Madison linebacker Liam Melvin rang up 2 ½ sacks against Becton. Dodgers DB A.J. Eldridge had two INTs, including one incredible, one-handed pick.
Those were just two of the eye-opening stats the visiting Dodgers defense registered in their astonishing 35-0 win in the Section 2, Group II semifinals.
There were unofficial stats that weren’t counted, such as:
How many times did Becton QB Elijah Davis hear footsteps?
How many times was he hit after he released the ball?
How many times was he chased and harassed?
How many times was he forced to throw the ball sooner than he would have liked?
The Dodgers went old-school and sent Melvin from every angle possible. Becton and Davis (13 for 35, 114 yards passing, 3 INTs) couldn’t deal with it.
“Our goal in the game was to pressure the quarterback,” Madison coach Chris Kubik said. “We felt a lot of teams let him run around. We went old-school with our defense, what we ran back in the day. We sent a lot of pressure, kept him in the box with inside pressure and we got to him.”
“The pressure was huge as we were getting to the QB on blitz calls and base calls, which meant he had no time to throw,” Eldridge said. “We also hit him a lot and when you get hit every play you can start to not want to play anymore. Our line and ‘backers, especially Liam Melvin, did a great job.”
Said Kubik, “Our boys played fast and physical. They had trouble up front blocking us.”
That they did. Madison held a 6-0 lead at the half and then turned things up in the third quarter with 22 unanswered points.
What the Dodgers ran “back in the day” was when they reeled off three straight 12-0 seasons under Kubik from 2010-2012.
Madison kept the same 11 defenders on the field but mixed up where they lined up. Becton couldn’t adapt.
No one could have expected a shutout … right, Chris?
Uh, wrong.
“We do,” he said. “We knew they were physical. They scared me more on defense. We thought we could beat them up front. We matched up and we sent Liam Melvin every play so we brought six every play. We were pretty confident we could win those battles. Keep (Davis) in the box and we’ll get to him. We were tremendous up front, ripped off the ball and went after ‘em.”
Madison’s James Doehner and Matthew Curry lined up at end, with Alex Arndt, Jack Graham, Dylan Staar and Auggie Juliano at D-Tackle, Peter McGuire and Melvin at linebacker, Ryan Nallin at LB-DB, and Eldridge, Carter Ferris, and Maxwell Curry in the secondary.
Said Eldridge, “Our defense played outstanding. All three levels worked cohesively. D-line stopped the run and contained the QB, who we knew was a runner. Linebackers were key in getting sacks and disrupting passes which meant the QB had little time to throw or made bad throws for us to capitalize on. I think a key thing was no big plays being let up. When we cover on the outside it allows us to be more aggressive in the box.”
“(Davis) got hit a lot,” Kubik added. “Football is not a fun game sometimes. The goal was to put him on his back and we hit him a lot. The kid is tough, I will say that. But he got hit more than a kid should.”
And two of the passes Davis was able to get off were picked off by Eldridge (his only two of the year), the first of which was one-handed and highlight-worthy.
“I could tell the receiver was running a go route and so I looked back to see where the ball was and saw it was possible for me to pick it off,” Eldridge said. “I had to keep my left hand on the receiver to keep him from getting to the ball. I knew I was capable of catching it one-handed so I decided to try it since the worst that could happen was a pass break up and sure enough I was able to bring it in.”
The second pick was the result of McGuire putting pressure on Davis, who was forced to make a hurried throw as a result.
“The receiver ran an out-route but Peter McGuire was in front of him, meaning the QB had to throw it over him but under me,” Eldridge said. “The QB being pressured meant he couldn’t place it well and it sailed right into my area making it an easy pick.”
Eldridge’s emergence has lifted the Dodgers ‘D’.
“He’s a terrific kid and a great athlete,” Kubik said. “He is tough. He started last year, broke into the lineup and has gotten better as the year has gone on. He was due for a game like this.”
And now the Dodgers are headed to the sectional finals at Shabazz Friday night.
Yes, this is the same Madison team that stumbled out of the starting blocks this year, going 2-3 in the first five weeks.
