By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — Their uniforms mimic the 1985 New England Patriots, but the Washington Township High football team looked more like the ’85 Chicago Bears on Friday night at Tom Brown Field.
The Minutemen completely dominated Old Bridge in the Central Jersey Group 5 championship game, pounding the ball with the running game and shutting down the Knights on defense. Township cruised to a 38-7 win, capturing their second straight sectional title and earning a berth in the state semifinals next Friday night against Kingsway, a winner over Atlantic City in the South Jersey Group 5 title game.
It was the first time in program history that Washington Township has won back-to-back sectional titles, and the first time the Minutemen have ever been 12-0. The Minutemen had Old Bridge senior dual-threat quarterback Brody Nugent running for his life all night, while Township senior Andrew Osborn looked like a man among boys, trucking Knights defenders on touchdown runs of 5, 6 and 29 yards.
Osborn is 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds — about the size of an average NFL safety — and he played like a full-grown man against Old Bridge.
“(The last two years) have been great. We’re not letting down; we’re not backing down to nobody. We’re on a great run right now, (winning sectionals) two years in a row, we have a great culture and we’re just going to keep it rolling,” he said. “This was just another game for us. We’re trying to make it all the way to the state championship, and we’re going to do what we have to do.”
Last season, Township won the sectional title for the first time in decades, then lost 27-10 to Toms River North in the state semifinals. The Minutemen looked on Friday night like a group of players that still carried that rotten feeling with them in the equipment bags and were intent on making it to Rutgers University this year and hoisting that state championship trophy. They’ll have to win twice more to make that happen.
“We’re coached to stay calm, relax, do what we need to do and just go out and win games. We’ve been doing it ever since we were about 5 years old, playing with the same guys,” said senior defensive back Parker Reese. “It’s special. Props to all the guys before us who helped build this into a great program. They gave us a great opportunity to be Township and stand by that ‘Minutemen’ (moniker). Minutemen fight and die to win. That’s just what we do. Schatz (coach Mike Schatzman) is a great head coach, he knows what do to, and he’s trusted us. He’s been talking about (this group of juniors and seniors) for years now, how he couldn’t wait to get us up (to varsity). We’re here and we’re making it happen.”
Old Bridge’s opening drive ended with the first of two interceptions by junior defensive back Isaac Parra, and that set up Luke Sheets’ short field goal to put Township on the board. The Minutemen forced a punt on Old Bridge’s next possession, then really got to work.
Osborn capped off a long drive by plowing over a Knights defender at the goal line and scoring the game’s first touchdown, giving Township a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter.
“I take every carry as a blessing. I didn’t get the ball that much in the past two games, so every time I touch that rock it’s going to be a blessing and I’m going to make a play every time I touch the ball,” said Osborn, who had three touchdowns — and he’s not even Township’s primary ball carrier. “It was a lot of film watching. Watching what the opponents do, and a lot of hard work in the offseason, honestly. Mentally preparing yourself and physically preparing yourself for everything — that’s the top thing I did this year.”
Township extended its lead to 17-0 early in the second quarter on a 29-yard run by Osborn, and that was plenty, as the Minutemen defense made life miserable for the Knights the entire game, save for one drive late in the second quarter that produced Old Bridge’s only score.
“Our defense puts in the work every day. We’re a defense-heavy team, we have a bunch of starters back from last year, and we just work hard every day. We’re ready for the opportunity. We’re satisfied with this; we’ll celebrate it for 24 hours and then we’re working for that state championship because that’s really what we’re here for,” Reese said. “We have the best defensive line in South Jersey with Gabe (Palaganas), Tyler (Alicea) and Andrew (Osborn). They put in the work every day, and then we just have to trust in our secondary, and we got the job done.”
Township added a 42-yard pick-6 by Parra late in the third quarter to push the lead to 31-7, and then on the final play of the third senior running back Colin Beeler scampered 42 yards to cap the scoring.
“We had a lot of confidence coming in, but every day I tell this team that we can’t get complacent. It’s a great feeling to win, but it’s a terrible feeling to lose. We don’t want to lose. The coaches keep us right every day, they’re pushing us hard, and the whole team is just doing their thing,” Osborn said. “(Last year) motivates me a lot. I kind of wish we were playing Toms River North this year because we lost to them three years in a row. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that opportunity, but it’s great to win back-to-back championships. We’re making history out here. I love this. I’ve been with these guys since I was little. It’s a whole family — it’s a brotherhood, and that’s what we preach every day. We’re all brothers, and even the coaches, they are like uncles and dads to us. Our oldest coach, we call him ‘The Godfather.’”
Added Reese, “we just have to focus in at practice every day, lock in and stay calm. We feel like we have the talent, we just can’t get over our toes. Last year, we got a little too hyped up because we never won the sectional, but now we’ve won the sectional and we’re ready for the opportunity (to win a state title.)”
WHAT’S NEXT: Kingsway Regional at Washington Township on Friday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m., state Group 5 semifinal.
