Early Bird Special: Izzo, No. 3 Rumson-Fair Haven feast on turnovers in rout of No. 2 Brick Memorial

BRICK TOWNSHIP — There’s being in the right place at the right time, and then there’s what Rumson-Fair Haven’s Ryder Izzo did on Friday night.

The Bulldogs’ junior linebacker secured a season’s worth of turnovers on one memorable night with an astounding four fumble recoveries, one of which he returned 65 yards for a touchdown, when Rumson, ranked No. 3 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12, toppled No. 2 Brick Memorial, 35-7, in a marquee Shore Conference nondivisional game at DiFabio Field.

Leading 14-0 at halftime, Rumson (2-0) saw its lead cut in half when Brick Memorial senior running back Nazeer Whittaker broke off a 58-yard touchdown run on the first series of the third quarter. The Mustangs then forced Rumson to punt and took possession in a one-score game looking to drive for the tying touchdown. Instead, Rumson junior defensive lineman Ben Gredell forced a fumble on a sack that Izzo recovered at the Brick Memorial 5-yard line. The Bulldogs then converted on fourth-and-goal to re-establish a 14-point lead and begin their second-half onslaught to defeat another top-five team.

The first defensive uppercut landed by Rumson came courtesy of senior defensive back Finn Carlston when he intercepted a pass in the flat and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown to put the Bulldogs up 14-0 in the first quarter. In the second half, Gredell and senior defensive linemen Toby Najenson and Gavin Mishkin forced one fumble each that Izzo was there to secure.

“A little bit of me being in the right place at the right time and a little bit of me just doing my job,” Izzo said. “All week we’ve been training, and we knew their offense. We have a great coaching staff. They prepared us for what to do, and we executed.”

Thanks to its defense forcing five turnovers and scoring two touchdowns, Rumson’s offense was on the field for just 43 plays, 13 of which came on the game’s opening series. The Bulldogs made the most of their opportunities and scored 21 points directly off turnovers. Junior quarterback Casey Moore tossed touchdown passes to senior Brandon McDonald and junior Cole Spoonire, while sophomore quarterback Brady Williams scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Izzo did more than just recover fumbles. He also assumed the role of primary running back when All-Shore senior Kellen Murray left the game with an injury in the first quarter and did not return. Izzo ran for a game-high 78 yards on 13 carries.

“He’s a do-everything kid,” Rumson-Fair Haven head coach Jeremy Schulte said. “Kellen was out after the first play or two, and Ryder fit right in. He steps in and does what he has to do. He’s smart, he’s instinctive, he’s fast as hell, and he gets to where he needs to be. And he gets there with bad intentions. He’s one of the nicest kids you’ll ever meet, but you don’t want to meet him in the A-gap.”

Schulte said that Murray “will be fine” and that “he’s not concerned.” Murray was a first-team All-Shore selection last season after rushing for 1,581 yards and 32 touchdowns. He is expected back next week when Rumson plays Holmdel.

“Fortunately, we knew we could rely on Ryder and be fine with it,” Schulte said.

Brick Memorial (1-1) senior quarterback Jason Lajara missed his second straight game with an illness but is expected to return next week. Senior Trey Tallmadge started for the second week in a row and played the entire first half before giving way to junior Tyler Pierce to begin the third quarter. Whittaker’s touchdown run was all Brick Memorial could muster without its All-Shore quarterback. The Mustangs ran just 35 plays from scrimmage, turned the ball over five times and were held under 200 yards of offense.

Through two games, Rumson has outscored Brick Memorial and Point Boro, two top-five teams in the Shore, by a margin of 69-7.

“We went into the season knowing that (defense) was going to be a strong suit,” Schulte said. “We knew our defense was going to be something we could really rely on throughout the season to get us out of tough spots. They’re as advertised.”

“I’m going to give him a shoutout because I feel like the last five games going back to last season, if you look at what we did in the playoffs, especially, our defense has been incredible. One of the biggest reasons is John Bellavance as our defensive coordinator. He’s been absolutely incredible.”

Rumson marched right down the field to begin the game with a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead. Moore connected with senior wide receiver Chris Economou on a 36-yard catch and run across midfield on a third-and-14 from his own 16-yard line. Brick Memorial was then flagged for defensive pass interference on fourth-and-4 from the 30-yard line to preserve the possession for Rumson. A 10-yard run by Izzo made it first-and-goal, and on third down, Moore rolled to his right and fired a pass to the end zone that was deflected by a Brick Memorial defender before being hauled in by McDonald for a 5-yard touchdown catch.

Brick Memorial seemed poised to respond immediately. Tallmadge ran for 10 yards on the Mustangs’ first offensive play and then hit junior tight end Joe Livio for 26 yards down to the Rumson 25-yard line. Two plays later, a facemask penalty on Rumson put the ball at the 12-yard line. On second down, Tallmadge tossed a pass to the right flat intended for Whittaker, but Carlston broke on the ball and stepped in front of the throw for an interception that he returned 79 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 2:54 left in the first quarter.

