Football season is well underway, and the football team here at Bernards is right in the middle of their season. After a big opening night win against AL Johnson, the team had a bye week and games against Manville & Rahway to prepare for. In their game against Manville, Bernards overcame a slow first quarter start to win comfortably by a score of 49-14. Senior Sebastian Sanchez started the second quarter with a 99-yard touchdown run to put the Mountaineers up 7-6, a run that is tied for the longest run in Bernards history.
After the victory over Manville, Bernards opened their home schedule against Rahway. The game was played on a cold, rainy Friday night with wind gusts of over 15 miles per hour. Bernards lost the game by a score of 14-6, with their one touchdown coming from a pass from junior Stephen Gribben to junior Matt Tantleff.
On October 16, the team bounced back from their two-game losing skid to beat Bound Brook 35-6. Gribben ran for a one-yard touchdown and threw a 19-yard touchdown to fellow junior Curt Gouldin. Sanchez ran for touchdowns of 19 and ten yards in a game that saw him accumulate a total of 65 yards on the ground. Junior Marc Murphy also ran for a touchdown in a game that was head coach Jon Simoneau’s 43rd win at Bernards, the most in school history.
“We needed that win to keep our playoff chances alive,” Simoneau said. “I almost forgot about the milestone because everyone was so focused on winning that game and I only remembered when Carmon presented me with the game ball and announced it to the locker room. [The record] was something I thought about during the summer but in the heat of the moment I almost forgot about it.”
After the win against Bound Brook, the team traveled to North Plainfield and beat them by a score of 23-14. QB Stephen Gribben ran for two touchdowns and threw another to fellow junior Curt Gouldin, whose 47-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter was his only catch of the game. The win improved the team’s record to 4-2, with all four wins coming away from Olcott Field.
Bernards finally got that elusive first home win of the season on October 30 with a decisive 35-7 victory over Somerville. Sanchez ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter of the win, and Gouldin caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from junior QB Stephen Gribben. Gribben additionally ran for a 7-yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter. The following week saw the team lose to Roselle at home by a score of 33-26.
