Maldjian's Five TD's, Defense Fuel Rumson's Blowout Win Over SJV

Photos above: # 6 Alex Maldjian, coin toss, national anthem

RUMSON – The Bulldogs defense spent the offseason trying to get rid of a bad taste in their mouth after surrendering the game-winning touchdown drive in their 20-15 loss to Somerville in last season’s Central Jersey Group III final.

That loss ended their string of four consecutive state sectional titles and a shot at tying the Shore Conference record with their fifth.

Well in Friday night’s 43-6 blowout of Saint John Vianney they just might’ve erased that bad taste - and then some.

“After (losing at) Rutgers, this has been our goal all offseason,” said Rumson star defensive end Henry Sullivan. “Knowing this was our first game we just wanted to get out here and play hard and I think that’s what we did.”

The win also marked the first Rumson win over Saint John Vianney since the 2013 season when this year’s seniors were in seventh grade.

Sullivan might’ve have underestimated the Bulldogs defensive performance by just a little bit – they overwhelmed the SJV offense.

With eight defensive starters from the Somerville game back on the field Friday night, the Rumson defense completely shut down the usually high-powered Saint John Vianney offense limiting them to 54 yards of total offense on nine possessions with 37 of those yards coming on the Lancers first and only drive of the game.

“I think we grew up a lot and came together as a team more,” Sullivan said of his team’s defensive performance. “We had to step up. We were coming in with a new defense (4-2-5) and it allowed us to spread things out and work up the middle more.”

On that opening drive, the Lancers drove to the Bulldogs 24-yard line where they were facing a fourth-and-11. But senior linebacker Keegan Woods snuffed out a bubble screen from sophomore quarterback Joshua East to junior running back Zarrin Stephens with Woods hauling down Stephens after a two-yard pickup and turning the ball over to Rumson.

The hulking Sullivan set the tone for the defense after that stop on the Lancers second drive of the game with the Bulldogs already ahead 7-0.

Woods dropped junior Kavon Chambers for a four-yard loss on first-and-10 from the Lancers six-yard line. Chambers - a first-team All-Shore running back a year ago after rushing for 1,438 yards and 11 touchdowns – was held to only 42 yards on 19 rushing attempts for the game.

On second down from the one-yard line after a false start penalty on SJV, Sullivan and senior defensive tackle Joe Afflitto flushed East out of the pocket forcing him to throw the ball away. Sullivan then penetrated the backfield on third down and stopped Chambers in his tracks for a safety and a 9-0 lead with 3:11 left in the first quarter.

“I think the safety took the air out of them,” Sullivan said. “From there it was our goal to step on their throats and keep on going. Rough ending last year, great start this year.”

“It’s the type of kids that we have and the type of defense we run,” Rumson head coach Jerry Schulte said. “We’re aggressive, we attack, we don’t sit back and see what you’re going to do we try to make something happen for us.”

As good as the defense was senior fullback Alex Maldjian was just as good. The 5-foot-8, 200-pound bruiser had a career night scoring five first-half touchdowns when the Bulldogs scored all 43 of their points.

In his first game as the Bulldogs featured back, Maldjian put to rest any doubt that he could carry the load after having to replace Rumson’s graduated first-team All-Shore running back Pete Lucas, who rushed for 2,196 yards and 31 TD’s a year ago.

Maljian finished with 94 yards rushing on 11 carries (8.5 yards/attempt) along with his five touchdowns.

“We knew Alex could do that,” Schulte said. “He was doing it for us last year. We not surprised he had the game he had.”

A year ago Maldjian rushed for over 600 yards with 10 touchdowns and another 161 yards receiving and two TD’s.

“Obviously if I look back on what I did tonight it was great,” said Maldjian. “But during the game I just kept focused and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my offensive line. They played really well today; the holes were wide open and could just run. I didn’t have to think too much.

“I was just ready to get out on the field for the first game, especially after losing last year. That’s been on our minds the whole time and we just kept working forward towards that. We went out and played and it turned out well.”

