By Rich Chrampanis
BERKELEY – With the high school football playoffs in full swing, the next generation of varsity athletes under the Friday night lights was cutting its teeth in New Jersey’s American Youth Football (AYF). The Rumson-Fair Haven 14U AYF team wrapped up its season by claiming the NJAYF’s “B” Division Championship last Sunday in Berkeley with a 20-6 win over Sayreville.
Both teams opened the game with long drives for touchdowns. After falling behind 6-0, Rumson got on the board with a Tyler Palumbo 4-yard touchdown run to tie the game 6-6. Later in the second quarter, Chris Gibson took a jet sweep 55 yards to give Rumson a 14-6 lead. The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with another impressive scoring drive capped off by Palumbo’s second touchdown of the game, this time from two yards, to close out the scoring. Running back Kellen Murray was a workhorse in the victory, running for 74 yards on the opening drive and adding 47 yards on the final scoring drive. The Bulldogs finished the season with an 11-2 record.
“Our O-line was outstanding all game. Jack Harris was a beast blocking and Kellen Murray was huge running the ball all night,” said head coach Chad Palumbo. “After our first series on defense, they tightened up and shut down Sayreville’s running attack for the rest of the game. It was the first year of tackle for about two-thirds of the team. We are extremely proud of how they played together as a team all season.”
Rumson-Fair Haven 14U AYF Championship Team
Head Coach: Chad Palumbo
Assistant Coaches:
Bryan Dougherty, Hans Zimmerer
No. 1: Kellen Murray
No. 3: Beau Devine
No. 4: Tyler Palumbo
No. 5: Chris Gibson
No. 8: Cole Flemming
No. 10: Grant Zimmerer
No. 11: Jack Gyimesi
No. 15: James Kiley
No. 16: Andrew Cavise
No. 22: Dylan Plesser
No. 34: Austin Kenney
No. 38: James Halikias
No. 40: Luke Dougherty
No. 60: Armen Krikorian
No. 70: Matthew Conway
No. 75: John Harris
No. 81: Aidan Giblin
No. 99: Tobias Najenson
The article originally appeared in the November 11 – 17, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