But five games ago, Kubik’s team flipped the switch during the fourth quarter against Sparta, outscoring the Spartans, 22-7, on the way to an emotional 48-42 home victory.
“We have great kids,” Kuik said. “We never lost two in a row. Every time we struggled, we responded with a win. After the Mountain Lakes game (a 49-21 loss on Oct. 3), we were disappointed. We knew we had Sparta coming. We had dropped Parsippany from the schedule, we were in a tough spot, but we play well at home. We went after ‘em and did an awesome job on offense. Once we beat them we knew we could win any kind of game.
“Even when Sparta took the lead at halftime (28-19) that drive in the third quarter when we punched it in … we were down but we knew we could do something special. We scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and we knew we were headed in the right direction.”
That magic continued in a wild 22-21 victory over previously undefeated Bernards in the sectional quarters, when backup QB George Cripe led the team downfield for the winning score in the final two minutes.
And that leads Madison to Shabazz, a defending sectional and region champion.
“They’re loaded,” Kubik said. “They run the ball really well. They’re big and have great athletes. They are a handful. They are region champions. They’ll be a tough task, but we’re getting on the bus and we are going.”
Kubik expects nothing less than a victory to keep the season – and his coaching career – going. Kubik (127-68, 5 sectional championships) is retiring after this season after an outstanding 19-year career.
“We feel good,” he said. “The kids are playing hard. That Bernards game was big. We expected Becton to be tough on D, but the third quarter answered that we could handle that. The key to beating Shabazz is to play fast and play physical. We have been physical the last 2-3 weeks. We were against Becton.”
“To beat Shabazz, we have to play with the same confidence we have been playing with,” Eldridge said. “We know they have athletes and have to trust and know that we have the same caliber of athletes on our team. A huge part of this run has been playing with a chip on our shoulder and knowing we can beat anyone on any given day. We know it’s gonna be a battle, but if we give it our all then there’s no reason it can’t lead to a win.”
Kubik said, “At halftime of the Becton game, I told the boys I wanted to have Monday practice, so let’s get to work. The boys have responded every time.”
Wolfpack Run Past Roxbury
While Madison sent shock waves around Morris County with how easily it handled Becton, West Morris didn’t send any shock waves: The 11-0 Wolfpack methodically cruised past Roxbury, 28-7, and will host Summit in North 2, Group 3.
“This was always our goal, getting to this point,” running back Mike Finlay said, “but going undefeated is great too. We won the conference and now we’re in the sectional final.”
Beating Roxbury was classic old-school West Morris football out of the old-school Delaware Wing-T.
The West Morris offensive line of Tommy Borgia, Blake Parkinson-Gee, A.J. Codella, Joey Drown, Matt Lacerenza, and tight ends Luke D’Aconti and Sean Conway created ample running room against Roxbury.
That has been the story all year for the team that has rushed 448 times for a whopping 3,104 yards and 44 touchdowns, led by Deacon Frayne (179 for 1,555, 15 TDs), Finlay (86 for 746, 12 TDs), and Brody Mansolino (84 for 660, 7 TDs).
The win over Roxbury, West Morris’ second over the Gaels this year, was the same old West Morris.
“We had some good blocking, made the stops when we needed to, and everybody had a good game,” said Finlay, who set the tone in the first quarter when he sped through the Roxbury secondary for a 54-yard touchdown run.
Placekicker Johnny Vieira’s first of four straight extra points made it 7-0 and the rout was on.
The Wolfpack running backs, combined, rushed 35 times for 237 yards. Finlay rushed nine times for 102 yards. Frayne finished the game with 20 carries for 96 yards.
Frayne had a 9-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and Finlay added a 7-yard touchdown.
Mansolino, who missed last week’s game with an injury, rushed for a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He was 3 for 29 running the ball.
West Morris (11-0) has won three of the last four sectional championships, including three straight from 2021-2023. The team was eliminated from the playoffs last year in the semifinals by West Essex. They swept through the SFC-Liberty White.
