Kieslor Leads the Way in Dragons' Blowout Win

It was easy for Brick head coach Robert Dahl to name off what he was happiest with in the Green Dragons 35-0 shutout win over Pinelands Regional on Friday night.

After the defense surrendered over 400 yards and struggled versus Central a week ago, the Dragons pitched their first shutout of the year. Even more impressive, Brick held the Wildcats to just two first downs, both coming on pass interference calls.

"The defense was just great today," said Dahl. "We simplified some things and got back to playing fundamentally sound football."

Field position was greatly in Brick's favor as the Dragons started with the ball on their side of the field only twice in the first half.

Brick took over at their own 40 and drove the ball 60 yards on 12 plays, converting two fourth downs and eating over seven minutes off the clock. Halfback Doug Cuccinello gained three yards on fourth and one from the seven, and on the next play, Brandon Kieslor ran it in for the score, his second of the day after a seven yard rush earlier in the first quarter.

Kieslor played a part in all five touchdowns, rushing for three and throwing for two more.

The defense held Pinelands to a three-and-out and after taking seven minutes to score on their last drive, Brick showed how fast they could strike. With 1:15 to go before half with a 14-0 lead, Brick only needed three plays and 30 seconds to go 53 yards for the score. Kieslor hit wideout John Fuino down the right side for a gain of 17 and came right back next play to find Chris Parlow in open space who would reach the endzone. 

Kieslor finished 6-for-9 passing, for two touchdowns and 111 yards, while rushing the ball 10 times for 63 yards and three scores. On the opening second half drive, Kieslor hit Parlow on a bubble screen from the Pinelands three yard line, who went in untouched.

The final Dragons score would come on a five-yard drive, as a snap went over the Pinelands punter's head from the 30 yard line. Kieslor dragged a defender into the endzone as his day and the majority of the starters was done, mid-way through the third quarter.

"He's really starting to come around," said Dahl. "We're starting to narrow our routes down to the stuff he feels comfortable with; he's really seeing the field now."

Brick totalled 176 yards on 32 carries as Doug Cuccinello rushed 11 times picking up 35 and Nick Nesser contributed with three carries for 38 yards.

"We took advantage of some really great field position, thanks to our defense, Coach McNamara did a great job of getting the boys ready."

Although it was against winless Pinelands Regional, a win was still good for the Dragons after struggling last week. 

"Our defense bounced back," Dahl said. "It's good to be back out on the field after sitting around thinking about the game last week. Getting that out of our system was something important that we needed to do."

The Wildcats did not run a play on the Dragons' side of the field all night, as they rushed the ball 24 times for only seven yards.

With the lead, Brick was able to mix in some of the lesser experienced players to get their feet wet at the varsity level. One of the more excited players was junior kicker Anthony Starego, who went 2-for-2 on his extra points as Steve Ferlisi converted his three PAT's too.

"(Starego) has a lot of pride and spirit," said Dahl. "He's a good kicker and it uplifts everyone when they see him get a chance to succeed."

Next Friday the Dragons will return home to take on Ocean Township at 7 p.m.