On Rumson’s first possession of the game, Maldjian picked up eight yards on first down before junior starting quarterback Colin Coles found senior wide receiver Jackson McCarthy down the right sidelines for a 31-yard gainer. McCarthy made a sensational one-handed grab as he was tumbling to the ground with a defender draped on his back.

“Colin really showed up today,” Maldjian said. “He showed that even when I’m not going to be able to do things he’ll still be able to make those passes. Jackson had that insane catch over on the sideline that got our momentum moving but Colin had to put it there, so Colin really played well today.”

Two plays later on second-and-4 from the Lancers 31-yard line, Coles spotted Maldjian coming out of the backfield and hit him over the middle around the 25-yard line. Maldjian eluded a couple of tackles and sprinted the rest of the way into the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Playing in his first high school game as a starter, Coles displayed poise and the ability to make the big throws when needed. It was a tough first starting assignment for the young signal caller against a team that came into the season with a 38-game Shore Conference winning streak and had beat the Bulldogs in five straight games.

“He’s come a long way,” Schulte said of his young quarterback. “As a first-year starter we’re very pleased with Colin. The way he progressed during the summer we thought he could do just what he did tonight.”

Coles finished completing 12-of-15 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

Rumson got the ball right back after the safety and a 27-yard scamper by junior running back Peter Crowley set the Bulldogs up with a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line. On the next play, Maldjian took the handoff up the middle and ran through three would-be tacklers for a 10-yard score and a 16-0 lead with 1:47 still left in the first quarter.

Following another three-and-out by SJV which included a big fourth down stop by Sullivan and junior Gordon Forsyth, Rumson took over after fielding the punt and drove 47 yards in five plays with Maldjian capping off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. On the drive Coles and senior tight end Ian O’Connor connected three times for 31 yards to set up Maljian’s third touchdown of the game.

O’Connor led the Bulldogs with four receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown.

Junior Drew Frankel and Forsyth each made stops for no gain on the Lancers next possession and following an incompletion by East the Lancers punted again.

With the score now 23-0 the Bulldogs took over at their own 35-yard line with 8:37 left in the second quarter and drove 65 yards in six plays to push the score to29-0 after a fumbled snap on the extra point.

Crowley started the drive off with a 11-yard pickup and Maldjian finished it off with a 37-yard scoring run – his fourth of the game.

The Lancers then took over at their own 20 after a touchback before Sullivan and Forsyth combined to chase Chambers down for a 15-yard loss all the way back to the five-yard line. Senior defensive lineman Isaac Vernon then stopped Chambers for a one-yard loss on a screen play and the Lancers Anthony Brett was forced to punt out of his own end zone shanking it out of bounds at the 24-yard line.

Five plays later, Maldjian burst through the line for a two-yard TD – his fifth of the game - and a 36-0 lead. Senior running back Tommy Salano had three carries for 13 yards on the drive.

On third-and-10 from the 20 on the Lancers ensuing possession, senior linebacker Chris Lanzalotto pulled down freshman Jayden Bellamy on a screen from East after a two-yard pickup and like a broken record - SJV was forced to punt again.

On first-and-10 from the 46 following the punt, Coles completed a 16-yard pass to senior wideout Andrew Lawless and a 10-yard pass to Salano to the 33-yard line before a personal foul penalty gave Rumson a first down at the 15-yard line. Coles then found O’Connor for a touchdown on a crossing pattern over the middle of the end zone for a 43-0 halftime lead.

With a running clock in affect the entire second half, the Bulldogs were limited to two possessions with mostly second and third-team stringers in the game.

The Lancers scored their only touchdown of the game after a mental error by Rumson on the second-half kickoff allowed SJV to recover the ball on the Rumson 17-yard line. East scored five plays later on a keeper form one-yard out.

Saint John Vianney was held to 48 yards rushing on 25 attempts (1.92 yards/carry) and six yards passing.

Rumson will host Middletown North next Friday in an interdivisional matchup in the new Colonial division of the Shore Conference.

“We talked in the locker room about playing for the seniors today,” Maldjian said. “We’re leaving after this, so we have to give it all on our last run. This was a huge win for us.”

“That was a big game for us, definitely,” Schulte added.

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