Eagles-Bucs getting ready for Round Two This time, state title is on the line BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer Middletown South head football coach Steve Antonucci is through cautioning his team as it gets ready for Saturday’s Central Jersey Group III championship game with Red Bank Regional on Saturday at Rutgers Stadium. If his Eagles don’t realize by now that this is not the same RBR team they beat, 39-6, during week one of the season, then they’re just going to have to find out for themselves this weekend. "They have to be pretty good to get to this point, just like us," Antonucci said. "It’s a one-game season now." The Eagles dominated the first meeting of the two teams, jumping ahead early, as sophomore sensation Knowshon Moreno returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown, and never looked back. South made it 13-0 on RBR’s next possession when Chris Martinho dropped the Bucs’ QB Keyron Sheard for a sack, causing a fumble. Linebacker Dan Terracciano picked up the loose ball and ran 25 yards for the score, and the rout was on. Moreno was the top offensive performer, collecting three touchdowns on the day, but in truth, it was a total team effort that gave South its impressive debut. "Things didn’t go our way early, and we just didn’t react well," RBR head coach Harry Chebookjian said. "But we’ll enter this game with a lot of confidence, especially with the way we’ve been playing recently." To say that the Bucs have bounced back from the loss to the Eagles would be an understatement. The fact is, they haven’t lost since, and have improved with each passing week. They are, in affect, playing their best football of the year, and appear poised to present Antonucci’s Eagles with their stiffest test of the season. "They’re certainly playing with a lot of confidence," the coach said. Both teams are coming off big wins in their respective rivalry games. The Bucs got an impressive 10-0 win over a Long Branch team that will be vying with New Brunswick for the Central Jersey Group II championship on Sunday at Kean University, Union. As usual, it was Cliff Toodle who came up with the big offensive play for the Bucs, breaking a 53-yard scoring run in the second quarter to put RBR ahead 7-0. They added a Mike Pizulli 25-yard field goal before the half, and the defense did the rest, holding what had been a prolific Green Wave offensive attack to just 173 total yards of offense. Long Branch head coach Dan George said the difference in the game was the Bucs’ ability to take advantage of their opportunities, and his squad’s inability to do the same. "We played hard, but we just made too many mistakes," he said. "When you make that many mistakes, you’re not going to beat a quality football team like Red Bank. "I thought we moved the ball well, and we had the ball inside their five-yard line two times, and inside the 10 three times. We just didn’t take advantage of our opportunities." While the Bucs held on to knock off Long Branch, the Eagles survived a scare from a game Middletown North squad, emerging with a 27-14 win in a battle that was tied until late in the fourth quarter. Facing the unfamiliar task of playing in a tight game, the Eagles got a touchdown on a brilliant play from QB Dan Johnson on a fourth-and-goal from the Lion 15, when the senior scrambled away from three would-be tacklers before firing a strike to Steve Dowens in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead score. It was just the latest in a long line of clutch plays from the senior signal-caller. "We knew he’d be good this year, but he has really brought us to another level," Antonucci said. "He is as good as anybody on the perimeter, and has shown the ability to throw the ball down field effectively." South added another score after North fumbled the ensuing kick-off when Moreno took a screen pass 67 yards for the game’s final score. "It’s always a tough game, and is very emotional for the players," Antonucci said "You’ve got to tip your hat to North. They did a real nice job." The Eagles also deserve some praise for not letting that looming state title game crowd their focus. And just as the Eagles concentrated on the Lions, the Bucs set their sights on a win over Long Branch. "That’s our job as coaches, to keep them focused, and we were able to do that," Chebookjian said. "But now it’s all about the state title." Both teams enter the game with obvious game plans. Neither team is looking to surprise anyone at this point, and on Saturday will go with what got them to this point. "Obviously you have to try to contain Toodle, which is something very few people have been able to do," Antonucci said. "They were very physical with us the first time we played them, and I expect more of the same this time." The Bucs will need to concentrate on slowing down the Eagle offense, in particular Moreno. But Chebookjian said that keying on one player would be a mistake. "They have so many weapons, if you focus on Knowshon, the QB will beat you, or the receivers will burn you," he said. "We need to be more disciplined and we have to limit our mistakes. We made a ton of mistakes last time we played them." Chebookjian added that his players are anxious to prove themselves this time around. "We’re a little more experienced this time," he said. "We had a lot of guys who had never started before, and being that it was the first game of the season, they suffered from some jitters. I’ll think we’ll give a better effort this time." Game time is 2 p.m.