At the end of my piece last week, I teased a potential duel between QBs Frankie Garbolino and Matt Yascko… but not everything goes to plan. Yascko suffered a broken nose before the game which forced Edison to turn to Sophomore backup Anthony Calantoni. He was solid in Yascko’s stead but ultimately wasn’t enough as the Raiders defeated Edison 13-10 in another tough defensive battle that saw an electric finish.

The game was quiet until the 2nd quarter when Garbolino found Zahmir Dawud for a 50-yard gain which later led to a Jack Garbolino touchdown on that drive. The 1st half saw no more action outside of a blocked field goal attempt. However, the second half is where it kicked off. Edison scored on a touchdown from RB Nyekir Eato and a wild snap on a punt set the table for an Edison field goal. With the score at 10-6, the Raiders had some work to do and they delivered. The Raiders went on a massive press in the last minutes of the 3rd quarter and it eventually was capped off on a 30-yard dime to WR Alani Aijigbotosho. The Raiders gave the ball up 13-10 to Edison and after the ball changed hands twice, Edison was driving down the field. Calantoni made a desperation heave downfield and almost had Jack Garbolino beat until he reached out with one hand and made an early candidate for play of the season intercepting the ball and giving it back to the Raiders. However, that drive stalled out and with 2:46 left, North Brunswick was forced to punt. Then out of sheer luck and miracles, the Edison returner bobbled the punt, the Raiders scooped it up and ended the game 13-10

An electrifying ending that we haven’t seen on this scale in a long time and it was secured by Jack Garbolino’s fantastic game on both offense and defense. He said, “It feels great to be able to play with these guys day in and day out and being able to learn from these guys who have been in the system for multiple years and have a sense for what to do in every situation.”

The Raiders take on Old Bridge next Friday, September 16th, at home.