The Glassboro football team hoists head coach Timmy Breaker on their shoulders in celebration after defeating Cedar Grove, 56-14, in the New Jersey Group 1 state final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday, November 29, 2024. Joshua Guirguis/D2 Sports Network
EAST RUTHERFORD - A year ago, the Glassboro football team reached its first-ever state title appearance in a crushing 24-6 loss to Mountain Lakes at Rutgers University.
Glassboro head coach Timmy Breaker rallied his troops and led them to battle with a shot at an undefeated season and a state championship on the line at MetLife Stadium.
The Bulldogs left no doubt as they crushed Cedar Grove, 56-14, in a team effort on defense and a one-man army on offense.
Kenny Smith turned in one of South Jersey's greatest performances ever, rushing 20 times for 402 yards and four scores. Jack O'Connell guided the aerial attack as he was 12-of-14 passing for 145 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Davon Barr snagged a pick-six while Xavier Sabb snatched an interception of his own.
"I don't know if I could've ended my high school career any better," Smith said. "I imagined myself having a big game but I don't know about this big of a game."
In the first half, it seemed as if the game would mirror a heavyweight boxing match with both teams trading blows. After Kenny Johnson laid a booming hit on a Cedar Grove receiver, the Bulldogs took the energy and ran with it.
As a defensive unit, Glassboro sacked Cedar Grove's Stephen Paradiso a total of four times with three of those coming in the second half. The Bulldogs also held the Panthers to just 197 yards of total offense in the contest.
To most who watched on, the now-experienced Glassboro team who won a state championship was the same team that struggled to move the ball at all against Mountain Lakes a year ago. The Bulldogs did a complete 180-degree turn in that timeframe. Breaker and his pack of dogs accomplished the first-ever undefeated season in school history.
"These kids put in so much work to get here, let alone win it all," Breaker said. "I knew they could do it and we just executed our plan. They're forever the first team to bring home a state title now."
The biggest piece missing to last year's puzzle was a bell cow back who could jumpstart the offense. Smith filled that hole and did so passing with flying colors. After the state title performance the senior stands alone atop the South Jersey rushing yards leaderboard for the 2024 campaign with 1,808 yards. Smith also eclipsed the 5,000-yard mark for his career.
"This was definitely the plan when I came here," Smith said. "I felt this was the best shot to win a state championship and we got it done. I couldn't be more proud to be with a group of guys like this."
Other key contributors throughout the season include four-star junior recruit Amari Sabb who accumulated 1,116 receiving yards and 13 scores while bringing in 62 catches. Fellow blue-chip and younger sibling Xavier Sabb hauled in 48 catches for 843 yards and 12 touchdowns. The younger Sabb also picked off six passes. The unsung hero of the Bulldog secondary is undoubtedly sophomore Kenny Johnson who finished second on the team with four interceptions and a unit-high 59 tackles.
"The special thing about this team is that it's never always just one guy," Breaker noted. "One guy may look good on the stat sheet but everyone else is usually doing their job as well which may not show up in the numbers."
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