Football - Vill Power: Red Bank Catholic 34, Matawan 12

By Bob Badders - Senior Writer
E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com

    ABERDEEN -- With a 2-0 start under its belt, a home-opener under the lights in front of a standing-room only crowd and a recent nemesis coming to town, Saturday night's game against No. 6 Red Bank Catholic was No. 9 Matawan's chance at redemption. It was its chance to prove it is a serious contender for the Shore Conference Liberty Division title. A statement was made in Week 4 on the turf at Barry Rizzo Stadium, however it was made the visiting Caseys.
    Looking for respect, the Huskies instead ran into an RBC offense that rolled up 425 yards of total offense in a convincing 34-12 victory. Senior running backs Nolan Vill and David Reeves were basically unstoppable for the Caseys, running behind and offensive line that dominated the trenches to the tune of 315 rushing yards on 44 carries. Reeves had 135 yards and a touchdown before sitting out most of the second half with a minor ankle injury. Vill had a game-high 163 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a 6-yard touchdown pass. Quarterback Connor O'Leary threw for 110 yards and a score and also ran for a one-yard touchdown to push the Caseys to 3-0 and keep them atop the Liberty Division standings.
    "We're really happy with the way we played," Vill said. "We came out here to work hard and get a win and that's exactly what we did."
    The Caseys' defense also continued to shine as it limited an explosive Huskies offense to just 12 points and mostly contained Matawan's big playmakers. Vill starred on the defensive side of the ball as well, sacking Matawan sophomore quarterback Jared Allison three times and also recording two tackles for a loss. Matawan moved the ball well early and late, but in between the Caseys defenders controlled the Huskies while the offense kept distancing itself.
    "That's a very talented team and to hold them to 12 points, I feel very good about that," said Caseys head coach Frank Edgerly.
    "You just have to try to contain them," said Vill of defending the Huskies' great speed. "You can't let them get to the outside and I feel like we did a good job all around."
    Matawan did break through on a couple of occasions, however, as senior receiver Kyle Hardy took a screen pass from Allison and raced 42 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and sophomore McArthur Underwood broke free for a 54-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Allison finished with 160 passing yards and just 23 rushing yards due to being sacked four times. Nate King had some tough runs but had just seven carries for 40 yards and was limited by a leg injury in the second half. Receiver Kyle Robinson had four catches for 43 yards.
    In front of a charged-up full house, the Huskies came out flying on their first few offensive possession and took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. After driving all the way down to the RBC seven before being stopped on fourth down, the Huskies defense got the ball back to set up a seven-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Allison was 4-of-5 for 71 yards and connected with Hardy on a wide receiver screen that the senior took 42 yards down the left sideline to begin the scoring. The extra point was blocked.
    Red Bank Catholic ran into some more trouble on its ensuing offensive possession as John Short intercepted O'Leary at the Matawan 26 and brought it back to the 45. A turning point it seemed to be as Matawan and its offense went back onto the field looking to take a two-score lead. The game did swing here, but all the momentum was beginning to shift to the Caseys. Their defense forced the Huskies to go three-and-out and once their offense got the ball back, they needed just three plays to take the lead for good. Reeves ran for 24 yards on first down and after a modest two-yard gain on his next run, ripped off a 52-yard touchdown run to tie the score at six. Tucker Hawley's extra point made it 7-6 and RBC never looked back from there.
    "They were coming off a bye and it was their home opener and they came right down the field on us a couple times and put the first points on the board," Edgerly said. "But we got the ship righted at the right time. Once we got that touchdown to go up 7-6 it was a sigh of relief. We never had to deviate from our game plan."
    Another three-and-out by Matawan gave the Caseys the ball back and set up their second scoring drive. Starting from their own 36, Reeves ran for 13 yards and then four before O'Leary hit a wide-open Luke McCarthy off a play-action fake for a 46-yard gain down to the half-yard line. On the next play, O'Leary spun away from initial contact on a quarterback sneak to get in for a 14-6 lead. The Caseys took that lead into the half and the score remained 14-6 into the fourth quarter as both defenses held the opposition's offense in check. But even though they had not added to their lead, the Caseys' ground attack duo of Vill and Reeves along with a punishing offensive line was wearing out Matawan's defense. That allowed the Caseys to put up 20 fourth-quarter points to turn a tight game into another big victory.
    After another defensive stand, the Caseys started from their own 33 and took just six plays to reach the end zone for a third time. With Reeves out of the game, Vill, Steven Compitello and Jake Beim each carried the ball and O'Leary connected with McCarthy on another big play, this one going for 39 yards and placing the ball inside the red zone. On a first-and-goal from the six, O'Leary threw a quick screen to Vill who followed his blockers in for a 21-7 lead.
    There was some confusion by Matawan's returners on the kickoff which forced the Huskies to start a drive from their own four-yard line. They managed only two yards and punted the ball back to the Caseys, who now had excellent field position. After an incomplete pass and a three-yard run by Compitello, Vill broke free for his second touchdown of the game, a 28-yard run up the middle for a 27-7 lead after the extra point was blocked.
    Underwood got six points back when he broke a 54-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-one, but the Huskies could not convert on a two-point conversion attempt and also did not recover an onside kick try. Red Bank Catholic then put the game away with a 12-play, 51-yard drive that took 6:00 of the remaining 6:55 off the clock. Vill continued to pound the ball between the tackles, carrying six times for 33 yards and polishing off an impressive individual effort and another Caseys victory with a three-yard touchdown run.
    "It was all about the line," said a gracious Vill. "If they aren't working we can't do anything. "The first half was a little rough for us so we wanted to come out in the second half and really put it to them."
    "Nolan had a great game and David Reeves had some great runs, but also Steven Compitello gave us some hard runs that let us rest Nolan a little," Edgerly said. "Our defensive staff also made some great halftime adjustments. They have some kids on the perimeter that can do some damage and they are en explosive team. They were a lot more physical that we thought they would be. It's a good win for us."




Box Score

No. 6 Red Bank Catholic 34, No. 9 Matawan 12

                                 RBC               M
First downs                18                10
Rushes-yards          44-315      &nb