Brick Memorial's Colin Schoellkopf has Cam Skattebo vibe in win over Toms River North
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BRICK - Brick Memorial senior Colin Schoellkopf did not hesitate when asked after the Mustangs' physical 24-14 win over Toms River North Friday night in a Shore Conference Class A South game at DiFabio if there is a running back he watches on TV.
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"The first thing that comes to my mind is Cam Skattebo,'' Schoellkopf said about the Giants' battering-ram second-year running back. "I wouldn't say I base my running style off him, but I really look up to him because of the way he runs through everybody. That's what I do. ''
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Schoellkopf powered his way to a career-high 200 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 38 carries Friday night. He had 164 yards and both of his TDs on 22 carries in the first half when the Mustangs (3-1, 1-1), ranked No. 5 in the Asbury Park Press Top 20, built a 17-7 lead.
Schoellkopf picked up most of his yardage running right up the middle and through would-be tacklers and by would-be tacklers.
"Cam Skattebo,'' Brick Memorial senior offensive lineman Jaxon Pacheco said when asked to describe Schoellkopf's running style. "When he (Schoellkopf) sees a hole, he hits it. He's fast. He has breakaway speed, but he also turns 2-yard gains into 5-yard gains for no reason - except for the love of the game.''. He wants contact and loves it.''
The last two weeks, Schoellkopf, who is also the starting middle linebacker on defense and rarely comes off the field, has run for 369 yards on 73 carries against two teams ranked in the top three in the APP Top 20 - Donovan Catholic and Toms River North.
"Colin's gritty. He's a throwback Brick Memorial running back.'' Mustangs' first-year head coach James Mahoney said. He's going to get the tough yards. If you hit him for 2 yards, he's going to turn it into a 4-yard gain. If you hit for what you think is going to be a TFL (a tackle for a loss), he turns it into a 2-3-yard gain. He keeps his feet moving. He's an animal in the weight room. He's leadership personifield. He's an unbelievable kid.''
Brick Memorial and Schoellkopf set the tone from the start
Against a Toms River North defense that was playing without standout linebacker and Duke University-recruit Jack Baker due to a lower body injury sustained last week in the Mariners' 14-7 win over Point Pleasant Borough, Brick Memorial made no bones about what its game plan was from the start.
On the game's first possession, Schoellkopf carried on all eight plays for 65 yards, including two runs of 13 yards and another of 15 yards. He capped the drive with a 6-yard TD run.
Then, after Toms River North (3-1, 1-1), ranked No. 3 in the APP Top 20 and No. 15 in the New Jersey Super 25, tied the game on an 11-yard Cole Garrison to Lucas Elias TD pass, Schoellkopf set up Jack Marotta's 24-yard field goal with a 36-yard run.
Schoellkopf carried the ball 10 times for 59 yards, including a 28-yard run on a third-and-3, on an 11-play, 69-yard drive that he capped with a 2-yard TD run to make it 17-7 with 54.5 seconds left in the first half.
"My running style is I'm going to put my head down and try to get as many yards as I can. I'm going to run you over,'' Schoellkopf said. I don't think anybody can tackle me one-on-one.''
It did help Schoellkopf that Brick Memorial's physical offensive line was controlling the line of scrimmage.
"We really have a lot of faith in our O-line and Colin is so rugged. He can really run hard,'' Pacheco said. "There are teams in the Shore that are going to be bigger than us and stronger us, but we're better up front and we need to dominate up front every game. That's what we did (Friday night).''
"You should have seen those gaps I had. It was like Christmas morning,'' Schoellkopf said about his offensive line.
Fowler comes up with the game-breaking play:
Senior wide receiver/defensive back Shawn Fowler gave Brick Memorial a three-score lead at 24-7 when he returned a punt 75 yards for a TD 83 seconds into the second half.
"Shawn's battled injury all week,'' Mahoney said. "He was gimping around in pre-game. We were kind of worried if he'd be able to play. He's another gritty Brick Memorial kid who does the right things and is super strong. What an unbelievable effort he gave us.''
Fowler's punt return turned out to be really big because Toms River North's defense stifended and forced punts on Brick Memorial's next three possessions.
The Mariners pulled within 24-14 when Finn Boland took a rocket screen from Garrison and raced 28 yards for a TD with 4:16 left in the third quarter.
Toms River North was on the move again early in the fourth quarter when junior defensive back Nymir Goodwin recovered a fumble at the Mustangs' 43.
Brick Memorial's offense leaves one final lasting impression
After Goodwin's fumble recovery, the Mustangs ran out the final 11:46 of the game with a monster 15-play, 55-yard drive that enabled them to end the game on the Toms River North 2.
Brick Memorial converted three fourth downs on that drive. The first was when senior quarterback Tyler Pierce ran for 2 yards on a fourth-and-1 from the Toms River North 36. The second came when Pierce completed a 16-yard pass to Fowler on a fourth-and-7 from the Mariners' 31. Then, Schoellkopf ran for 2 yards on a fourth-and-2 from the 7.
Brick Memorial 24, Toms River North 14
Toms River North 7 0 7 0 - 14
Brick Memorial 7 10 7 0 - 24
First Quarter
BM: Colin Schoellkopf 6 run (Jack Marotta kick).
TRN: Lucas Elias 11 pass from Cole Garrison (Carter Tamaro kick).
Second Quarter
BM: Jack Marotta 24 Field Goal.
BM: Schoellkopf 2 run (Marotta kick).
Third Quarter
BM: Shawn Fowler 75 punt return (Marotta kick).
TRN: Finn Boland 28 pass from Garrison (Tamaro kick).
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: TRN: Garrison 7-43, Lucas Elias 9-12. BM: Colin Schoellkopf 38-200, Tyler Pierce 6-28, Jack Marotta 2-3.
Passing: TRN: Garrison 9-20-0-103. BM: Tyler Pierce 7-9-0-63.
Receving: TRN: Finn Boland 4-55, Jared Brown 3-27, Lucas Elias 2-21. BM: Shawn Fowler 3-23, Joe Livio 2-18, Jayvon Ellison 1-18, Jack Marotta 1-4.
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This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Brick Memorial's Colin Schoellkopf has Cam Skattebo vibe in win over Toms River North