Central Jersey Group III

1-Rumson-Fair Haven 43, 8-Rahway 6

The Bulldogs (8-1) trailed 6-0 at halftime before ripping off 43 unanswered points to eliminate the Indians (3-6) and advance to the semifinals.

Junior quarterback Mike O’Connor scored a pair of touchdowns and also threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver John Kingdon. Junior running back Matt Veccharelli gave Rumson its first score with a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, opening the food gates for a 36-point third quarter.

O'Connor ran for a game-high 165 yards on 12 carries and scored on runs of 45 and 54 yards. Veccharelli added 85 yards on 16 carries and junior Bryan Hess ran for 78 yards on 16 carries. Mike Ruane and Peter Lucas also had touchdown runs as the Bulldogs ran for 382 yards.

Ruane was a force on defense again with 14 tackles and one sack. Ian Clarke also had a sack and an interception of a screen pass that led to a Rumson touchdown. Mike Murdock finished with 10 tackles and Max Pfrang made seven.

The Bulldogs will host fifth-seeded Matawan, which outlasted Hopewell Valley 24-18 in triple overtime, next Friday night in the semifinals. Rumson is coming off consecutive Central Jersey Group II titles while Matawan is the defending champion in this bracket. The  teams played in Week Two with Rumson winning 17-0.

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