High School Football:
Edgewood Upsets Woodrow Wilson

Saturday, September 18, 1999

By Boog Williams
SJSports Staff Writer

Today's inter division Olympic Conference football game, between the Edgewood Eagles (Patriot Division) and the Woodrow Wilson Tigers (National Division) ended in a major upset. The Tigers were ranked as one of the top ten teams in South Jersey, but the Eagles defeated them with great play on defense and offense by a score of 38-6.

The game started off with Edgewood's defense, led by #43 Adam Faris and #17 Jason Sapp, stopping the high powered Tigers, led by #9 Rashad Baker. On the Eagles first possession, it was #4 Brandon Osborne's show. #4 On the first play, Osborne took the handoff from #2 Nick Rosetti, and ran for 15 yards. On the second play, #4 Osborne ended up in the end zone. With all conference Kicker Adam Tsadick, Edgewood was up 7-0 with 11:02 to play in the first quarter. Edgewood's defense again stopped Woodrow Wilson and forced them to punt. On the Eagles' second possession, it was #17 Jason Sapp's turn to steal the show. #17 Sapp made a great run to put the ball on Wilson's 6 yard-line. Sapp took the pitch from #2 Rosetti and was in the end zone to give Edgewood a 14-0 lead with 6:01 left in the first quarter. Woodrow Wilson scored with 1:50 left in the first quarter on a 32 yard pass from #8 Raymond Barker to #5 Dewayne Earl. The Tigers tried to go for 2 points, but again were stopped by the Eagles. # 9 Roger Brown broke up the attempted pass. The score was now Edgewood 14 - Woodrow Wilson 6.

In the second quarter, with 11:45 left to play, Wilson's QB #8 Barker fumbled and Edgewood's #12 Matt Thomas recovered it to give the ball back to the Eagles' offense. With 10:17 left before the half, Edgewood's QB #2 Rosetti hit #24 Dennis Davis, one of the fastest players in South Jersey. After catching the pass, Davis was able to make a cut and found himself in the end zone. With #1 Tsadick's kick good, Edgewood increased its lead to 21-6. With 4:29 left before the half, Edgewood's Rosetti threw his second TD pass. This time it was to #4 Osborne. Osborne broke 3 tackles on his way to a 39-yard TD pass play. This increased Edgewood's lead to 28-6. Wilson started to move the ball, but the Eagles' defense stopped them. This time, it was # 68 Mike Graff, with his second sack of the game. An additional delay of game call put Wilson in a 3rd and 30 situation. Wilson QB Barker, with 2:11 left, tried a long pass down the side lines, but was intercepted by the Eagles #24 Davis on the Eagles' own 39. Edgewood's #17 Sapp had a nice 17 yard run in the drive to move the ball down to the Tigers 15. Edgewood looked like they had another TD pass, but it was called back for offensive pass interference. This moved the ball back 15 yards. Coach Sellers sent out #1 Tsadick to try a 47-yard field goal. Tsadick hit the ball well and was on line but the kick fell 3 yards short. At the end of the half, Edgewood took a 28-6 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, Edgewood started off with #9 Brown returning the ball to the 34-yard line. Edgewood kept possession of the ball after lineman #75 Matt Zadroga recovered the ball on an Edgewood fumble. On the next play, # 17 Sapp took the pitch from #2 Rosetti and ran for 16 yards. The Edgewood drive was stopped when #24 Davis fumbled and was pick up by Wilson on its own 43. Edgewood's defense came out and stopped the Tigers once again. On a 4th and 6, Wilson tried a fake punt by centering the ball to #9 Baker. The defense for Edgewood was not fooled, as #4 Osborne stopped Baker at the line of scrimmage. Edgewood's kicking game was very good. When #1 Tsadick punted, he kicked the ball high and kicked it away from #9 Baker. On one punt, he pinned the Tigers on their own 6 yard line. He made all extra point tries and kicked a 25 yard field goal to give the Eagles a 31-6 lead. With 9:18 left, #17 Sapp intercepted a pass at his own 2 and ran it out to the 30. Edgewood punted back to Wilson. With 6:01 left in the game, #9 Brown intercepted a pass and ran it back for 43 yards to the Tigers' 12. On the runback, the Tiger QB #8 Barker was injured trying to make a tackle. His injury was reported as a bruised calf, and he is expected to be okay for next week's game. Edgewood's #17 Sapp made a very tough play, and scored the final TD, with a 12 yard run. The Game ended with one of the biggest upsets of the new season with Edgewood defeating Woodrow Wilson 38-6.

Edgewood is asking for all members of the 1969 Undefeated Football Team to return to Edgewood on Oct. 30th for a 30-year reunion. The players will be honored at half time of the Home Coming Game that will be played that day. If anybody knows a phone number or address of any of the players and coaches, please call Mr. Frank Panhuise, the AD of Edgewood, at 856-767-1850.

Photos by Boog Williams