Trenton ready for Old Bridge’s triple-option offense

Six Mercer County football teams begin quests for NJSIAA sectional titles this weekend. The schools are scattered in three different brackets, and three will play their openinground game at home.

Trenton Central is one of three teams taking a road trip Friday, and it comes in a highly competitive Central Jersey Group V bracket. The sixthseeded Tornadoes (6-3) play thirdseeded Old Bridge (6-2) in Matawan.

Trenton comes in soaring with confidence and momentum while riding a five-game winning streak. The Tornadoes pummeled Hopewell at home last Saturday, 40-3, to end the regular season.

But the Knights of the Greater Middlesex Conference have also won five in a row, and they feature a triple-option offensive scheme that will test Trenton’s discipline defending the run in a multitude of ways.

“It’s not an offense we’ve seen all year, but we’re confident in the scheme we’ve got to stop it,” said firstyear head coach Greg Hyslop, whose Tornadoes have been breaking down film all week. “It’s going to be a good game.”

Trenton boasts a potent running game of its own that has improved drastically since September. Messiah Cook is the team’s leading rusher with close to 500 yards, while quarterback Donovan Ford and skill players Ji’Ayir Brown and Kerry Smith have all topped the century mark on the season. Brown is also the team’s leading receiver.

After recent statement wins for Trenton over Burlington Township and Allentown, expect the Tornadoes to put up a strong fight resulting in a game that could come down to the wire. The winner will face either second-seeded South Brunswick or seventh-seeded Hillsborough in next weekend’s semifinals.

“If we play mistake-free football I think we can beat anybody, and that’s what our mindset’s been,” Hyslop said. “We win football games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s the way we practice.”

Here are this weekend’s other playoff matchups:

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP III, LAWRENCE (5-4) AT RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN (7-1), 7 P.M. » The good news for Lawrence is that the program fought its way into the playoffs for a second straight year after a tough 0-3 start. The bad news is the Cardinals got the eighth seed and have to contend with top-seeded Rumson. The Green Dragons have won three CJ Group III titles and feature a lethal running back in Pete Lucas, who has 1,819 yards and 24 touchdowns. They also have extraordinary size on defense. Lawrence likely needs a sensational performance from senior Davon Hemingway, who has more than 1,000 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns, to stand a chance. CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP III, EWING (4-5) AT SOMERVILLE (8-1), 7 P.M. » Although seventh-seeded Ewing scrimmaged second-seeded Somerville in August, that probably won’t do the Blue Devils many favors Friday night. The Pioneers have a bevy of targets and a balanced offense averaging 41 points per game this season. They notched 82 points two weeks ago against Scotch Plains. Meanwhile, Ewing has struggled offensively with three shutout losses on the year. Junior Tyrique Alston and senior Jacob Basich have totaled more than 500 yards passing, while senior Lavinsky Collins has more than 200 rushing yards. The Blue Devils, who have been prone to excessive penalties at times, will need to play their most disciplined game of the season to compete.

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP III, WALL (44) AT STEINERT (5-3), 1 P.M. » Neither school carries momentum into this one. Fourth-seeded Steinert has lost two straight to Allentown and Nottingham, while fifth-seeded Wall has dropped four of five. But the Spartans should be fresher after being off last weekend. Their defense has allowed only 11.8 points per game led by upperclassman linebackers Jake Swindasz and Xavier Roman. Still, a solid Shore Conference team is better than the majority of what Steinert faced this season. The key to this one is which team’s skill players rise to the occasion. Connecticut-bound senior Jordan Morrison is explosive both running and catching for Steinert. Brady McNally is an explosive runner for Wall with double-digit touchdowns on the year.