Rumson-Fair Haven’s successful season comes to an end in the playoffs
RUMSON, N.J. — For months, Rumson-Fair Haven football’s defense terrorized offenses across New Jersey en route to a sparkling 10-1 record. On Friday night, the Bulldogs finally met their match.
Visiting Woodrow Wilson took down Rumson by a score of 28-3 in the NJSIAA Group III Championship Game. The defeat saw the Bulldogs held to a paltry 133 total yards of offense. Key to that defensive effort was slowing down dominant running back Geoff Schroeder, who accumulated just twenty total yards.
“Their closing speed was just phenomenal,” Rumson head coach Jerry Schulte said. “They have such great athletes and they were quick to the ball. They were just the better football team, plain and simple.”
Even with their struggles on offense, the score was close until the final six minutes of the game. Things then began to get out of hand for Rumson when Woodrow Wilson running back Naz’sir Ogelby bolted for a 57-yard touchdown, his second of the game, to make the score 15-6. From there, it went from bad to worse for the home team, as the visitors added thirteen more unanswered points before time ran out.
The late-game collapse from Rumson’s defense was likely a surprise for the home crowd. In their previous two playoff games against Oakcrest and Burlington Township, they failed to surrender a single first down, let alone any points. Ultimately, the biggest reason for Woodrow Wilson’s success was the rushing ability of Oglesby (139 rushing yards) and the efficient play of quarterback Devin Kargman, who threw for 203 yards and scored a rushing touchdown in the first quarter.
While Schroeder and the Rumson run game was bottled up, priority number one on defense for Woodrow Wilson was stopping dual-threat quarterback Colin Kennedy. He threw for just thirty yards and rushed for four, unable to generate anything on offense outside of a fourth-quarter touchdown run.
For Schulte and Rumson, the loss brings an otherwise incredibly successful season to a bitter end. While the Bulldogs had certainly hoped to advance further in the NJSIAA playoffs, their stiff competition wasn’t shocking.
“Nothing they did tonight surprised us,” Schulte said. “We saw them in person against Manasquan last week. They dominated, and we think Manasquan is a pretty good football team.”
Ending the year with a stellar mark of 9-2 would be fine for most schools, but it can’t help but feel like a disappointment to Rumson. Looking to notch their seventh sectional title, the program is clearly used to success. Often built on the backbone of their hard-hitting linebackers, it certainly didn’t warm the hearts of Schulte and the coaching staff to see Woodrow Wilson have so much success running the ball in the middle of the field.
Schulte’s team must now shift focus to the offseason, where they will have to replace the production of departing seniors Kennedy and Schroeder. While replacing your two best offensive threats may be a gargantuan task for any other school, Rumson has made a habit of building up depth and finding new players to replace departing stars. Expect the Bulldogs to contend for a Shore Conference title once again in the 2022 season.
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