WW-P outlasts Hightstown for first win as co-op program
HIGHTSTOWN >> Never could West Windsor-Plainsboro have imagined that its first victory as a coop football program would come in a game with close to 900 yards of total offense.
You had to see it to believe it. In one of biggest Mercer County shootouts in recent memory, West Windsor pulled away from Hightstown in the second half at David J. McIntire Field for a 63-27 win — the first for the program in 13 games since the North and South high schools joined together last season.
The aftermath was a raucous on-field celebration with the Mayor’s Cup trophy for East Windsor supremacy.
“It’s building,” head coach Jeff Reilly said of the past 13 months. “We had a really good freshman team last year. We had the process of bringing our kids together, and that was work. We have younger kids coming up that are getting out here and making plays, and it’s coming together. Our first three games we played some really tough games and I felt like we competed.”
West Windsor boasts an upand-coming weapon at quarterback in sophomore Shane Johnson, who completed 15-of-23 pass attempts for 382 yards and added 29 yards rushing on three carries.
Johnson had a whopping six touchdown passes: two to Makhi Thompson, two to Marco Despeignes, one to George Battle IV and one to Brandon Drayton.
“He’s confident in what he does and he delivers. He sees the offense and reads,” Reilly said. “He’s a mature young guy. He can throw the ball.”
West Windsor also showcased a balanced rushing attack with touchdowns from David Tunis, Mark Tiganila and James Rush.
Reilly credits offensive coordinator Jeff Torralba for being the architect of the team’s spread offense, which emphasizes quick passes and getting skill players into space to create yards after the catch. There is also a zoneread deception element where the quarterback reads the defense before deciding whether to hand the ball off to the running ball or tuck it and run himself.
“You can give him all the credit in the world,” Reilly said. “Jeff Torralba, he’s the one that stayed up late at night and said, ‘How do you do this?’ He’s really put together a nice scheme and he does a lot of work.”
In a game that featured four touchdowns within the first five minutes and had four lead changes in the first half, the key for West Windsor was generating three straight stops on defense late in the first half.
That success carried over into the second half as Hightstown was shut out over the final two quarters. West Windsor displayed solid gang tackling. Eren Beser had a key sack on fourth down in the third quarter.
“We did some things schematically, but really we hunkered down and started tackling better, too,” Reilly said. “You’ve got to tackle. We started doing that and getting to the ball a lot better and pursuing the ball.”
Patrick Margerum scored two touchdowns for Hightstown — one on an 11-yard reception on the opening drive and then on a kickoff return later in the first quarter. Quarterback Danny Wersching had a passing touchdown and a running touchdown. Tayo Isadare adding a rushing score.
West Windsor (1-3) Hightstown (1-4) 21 21 7 14 — 63 20 7 0 0 — 27
H-Margerum 11 catch from Wersching (kick failed)
WW-Battle 48 catch from Martin (Potenza kick)
WW-Thompson 30 catch from Martin (Potenza kick)
H-Margerum 80 kickoff return (Salter kick) WW-Tunis 18 run (Potenza kick) H-Wershing 2 run (Salter kick) H-Isadare 23 run (Salter kick) WW-Drayton 6 catch from Martin (Potenza kick)
WW-Despeignes 54 catch from Martin (Potenza kick)
WW-Despeignes 53 catch from Martin (Potenza kick)
WW-Thompson 57 catch from Martin (Potenza kick)
WW-Tiganila 1 run (Potenza kick) WW-Rush 1 run (Potenza kick)