Big plays equal big win for Lakewood Piners
BY MIKE WHITE Staff Writer

LITTLE EGG HARBOR - In the past few years, Lakewood High School football coach Skip Edwards could count the number of big plays his team had made on one hand that actually made a significant difference. The Piners, just 2-18 over its last 20 games, struggled when it came to players stepping up in key situations.

Not last week.

The team got a number of huge plays last Friday night as it knocked off a scrappy Pinelands squad, 21-14, in Shore Conference Federal Division game.

"We had a number of guys step up in this game and make a difference," said Edwards, whose team is scheduled to square off against Freehold Boro Saturday. "That has been something that we haven't had a lot of in the past couple of years. This team has worked incredibly hard since the start of practice, and our expectations for them are set high. They responded in a big way against a solid Pinelands team."

With LHS holding a 21-14 lead, Pinelands was marching down the field when D.J. Williams came up with a huge defensive stop for the Piners. Williams stepped in front of an intended receiver and pick off a pass that squelched the possible scoring drive.

"Plays like that win games," Edwards said. "That was a huge stop for us. There was plenty of time remaining in the game. They were starting to build a little momentum and we stopped it before it got out of control."

Mike Jones was another Piner who came up with big plays on both offense and defense. Jones rushed for a game-high 115 yards, which included a 47-yardtouchdown jaunt in the opening quarter that electrified the crowd.

Jones' TD run gave Lakewood a 7-0 firstquarter cushion, but more importantly it provided the Piners with first half momentum.

"We haven't had a touchdown run like that since my first year coaching in this program," Edwards said. "That was another key play for us. It got us the early lead and gave out team a lift and incentive to play hard."

Jones delivered a huge defensive stop in the second half. With Lakewood leading 13- 8 with just about eight minutes left in the game, Jones intercepted a pass and returned it 77 yards for a score.

"He is just a super athletic kid who is capable of making plays like that," Edwards said. "He made a great read and then stepped up in front of the receiver and picked it off."

Pinelands responded by scoring of its following drive. Kyle Gross tossed a 71-yard TD pass to James Weisz, who also converted the two-point conversion to pull Pinelands to within 21-14.

"We still have areas that need to get addressed," Edwards said. "We made a couple of mistakes in this game. We've got to learn that when we have teams down, we can't afford to let them back in the game."

Winning the season opener gives the Piners' confidence a huge boost.

"This was a big win for the program," Edwards said. "Hopefully, we can take this victory into this week's game. Freehold Boro is going to be a real challenge for us."