New Egypt shuts out Burlington City to even record at 3-3
BY MIKE WHITE Staff Writer

PLUMSTED - While all the fancy, eyecatching offensive plays made for plenty of excitement and smiles last Friday night, it was the defensive effort by the Warriors that led New Egypt to a lopsided 35-0 victory over Burlington City in a Burlington County Athletic League Freedom Division game.

"We had a lot of big plays on offense in this game, but the defense was the key to us getting this victory," New Egypt coach Tom Farrell said. "We played well on both sides of the ball, but our defensive line was tremendous. They did a great job of limiting the run and of pressuring the quarterback."

The Warriors were scheduled to square off against Trenton Catholic, which was forced to forfeit this week's contest. The Warriors next game is in two weeks against Palmyra. New Egypt owns an overall record of 3-3.

Having some time off may not be a bad thing for New Egypt. The Warriors entered last Friday's game down three starters lost to injury. In fact, New Egypt started a freshman and two sophomores on the defensive line against Burlington City.

"The guys who stepped in did an outstanding job," Farrell said. "We weren't sure what to expect, they filled the gap and raised their level of play. We were real pleased with their performance as a unit."

Indeed, New Egypt's defense shut down the Burlington City offense. Burlington City managed just 60 yards of total offense. Anytime an offense is held to that little yardage, scoring points is a huge task.

"That was the game right there," Farrell said. "We only let them across the 50- yard line once or twice. They had a difficult time mounting any type of offensive attack. This was by the far the best outing on both sides of the ball we've had this season."

Offensively, New Egypt quarterback Dylan Rowley rushed for 160 yards on 15 carries. He did an outstanding running the option, Farrell said. In addition, Rowley was 2-for-2 passing for 76 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Rowley connected with Lance Sutton on an option pass right before the end of the first half to put New Egypt ahead, 14-0.

"He had a great game for us," Farrell said of Rowley. "He did a great job running that option. He has been getting better and better as each week has passed."

Farrell felt his offense could have played a smarter first half.

"Sure, you're pleased when you're ahead at half, but we made some mistakes and took some penalties in that first half," he said. "We addressed that at halftime and wanted the kids to take a more disciplined approach in the second half. They did a good job of staying focused and executing the designed plays."

Running back Langston Lacroix rushed for 130 yards on 17 carries. He scored a TD and kicked all five extra points for the Warriors.

Lacroix and Lance Sutton paced the defense with nine and 10 tackles, respectively.

"We're hoping the level of play and intensity carries over to the next game," Farrell said. "Palmyra is always a difficult team for us to stack up against. We have a couple of weeks to prepare and to get everybody healthy."