Linden football leans on big plays by Tequan Thomas to beat Rahway
LINDEN — Rahway did a decent job of containing Linden’s explosive Tequan Thomas, limiting the senior quarterback to just 36 yards on 14 of his carries Friday evening.
It was what Thomas did on his other two rushes, touchdown runs of 50 and 69 yards, that lifted the Tigers to a 28-20 decision in a rare meeting between these neighboring schools.
“He’s dynamic, any time he touches the ball he’s a threat to score: That’s the reality” Linden coach Al Chiola said of Thomas. “We have weapons around him and you can see what he can do when the ball’s in his hands.”
In two contests thus far, Thomas has run for 379 yards and five touchdowns.
“Coach trusts me enough, whatever he needs me to do, I’ll do,” said Thomas, who finished with 155 yards on his 16 overall carries Friday. “When I see a defense, if they’re taking a break, I’m scoring. If they’re not taking a break, I’m scoring.”
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Linden (2-0) capitalized on a muffed punt to take a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a 5-yard run by Jordan Austin. The Tigers doubled that lead a minute and a half later on an 11-yard interception return by Davon McLintock.
Trailing 14-0, Rahway came roaring back to knot the score on a 6-yard run by sophomore Ziare Fields and, after a Linden fumble, a 10-yard burst by Andrew Avent (14-88 rushing) with four minutes left before halftime.
“We were fortunate to jump out to a lead and, credit to their kids, they didn’t quit and they came right back at us,” Chiola said. “And, credit to our kids, they kept their focus and stayed in the game.”
Thomas put the Tigers on top to stay less than two minutes later when he took a snap out of the shotgun from midfield and took off down the left sideline.
Linden went three-and-out to start the second half and did itself no favors with an 11-yard punt that gave Rahway possession at the Tigers 35. The Indians advanced to the Linden 6 before settling for a 26-yard field goal by Anthony Lopez.
Rahway never got as close to the end zone again.
Thomas’ second score came with him lined up at running back, taking a handoff from Tyrone Hinton and circling the left side again for a 28-17 cushion.
The game got a little chippy in the fourth quarter and Linden appeared to be in position to put the game away after back-to-back late hits by Rahway gave it possession at the Indians’ 21. But the Tigers retaliated with a personal foul that took them out of scoring range and a bad snap on a punt gave the ball back to Rahway at the Linden 28.
Once again, the Linden defense tightened and the Indians could muster only a 28-yard field goal by Lopez with 6:09 to play.
Linden managed to run out the clock from there, relying on sure-handed Alex Donic, who protected the ball on seven of the 11 plays in the final drive.
Linden 28, Rahway 20
RAHWAY (1-1) 0-14-3-3-20
LINDEN (20) 14-7-7-0-28
SCORING SUMMARY
L - Austin 5 run (Donic kick)
L - McClintock 11 interception return (Donic kick)
R - Fields 6 run (Lopez kick)
R - Avent 10 run (Lopez kick)
L - Thomas 50 run (Donic kick)
R - Lopez FG 26
L - Thomas 69 run (Donic kick)
R - Lopez FG 28
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - R: Avent 14-88, Delapara 7-42, Fields 7-17, Diggs 1-4, Williams-Julius 1-minus 2; L: Thomas 16-155, Donic 9-41, Austin 4-28, Hamilton 1-4.
Passing - R: Fields 6-15-1-50; L: Thomas 7-10-0-44.
Receiving - R: Williams-Julius 2-36, Toussaint 1-10, Delapara 1-7, Rogers 1-minus 3; L: Hamilton 3-27, Irving 3-17, Austin 1-0.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Linden football beats Rahway as Tequan Thomas scores 2 TDs
