BLOOMFIELD, NJ – 115 rushing and 47 receiving yards en route to 18 points from Jeremy Witherspoon led the Bloomfield Bengals football team to a 41-13 victory in their home opener against the Columbia Cougars Friday night.
After the running back caught a 14-yard pass in the end zone from quarterback Kyle Tice in the first quarter, a successful extra point followed from kicker Marcus Wolfe, giving the Bengals a 7-0 lead.
“The guys came out on their first drive and really did a great job of putting points on the board early on,” Bengals Head Coach Mike Carter told TAPinto Bloomfield.
In the second quarter, the Cougars managed to score a touchdown and PAT, bringing the game to a short-term tie.
The Bengals used option plays to score the next two touchdowns, as Joe Orsita rushed for seven yards to reach the end zone and Leonard Munford sprinted for 17 yards for the next six points.
Columbia’s next touchdown was their last and it was followed by a missed two-point conversion attempt.
“Columbia had the ball quite a bit, but we didn’t let them score at all in the second half,” Carter said. “And we had a couple of really good turnovers that really helped us gain the victory.”
Witherspoon went on to score another two times, with a 99-yard punt return at the end of the second quarter and a 15-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth.
“Jeremy played a good game all around.” Carter said. “He always plays hard and his attitude rubs off on a lot of the other players.”
In addition, John Ridley scored the last TD of the game, catching a 10-yard pass from Tice.
Tice passed for 83 yards, en route to 6-of-11 receptions and two touchdowns.
Orsita had four carries totaling 46 rushing yards and Munford had another four carries, leading to 38 rushing yards.
On defense, William Robinson accumulated six tackles, while Joe Bumpus gave the Bengals five and Mike Abraham and Jayson Jean dished out another three each.
Wolf was successful on 5-for-6 extra points.
The Bengals will be back in action on Friday, September 15 as they take on the Nutley Raiders (0-1) for a rivalry matchup. The boys will meet at Nutley’s Park Oval at 7:00 PM.
