Matawan Honors Late Legendary Former Coach Barry Rizzo With Gritty Rivalry Win Over Raritan

MATAWAN — Rivalry games tend to bring out extra motivation in teams.

Couple that with a Week Zero loss for Matawan, and the Huskies had no shortage of motivation coming into their matchup against Raritan on Thursday night. Matawan used that fuel, plus the inspiration to honor the loss of legendary Matawan coach Barry Rizzo(opens in new tab), to pull out a hard-fought 18-12 victory on the field that bears Rizzo’s name.

The Huskies (1-1) received the opening kickoff and took no time driving down the field, which culminated in a 25-yard touchdown run by junior running back Sean Euell, putting the Huskies up 6-0 with 8:42 in the first quarter.

“On the first run, I just took it to the outside,” said Euell. “I saw the end zone and knew I had to get in there.”

After Mark Fanelli missed the PAT, the Rockets (1-1) responded with 1:15 to play in the first quarter when senior quarterback Parker Needham found some daylight on a designed quarterback keeper and accelerated to the end zone, tying the score at six. Matawan blocked the extra point to keep the game tied at six at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter turned into a nightmare for the Rockets. After getting pinned back on their own 13-yard line, Raritan snapped the ball over the head of junior quarterback Zahir Jones, who had entered the game in place of Needham. The Huskies recovered the football on the Raritan 1-yard line and scored one play later when Euell took a handoff from Gagneron and ran untouched into the end zone, putting the Huskies back on top, 12-6, after another missed extra point.

“We got a big turnover from my teammate Kevin [Auguste],” said Euell. “Coach told me to get into the end zone. I got into the end zone again.”

The score would stay that way until 2:44 in the second quarter, when Raritan fumbled again. This time, junior defensive back Zach Johnson picked up the loose football and took it to the house, putting Matawan up 18-6 before an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.

“I was sitting at safety about 10 yards off, watching the play and reading my keys,” said Johnson. “I saw the quarterback take the ball, and one of our defensive linemen punched it out. I saw it bounce up, took my chance, grabbed it and went to the end zone to score.”

The Rockets had a chance to get points before the half, driving all the way down to the Huskies’ 8-yard line. However, Matawan would once again come up with a turnover, recovering a fumble that kept the lead at 18-6 going into halftime.

Raritan cut into the lead in the third quarter when senior Sam Guiney blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, making it 18-12 before Matawan blocked its second extra point of the game.

Raritan got the ball back with just 2:20 remaining in the game and started to drive down the field, picking up a couple of key third- and fourth-down plays to set up a sequence where the Rockets had the ball on the Matawan 36-yard line with just 8.5 seconds to play. Raritan thought it had a key completion when Needham hooked up with senior Eric Berg for a potential 16-yard gain, but Berg was ruled out of bounds.

Matawan junior linebacker Cayson Williams then iced the win for Matawan with a game-clinching interception.

“On the final play, we knew they were going to try to go deep because there were only a couple of seconds left,” said Williams. “With my size, they put me back there to knock the ball down, but I ended up catching it. That sealed the game.”

The trio of Williams, Euell and Johnson came up big for the Huskies. Euell had 11 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught two balls for 22 yards. Williams hauled in six passes for 56 yards and recorded the game-sealing interception. Johnson was a Swiss Army knife, tallying 27 scrimmage yards, and had a fumble return for a touchdown. He also had a touchdown that was called back for a hold.

“I said this earlier in the year: The beauty of those three kids is that they’re not just football players,” said head coach Matt Walsh. “They play basketball together year-round. They’ve grown up together, played AYF together, and I’ve been coaching them since sixth grade. I know what those guys are capable of.”

Matawan also had some other motivation to win the game, as earlier in the week they had lost legendary former head coach Barry Rizzo, for whom their field is named. Rizzo had the Huskies ranked as the No. 1 team in all of New Jersey in 1975, and his legacy and impact remain imprinted on the program.

“This field is named after a great man named Barry Rizzo, who recently passed away,” said Johnson. “He coached here, and I feel like tonight was for him. We heard before the game that he had passed away, and that gave us a little extra edge and motivation to beat Raritan.”

For Walsh, Rizzo’s impact goes far beyond the name on the field.

“Barry really set the tone for what Matawan football is all about,” Walsh said.

Rizzo’s teams were known for playing a physical, disciplined brand of football, an identity Walsh said remains part of the program today.

“When he was running things, he was a single-wing guy,” Walsh said. “He was hard-nosed and big on discipline. I had the pleasure of speaking with him this past offseason at our alumni banquet. He was still talking about the glory days.”

Those glory days helped establish the expectations that generations of Matawan players have inherited.

“He set the foundation, and we’re trying to emulate that,” Walsh said.

That made Thursday night about more than adding another win to Matawan’s record.

“Tonight was important,” Walsh said. “We had a moment of silence before the game, and I stressed to the kids that we always talk about playing for those who came before us and those who will come after us.”

For Walsh, honoring that history means understanding the standard established by Rizzo and the players who helped turn Matawan into one of the Shore Conference’s tradition-rich programs.

“We always want to raise the standard,” he said. “It was important for us to honor the players from the past who played for Barry Rizzo, won state championships and helped build this program.”

And while Rizzo’s passing provided additional meaning to Thursday’s game, Walsh made sure his players understood they were representing an entire generation of Matawan football.

“This game was not just for Coach Rizzo,” he said. “It was for all of the players who were on those teams and experienced so much success under him.”

The Huskies (1-1) travel to Manasquan next Saturday, while the Rockets (1-1) host Howell next Thursday.