New Providence downs Metuchen in a BCC Patriot Silver Division clash at Lieder Field on Thursday night.
Pioneers Shut Out Bulldogs in BCC Patriot Silver Battle, 22-0
NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ – On Thursday night at Lieder Field, undefeated Metuchen went up against New Providence. The Pioneers were coming off a 28-24 loss at A.L. Johnson last week while Metuchen edged Roselle on the road (35-28). New Providence was looking to get back on the right track and did in front of its home crowd. New Providence shut down a Metuchen team that had been averaging over 30 points per game for the win.
Senior QB, T.J. Munn ran for a touchdown and threw for another while New Providence’s defense collected a safety and an interception from Mike Petses. Gianni Carreno cashed in on the Petses pick with a TD run to round out the 22-0 final. Daniel Poretti also made big plays for the Pioneers including a free kick return on special teams that helped set up a Pioneer score.
Metuchen competed for much of the first two and a half quarters. The Pioneers only held a 7-0 lead at the intermission. Munn provided the only scoring in the first half with a 6-yard TD run with 9:20 to play in the second quarter. The game tilted more toward the Pioneers’ favor in the second half as both the offensive and defensive teams came up with plays to pull away from the Bulldogs.
First, New Providence’s special teams pinned Metuchen deep in its territory with a punt. Several plays later, the Pioneer defense caught the Bulldogs in the end zone for a safety and a 9-0 lead with 6:30 to play in the third. On the ensuing free kick, Poretti returned the ball to the Metuchen 33-yard line. Moments later, Munn found Owen Silver for a 33-yard TD pass for a 15-0 lead with 5:32 to go in the third.
The score remained that way entering the fourth quarter. Petses then made the next big play for the Pioneer defense when he intercepted a Metuchen pass and returned it to the Bulldogs’ 13-yard line with 9:55 remaining. Then, on a 3rd and 6 play from the Metuchen 9-yard line, Carreno took a handoff, ran to his right, and scampered into the end zone. The extra point was good for a 22-0 lead with 8:29 left in the fourth.
The Bulldogs only had two solid drives for the entire game. On the opening drive, Metuchen drove down inside the New Providence 40-yard line but was eventually stopped on downs. Then in the closing minutes, the Bulldogs managed to get pinned deep in their territory late in the 4th and got their best play of the game. Ryan Toth threw a bomb down the field that was caught by Matthew Jelleme with under a minute to play. Metuchen’s drive was eventually halted and New Providence preserved the shutout.
With the victory, New Providence improved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the BCC’s Patriot Silver Division. Metuchen dropped to 3-1 on the season including a 1-1 mark in the BCC Patriot Silver. Both teams will be back in action next week with one more game in the division. The Pioneers travel to Arminio Field to take on Roselle while the Bulldogs travel to Clark to face division-leading A.L. Johnson.
With Hillside moving up to the Big Central Conference’s United Gold Division, the Patriot Silver Division has looked pretty wide open. Metuchen needs to get a win against A.L. Johnson next week to have a shot at a share of the division. A Crusaders loss to the Bulldogs coupled with a New Providence win at Roselle could put A.L. Johnson in a three-way tie with the Pioneers and the Bulldogs for the division title. The Crusaders host Roselle on Friday night.
Coming into its Thursday night contest against New Providence, Metuchen was 3-0 for the first time since 2008. If you recall, the 2008 season was a special year for the Bulldogs. Metuchen made a memorable playoff run by defeating the likes of Shore Regional and Bound Brook to reach the Central Jersey Group 1 Championship Game.
