Bucs Off to an Impressive Start

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RBR Bests Colts Neck 38-6, now 2-0 this season
By Jim Hintelmann
COLTS NECK – Red Bank Regional has played only two games thus far this season, but the Bucs have already doubled last year’s win total after an impressive 38-6 B Division North rout of Colts Neck Saturday.
“I think the last time that we started out 2-0 was in 2002,” Buc coach Nick Giglio said. “Our linemen did a tremendous job. We had two turnovers that changed the momentum of the game.”
The Bucs used a strong running game behind Trevor Riley and Alim Godsey, and its defense, led by linebacker Matt Reardon, had three interceptions, one of which resulted in a Buc touchdown.

Red Bank Regional's Matt Reardon, No. 4, tries to break the tackle of Colts Neck's defensive back Vince Pollito. --Photo by Sean Simmons
Red Bank Regional’s Matt Reardon, No. 4, tries to break the tackle of Colts Neck’s defensive back Vince Pollito.
–Photo by Sean Simmons

“It’s been a long time that we started out 2-0,” said Reardon, whose hard tackling resulted in a pair of Colts Neck fumbles.
“We played real hard and we were at the right spots at the right times,” he said. “We’ll be going for 3-0 when we play Neptune (Oct. 2). That will be a big game for us.”
Colts Neck scored first on a 10-play, 80-yard drive in the opening quarter. Quarterback Max Mullaney scored the touchdown on a 7-yard run. A 25-yard pass from Mullaney to Alex Twynam and an unsportsmanlike penalty against Red Bank were the big plays in the drive.
Red Bank, however, got moving late in the first quarter following a poor Colts Neck punt that went only to the Cougars’ 25. It took Red Bank five plays to score with Riley scoring the first of his two touchdowns on a 5-yard run. The first of five extra points by Jack O’Conner put the Bucs in front, 7-6.
Red Bank made it 14-6 in the second quarter on the game’s most spectacular play. Throwing from his own 20 into a head wind, Buc quarterback Jack Navitsky completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Sadiq Palmer, who had gotten past the Colts Neck secondary.
The second half was mostly Red Bank with Reardon setting up the third Red Bank touchdown. Mullaney completed a 20-yard pass to Jordan deGroot for an apparent first down at the Buc 20, but Reardon knocked the ball out of deGroot’s hands and Davon Barnes grabbed the ball and returned it to midfield.
“Reardon never comes off the field,” Giglio said. “He plays both offense and defense, and he is also on the special teams.”
After the fumble, Red Bank went 50 yards in eight plays with Riley scoring his second touchdown of the game on a 5-yard run to make the score 21-6.
“The coaches always remind us that we are the underdogs,” said Riley, who rushed for 115 yards. “I like that because we want to surprise people, but now we have to get ready for Neptune.”
The Bucs increased the score to 28-6 later in the quarter on a 15-yard scoring run by Godsey and Teddy Mitchell scored the final Buc touchdown with a 40-yard runback with an intercepted pass.
“I saw their quarterback getting ready to throw” Mitchell said. “I saw the opportunity, stepped in and intercepted the ball. Our defense was great today.”
O’Conner closed out the scoring with a 25-yard field goal late in the game.