1) Robb Wagner
2) Gene Graf
3) Tom Diaz (c)
4)  Brent DiRomauldo
5)  Brian Nace
6)  Phil Wright
7)  Scott Wilson
8)  Mike Hutchinson
9)  Alex Diaz
10) Bill Stom
11) Mike Romisitis
12) Gerrit Van der Merwe
13) Jason Hoban
14) Scott Palumbo
15)  Jeff Pastava
 
South Jersey 10  Brandywine 26
 
The Devils opened their Fall 2007 season with a home fixture against Brandywine.  On a relatively cool but windy day, the Devils took the field looking to score an upset over the preseason favorites.
 
South Jersey elected to play with the wind in the first half.  The frustrating truth is that the Devils should have had at least two tries, if not three, while playing with the wind.  The failure to execute in the red zone essentially decided the game by halftime.
 
Things started well as the young, aggressive Devils' pack went toe-to-toe with the older, heavier Brandywine forwards.  A penalty was the early result.  Unfortunately it hit the upright and Brandywine escaped unscathed.  The physical nature of the contest was fierce with big hits going in all day.  The halfbacks were keeping Brandywine pinned deep with excellent tactical kicks.  This neutralized the superior Brandywine lineout.  In fact, throughout the day Brandywine failed to ever create scoring opportunities from set pieces.  All of the scoring came from counter-attacks and turnovers.
 
The Devils did score first with an excellent kick from Bill Stom.  It appeared that Jeff Pastva or Scott Palumbo dotted down after a spirited chase.  The try was converted.
 
Soon thereafter, the forwards were awarded another penalty and the ball was kicked to the corner.  It should be noted that South Jersey dominated the penalty count and were clearly more disciplined, particularly at the breakdown.  The ensuing lineout resulted in several forward bashes at the line.  Sadly, there were at least three backline runners unmarked out wide screaming for the ball which never came.  A try really should have been scored.  It wasn't.  A penalty was awarded to Brandywine literally inches from the tryline.
 
Minutes later Brandywine stole a lineout ball which was chipped ahead.  An excellent catch by Alex Diaz was spoilt by a lack of supporting players.  The ball was stolen and then moved through the hands for a try under the posts.  At halftime the score was 7-7.
 
The second half saw a more disciplined approach from Brandywine as they used their bigger forwards to suck in defenders before sending the ball wide.  Still, the defense held.  Big hits were put in consistently by Tom Diaz, Brian Nace, Phil Wright, Mike Rimositis and Gerrit Van der Merwe.  Well placed relieving kicks from Alex Diaz also kept the tryline safe.
 
An early penalty from Stom after sustained pressure gave the Devils a 10-7 lead in the second half.  The lead did not hold, however.  The size, pace and bruising hits began to wear on the lighter Devils.  Two tries resulted from penalty kicks that were not cleared to touch and which were poorly chased.  With 15 minutes left, the Devils began losing lineouts and scrums at a rate of knots.  The failure to get hold of the ball resulted in three unanswered tries from Brandywine, giving them a valuable bonus point win.
 
While it is clear this team is miles ahead of where they were last year (final score in the Fall of 2006 - Brandywine 74 South Jersey 0), the loss was bitterly disappointing nonetheless.  The Devils will need to show more focus in the closing stanza of next week's game in order to ensure a win.

Man of the match went to Scott Wilson whose effort was outstanding in the flanker position throughout the game. Not only does Scott coach the team, he is also a good 10 years older than most of his team mates, making his contribution all the more impressive.