Rumson then forced another turnover when Izzo pounced on a Brick Memorial fumble on the first play of the Mustangs’ next series. The Bulldogs moved to the 26-yard line, but a clutch sack by senior linebacker Mike Pappas knocked them back eight yards. Rumson nearly extended its lead in the final minute of the second quarter on a 45-yard run by Izzo on third-and-18, but Brick Memorial made the tackle at the 13-yard line and blocked the ensuing field goal attempt to keep the deficit at 14 entering halftime.

Brick Memorial received the kickoff to start the second half and made it a game rather quickly. Pierce took over for Tallmadge at quarterback and connected with All-Shore senior Nyzier Matthews on an 8-yard gain. Whittaker then converted a third-and-1 to give the Mustangs a fresh set of downs at their own 42-yard line. On the next play, Whittaker burst through the line and into the second level, where he picked up a block and outran the defense to the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown run.

Now it was 14-7, and after Brick Memorial forced a three-and-out on the ensuing series for Rumson, the Mustangs’ sideline was buzzing. But over the next eight minutes, Rumson turned a close game into a runaway.

Senior Drew Cavise dropped another great punt inside the 20-yard line at the Brick Memorial 16. On first down, Gredell knifed through the offensive line and blasted Pierce, knocking the ball loose, where Izzo dove on it at the Brick Memorial 5-yard line. Williams plowed across the goal line on fourth down to give the Bulldogs a 21-7 lead.

The lead grew to 28-7 a few minutes later when, on third down from the Brick Memorial 14-yard line, Najenson got to Pierce and knocked the ball loose. Izzo was there for his third recovery of the game just outside the red zone, and on the next play, Moore connected with Spoonire for a 21-yard touchdown.

The final blow came after Brick Memorial drove to the Rumson 27-yard line. On third-and-7, Mishkin forced a fumble that caromed high into the air. Of course, Izzo was right there to catch the loose ball and take it back the other way for a 65-yard fumble return touchdown that gave the Bulldogs a 35-7 lead.

“I saw the ball pop up into the sky, and I knew I had to get it,” Izzo said. “It was green grass from there.”

The cupboard was far from bare at Rumson-Fair Haven entering the season, but the Bulldogs were faced with the significant challenge of replacing four of five offensive linemen, the school’s all-time leading passer, an 1,100-yard wide receiver, a three-year starting wideout, two All-Shore linebackers and an All-Shore defensive back. The defending NJSIAA Group 2 state champions have earned the benefit of the doubt that comes from winning nine sectional titles in the last 15 years, and these past two weeks are the perfect example. No one doubted Rumson was going to be a contender this season. Any questions were centered on how soon the Bulldogs would come together. They’ve done it immediately against a returning sectional champion and a returning sectional finalist.

“I think it’s the mindset our coaches instill in us,” Izzo said. “Next man up is our motto this year, and I think we’re really capitalizing on that. We show up prepared.”

“I think it’s the way we run practice, it’s always high intensity,” Gredell said. “We always go live and hit hard, and we always push each other. Every single time we step on the field with each other it’s like a game.”

 

Box Score

No. 3 Rumson-Fair Haven 35, No. 2 Brick Memorial 7

	Rumson-Fair Haven	Brick Memorial
First downs	9	8
Rushes-yards	26-120	19-114
Passing	11-17-0	10-16-1
Passing yards	120	79
Fumbles-lost	1-0	4-4
Penalties-yards	6-42	3-30

 

	1	2	3	4	F
Rumson-Fair Haven (2-0)	14	0	14	7	35
Brick Memorial (1-1)	0	0	7	0	7

 

Scoring Summary

RFH — Brandon McDonald 5-yard pass from Casey Moore (Drew Cavise kick)

RFH — Finn Carlston 79-yard interception return (Drew Cavise kick)

BM — Nazeer Whittaker 58-yard run (Jack Marotta kick)

RFH — Brady Williams 1-yard run (Drew Cavise kick)

RFH — Cole Spoonire 21-yard pass from Casey Moore (Drew Cavise kick)

RFH — Ryder Izzo 65-yard fumble return (Drew Cavise kick)

 

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — RFH: Ryder Izzo 13-78, Christian Dane 6-47, Kellen Murray 1-3, Brady Williams 5-1, Team 1-(-9); BM: Nazeer Whittaker 12-69, Tyler Pierce 3-21, Trey Tallmadge 2-15, Zahire Carpenter 2-9.

PASSING — RFH: Casey Moore 9-12-0 103, Brady Williams 2-5-0 17; BM: Trey Tallmadge 7-10-1 56, Tyler Pierce 3-6-0 23, Johnathan Williams 1-5-0 0.

RECEIVING — RFH: Cole Spoonire 7-71, Chris Economou 1-36, Brandon McDonald 2-10, Jason Tucker 1-3; BM: Joe Livio 3-46, Nazeer Whittaker 5-15, Shawn Fowler 1-10, Nyzier Matthews 1-8.

INTERCEPTIONS — RFH: Finn Carlston 1-79.