The first season under new head coach, Mr. Tom Roarty, ended with a disappointing loss at home to Mendham, 47-26.
Coming into the game, Colonia averaged 243 rushing yards per game, while Mendham averaged 176. Colonia’s rushing yards came mainly from junior Sam Pero. On paper, Colonia was better throwing the ball, boasting 116 yards from junior Oluwatenioalafunmi (Tenny) Adewusi and senior Matthew Mizak. On the other hand, Mendham, threw the ball for 95 yards.
The stats indicated that Mendham would run the ball a lot, and it proved out to be true. After Pero found the end zone with a one yard run to make it 7-7, Mendham responded with a TD run. The Patriots went on to try to make it a game themselves, with Adewusi throwing an accurate pass to junior Pharaoh Napoleon. From then on, it was all Mendham. Unable to stop Mendham’s multiple rushers, who rushed for almost 300 yards, Colonia was in for a long night. Meanwhile, as Colonia kept fighting, Pero ran for 118 yards and a TD. Senior Chris Carothers led Colonia with 14 tackles. As a result of this rushing attack, Colonia only had the ball for 12 minutes, compared to 36 for Mendham. Mendham ran away with the game in the 2nd half, and ended Colonia’s season.
In what will be the last game played in Blue and Gold, seniors like Nicholas Matrongolo, Timothy Pangborn, and Nicholas Haderthauer along with 16 other departing seniors bid farewell. As a school we’d like to congratulate Coach Roarty and his coaching staff, along with all the players for providing a great season.
