A Friday night to remember:
Four overtime games, another decided by two points on a failed two-point conversion, Southern recording perhaps its biggest win ever in its 50th year of football and Rumson shutting out Manasquan. I don't ever remember a football night like that in my 20 years of covering high school football, and I certainly don't remember a night or afternoon with four overtime games, including two in overtime.
What's your pick for the game of the night? Was it Southern defeating Toms River East? Holmdel outlasting Barnegat in two overtimes in perhaps the craziest game I have ever seen? Neptune defeating Ocean in two overtimes on a two-point conversion off a fake extra point? Monsignor Donovan rallying from a 19-0 deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat St. John Vianney in overtime? Shore Regional defeating Point Beach in OT after letting a 14-0 lead get away or Matawan rallying from a 13-0 deficit to defeat Manchester, 21-19.
Here's a quick thought on some of the results: No question, Southern defeating Toms River East, ranked No. 2 in the Shore by the Asbury Park Press and No. 14 in the Gannett New Jersey top 20 is a huge win for that program. Many people, including yours truly thought Toms River East had a legitimate claim to be ranked No. 1 in the Shore. Now, that talk can cease to exist. For Southern, which nobody, including yours truly thought had a chance, this is the breakthrough win that it has sought forever.
Is this the long-awaited awakening of the program that has long been viewed as "The Sleeping Giant'' ? Time will tell, especially since Southern's long-time nemesis Brick is next on the schedule, but it is time for Southern to be taken seriously. Not many people work harder or are better guys than Rams' head coach Chuck Donohue. I'm happy to see his hard work and his kids hard work rewarded here. Donohue is a good coach. He won at three schools in South Jersey before he came to Southern, and he has had several winning teams at at Southern and three playoff teams, but Southern always seemed to be one of the programs that was cursed. The curse may finally be off.
Holmdel's win was no work of art, but the Hornets earned major points for sticking to it and always believing in themselves, especially when Barnegat tied it with 15 seconds left in regulation after an 80-yard drive over the final 2:50. Holmdel's Ryan Haslett is an excellent two-way athlete, and his biggest plays came on special teams when he blocked an attempted game-winning field goal in the first overtime and an extra point in the second quarter. The addition of Glenn Grainger, a transfer from Central Regional, has been a big bonus for Holmdel. Grainger gives the Hornets two quarterbacks in the backfield on most plays. Grainger even gives head coach Andy Carlstrom the option of putting Haslett occassionally in a wide receiver position.
Great effort by Barnegat in rallying from a 13-0 deficit and then a 20-13 deficit. Wonder if the Bengals will regret getting a bit conservative in the fourth quarter after they tied the game 13-13, when they ran the ball on five of six plays on their next two possessions, and then in the first overtime after they moved to a first down inside the Holmdel 15. Both of Barnegat's losses have come in overtime. It is obvious that head coach Rob Davis and his staff have done a fine job in building that program, which is in just its second year.
Kudos for Rumson for beating Manasquan. It is the second straight year the Bulldogs have beaten a highly-regarded opponent. Last year, coach Shane Fallon's team beat Raritan on the cutoff weekend for the NJSIAA playoffs to qualify for the Central Jersey Group II playoffs. Wide receiver Ryan Kirchner is one of the Shore's best receivers.
Manasquan played without injured running backs Chaz Coursey and Lorenzo Venables. They, obviously, would have made a difference against a Rumson defense that had struggled mightly against the run in the first four games. However, Rumson still deserves a ton of credit for an inspired performance.
Monsignor Donovan's comeback was hard to believe. The performance by quarterback Jon Curtin, who ran for a TD and two, two-point conversions in the fourth quarter and then threw the game-winning TD pass to Steven Tyler in OT was one of the more dramatic late-game performances we've heard of.
And Neptune coach John Fiore had a gamble pay off when he went for the two-point conversion in the second OT, rather than make the percentage play and kick the PAT and go to a third OT. By the way, if a game goes to a third OT, both teams, if they score a touchdown, have to go for the two-point conversion. If a game remains tied after three overtimes, it then ends up a tie.
