By Jim Hintelmann
UNION – When standout running back Charlie Volker missed part of the season because of a high ankle sprain and St. John Vianney winning the NJSIAA/SportsCare Institute Football Finals A Central championship, there were some doubts about the post season for the defending NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 2 champion Bulldogs.
Any doubts, however, were eliminated when the Bulldogs, with Volker back and healthy, made a spectacular run through the playoffs and capped it off with a solid 21-0 victory over Delaware Valley Saturday in a driving rain to repeat as champions. “It feels incredible,” said Volker, who closed out a brilliant high school football career with 163 yards rushing and a touchdown.
“It feels great,” said Volker, who will be playing at Princeton University next season. “This has to be the ultimate goal from last year’s sectional championship to this year.”
Rumson (8-3, winners of eight of its last nine games, the lone loss being a 13-0 setback to Central Jersey Group I champion Shore Regional) had to work for its first touchdown after getting the ball on its own 1 following a Delaware Valley punt, but the Bulldogs did it in eight plays with Volker scoring on a 49-yard run.
“I was upset when I hurt my ankle,” said Volker, “but I had faith in my teammates. Lucas Seckler and Seamus Walsh stepped up and played well. We had a well-rounded ball club.”
Probably the big play in the game came in the second quarter when Delaware Valley had the ball at midfield.
Running back Jess Neighbour hit the middle of the Rumson line, but was stopped and defensive end Matt Waters stripped the ball from him and ran it 49 yards for the second Bulldog touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The second half was most defense by both teams, but Rumson added a touchdown when sophomore quarterback Michael O’Connor, who had a fine game with 76 yards rushing, threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Murray Mcheffey. It was only the third pass thrown in the game by O’Connor as the rain forced Rumson into mostly a running game.
Rumson controlled most of the final quarter wasting 9 minutes and 45 seconds of the clock.
“This feels great,” said defensive back Sam Eisenstadt, one of the many defensive standouts in the game for the Bulldogs. “This is our senior year and this was the best thing in the world. This was awesome.”
“It was amazing,” said linebacker Tucker Briggs. “All the hard work we did paid off.”
The defense was a big factor in Rumson’s strong finish this season with the Bulldogs allowing an average of six points per game over the last six games.
The outlook next year looks fine with many of the players returning. The Bulldogs had six sophomore starters.
