Football Game of the Week: Summit visits St. Joseph-Metuchen in a meeting of hot teams
Bill Tracy liked what he saw going back to the winter training, so the St. Joseph-Metuchen coach didn’t panic after a 1-2 start.
Kevin Kostibos, meanwhile, knew that Summit had some questions, but the players were well aware of the program’s tradition and identity, and the offense started rolling.
The result: both teams are streaking with four-straight wins on the cusp of the postseason.
They meet Saturday in the MyCentralJersey Game of the Week at 1 p.m. at St. Joseph. Indeed, it should have a postseason-like intensity as the squads look to stay sharp.
More: Football rankings: Big Central Conference Top 15, through Week 7
The NJSIAA public playoffs start next week and non-public kicks off Nov. 3. Summit (6-1) is No. 8 in the MyCentralJersey Big Central Top 15 and St. Joseph (5-2) is No. 12.
The coaches are good friends and speak highly of each other. Kostibos was on Tracy’s staff at Livingston early in his career back in 2005 for three seasons. His father Barry was the team’s defensive coordinator at the time.
“You’re not going to have a better person or coach then Kevin,” Tracy said.
Kostibos added, “Bill and I are still vey close. We talk all the time. It’s friendly.”
“We were joking around earlier around this week,” he continued. “He does a great job when it comes down to the precision of the wing-T. Running a program, Bill’s second to none. When I was with him at Livingston, I was able to take a lot of things that we were doing there and kind of replicate it at other places. And you could see what he’s been able to do at St. Joe’s in two years. He’s a phenomenal coach. He runs a phenomenal program and his team is very good. It’s going to take our best effort.”
St. Joseph did lose two close early games (28-20 to Somerville and 22-15 to Union), but then pulled out four exciting wins.
“Even when we lost those two games, believe it or not, I felt great about our team and that goes to all of their hard work in the offseason and their character, especially our seniors,” Tracy said. “Our attitude was excellent. Our energy was up. So, I wasn’t too concerned at 1-2. I felt good about us. Sometimes the process is a little stronger than the outcomes of the games, but there’s good things there. … The main thing is you just keep plugging along and keep your head down and work hard and good things will usually happen.”
Soon, the results caught up with the big picture.
Tracy praised the 10 seniors who will “make plays on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon and then they’re helping carry bags in practice. They’re in it for the team. They’re positive. They have great energy every day in practice. I’m really very grateful to have them leading us.”
One other positive has been staying healthy. Tracy said the offensive line had a different lineup almost every week last season. Now, the unit of Ryan Leyner (Sr., C), sophomore guards Tommy Kwiatkowski and Brody Picariello and senior tackles Mario Tutino and Rich McGee have been intact.
Senior two-year starter Daniel DeGennaro has “really figured out every way a quarterback needs to win in these last four weeks. He’s done them all.” Offensive and defensive playmakers Jeremy DeCaro, Javon Hudson (two INT returns for TDs in last week’s 26-21 win over Watchung Hills) and runners Jason Ridges Jr and Jahcir Styles have produced.
Summit faced questions, namely sophomore Cole Sabol taking over at quarterback and senior Carter Shallcross making the transition from fullback to tailback in the power-I.
“You never really know offensively,” Kostibos said. “The core never really changes. Everybody kind of develops their identity of who we are and we’ve always been a straight, kind of smash-mouth, run the football team. This year with the emergence of some of our wide receivers, our quarterback, some backs, we’ve been able to kind of add another layer to that. We’ve been throwing the ball very well. Our guys up front have been doing a phenomenal job, so it’s kind of all the cogs in the wheel are kind of coming together and when everything is working together, that’s when your offense starts to really click.”
Does it ever. Summit was tied with Colonia 28-28 at halftime last week before erupting to a 29-7 third quarter en route to a 64-35 win. Shallcross led the way with 225 rushing yards on 26 carries and five touchdowns.
Kostibos said that Shallcross is an old-school-type of runner who just goes about his job and Sabol has fit in with the veterans. The coach said, “He doesn’t feel like he’s got to carry the offense, just complementing what we have.”
Add it all up, and it has the makings of a close one down the stretch.
“They’re very impressive in all three phases of the game,” Tracy said “They play very hard. They’re in great shape, fundamentally sound – they’re excellent. So we got our work cut out for us.”
The picks
Wow, Summit’s offense has been streaking and you can just sense everything is falling into place. The Falcons defense, though, has been no slouch. I like the pluck and moxie of the team, which has just found ways to win. I saw them rally in the fourth quarter to beat Westfield three weeks ago. It could go either way. I’ll pick the home team and hope to gain a game in our Prophet’s Cup race as Simeon has a nice lead entering the playoffs. Harry Frezza is covering it and I’ll eagerly be checking his updates at X/Twitter @thefrez56.
MENDLOWITZ’S PICK: St. Joseph 28-27
I’ve been super-impressed with what St. Joseph has done, especially lately, beating four straight good teams after it looked early as if this might not be shaping up right for the Falcons – though both losses were close games against very good teams. Lesson learned. Doubt a Bill Tracy squad at your own peril. But as impressive as St. Joe has been, I’ve been even more impressed with the Hilltoppers. Summit’s only loss came to No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas, while the Hilltoppers have not only beaten some good teams, but have done so in dominant fashion including a 64-35 blasting of Colonia last week. No doubt St. Joe has played the tougher schedule, and if these teams played 10 times they might split it, but I like Summit’s vibe and the fact even St. Thomas couldn’t slow the Hilltoppers attack, as they put up 20 points on the Trojans, the only team to score more than one touchdown in a game against a club that’s posted five shutouts. Plus, as a gentleman of sport, I want to give my esteemed colleague every opportunity to close the gap in the Prophet’s Club standings.
PINCUS’ PICK: Summit 26-23
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Football Game of the Week: Summit plays St. Joseph-Metuchen
