore’s top defensive players in senior linebacker Trey Tallmadge. The Sacred Heart recruit, who is Brick Memorial’s all-time leading tackler, had been out since the second game with a right hamstring injury. He had a hit for a loss in the win. 

“This is everything to me,” Tallmadge said. “It kind of sucks sitting out my senior year, but I’m just happy to be back with my guys.”

“It’s unbelievable to have Tallmadge back,” Currie said. “The lift it provided to our team mentally and emotionally was just as important as having him on the field.” 

On offense, Jason Lajara did Jason Lajara things, as Brick Memorial’s star senior quarterback finished 19-for-27 for 304 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 49 yards and a touchdown. It marked the third game this season Lajara has thrown for more than 300 yards out of his six starts. 

The Mustangs also persevered after standout senior running back Nazeer Whittaker left the game with a stinger suffered on a run in the first quarter and did not return.  

Junior tight end Joe Livio was the X-factor as he finished with eight catches for 141 yards, both career highs, as well as a sensational, one-handed touchdown grab. He worked the middle of the field all night long to give Brick Memorial a weapon to counteract Southern trying to slow down star wideout Nyzier Matthews. He had 10 catches for 201 yards the whole season before Friday night’s eruption. 

“Liv is a dawg,” Lajara said. “If you give him the ball, he’s going to get some yards after the catch. He’s a really big kid.” 

“It was one of those things where the game kind of developed that way, and when other guys are covered, he becomes the option,” Currie said. “He’s blossomed, and he’s playing great.” 

Brick Memorial Dominates the First Three Quarters

The Mustangs went 65 yards in seven plays to open the game, highlighted by a 38-yard pass from Lajara to Livio. The junior tight end then reeled in a 15-yard touchdown with a one-handed grab for a 6-0 lead before the extra point was no good. 

“I got a little scared because I thought he was going to high point it,” Lajara said. “I thought he was going to turn his body to it, and I saw him put the one hand out, and he had it and I was like, ‘Oh my God, he just caught that.’” 

“I didn’t even mean to do that,” Livio said. “I saw it, and I was like (sticks out arm).” 

Livio has become an important cog in the machine after seizing his opportunity at tight end when Tallmadge, the usual starting tight end, was out with injury. 

Meanwhile, the Brick Memorial defense under coordinator Ryan Graham held the Rams to 60 total yards and two first downs in the first half. The Mustangs bottled up Southern’s rushing attack all night, as the Rams had 80 yards on an average of 3.3 yards per carry. 

“The way their guards were pulling, and the way they were leaning kind of toward where they wanted to run, they kind of made it a little bit obvious,” Pappas said. 

Also, Abbato hadn’t thrown an interception all season until Pappas stepped in front of a pass late in the first quarter.

“To be honest, I just dropped in my zone and that ball was right there,” Pappas said.

Matthews, who had a strong all-around game, added a second interception by the Mustangs in the fourth quarter. Abbato hadn’t attempted more than 14 passes in a game all season, and Brick Memorial made him put it up 27 times by stifling the run game. 

Brick Memorial’s quick-strike offense then stuck another one in the end zone right before the half, which proved to be crucial in the end. The Mustangs went 89 yards in five plays, with the highlight being a 43-yard bomb from Lajara to junior wideout Shawn Fowler. 

That big play set up Lajara’s three-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left in the half to make it 12-0 before the PAT was blocked. Fowler finished with three catches for 70 yards in the win.

Southern showed some life when sophomore linebacker Lukas Iliescu recovered a fumble at Brick Memorial’s 43-yard line midway through the third quarter. Five plays later, the Rams were at the Mustangs’ 11-yard line, but Pappas and senior defensive end Elijah Webb combined on a hit for a two-yard loss, and then the Mustangs swarmed Southern receiver Chris Raub for a 21-yard loss on fourth down. 

The Mustangs’ offense seized that momentum and went 66 yards in six plays, scoring on a 25-yard pass from Lajara to senior wide receiver Ricky Dillon to push the lead to 19-0 early in the fourth quarter.  

Southern Fights Its Way Back

Junior Luke Iorio got Southern on the board and woke up the crowd when he returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. Abbato then hit tight end Colton Oravets for a two-point conversion to cut Brick Memorial’s lead to 19-8 with 11:46 left in the game. 

The teams traded possessions before Southern got the ball back when sophomore linebacker Niko Iliescu dropped a Mustangs receiver for a three-yard loss on third down. Iliescu had a monster game in the loss with four tackles for a loss and two sacks. 

Southern then mounted its only scoring drive of the night, going 82 yards in nine plays. Abbato hit senior running back Aidan Covell with an option pitch and he took it six yards for a score. The Rams went for two and were stopped on a run play, keeping the score at 19-14 with 4:18 left in the game. 

The Rams’ defense then forced a three-and-out to set up the final possession, where Brick Memorial showed its defense is also capable of winning games. 

In a season plagued by injuries and illnesses sidelining top players, the Mustangs are finally starting to get to full power and become the team that was expected in the preseason to be one of the Shore Conference’s best. Friday night’s victory also was instrumental in Brick Memorial’s push for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming state playoffs. 

“I feel like it’s all coming together now,” Pappas said. 

“We still got more work to do,” Livio said before smiling. “That was just a little glimpse of it.” 

Box Score

Brick Memorial 19, Southern 14

	BM	Sou
First downs	17	9
Rushes-yards	28-86	24-80
Passing	19-27-0	12-25-2
Passing yards	304	88
Fumbles-lost	2-1	0-0
Penalties-yards	8-61	5-60

 

Brick Mem (6-2)	6	6	7	0	19
Southern (7-1)	0	0	0	14	14

 

Scoring Summary

BM: Livio 15-yard pass from Lajara (kick failed).

BM: Lajara 3-yard run (kick blocked). 

BM: Dillon 25-yard pass from Lajara (Marotta kick).  

S: Iorio 75-yard kickoff return (Oravets pass from Abbato). 

S: Covell 6-yard run (run failed). 

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — BM: Lajara 18-49, Whittaker 4-(-4), Pedre 6-41. S: Covell 13-41, L. Iliescu 1-0, Abbato 7-34, N. Iliescu 1-7, Eck’art 1-0, Hamlin 1-(-2). 

PASSING — BM: Lajara 19-27-0 304. S: Abbato 12-27-2 88. 

RECEIVING – BM: Livio 8-141, Fowler 3-70, Matthews 4-61, Dillon 1-25, Pedre 3-7. S: Williams 1-13, Raub 8-49, L. Iliescu 1-2, Oravets 1-4, Hamlin 1-20. 

INTERCEPTIONS — BM: Pappas 1-16, Matthews 1-18.