Patriots adjust, change, find winning formula
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

What you have to admire about Dominick Lepore is that he's a coach who's not afraid of change.

Nor is he afraid to admit that things aren't working out.

The Freehold Township head coach thought he might have an explosive offense this fall and so he changed the team's look.

When that wasn't working early in the season, and it was three-and-out all too often, Lepore scrapped the new offense and went back to what the Patriots do best - run the ball behind a big offensive line.

"We tried to do things not suited for us," said Lepore. "We tried to spread teams out, but that didn't fit our personnel.

"We went back to our two-back backfield," he added. "At Freehold Township we're always going to have big linemen and backs who can run the ball, and we'll have a quarterback who can run the offense."

Joe Faiella is the poster boy for this fall's line. At 6-foot-4, 285 pounds, he moves people off the ball, and as the left tackle he is the guy protecting the quarterback on pass plays. Faiella is top of the line and has already signed to play football for the University of Maryland on an athletic scholarship.

Kyle Ramos-Herrara, a junior, is the latest in a line of quality running backs, and he's been turned loose recently. He is among the leading rushers in the Shore with 592 yards and five scores.

Jack Lapietra, also a junior, is the team's signal caller. He had a hand in both of Freehold Township's touchdowns Friday night. His one-yard run put the Pats on the scoreboard, and his third-quarter touchdown pass to Brian Brikowski proved to be the winning points in the 14-10 victory over Southern, Freehold Township's second straight.

While change didn't suit the offense, it certainly did on the defensive side of the ball. Freehold Township changed to an odd-man 3-5 front with more stunting and blitzing, and the result has been a very aggressive defense that has been hard to consistently move the ball on.

"The kids have taken to the defense and they believe in it," said Lepore. "They believe they can stop anyone."

Nose tackle Matt Suppa has been one of the keys. Although just 5-8, he wreaks havoc in the middle of the line, forcing teams to double him, opening the way for the Pats' stunts and blitzes to work.

"He's not big, but Matt is wide and he has the quickest first step," said Lepore.

Billy August has moved from the line back to linebacker, where he is back doing what he does best: making plays. Matt Porricelli and Brikowski have been doing much of the same at linebacker as well.

While the offense struggled through September, the defense gave the team a chance to beat the likes of Brick Memorial (7-0), Jackson (13-0) and Colts Neck (13-0).

Friday night, the defense saved the day with a goal-line stand in the final 50 seconds that had the stadium rocking.

A 39-yard pass play from quarterback Todd Kaiser to John Gosser had given the visiting Rams, held without a first down for the entire second half until its final possession, sudden life. But the buck, or rather the pigskin, stopped there.

A run up the middle was stuffed on first down by Suppa and Justin Shaw. On second down, the Rams stopped the clock by spiking the ball. They went back to the air again on third down, but could only pick up two yards. The ball was resting on the Patriot 1-yard line on fourth down.

The Rams hadn't run the ball well throughout the game, but on fourth-and-one, they tried to pound it through the line for those final three feet. But Suppa penetrated the backfield, breaking up the play, and blitzing linebacker Porricelli crashed through the line forcing a fumble that preserved the 14-10 Patriot win.

"I haven't seen anything like it my 15 years of coaching," said Lepore. "A goal-line stand to win the game."

With back-to-back wins, the Patriots have new life to the 2006 season. They will look to build on their momentum Friday night when they travel to Manalapan (3-3) for a 7 p.m. matchup. The game is important for the host Braves because they need to win out to have a chance at the playoffs. The Patriots would like to play spoiler.

Braves coach Ed Gurrieri, whose team lost a heartbreaker, 31-28, to Colts Neck Friday night, knows his team is in for a tough game.

"Freehold Township is physical and as big as anyone we've played," he pointed out. "You can't discount the rivalry in the District."