By Jason Lockhart
Morristown High School faced a Plainfield Cardinals team that entered Saturday’s playoff game with an edge in speed, passing and weight. But the Colonials’ defense and power running game prevailed in an easy 31-7 victory at Memorial Field.
The Cardinals had no answers to stop running back Kevin Gaskins, who rushed for 173 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns that were both more than 40-yard runs.
Gaskins’ 47-yard touchdown with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter drove a dagger through the Cardinals’ hopes of a miracle comeback, giving the Colonials a 28-7 lead.
A good chunk of Gaskins’ damage came in the the second quarter, however. He galloped 41 yards for a touchdown, and later broke loose for a 49-yard run. That put the Colonials in position for a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darren Dungee, who finished the game with 53 total yards. The Colonials led 21-0 at halftime.
“The runs were great and the offensive line did a great job,” Gaskins said when asked about the team’s late second quarter drive. “They were leaving holes wide-open, and I ran straight down field. It felt great!”
Colonials wide receiver and linebacker Shawn Bell picked off Cardinal quarterback Dii’jon Allen-Jordan twice in the second quarter as Plainfield tried to keep the game close. The second interception Allen-Jordan threw bounced off the hands of one of his deep-threat receivers in the end zone.
“The second [interception], I kind of jumped the route and then came back when the ball was in the air, so I was able to grab it,” Bell said. “I was running from side-to-side trying to figure out where the quarterback was going to throw the ball.”
Bell also caught a 30-yard pass in the Colonials’ opening drive in the first quarter, which setted up an 18-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Akil Anderson.
The Cardinals (5-5) did not score until the early fourth quarter when Allen-Jordan connected a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Delano Mullings. That brought the Union County-based team to within 21-7 with 10:02 left.
But the Colonials (6-4) pressured Allen-Jordan with five sacks and picked him off three times. The third interception was caught by Morristown defensive back Kamau Dumas.
Morristown’s Steve Delargy concluded the scoring with a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Plainfield’s marching band was one of the few bright spots for the Cardinals. Many fans, including the Morristown marching band and cheerleaders, were dancing and singing to Plainfield’s performances of tunes by Drake, Lil’ Wayne, Tyler Cruz, Trey Songz, and Kanye West.
For the Colonials, the victory was their first playoff win in three years. On Friday, they will make another trip to Chester to play league rival West Morris Central for the next round of the North II Group III sectionals. Gaskins said Morristown has some scores to settle. The Wolfpack thumped the Colonials 34-14 on Oct. 29, and humiliated them in last year’s playoffs in a 50-7 romp.
Colonials head coach Chris Hull said his team will be practicing extra hard this week.
“Hell yeah this is the big one,” Hull said. “It is turning into a big rivalry here in Morristown where both teams are going at it. They got the best of us the last few times, so we will be gearing up for this weekend.”
Bell also said after the game that the Colonials are hyped-up for the rematch with West Morris Central.
The winner will play at The New Meadowlands on Thanksgiving weekend.
