SOUTH BRUNSWICK —After a few days of practicing in the mud, the South Brunswick High School football team was able to weather the storm.
The storm Friday night was not in the form of heavy rain, but rather relentless pressure from Pennsauken in the opening round of the NJSIAA Central Group IV playoffs. South Brunswick, the section's No. 1 seed, scored two touchdowns during the fourth quarter to post a 21-12 win over the Indians.
The Vikings' Justin McClendon scored on a 23-yard run to cap a seven-play, 75-yard drive after Pennsauken pulled within 7-6 late in the third quarter. After the Indians got within 14-12 less than two minutes later, Tom Dunleavy capped a 10-play, 67-yard march by South Brunswick that sealed the outcome.
South Brunswick will play host to No. 5 seed Brick Memorial next Friday.
"We dominated up front on those two drives," Vikings quarterback Tim Doehler said. "It was big the way our line responded. I definitely think we wore them down."
With the field a quagmire, the teams struggled early to gain an advantage. Pennsauken fumbled inside the Vikings' 10 on its first possession and failed to move the ball from inside the South Brunswick 25 on its next series.
Mike Ferrara's 30-yard punt return set up South Brunswick's first touchdown, which came on a 22-yard pass from Doehler to a sliding Dunleavy on fourth-and-15. It was the only score during the game's first 16 possessions.
"Tim put a perfect ball right in the corner. It was right there," Dunleavy said. "I was able to make the catch and score a touchdown. It was big."
Two third-quarter fumbles put the Vikings in trouble, with Pennsauken finally breaking through courtesy of the second miscue thanks to a 28-yard touchdown pass from Nagil Johnson to Gerry Phillips. But the Indians missed the extra point (while South Brunswick's Kyle Morse was 3-for-3).
Cody Shelcusky had a key third-down conversion run on a third-and-9 to help South Brunswick's response. Dan Acevedo had a clutch third-down catch from Mike Muha on the Vikings' final touchdown drive.
"We feel that if we keep running our offense, we're going to find some seams and we're going to make plays," Dunleavy said. "The practice field was worse than this. We kind of got used to it practicing in it on Thursday. It was tough. You've just got to keep your feet under your body."
After beating Monroe under similar conditions a week ago, the slop might be turning into a home-field edge for South Brunswick.
"We are starting to get used to it," Dunleavy said with a grin.
