Thoughts on Point Boro's late field goal last week:

Point Boro coach Calvin Thompson's decision to kick a field goal with 13 seconds remaining in the Panthers' 32-6 win over Monsignor Donovan was the wrong one and sends a bad message. Part of high school sports is supposed to be about teaching good sportsmanship. Good sportsmanship is not deciding to kick a field goal with 13 seconds remaining in a game your team is leading by 23 points because you are unhappy about where your team is ranked in a newspaper poll, or the way your team is playing. There was no good reason to take out frustration over a ranking or the way your team played on an opponent that you have convincingly defeated. Point Boro dropped two spots in the poll the previous week because Long Branch, ranked No. 10 at the time, recorded a dramatic overtime win over then No. 2 Lacey in a classic game. Off that, Long Branch had to move into the top five, and Lacey wasn't going to drop too far for losing to a quality team in a well-played, classic game. Those who run up scores, or take out their frustrations on late in games against outmanned opponents, have no right to complain if somebody down the road runs up a score against them. What goes around does have a habit of eventually coming around. And as for rankings, the only poll that really counts is the last one, and they are subjective anyway, and one person's opinion, right or wrong. Point Boro will have a chance to get a great ranking before the season is over because they will play Manasquan, Holmdel and Barnegat in the next month plus a tough playoff schedule in South Jersey Group II. Thompson has done a good job over the last six years in resurrecting the Point Boro program. People respect his program, but decisions like last week, do his program no good.