Old Gaelic faced off against a hungry South Jersey team in front of a full crowd in the 2019 home opener. An early stumble saw the visitors take a 7-0 lead, as Old Gaelic struggled to click in the early going. The home faithful were soon rewarded, however as #13 Jase Martin got the scoring started off an assist from Captain Hart to tie the game at seven apiece 30 minutes in.
Fly half Brady Reisman extended the lead to 10-7 with a PK, then it was prop Frank Weaver who benefitted from a patient Gaelic attack deep in South Jersey territory, scoring a pivotal try just before halftime. With the good Reisman conversion, the opponents headed into the break with the home team up 17-7.
Gaelic seized firm control in the first series of the second half, showing there would be no upset on this day. The stolen kickoff was offloaded to Weaver, who barreled forward to put Jersey under pressure. The ensuing forward hit-up was then offloaded to veteran flanker Curtis Brillhart, who took it the rest of the way to make it 20-7 Gold.
Now halfway through a commanding 39-0 run it was eight-man Lee Townsend who crashed across the try line next, followed by Austin Waugh at 60′. Before South Jersey could recover, Reisman dotted one one down, and it was 39-7 to the home team with 12 minutes to go.
Unfortunately from there the Gaelic defense cracked, giving up three tries in the final six minutes as South Jersey left with a closer scoreline and bonus point. But the victory was sealed and OG won the day, 39-24!
Old Gaelic Rugby 