Sports

State Champion Vikings Begin Title Defense Thursday

South Brunswick High School football kicks off new season Thursday against East Brunswick.

Last year's South Brunswick High School football team was a tough act to follow.

Fresh off the first football state championship in school history, the new edition of the Vikings will look to capture back-to-back titles this year as they begin the defense of the Group V Championship Thursday evening at home against East Brunswick. The Bears, coming off a 2-7 season, will be debuting a new head coach in Bob Molarz, who comes over from Carteret.

Leading the charge for the Vikings will be two of the key contributors from last year's team, junior Dontae Strickland and senior Dahrae Ford. Strickland electrified the Vikings attack with two long touchdowns during the 33-22 win in the Group V title game over previously unbeaten Manalapan last year.

Then there was Ford, who went into beast mode during the run to the championship. In the three playoff victories over Manalapan, Old Bridge and Hillsborough, Ford amassed 419 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

"Everyone in the stadium knew Dahrae was getting the ball and he was still getting five or six yards a clip," said Head Coach Joseph Goerge in a previous interview.

The Vikings will need new stars to step up after being hit hard by graduation last year. Team cornerstones T.J. Perkowski, T.J. Taylor, Dion Hooper, Alex Berkuta, Ken Drost, Conor Killmurray, and Joe Baguchinsky among others all need to be replaced.  

Find out what's happening in South Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While the Vikings will look to returning players like Dylan Olsson, Austin Morse, and Davon Porter among others, it will be the influx of new talent from the freshman team that could lead the Vikings through a new generation.

Moving up the ladder are players from the emerging pipeline of the Crossroads Middle School team, which has enjoyed a run of dominance over the past several seasons under Head Coach Jake Rodriguez. The cornerstones from the 7-1 2011-12 Crossroads football team are expected to mitigate the impact from the loss of so many key seniors.

Find out what's happening in South Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Among that group are sophomores Phil Campbell, Rich Hoff, Muhamad Jabbie, and Josh Nicastro.

Questions about whether the Vikings are ready to compete for back-to-back titles will be answered tonight at 7 p.m. at South Brunswick High School, located at 50 Ridge Road in Monmouth Junction. Anyone attending tonight's game is asked to bring a food item to donate to the South Brunswick Food Pantry, which is facing difficult times due to a drop in donations over the summer.

South Brunswick High School Football 2013 Schedule

  • Sept. 12 vs. East Brunswick
  • Sept. 20 at Monroe
  • Sept. 27 at Old Bridge
  • Oct. 4 vs. Edison
  • Oct. 11 vs. Piscataway
  • Oct. 18 vs. J.P. Stevens
  • Oct. 25 vs. Middletown North
  • Nov. 1 at Sayreville
  • Nov. 28 vs. North Brunswick


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