Woodrow Wilson falls to Rumson-Fair Haven in Group 3 Bowl Game

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Naiem Simmons played on the home field of his favorite NFL team.

Nick Kargman set another series of passing records.

Preston Brown walked away with no regrets.

"We had a great season," Brown said of his Woodrow Wilson football team.

The Tigers made some memories and set some more passing marks in Saturday's Group 3 South/Central Bowl Game in MetLife Stadium. They just weren't able to secure their 10^th victory.

Rumson-Fair Haven scored a late touchdown to snap an 18-18 tie and emerged with a 26-18 victory on a cool, overcast afternoon in the Meadowlands.

"I thought I would be more upset," Kargman said. "But we played so hard. Everybody gave it their all out there. I was just really proud to be out there with my teammates."

Kargman was 19-for-33 passing for 288 yards and three touchdowns. He set the following marks in the final game of the most prolific passing season in South Jersey history:

Kargman also became just the third quarterback in New Jersey history to pass for 8,000 yards in his career, joining Leary and 1998 Butler graduate Scott Brown. Kargman finished his career with 8,127 yards.

"I don't care about the records," Kargman said after Woodrow Wilson finished with a 9-4 mark. "I just loved playing with my teammates."

Simmons caught seven passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. He jacked his season total in receiving yards to 1,005.

Simmons said the game was extra special to him because he played on the home field of his favorite NFL team, the Giants.

"It was just amazing to be out here," Simmons said.

Stanley King finished his Woodrow Wilson career with a strong game by catching six passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.

King caught Kargman's eight-yard touchdown pass from Kargman to tie the score at 18-18 with 5 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

At that point, the teams were a combined 0-for-6 in point-after-touchdown conversions.

"If we would have gotten one, it might have made a difference," Brown said.

Rumson Fair-Haven (10-3), the Central Jersey champion, relied heavily on the inside running of senior Alex Madjian, who carried the football 40 times for 199 yards and a touchdown.

But the Bulldogs took the lead on a rare pass as Collin Coles fired a 21-yard scoring toss to Jackson McCarthy, who broke a tackle along the sideline and raced into the end zone with just 1:15 on the clock.

Maldjian's two-point conversion run made it 26-18.

"It's really tough to lose this game," Simmons said. "We loved being here. We really loved playing in this game. We wanted to win."

With his first pass, Kargman broke Leary's South Jersey single-season record of 3,688 passing yards, set in 2016.

Leary, now at North Carolina State, established the mark in 12 games. Kargman improved his career total to 3,701 with a 35-yard strike to Simmons on his first pass of his 13^th game.

Moments later, Kargman tossed a 14-yard scoring pass to King, whose leaping catch in end zone gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead.

Rumson Fair Haven tied the score late in the first quarter as Maldjian broke loose for a 53-yard touchdown run.

Woodrow Wilson had plenty of scoring chances in the first half. One drive ended with an interception at the Rumson Fair Haven 21. Another fizzled on a lost fumble on a play that started at the two-yard line.

Most frustrating for the South Jersey champions, the Tigers drove to three-yard line but were stymied by a fumbled snap on the last play of the first half.

"We hurt ourselves in the red zone," Brown said. "We had our chances, but it was a great game. Our guys loved playing here. Not many guys get to say they played in an NFL stadium. We have no regrets."

Woodrow Wilson        6   0   6   6   —   18
Rumson Fair Haven   6   0   6   14  —  26

WW: Stanley King 14 pass from Nick Kargman (run fail)

RFH: Alex Maldjian 53 run (kick fail)

RFH: Ian O'Connor 3 pass from Collin Coles (pass fail)

WW: Naiem Simmons 32 pass from Kargman (pass fail)

RFH: John Violker 8 run (pass fail)

WW: King 9 pass from Kargman (pass fail)

RFH: Jackson McCarthy 21 pass from Coles (Alex Maldjian run)