BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

Above, Rumson wide receiver John Stevenson makes the catch in front of Asbury Park's George Stevens during Saturday's season-opener for both teams in Rumson. Below, tailback Wes Germain breaks free for a big gain in the second half. For the past few seasons, the Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs have entered the year amid lofty expectations.

A lot of that had to do with their quarterback, Michael Roberto, who was generally regarded as one of the most underrated passers in the state. With Roberto at the helm, the Bulldogs offense rarely disappointed, scoring in bunches against most opponents, and leading the team to three straight 6-4 seasons.

Now that Roberto is gone, so too are the lofty expectations. Rumson entered the season as a bit of an unknown, with many new players looking to step up and help maintain the Bulldogs' winning tradition they have built under ninth-year head coach Shane Fallon.

While Rumson has some familiar names returning, it will be up to the Bulldogs' crop of newcomers to determine whether RFH can put together another winning season.

PHOTOS BY MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Following Saturday's season-opener against Asbury Park, Bulldog fans had to feel a little bit better about the season's possibilities, as the Bulldogs survived a spirited effort from a gritty Asbury Park team to capture a 16-13 victory on their newly unveiled artificial turf field.

As expected, senior running back Wes Germain led the way offensively, rushing for 168 yards (including 146 in the second half), and setting up the winning score with three consecutive first-down runs late in the third quarter. His efforts led to Sean McDonald leaping in to the end zone from a yard out to give RFH the 16-7 lead with 3:28 to play in the third.

Asbury Park, playing under a new head coach who had just taken over the team on Thursday, responded with a 94-yard touchdown reception off a tipped pass by Tyquan Kelley to get within 16-13. However, the Rumson defense held its ground from there, allowing just one more first down the rest of the way to secure the win.

Junior quarterback Matt Wassel got the Bulldogs on the board in the first quarter when he completed a pass to Ryan Kirchner, who then turned it into a 28-yard touchdown with some nifty running.

However, Rumson's offense was inconsistent for the most part on Saturday, an area they will need to improve on heading into this Saturday's contest with Keyport. The Red Raiders struggled in their opener, losing a 40-21 game to Keansburg, but have routinely been one of the Bulldogs' toughest adversaries over the years.

The Bulldogs have enough experience on the offensive line (led by seniors Ryan Schumann and Tyler Hawley) to expect a strong running game from RFH this year. Whether or not they can maintain the type of consistent passing game they had with Roberto at the helm, remains to be seen.

Defensively, a total of seven starters are back, including linebackers Jordan Farber (a senior) and Matt Feiring (a junior), senior Kyle Phelan at defensive end, and a quartet of talented seniors in the secondary - K.J. Mazurek, Brian Sharkey, Tim O'Connor and Sam Gehret.

Rumson can afford to lean on their defense a bit early on (as they did against Asbury Park on Saturday), but once they get into the meat of their schedule, when they face teams like Shore, Manasquan, Point Beach, Raritan and Red Bank Catholic, they will certainly need to put points on the board in bunches to maintain the type of success we've come to expect from the Bulldogs.

The expectations may not be as high as they've been in recent years for the Bulldogs, but that may just work to their advantage this time around.