Wave makes statement with win over Wall
RBC survives slow start against Lancers
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Ocean Township senior wideout Wesley O'Donnell can't quite come up with the pass in front of Brick Memorial's Eric Shafer during the Spartans' loss to the Mustangs Saturday night in Toms River.

Something happened when Long Branch lost its season-opener against top-ranked Middletown South.

Some people seemed to forget about the Green Wave when discussing the top teams in the Shore.

But following Saturday night's 7-6 win over Wall Township, head coach Dan George's squad is once again being recognized for what it is - one of the Shore Conference's very best teams.

The Green Wave won a classic defensive struggle over the Crimson Knights on the heels of a five-yard scoring pass from Aulander Daniels to Francisco Gomez in the fourth quarter, combined with a missed extra-point kick by Wall's Colin Parsons earlier in the game.

Trailing 6-0 with 8:30 left to play in the game, Long Branch took over on its own 5-yard line, needing desperately to get its offense in gear against a brilliant Wall defense that had not allowed a touchdown through five games, holding its first five opponents to just three points.

Paul Lewis got the drive started with a 38-yard run, and the Wave was in business. Wall forced the Wave into a fourth-a-three scenario at the Wall 33, but Daniels kept the drive alive with a clutch eight-yard completion to Robert Cheese. Long Branch then advanced to the Wall 5-yard line, setting up the game-winning touchdown pass to Gomez.

With the game on the line, Long Branch found a way to put together a 13-play, 95-yard scoring drive against quite possibly the Shore's toughest defense.

Long Branch's defense, which proved to be every bit as stingy as Wall's highly acclaimed unit on this night, then clinched the game when Darius Morris pounced on a Chad Tirpak fumble on the third play of the ensuing drive.

Through the first half, the Long Branch D held Wall to just one first down and 29 total yards. The Crimson Knights did manage to put together an 80-yard scoring drive in the third, which was capped by a 25-yard TD pass from Tirpak to Adam Mancino, but the late fumble ended their hopes for a late comeback attempt.

As for the Long Branch offense, they seemed to be more comfortable in the second half, marching into Wall territory on three separate occasions, including one drive that resulted in a missed field goal from just over 20 yards out.

With the win, Long Branch improved to 4-1 on the year. But more importantly, they re-established themselves as one of the Shore's elite teams.

Next up for Long Branch is a Freehold Borough team coming off a 28-22 win over Red Bank Regional on Monday, the Colonials' first win of the year.

George's teams have shown a knack for playing their best football toward the end of the season, and into the playoffs. And this year, they won't have to get through Middletown South to collect some hardware.

For those who may have forgotten, Long Branch will be a force this postseason.

The Red Bank Catholic Caseys very nearly let their piece of the Shore Liberty Division title slip away on Sunday.

The Caseys played one of their poorest first halves of the season against a vastly improved St. John Vianney team before coming back in the second half to win a hard-fought 22-19 affair in Holmdel.

RBC senior quarterback Ryan Kalish struggled early on Sunday, going 0-for-6 with three interceptions in the first half. One of those picks was returned 55 yards by SJV's Ciaran Andrews for a score, giving the Lancers a 13-0 edge with just about four minutes left in the half. Vianney had jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a seven-yard run from Dave Whittaker.

But once the second half started, RBC looked like one of the Shore's better teams once again, scoring on their first possession when Taso Fotinos capped a five-play, 85-yard drive with a 10-yard scoring run.

The Lancers, now up 13-7, wouldn't back down, as they responded with a 65-yard scoring strike from quarterback Steve Zrowka to Chris Lewnes, and a 19-7 lead.

But the fourth quarter belonged to RBC. The Caseys mounted another scoring drive in the fourth and got within five when Kalish found the end zone from eight yards out.

He also found his passing touch, as on the ensuing drive he hit Michael Kelly on a third-and-three from the SJV 30, before finding Kelly once again on first-and-15 for a 20-yard scoring strike - the eventual game-winner.

With the win, RBC improved to 5-1, and kept their hopes alive for at least a share of the division title.

RBC is set to host Holmdel this weekend, and will be looking for a more complete effort against a Hornets team (3-2) coming off a 47-13 loss to Raritan.

The Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs got their third win of the year on Sunday, as the Michael Roberto-to-Ryan Finnegan connection paced the Bulldogs to a 22-7 win over Keansburg.

Finnegan caught six passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns (from 20 and 51 yards) as the Bulldog offense proved to be too much for the Titans to handle. Rumson jumped out to a 14-0 lead on a Drew Morris one-yard TD run and Finnegan's first TD reception, before Keansburg got its score in the third quarter to pull within 14-7.

But Rumson essentially put the game away with Finnegan's second TD of the game with just over eight minutes left in the game, and added two more points on a safety when a Titan snap sailed over the quarterback's head and through the end zone with 1:16 left.

With the win, Rumson improved to 3-2 on the year heading into this weekend's game with Monsignor Donovan (3-2). The Bulldogs know they can not afford another loss if they have any hopes of qualifying for the postseason. Game time is scheduled for noon on Saturday in Rumson.

The remainder of the local teams suffered losses this past weekend, playing on various days due to the poor field conditions caused by the deluge of rain over the weekend.

The Ocean Township Spartans ran into the buzz-saw that is Brick Memorial on Saturday night in Toms River. The game was moved to Toms River East, where there is a turf field, and the Mustangs proved that the venue means very little to them, dominating the Spartans to the tune of a 35-0 win.

Ocean simply couldn't get anything going against the impressive Mustang defense, while Brick Memorial's offense displayed its diversity, mixing a bruising running game with an efficient passing attack.

Ocean, who fell to 4-2 on the year, will look to bounce back against a winless Lakewood team which may very well be the worst team in the Shore. The Spartans will be licking their wounds against a team that has done nothing but lick its wounds this year.

Shore Regional saw its hopes for an undefeated season dashed on Saturday, losing a 26-12 nonconference affair to North Plainfield.

Shore (5-1) actually jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 77-yard TD pass from Gary Knoeppel to Chris Miller, only to see North Plainfield tie it up on its ensuing possession.

The Blue Devils went back in front when Knoeppel picked up a North Plainfield fumble and returned it 86 yards for a TD, and a 12-6 lead. But it was all North Plainfield from there, as the Canucks went on to score the next 16 points en route to the win.

Shore plays its biggest game of the year tomorrow night when they host Point Borough in a contest that should decide the National Division title. Point Borough enters the game at 5-0 following Monday's impressive 35-6 win over Keyport.

Both teams will be ready to stake their claim of the top spot. Game time is 7 p.m.

Monmouth Regional fell to 2-4 with a 23-7 less to a solid Colts Neck team on Tuesday. The Falcons managed only a 26-yard, second-quarter touchdown run from Jared Chun in this one, as the Cougar defense did a nice job of limiting Monmouth's scoring chances.

Monmouth will look to get back on the winning track this weekend then it takes on a 2-4 Neptune team still reeling from a 50-0 loss to Middletown South on Friday.

Red Bank Regional nearly got its first win of the year on Monday before falling to Freehold Borough, 28-22, in a battle of winless team. The Bucs were playing catch-up throughout in this one, but got some big plays from Ricky Brandt (two touchdown receptions) and Kareem Smith (55-yard kickoff return for a TD), but it was not enough in the end.

RBR will look to get win No. 1 on Saturday when it hosts Colts Neck.