Colonials pass character test, knock off Piners Howell, Colts Neck also pick up gridiron wins BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer CHRIS KELLY staff Freehold Borough's Jahquan Fenn looks for some running room during the Colonials' come-from-behind win over Lakewood on Saturday in Freehold. Mark Ciccotelli had every reason to be nervous when the officials dragged the first-down chains onto the field. Twice before during Saturday's game with Lakewood, the Colonials had come up short on fourth-down runs by the length of one chain link. This time, the football game was hanging in the balance. Lakewood was clinging to a 14-12 lead, but Freehold Borough had seized the momentum and was heading for another score inside the Piner 10-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-two, the Colonials handed the ball to Robert James, who pounded into the line behind an offensive line that had taken firm control of the line of scrimmage. As the chains came out for the measurement, James said he knew that he had gotten the first down. When the sticks were stretch to their maximum, he was right. By more than the length of a football, the drive was alive. "I knew I had picked it up," said James. Two plays later, James took a pitch from quarterback Brian Prisk and dove into the end zone for what proved to be the winning touchdown for the Colonials in their 20-14 victory. James' five-yard TD run gave Freehold an 18-14 lead with 4:30 left in the game. The Colonials tacked on two when Jeff Frost hauled in Prisk's pass while on his back. Lakewood, which had led 14-0 early in the second half, had done nothing offensively since taking advantage of a Colonial turnover for their second score, went four-and-out when they got the ball, and Freehold Borough had its opening game win. "It was a big character thing for us," said Ciccotelli. "After going 3-7 the last two years, they could have folded, [being] down 14-0. They fought back, and that's character." James said that Lakewood had taken it to Freehold Borough in the first half and that the Colonials responded. "They punched us in the mouth in the first half," said James. "We picked it up in the third quarter." Even when the Piners scored early in the third off a turnover on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Dean Seda to Ernest Campbell to jump in front 14-0, the Colonials remained confident. "Truthfully, we never doubted we could win," said Jahquan Fenn, who would play a big part in the comeback. It was the ensuing drive, with Fenn and James taking their turns hammering into the Piner line, that Freehold Borough finally put its stamp on the game. The offense line - Brandon Carter, Chris D'Oliveira, Pete Gerbehy, Hudifieh Gregory, Mike Dragonetti - simply moved the Piners backward off the ball, physically taking charge. The drive would stall when the Colonials were stopped on the Piner 19 on a fourth-down run. But, most importantly, the Colonials established that they could move the ball. Lakewood was three-and-out after stopping Freehold's fourth-down run. A poor punt from the end zone set up Freehold on the Lakewood 16. Four plays later, Fenn scored on a four-yard run. With the failed extra point, the Colonials trailed 14-6, but momentum was with them. "All the credit goes to them," Fenn said of the offensive line. Ciccotelli noted that the Colonials were playing to their strength in the second half. "We thought one of our strong points was our offensive line," he said. Field position led to Freehold Borough's second score. The Colonials appeared to be headed for a second touchdown when a bad quarterback exchange led to a fumble on the goal line that was recovered by Lakewood. The Piners, though, could not move the ball and had to punt out of their own end. The punt was shanked, and Freehold took over on the Lakewood 11. It took just one play for Fenn to score on a pitch from Prisk. Lakewood would stop the run attempt for two points to keep the Piners in the lead at 14-12, but it was only a matter of time. That time would come in the fourth quarter. Punting again from the end zone, the Piners saw Brandon Brown return the punt 15 yards to set up the Colonials on the Lakewood 17. James' fourth-down run kept the drive alive and led to his winning touchdown. Equally impressive was Freehold Borough's defense. The new odd-man line freed up linebackers James, Fenn, Cody Lovgren and Kyshon Richardson to make plays, and they did. Lakewood had negative yardage in the second half. Up front in the formation, Luis Torres, Casey Waake and Travis Postell were