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Sports

BRHS Pounds Previously Unbeaten Columbia

Panthers advance to semifinals to face top-seeded Hunterdon Central.

Before Saturday's game at Columbia, head football coach Scott Bray reminded his players of the feelings they had to suffer through last year when they were one and done in the state playoffs.

"What we preached to them coming out was 'Hey, we got this far last year, and we let it get away from us,'" Bray said. "That feeling we had in the locker room last year, we don't want it again."

So the Panthers didn't let it happen again. 

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Against undefeated and fourth-seeded Columbia on the road, the fourth-seeded Panthers came out and took control this time, rolling to a 27-7 win in the opening round of the North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 state tournament. It was Bridgewater-Raritan's second state tournament playoff win in school history and first since 2003.

Bridgewater's Jamar Archer had a monster day on the ground, running for 209 yards and putting the Panthers in good field position all day.

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"All through the week, we've just been practicing hard," Archer said. "Our front line knew their assignments and I just counted on them to make the plays, and I just worked off them."

Archer's effort helped propel the Panthers into the semifinals on Friday to face top-seeded Hunterdon Central, which beat Westfield 21-7 in the quarterfinals. 

"Jamar's the type of kid that when he gets going, and you give him a couple cracks, he can have a big game," Bray said.

Bray continued to beam about Archer outside of his impressive Saturday afternoon.

"Jamar's a great kid," Bray said. "He made the transition from quarterback to running back this year, and he plays starting corner."

The Panthers held the Cougars to just seven points on the day. The team had a game plan for Columbia's offense—make the players do what Bridgewater-Raritan wanted them to do.

"We understood that if we forced them to drive the ball, we had enough that we felt we could stop them," Bray said. "I really credit our defense with what they've achieved."

Quarterback Ray Mastroianni gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 2:38 remaining in the first quarter, running in from 1 yard out for a touchdown. 

Almost a full quarter later, Mastroianni threw a touchdown pass to Matt Jacobs to double the team's advantage to 14-0 midway through the second quarter.

At halftime, Bridgewater-Raritan led Columbia by a score of 17-0.

With 5:40 left in the third quarter, Bridgewater's Tyler Barbarich kicked his second field goal of the day to give the Panthers a 20-0 lead.

Columbia's Denzel Nieves ran 61 yards for a touchdown just a minute later to cut the deficit to 20-7. The Cougars then recovered the ball on an onside kick, and momentum looked to be swinging away from the Panthers, with the Columbia fans getting louder by the second. 

Bray admitted the thought of the lead slipping away crossed his mind.

"You always do a little bit," Bray answered when asked if he was nervous the Cougars were staging a comeback. "But you have to have faith in your kids that they're going to play."

That faith translated into on-field success. Bridgewater's Connor Smith intercepted a pass with 1:55 remaining in the third, which seemed to completely drain any momentum that the Cougars had built.

"It was huge," Bray said. "That's what we've been doing all year. The kids settle themselves down and make plays like that."

With the loss, the Cougars' undefeated season came to an end.  Bray said he felt for the Cougars, as he knows they're a very talented team.

"They're well coached," Bray said. "We've seen that coming in here, and we knew they were 8-0. They've taken care of business all year long. We knew we had to shut down their skill kids."

Archer said he is excited of his team's prospects of moving on in the state tournament.

"After last year losing in the first round, and this year being able to move to another round, it feels really good," Archer said.

Bridgewater-Raritan will now face Hunterdon Central, a team the Panthers beat 20-3 during the regular season.

"It's a great thing these kids have accomplished," Bray said. 

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