Long Branch football suffers first loss of season
RBR breaks 12-game losing streak against Freehold Boro
BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer
Two weeks ago, Wall Township came within a failed two-point conversion of knocking off the top-ranked Middletown South Eagles.

Although yet another heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Eagles surely was a bitter pill to swallow, coaches tell you that if you keep plugging away, breaks like that tend to even themselves out.

Fortunately for the Crimson Knights, they only had to wait two weeks.

It was Wall that got the big stop on a potential game-winning two-point conversion on Friday, handing the Long Branch Green Wave its first loss of the year, 13-12, in devastating fashion. Long Branch was in control of this one through three quarters, taking a 6-0 lead on a 50-yard TD run from quarterback Isaiah Hall on its first possession of the game.

The Wave twice had a chance to pad its lead, but was turned away by the Wall defense both times. Wall's Billy Lauch made a big stop of Long Branch's Travis Patterson at the goal line to end the first half, and Blaze Caponegro made the big play in the third, forcing a Hall fumble on a fourth-andtwo at the Wall four-yard line.

Meanwhile, the Wall offense could get nothing going against the stingy Long Branch defense, accumulating just 27 yards of total offense and two first downs through the first three quarters. However, Wall managed to tie the game at 6-6 in the fourth when Caponegro raced 67 yards for a TD following another Long Branch fumble at the Wall 33. Then, with 4:50 remaining, Caponegro found a seam again and raced 46 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

With the extra point, Wall's first lead was 13-6.

Then it was Long Branch's turn to come back, and the Wave did just that, recovering a fumble at their own 44 with 2:32 left to play. After a personal foul wiped out a potential Wall interception, Long Branch had the ball at the Wall 30 with just 15 seconds to play. Following a 15-yard run from Hall, the quarterback lofted a pass in the end zone to Donte Gilliard, who outjumped the defender and hauled in the touchdown. Down one with no time left, Long Branch head coach Dan George decided to go for two (just like Wall did against Middletown South two weeks ago), only to see Hall get stopped short of the end zone on the game's final play.

Even if Hall had crossed the goal line, it would have been nullified by an illegal motion call.

While Long Branch started the season 4-0, defeating opponents with relative ease, nobody expected the Green Wave to march through this part of the schedule with the same kind of dominance.

Long Branch knew they were in for a battle when they made the trip to Wall on Friday night, and that's exactly what they got from the 5-1 Crimson Knights.

And with a match-up with unbeaten Red Bank Catholic looming this weekend, the Wave knew that this two-week stretch of the regular season would determine their fate in the Liberty Division race. Right now, Wall sits atop the division with its 5-0 division mark. Should RBC beat Long Branch on Friday, the Oct. 26 match-up between RBC and Wall would be a battle for the division title. And you can bet the Crimson Knights will be in attendance this Friday night at Count Basie Field (it's their bye week), and will be rooting for the Green Wave to knock the Caseys from the ranks of the unbeaten.

RBC, ranked third in the Shore, made quick work of Keyport this past weekend, routing the Red Raiders, 42-0, behind another strong performance from senior tailback Michael Wilbur.

Head coach Frank Edgerly's Caseys have not been tested this year, rolling to a 5- 0 record against teams with a combined record of 7-20. However, they will certainly be tested by a Green Wave team anxious to play its way back into the mix for the division title. Should Long Branch win this Friday night in Red Bank, and the Caseys go on to beat Wall next week, the three teams would share the division title.

Is RBC a legitimate top-three team in the Shore? Can Long Branch's exceptional defense slow down what has been the Shore's most prolific offense over the past two years?

Plenty of questions will be answered on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m.

While Monmouth Regional (2-3) had a bye this past weekend to prepare for a match-up with Matawan (2-4) this Saturday in Matawan, the remainder of the local teams posted wins this past weekend.

But no win sent more shockwaves around the Shore than Red Bank Regional's shocking upset of previously unbeaten Freehold Borough on Saturday. The Bucs, who entered the game 0-4, appeared to have caught the Colonials looking ahead to this weekend's match-up with Middletown South, and the Bucs made them pay for it.

Will Sanborn caught a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner midway through the fourth quarter, to lead RBR to its first win of the year.

Sanborn, who finished with nine catches for 194 yards, made an acrobatic catch on a pass from fellow wide receiver Tim Johnson to complete the 44-yard game-winner.

Sanborn's big play ability was the difference throughout, as the Bucs got on the board in the second quarter when quarterback Colin Lang hit Sanborn with a TD pass on fourth-and-12 at the Freehold 31- yard line. However, a blocked PAT left the game at 6-0. Freehold got its touchdown in the fourth quarter, as QB Brian Prisk found Brandon Brown over the middle for a 56- yard TD. With the PAT, the Colonials took their first lead. They then added a field goal to make it 10-7, setting the stage for Sanborn's heroics.

With the win, RBR ended a 12-game losing streak that dated back to a 28-26 win over Matawan on Sept. 26 of last year. It also gave them a renewed sense of confidence heading into this Friday's match-up with another 1-4 team, from Manchester. Game time is 7 p.m. in Manchester.

Rumson-Fair Haven kept its state playoff hopes alive with a 44-0 win over a struggling Mater Dei squad. RFH scored early and often in this one, racing out to a 27-0 lead in the first quarter.

Next up for Rumson is an Oct. 26 meeting with Point Beach (1-4). RFH needs to win that game, as well as a Nov. 2 game with Raritan, to have any shot at a Central Jersey Group II playoff berth.

Shore Regional was also victorious over the weekend, beating Neptune, 17-15, on Friday. Like the Long Branch-Wall game, this one came down to a missed two-point conversion, as the Blue Devils, who raced out to a 17-0 lead, watched the Scarlet Fliers come all the way back to make it interesting before falling short. Shore, which scored on its first possession on a six-yard run from Shawn Metz, made it 14-0 on an Erik Chiarella three-yard scamper with just over six minutes left in the first half. A 22- yard Dan Mellaci field goal made it 17-0 before Neptune mounted its comeback.

The Scarlet Fliers got a field goal to get within 17-3, then got a 74-yard TD run from Michael Peavy to close the gap to 17-9. That set up the dramatic finish, with Neptune's Lem Walker hitting Tariek Boynton for a touchdown on a fourth-and-goal from the Shore 15 late in the game. Forced to go for two, Walker's pass went incomplete, preserving Shore's win.

Chiarella was a force for the Blue Devils, rushing for 124 yards on 18 carries to get his team to 3-3 on the year. Neptune fell to 3-3 with the loss. Next up for Shore is a Saturday afternoon match-up with Keansburg (4-1), who is hoping to keep pace with Asbury Park and Rumson-Fair Haven in the Patriot Division race. Game time is 1 p.m.

Ocean Township also got a big win over the weekend, topping Lakewood, 23-6, on Saturday. The Spartans (3-3) only led 7-0 at halftime, courtesy of a Rodney Coursey 62- yard punt return in the second quarter.

After Lakewood got within 7-6 to open the third quarter, Ocean responded with a Shaun Goodwin 23-yard field goal, then added another TD when Raymond D'Apollito raced into the end zone from 21 yards out. Ocean then ended the scoring by going 53 yards in six plays, with Mike Jones finding the end zone to cap the drive from two yards out.

Ocean now has two weeks to prepare for a Middletown South team that suffered its only loss of the season last year at the hands of the Spartans. The Eagles, who fell to Toms River North this past Friday night, remain the Federal Division's top team, though Freehold Borough is hoping to stake their claim to that title this weekend.