Jersey Mike’s Team of the Week: Manalapan
Every week this fall, Jersey Mike’s and Shore Sports Network will be selecting a Team of the Week based on its performance over the past weekend.
The Jersey Mike’s Team of the Week for Week 6 is Manalapan, which defeated district rival Howell, 49-28, in a battle for Class A North supremacy between unbeaten teams. Shore Sports Network and Javier Troche, operating partner of the Jersey Mike’s Freehold location, were at practice Tuesday evening to present the Braves and head coach Ed Gurrieri with a special game ball and a $500 Jersey Mike’s gift card.
Senior running back Naim Mayfield ran for a career-high 275 yards and five touchdowns to lead the way for a Braves offense that ran for 323 yards and piled up 416 yards of offense. Mayfield scored on touchdown runs of 16, 33, 9, 73 and 7 yards to continue an incredible season that has him leading New Jersey with 1,410 yards rushing in just six games.
Senior quarterback Luke Corcione threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Scott Scherzer and senior fullback Chris Maksimik added a 1-yard touchdown run.
Junior linebacker Tommy Pearce led the Manalapan defense with a team-high 14 tackles (11 solo) plus an interception that he returned 50 yards to set up one of Mayfield’s touchdown runs. Senior defensive end Antonio Deieso was a disruptive force in the trenches with eight tackles, including three sacks and a tackle for loss. Sophomore Justin Reilly also had an interception, while senior defensive back Symir Blacknall had a key forced fumble that was recovered by junior linebacker Dale Sieczkowski.
Manalapan, which is ranked No. 1 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10, has now won 16 straight regular season games. The Braves now have the inside track to capture their seventh Class A North division title in the last eight years. Manalapan has won 48 of its last 51 division games.
The Braves will be back in action Friday night when it a faces winless Neptune (0-5) in another Class A North game.
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