RUMSON, N.J. —  Rumson-Fair Haven football head coach Jerry Schulte preaches team-building over simply being a team; a roster made up of young men ready to make an impact when their opportunity comes.

“We get a lot of kids…and that allows our guys to go only one way so they don’t have to worry about another position,” Schulte told Patch.com. “We just get special kids, I don’t know any other way to say it.”

Few players in the entire Shore Conference have been as special as Rumson’s senior running back Geoff Schroeder. After backing up longtime starter John Volker for the past three seasons, Schroeder’s time to seize the top backfield job finally came this fall. His success has continued Rumson’s lengthy history of developing running backs.

As the centerpiece of the Bulldog’s offense, Schroeder has carried the team to a 5-0 record to begin the season. The hot start continued last Friday with a commanding 21-6 win over Colts Neck, complete with 148 yards rushing and three touchdowns from No. 20. After the game, Schroeder was quick to credit the team-wide effort behind his big year.

“This offense is more aligned than ever with our O-line [offensive line],” Schroeder said to the Asbury Park Press. “We make moves in the secondary, but we can’t get past that first level or the linebackers without the help of the O-line, the receivers blocking, and the fullback.”

Still, it would be impossible to overlook what Schroeder himself has done through the first half of the season. He has 619 rushing yards and eight touchdowns just five weeks into the year, an average of 123.8 rushing yards per game. Schroeder’s current pace would have him at just under 1,500 rushing yards over twelve games, which would be the highest mark for a Rumson running back since Peter Lucas in 2017, according to NJ.com.

Although Schroeder is making a name for himself as Rumson’s biggest attraction, the outstanding play of the Bulldogs’ defense is worth mentioning as well. The team has given up just 19 points total this year with a miniscule 3.8 points allowed per game. Schroeder himself called the unit “one of the most consistently sound and well-coached defenses in the entire state,” according to the Asbury Park Press.

However, that level of excellence would be hard to maintain without control of the ball, something made possible by the running excellence of their star senior. 

Now, Rumson faces their biggest test of the season when they go toe-to-toe with fellow unbeaten Red Bank Catholic on Friday night, in the last game of the Shore Conference regular season. 

While it will be one of Schroeder’s final games at Rumson, and arguably his most important, he isn’t preparing any differently. 

“It’s going to be really exciting, that’s the game that everybody is going to want to see,” Schroeder said to the Asbury Park Press. “We’re going to treat them like any other team. I feel like if we just play our style of football and we come to play, we’ll be ok.”

Rumson’s style of football, running up the middle and taking it to opposing defenses, is one Schroeder has thrived in during his first and final year in the spotlight. That doesn’t mean Schulte and the coaching staff are worrying about Geoff’s successor next season.

“We train our kids throughout their whole career. That’s why it’s a program and not just a team,” Schulte told the Asbury Park Press. “We always know who we’re losing, who’s coming back and what they can do. That’s our approach.”

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