Rough fourth quarter dooms New Egypt
BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer

PLUMSTED - For three quarters, the New Egypt High School football team's defense frustrated Burlington City.

The Warriors did an outstanding job of limiting scoring opportunities and even clung to a 10-6 lead with 12 minutes remaining.

Burlington City, however, responded with three unanswered touchdowns in the final quarter and managed to rally for a 32-10 victory last Friday night.

New Egypt hurt its own cause for a win by having one touchdown called back due to a penalty and then squandering another scoring opportunity with a fumble inside their opponent's 10-yard line.

The Warriors, however, did have a couple of bright spots. Running back Langston Lacroix rushed for 90 yards on 15 carries, including a 29-yard TD run in the second quarter to give New Egypt a lead.

In addition, Lacroix converted a 29-yard field just before halftime.

"This kid is quite an athlete," New Egypt coach Tom Farrell said. "He has exceptional speed and sees the field very well. There is no question he is an important piece of our offense this year. He is having a very good year for us."

Warriors quarterback Stephen Panasuk completed 12-of-22 passes for 150 yards.

"He gives us another dimension to our offense that we haven't really had in the past couple of years," Farrell said. "He is a big strong kid with an excellent arm."

Running back Derek Price got Burlington City in gear with a 42-yard scoring run that put the Blue Devils ahead, 12-10. Price finished with three TDs.

"Burlington City always puts a well-coached team on the field," Farrell said.

Jackson falls to Howell

An outstanding performance by tailback Mark Schiavone wasn't enough to stave off a fourth-quarter rally last Friday as Howell rallied for a resounding 24-13 victory in a Shore Conference nondivisional contest at Jack J. Munley Field.

Schiavone rushed for a game-high 195 yards on 35 carries. He scored on runs of 4 and 22 yards.

With the loss, Jackson falls to 4-2 overall. Howell improved to 3-3.

Howell trailed 13-12 entering the fourth quarter. Rebels' running back David Hayes scored on an 11-yard catch-and-run to put Howell ahead, 18-13.

Howell sealed the win when Brian Battaglia intercepted a pass and ran 60 yards for a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Jackson had driven to the Howell 35-yard line when Battaglia picked off the pass and raced for a TD.

Jackson opened the game with a scoring drive and it appeared the Jags would roll. Jackson drove 55 yards, capped by Schiavone's first TD of the game, a 2-yard plunge. On its next possession, Jackson threatened again, but the drive stalled when Howell intercepted a pass at the 10-yard line.

Howell opened the second half with a scoring drive of its own. The Rebels marched 74 yards, culminated by a 4-yard TD reception by Chance Carrick, and forged ahead 12-7.

Jackson answered with a 50-yard scoring drive. Schiavone again gave the Jags a 13-12 lead with a 22-yard scoring run.