By MARK TRIBLE

South Jersey Glory Days Senior Football Writer

On X @Mtrible

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — Behind a rough-and-tumble defense, an offense that set the school record in points and a herculean effort from an oft-overlooked senior, Washington Township made it look easy on Friday night.

Here at Tom Brown Field, the Minutemen stepped into the Central Jersey Group 5 championship as if it were just another walk in the park.

With a 44-26 rout of Rancocas Valley, top-seeded Township showed why many believe it to be the favorite in the state’s Group 5 field.

“Our kids are highly motivated each week, a lot of people ask if it’s getting tougher to motivate them — and it hasn’t been,” coach Mike Schatzman said. “I think that might just go with them being together so long and having success and being used to having success.

“… But defensively, our motto is ‘Run fast, hit hard.’ That’s our mantra. That’s what we rely on. Whatever your job is, you better just run fast and hit somebody hard. That’s been very good to us the last couple years.”

Run fast — like Andrew Osborn did on a first-quarter field goal attempt from the Red Devils. He split the line unblocked and made a block of his own. Ethan Binder grabbed the ball and returned it 67 yards for score.

“I kind of took a step in and then I went right out and said, ‘I’ve got to block this,” Osborn said. “Right before that our coach told us we’re going to get a field goal block today, so right when I got the opportunity, I took it.”

That marked the first for four turnovers the Minutemen (11-0) forced in the first half. Parker Reese intercepted a pass in the red zone. The team also forced two fumbles and recovered them both.

It added up to a 24-0 halftime lead over 4th-seeded RV (6-5). The margin got as large as 37-6 early in the third quarter.

Osborn would steal headlines on many teams in the area. In this collective, he’s canvassed as just another great player. But on this stage, he stole the spotlight.

He recovered two fumbles on the night in addition to that block. Per Kevin Minnick of NJ.com, the upperclassman notched a sack and ran for 81 yards. He also found pay dirt as a tailback in the second half.

“We’re lights out on the defensive side, and on the offensive side we have threats everywhere,” Osborn said. “… It’s kind of hard to stand out … we’re all great players.”

It’s tough to disagree with him.

“I’ve been able to help lead this pack for so long, it’s been a blessing in disguise to go to war with these guys,” quarterback Cole Aquino said. “Showing out on Friday nights, it’s really special.”

Aquino laughed after the game at his luck that the team has enough players to dress a scout defense for practice — the starters keep away from him.

“They do a great job, they give us amazing field position,” he said. “Having those guys, and guys who help us in all three phases, that’s a blessing.”

Osborn stood out on Friday. Next week, it could be Jaylen Robinson — the ferocious linebacker who also had a highlight-reel touchdown run. Or, maybe Paris Pratt as he glides down the field at corner or receiver. Don’t forget Jyair Moore, who had another zig-zag scoring run-after-catch here in the semis. How about Colin Beeler and his trips to the end zone on the ground? Or Gabe Palaganas, the disrupter on the line.

And so on. And so forth.

“We talk about it every day and our coaches preach it every single day, ‘we’re going to make history,” Osborn said. “… Our coaches say they’ve been preparing for this team since we were 3 years old on the youth field. They knew what was coming up.”

Here it is. History is three wins away.

First up — next Friday night at 6 p.m. The foe will be Old Bridge, 28-27 winners over second-seeded Sayreville.

Mark Trible is the host of the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show. You can check it out every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at facebook.com/sjglorydays. The show features highlights, analysis, rankings and more from high school football games throughout South Jersey.