In a quartet of hard-fought games this midseason, the Edison High School football team defeated the New Brunswick Zebras and lost to St. Joseph’s, South Brunswick, and St. Thomas Acquinas. The Eagles won by a margin of 35–6 against New Brunswick on September 29; lost 35–14 to the Falcons on October 6; came up short against the Vikings, 30–27, on October 13; and fell to an undefeated Trojans team by a margin of 48–8 on October 20.

Edison played against New Brunswick on Homecoming Night. Quarterback Anthony Calantoni ‘25 led the team with 57 yards passing and contributed a score with his legs, while Nyekir Eato ‘25 ran for 86 yards and two touchdowns, Tori’ahn Rattray ‘24 for 29 and a touchdown, and Ethan Alcover ‘25 for 33 and a score within the second quarter to put the game out of reach.

“It was a great win for the Eagles last night,” said Head Coach Mr. Mathew Yascko of the game. “It was great to be able to get a lot of players in the game and almost everyone contributed.”

South Brunswick won the pregame coin toss and elected to defer, sending the ball to the Edison 29-yard line to begin the first half of play. The Eagles immediately capitalized on this opportunity, moving 71 yards over the course of ten plays to take an early 6–0 lead over the Zebras.

The ensuing kickoff played directly into Edison’s hands thanks to a botched New Brunswick recovery, a turnover that allowed the Eagles to begin their second offensive drive at the Zebra 27-yard line. Five plays later, the Eagles scored again on an Alcoma rush from the two-yard line. A successful two-point rush from Reggie Woodson ‘24 boosted Edison’s lead to fourteen points with six minutes left to play in the first quarter. The Eagles would score once more on their very next drive (a 34-yard Eato run to the endzone, and a successful extra point kick by Cameron Lucarelli ‘25) to take a three-score lead, 21–0, at the end of the first quarter.

While the first quarter may have very well been a show of offensive strength, the second quarter was a show of defensive prowess for Edison. On New Brunswick’s first possession of the quarter, Edison’s defense forced the Zebras to a quick three-and-out and fourth down at their own yard line. With no other option, the team elected to punt—however, the kick only sailed a mere seven yards before it was downed out of bounds by Edison’s return unit. Eato would take a handoff to the right-side pylon on the very next play, extending Edison’s lead to 28 with just under eight minutes to play in the half.

It did not take long for Edison’s defense to force another turnover. Midway into the Zebras’ next drive, as the team worked to make its way out of its own endzone, Edison’s defensive line forced and recovered a fumble at the New Brunswick fifteen-yard line, putting the offense in prime scoring position once more. On the very next play, which looked to mirror Eato’s score on the previous drive, Rattray took the handoff fifteen yards down the left sideline into the Zebras’ endzone. With a successful extra point conversion, Edison padded its lead to 35 over scoreless New Brunswick with six minutes and 45 seconds left to play in the second quarter.

The remainder of the half went without any scoring action, as the Zebras were unable to gain any significant yardage. Edison also began to pull some of its starting offensive players, including Calantoni, who was replaced by Hemza Nasser ‘24. The Eagles decided to run the clock into halftime, taking a five-score lead into the break.

During the halftime intermission, representatives from Student Council announced nominees to the Homecoming Court for the Class of 2024. Among the nominees was team captain Justin Reid ‘24, who led Edison in its victory against J.P. Stevens earlier during the year. Student Council also announced that nominees Christian Amann ‘24 and Idhika Turya ‘24 had collectively raised the most money as part of the Homecoming charity initiative; their combined total of over $700 will be donated to Hugs for Brady, a Central Jersey organization specializing in research and advocacy against pediatric cancer.

Both the third and fourth quarters of the game went by without any major action, as Edison’s offense largely resorted to burning time off the game clock and the defense continued to stifle almost every single opposing offensive initiative. The first Brunswick possession of the quarter, which ended in a punt, lasted almost six minutes, and the second possession brought the Zebras to the Edison 42-yard line before an untimely fumble returned control back to the Eagles. It was only deep into the fourth quarter, with only a minute left to play in the game, that New Brunswick was finally able to make it into the Eagles’ endzone, connecting on a 47-yard catch-and-score. By then, however, the outcome of the game was completely finalized, as Edison only needed to take a knee to end the game with a win, 35–6.

“It was a great performance for the Eagles in less than admirable weather conditions for both teams,” said Athletics Director Mr. David Sandaal ‘90. “What really impressed me about Edison is that we were able to really take New Brunswick out of the game early, and by halftime, the outcome wasn’t in doubt.”

Unfortunately, Edison did not have as fortunate outcomes against the other three teams.

In the game against St. Joseph’s, the Falcons, much like Edison during the Homecoming game, were able to jump to an early multi-score lead by the second quarter. Down 28–0, the Eagles were never fully able to recover, only managing to score two touchdowns to bring the final score to 35–14.

In the game against South Brunswick, the Eagles came up just short. Rallying against an early deficit to take a lead during the third quarter, Edison was unable to score within the final minutes of regulation after a South Brunswick touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

In the game against St. Thomas Acquinas, the Eagles found themselves unable to stop the Trojans’ powerful rushing attack, allowing multiple rushing touchdowns in the first three quarters before finally finding an answer during the fourth. The offense was also unable to make a mark, as the team only scored on a defensive fumble return to make the final score 48–8.

While the loss to an undefeated St. Thomas Acquinas team pushed the Eagles’ record to 3–6 on the season and almost certainly ended any hope of a playoff berth, this season offered a positive, in-depth look at the Eagles’ present weaknesses, from which the team can only look to improve. Competitive games against teams like North Brunswick and Sayreville, both of which had dominant seasons of their own, should also give students and staff a sign that the team will come out with a better record next year.

Livestream replays of the games against New Brunswick and St. Joseph’s are available on the Edison High Athletics YouTube channel.

Statistics for the games against New Brunswick, St. Joseph’s, South Brunswick, and St. Thomas Acquinas are all available from NJ.com.