What's your pick for the game of the night? Was it Southern defeating Toms River East? Holmdel outlasting Barnegat in two overtimes in perhaps the craziest game I have ever seen? Neptune defeating Ocean in two overtimes on a two-point conversion off a fake extra point? Monsignor Donovan rallying from a 19-0 deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat St. John Vianney in overtime? Shore Regional defeating Point Beach in OT after letting a 14-0 lead get away or Matawan rallying from a 13-0 deficit to defeat Manchester, 21-19.
Here's a quick thought on some of the results: No question, Southern defeating Toms River East, ranked No. 2 in the Shore by the Asbury Park Press and No. 14 in the Gannett New Jersey top 20 is a huge win for that program. Many people, including yours truly thought Toms River East had a legitimate claim to be ranked No. 1 in the Shore. Now, that talk can cease to exist. For Southern, which nobody, including yours truly thought had a chance, this is the breakthrough win that it has sought forever.
Is this the long-awaited awakening of the program that has long been viewed as "The Sleeping Giant'' ? Time will tell, especially since Southern's long-time nemesis Brick is next on the schedule, but it is time for Southern to be taken seriously. Not many people work harder or are better guys than Rams' head coach Chuck Donohue. I'm happy to see his hard work and his kids hard work rewarded here. Donohue is a good coach. He won at three schools in South Jersey before he came to Southern, and he has had several winning teams at at Southern and three playoff teams, but Southern always seemed to be one of the programs that was cursed. The curse may finally be off.
Holmdel's win was no work of art, but the Hornets earned major points for sticking to it and always believing in themselves, especially when Barnegat tied it with 15 seconds left in regulation after an 80-yard drive over the final 2:50. Holmdel's Ryan Haslett is an excellent two-way athlete, and his biggest plays came on special teams when he blocked an attempted game-winning field goal in the first overtime and an extra point in the second quarter. The addition of Glenn Grainger, a transfer from Central Regional, has been a big bonus for Holmdel. Grainger gives the Hornets two quarterbacks in the backfield on most plays. Grainger even gives head coach Andy Carlstrom the option of putting Haslett occassionally in a wide receiver position.
Great effort by Barnegat in rallying from a 13-0 deficit and then a 20-13 deficit. Wonder if the Bengals will regret getting a bit conservative in the fourth quarter after they tied the game 13-13, when they ran the ball on five of six plays on their next two possessions, and then in the first overtime after they moved to a first down inside the Holmdel 15. Both of Barnegat's losses have come in overtime. It is obvious that head coach Rob Davis and his staff have done a fine job in building that program, which is in just its second year.
Kudos for Rumson for beating Manasquan. It is the second straight year the Bulldogs have beaten a highly-regarded opponent. Last year, coach Shane Fallon's team beat Raritan on the cutoff weekend for the NJSIAA playoffs to qualify for the Central Jersey Group II playoffs. Wide receiver Ryan Kirchner is one of the Shore's best receivers.
Manasquan played without injured running backs Chaz Coursey and Lorenzo Venables. They, obviously, would have made a difference against a Rumson defense that had struggled mightly against the run in the first four games. However, Rumson still deserves a ton of credit for an inspired performance.
Monsignor Donovan's comeback was hard to believe. The performance by quarterback Jon Curtin, who ran for a TD and two, two-point conversions in the fourth quarter and then threw the game-winning TD pass to Steven Tyler in OT was one of the more dramatic late-game performances we've heard of.
And Neptune coach John Fiore had a gamble pay off when he went for the two-point conversion in the second OT, rather than make the percentage play and kick the PAT and go to a third OT. By the way, if a game goes to a third OT, both teams, if they score a touchdown, have to go for the two-point conversion. If a game remains tied after three overtimes, it then ends up a tie.
posted by Steven Falk at 8:25 AM
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