Mendham football keeps impressive season going with win over Chatham

CHATHAM − A group of seniors on the Mendham football team had one goal in mind during the offseason.

Be historic.

The Minutemen are well on their way to making school history following a convincing 28-7 win over Chatham on Friday afternoon. Mendham rushed for 367 yards as a team, led by senior Kevin King's 133 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

Mendham has now won six straight games and is off to its best start since 2005, when coach Ethan Jaros was still in college at William Paterson University.

Mendham threw only one pass. The Minutemen's strong run game took center stage as it has all season long. They controlled the pace from the opening drive of the game, which was capped by a four-yard rushing touchdown by Cole Capuzzi.

King doubled the Mendham lead in the second quarter with a dazzling 35-yard touchdown run that included a spin move and a stiff arm. The Minutemen led 14-0 going into halftime, and King added a 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Chatham got on the board with quarterback Will Allen's 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal later in the quarter.

Jordan Lieberwirth finished the job for Mendham on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 66-yard touchdown run to put the game away.

What it means

Mendham is riding high and remains undefeated inside the SFC Liberty Blue division.

The Minutemen will face Montville next week in a de facto division championship game. The victory over Chatham likely pushes Mendham into the top eight of the UPR standings with two weeks left in the regular season. That puts the Minutemen in position to host at least one playoff game.

The Cougars snap a three-game win streak with this defeat in their regular-season home finale. They entered the week ranked No. 10 in the North Group 4 UPR standings and will likely need to win its last two games to be able to host a playoff game.

Game balls

All five members of the Mendham offensive line have been the guiding force to the success for the Minutemen. Mendham has rushed for at least 300 yards as a team in all six victories during this run, including 367 yards on Friday afternoon.

Seniors Ryan Lazzara, Nicholas Bruno, Rowan Killam, Ralph Langone and William Wallace are the starters that have allowed Mendham to eclipse 2,500 rush yards as a team on Friday.

For Bruno, the journey has been a special one as he was a wide receiver last season and has been morphed into an effective run blocker in his first season on the line.

Up next

Mendham (6-1) hosts Montville (5-1) next Friday.

Chatham (4-2) travels to Warren Hills (3-4) next Friday.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Mendham football keeps impressive season going with win over Chatham