Original Story via: Stephen Edelson (APP)
The spirit of a glorious period from Middletown North football’s past was everywhere Friday night. You could sense it in the hard-hitting defense, and punishing ground game that pounded St. John Vianney into submission, rolling to a 41-22 road victory. And now the No. 10 Lions are 5-0 for the first time since the iconic 1983 team went 11-0, winning the NJSIAA Central Group 4 championship under the leadership of legendary coach Vic Kubu, with Chris Barnes leading the ground game and a dominating defense.
“We felt good about this team,” Middletown North head coach Steve Bush said. “We thought if we could stay healthy and some things happened – this is a real good group of kids. They’re all willing to work and we’re ready to play.”
Unlike its first four games, when it outscored opponents 110-21, with the starting defense going unscored on, the No. 9 Lancers were expected to present the toughest test of the season. But the Lions got 158 rushing yards and a pair of TDs from senior 5-foot-3 back Shane Volante, while junior quarterback Owen Robson threw for 169 yards and two TDs as they built an early lead and kept the Lancers at arm’s length the rest of the way.
On the other side of the ball, the Lions’ defense swarmed Lancers’ sophomore running back Abdul Turay, who came into the game with three-straight games over 200 yards on the ground. But Turay was limited to just 86 yards, including a 46-yard third-quarter TD run.
Now the Lions are clawing their way up to place among the Shore Conference elite this season.
When asked if Middletown North was being overlooked, Volante said: “I really think so. We haven’t done amazing in the past so they think of us as underdogs, but it’s really nice to pull of this win to prove we really are a good team.”
Key plays from Middletown North’s win over St. John Vianney
It was a wild first half, with the Lions striking first with a pair of early scores, as Brian O’Donnell scored from two yards out and Matt Balenko crossed the goal line on a 1-yard run to put them up 14-0 with 4:01 left in the first quarter.
But the Lancers fought back as junior quarterback Zach Labarca, who finished with 130 passing yards and 74 more on the ground, kept the ball and raced up the middle, outrunning everyone to the end zone on a 64-yard scoring run to cut the deficit to 14-6 late in the first quarter.
The Lions responded immediately, with Robson finding O’Donnell on a 32-yard TD pass on the third play of the second quarter, stretching the lead to 21-6.
But the action was far from over in the opening half. After the Lancers got a 30-yard field goal from Braden Allen, Middletown North scored again on a 38-yard post patter from Robson to Jack Viola with 47 seconds on the clock.
“I saw that the safety was playing up the whole time and Jack Viola is one of the fastest guys on our team so if I can find him on the post I will take that all day,” Robson said.
That was enough time for the Lancers, though, as Labarca found Jahmere James on a 43-yard TD pass with 11 seconds left in the half to pull them within 28-16 at the break.
The Lions took charge of the game as the second half wore on, grinding out first downs and running the clock down throughout the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got a really good defensive line and our offensive line is doing a great job as well – we had four starters returning there, and our tight ends have done a great job blocking as well,” Bush said.
What’s next
Middletown North is 5-0, and remains tied atop the B North standings with Freehold Township at 3-0.
The Lions now take on Red Bank in a divisional clash next Friday night at home, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
St. John Vianney is 3-3, and 1-2 in the ultra-competitive C North division, having lost to on the road in the division to Wall and division-leader Manalapan, in overtime last weekend. Next Friday night they host Manasquan in a divisional clash at 6:30 p.m.
Brian O’Donnell takes a screen pass and weaves his way through the SJV defense for a 32-yard TD reception and a 21-6 @footballMNLions lead early Q2. pic.twitter.com/ubtsC6WyZ4
— Bob Badders (@Bob_Badders) October 4, 2024
https://www.maxpreps.com/nj/middletown/middletown-north-lions/football/media/videos/?videoid=49cd1f73-4886-4b30-b8cd-fe66579b6f7a
Middletown North 41, St. John Vianney 22
MN 14 14 6 7 – 41
SJV 6 10 7 0 – 22
SCORING
First quarter
MN – Brian O’Donnell 2 yard run (Montegue kicks)
MN – Matt Belenko 2 yard run (Montegue kicks)
SJV – Zach Labarca 64 yard run (kick fails)
Second quarter
MN – O’Donnell 32 yard pass from Owen Robson (Montegue kicks)
SJV – Brendan Allen 30 yard field goal
MN – Jack Viola 38 yard pass from Robson (Montegue kicks)
SJV – Jahmere James 43 yard pass from Labarca (Allen kicks)
Third quarter
MN – Shane Volante 1 run (kick blocked)
SJV – Abdul Turay 46 yard run (pass fails)
Fourth quarter
MN – Volante 10 yard run (Montegue kicks)
STATS
Rushing – MN: Volante 29-158, Robson 4-20, Matt Belenko 7-46, Brian O’Donnell 5-22, Jack Viola 1-10; SJV: Turay 11-86, Labarca 11-74, Jahmere James 1-10.
Passing – MN: Robson 13-17 169; SJV: Labarca 11-22 130.
Receiving – MN: Jack Viola 5-73, O’Donnell 3-31, Joe Grasso 1-7, Ryan Clark 3-53; SJV: Adam Urs 3-13, Dante Campagna 5-38, Jahmere James 3-79.