getting pressure in the Piner backfield. The Colonials know they can only enjoy their win for a very short while. They have a date tomorrow night with Ocean Township (1-1), which won the Central Jersey Group championship last year. Kickoff in Ocean is 7 p.m. At Colts Neck, for the Cougars' home opener, they dedicated the athletic field to the school's first principal, R. Wayne McChesney, who retired this year. The Cougars then went out and put on a show for the ex-principal and their fans, routing Middletown North, 49-0. There's a reason that Ashton Jackson has earned the moniker "Action Jackson," and he showed that Saturday when he scored four touchdowns. He began the fireworks by returning a pass interception 38 yards for a touchdown for the first score of the game, and then scored on touchdown runs of two and 54 yards to stake the Cougars to a 21-0 lead. Danny Boxman went 43 yards for a score and Jackson ended the first half with a 38-yard scoring dash. Colts Neck led 35-0 at the half and added two more scores in the second half, one an 83-yard scamper by Pat Six. Alex Muka completed the scoring with a 13-yard run. The Cougars had their ground attack in high gear, rushing for 252 yards led by Six's 112 and Jackson's 76. The undefeated Cougars hit the road tomorrow night for a game with winless Toms River South (0-2). Game time is 7 p.m. The Joe Passo era at Marlboro started Saturday at home. The Mustangs drew defending Central Jersey Group IV champion Jackson for its season opener. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, Jackson had already played a game and had the chance to work out its wrinkles. The result Saturday was a solid Jaguar effort and a 35-6 Jackson win. Quarterback Nick Tyson and wide receiver EJ Tucker stunned the Jags in the first period, hooking up on a 45-yard touchdown pass. The TD cut the Jackson lead to 7-6. Marlboro goes to Southern Regional (1-0) tomorrow night with the kickoff in Manahawkin at 6 p.m. Friday's torrential rain forced the postponements of the Howell at Manalapan and Brick Memorial at Freehold Township games to Saturday evening. Howell evened its record at 1-1, escaping Manalapan (0-2) with a 7-6 lead. This game was just the opposite of what was expected, as the Braves used a ball-control running attack to keep the ball away from Howell's high-octane passing game. Tailback David Presby had a huge game for the Braves, running for 164 carries on 32 carries. His running behind Manalapan's veteran offensive line enabled the Braves to double up Howell in first downs (15-8) and keep the chains moving. However, the Braves didn't take advantage of their time of possession. They had one drive stall inside the 10 on downs. Howell had a missed field goal in the first half and its offense spent much of the rest of the games on the sidelines watching. But it was the Rebels' quarterback Sean O'Reilly who made the big plays of the game. First, he pulled in a pass interception early in the fourth quarter that gave the Rebels great field position on the Manalapan 31-yard line. He promptly went up top connecting with Eric Feehan on the 31-yard touchdown pass. Chance Carrick's extra point, which would loom large, was good, and Howell led 7-0. Undaunted, the Braves marched 96 yards for a touchdown as their offensive line and Presby took over. A 14-yard run by James Gilburn completed the drive with 1:33 left in the game. The extra point was missed, and Howell clung to a 7-6 lead, which it was able to hold. When he was on the field, O'Reilly was sharp, completing 14 of his 18 passes for 115 yards. Howell will look to go 2-1 on the season tomorrow night when the Rebels host Middletown North (0-2). Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. Last year the Braves got off to an 0-2 start and rallied to make the state playoffs. They will look to climb their way back tomorrow night when they travel to Brick (1-1) for a 7 p.m. start. Freehold Township (0-2) showed great improvement on the defensive side of the ball in just one week. The Pats held last fall's Central Jersey Group IV finalist Brick Memorial to just one touchdown in their home opener. The Mustangs did gallop for 301 yards on the ground, but the Patriot defense did not break. Freehold Township, however, couldn't generate enough offense to get its first win of the season. Kyle Ramos-Herrara looks like he's turning into a go-to back for the Pats as he rushed for 90 yards on 22 carries Saturday night. The Pats hit the road tomorrow night as well to play undefeated Toms River North (2-0) in a game that starts at 6 p.m.