Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 136

Asbury Park PressSunday, December 2, 1990 Hll NJSIAA FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS Bid by Ocean comes up short Franklin prevails, 20-16 in the second half for 99 yards. "I had to win it for Louis," said Miller, with tears running down his face. "I've been here too long to let my teammates down because one guy got hurt. At halftime, he (Franklin coach Joe Stinson) said we're not going into a hole just because Louis was out" In the second half, Franklin came out throwing. The Warriors started their first possession from their own 28-yard line.

Miller threw six consecutive passes, completed five, and capped off the drive with a 25-yard touchdown throw to Alfred Baker. Baker was the favorite target on the drive, catching three passes for 61 yards. He made a spectacular over-the-shoulder diving catch with his arms fully extended for the touchdown. "This is a run-and-shoot offense and we're going to throw," said Miller. "He (Stinson) had faith in me to do the job." Ocean was still in good shape with a 13-6 lead, but a fumbled snap on its next possession gave Franklin the ball back on Ocean's 39-yard line.

Five plays later, junior tailback Germaine Blunt, who racked up 163 yards on 20 carries, plunged into the end zone from two yards out with 3:09 left in the third quarter. O'Kang McBride's extra point tied the score at 13. Ocean took control again at the end of the third quarter. A 12-play drive that ate up the remaining time in the quarter set up a 21 -yard field goal by Jeff Baldwin with 11:12 left in the game for a 16-13 lead. Then, the turnover bug hit both teams.

A Franklin fumble was followed by an Ocean fumble. Franklin got the ball back but turned it over on downs. Franklin senior defensive back David Stewart picked off a pass to set up what should have been Franklin's final drive. When Franklin was stopped an inch short of a first down, the game and the title should have belonged to Ocean. But it was not to be.

"Franklin played a tremendous game without their ace (Solomon)," said Conti. "Both teams played one thousand percent. It was what a state championship game should be like." NOAH K. MURRAYAtbury Park Ocean's Bob Lupo (9) attempts to stop Franklin's Germaine Blunt. Overbrook halts Brick Memorial Joe adeuzzi Manasquan mystique gets bigger t' Rfl ANASQUAN Vic Kubu III already had a place among the legends.

He was part of the great Mahasquan team in 1938, a running back for an undefeated football squad that joined the unbeatable Manasquan teams from 1 948 and 1 949, who put together two unbeaten seasons. i They were later joined by the 1973 Big Blue, another perfect bunch that rolled to a 9-0 record and the only final Noi 1 ranking in the Asbury Park Press pol in the school's history. They are legends in this town, all three of those teams. And yesterday, in "Small Town U.S.A.," they added another team to the list, maybe the best team ever. At least one fan suggested that as the Big Blue headed off the field following a flawless effort in a 35-0 triujmph over Somerville High School in thp New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Central Jersey Group II championship game.

"We're the first team to ever bring home a state championship on the field," said Kubu, now the coach at the school for which he once played. "We're the only team ever to go 11-0," he said. After giving a game ball to school superintendent Carole K. Morris, Kubu told his players no one else would be getting one. "We'll put one ball in the trophy case where it will stay E-V 'Actually, it would ha ve been too expensive to do it any other way.

The waj this Manasquan team took apart Somerville, they would have had to buy game balls by the dozen. Running back Calvin Jones rushed for 28 yards, scored twice, and threw a touchdown pass. Quarterback Dave Tofan hit 8-of-1 1 passes for 1 27 yards and another score. Darren Maccanico caught the touchdown passes and intercepted two Somerville passes. Ahmad Kelly scored once and pounded insfde whenever the Warriors needed a yartt or two.

Tim Kennedy made a pair of dutch third-down receptions and the BigjBlue defense held Somerville to one first down in the first half. ('All of them had game-ball type performances. But it was the game-ball type season for a pair of linemen that set this teajn apart from the others Tim Grtene and Eric Scheidt. "They're the best pair of guards youje ever going to see on a high school teaht," said Kubu, long after the locker rooih celebrating had quieted down. I'When the celebrating was going onGreene and Scheidt were the two guys" getting the attention of their teajnmates.

Yesterday was just another day at thejtjffice for the both of the seniors on this team dominated by underclassmen. Griine, a 6-1, 199-pounder, had key blocks on three of the touchdown runs, including a devastating block on a corherback when he pulled to lead a swaep on Jones' 32-yard touchdown run- Scheidt, 6-3, 205, spent the day bulbing his opponent whenever Tolan decided to pass. On defense they were even more of a factor. Scheidt harassed Somerville qu4rterback Brian Coit all afternoon. He got to him three times and chased him down a few others.

From his linebacking position, Greene shut down the inside running game and clogged the parsing lanes. The duo appeared to play as well as the game can be played. made a few mistakes," said ScKeidt "A few times he (Coit) got ouftide me and made me look like a fool "Me too," said Qreene. "I got caught out of position a few times." Not nearly as many times as they put opposing players on their backs. It is rare for a team's most rec gnizable players to be linemen.

But hen: in Manasquan they understand thee things. Scheidt and Greene have been playing together for the last two years. Scheidt transfered here from Wall following his sophomore season. Greene has been starting for the last three years. Each was pulled out in the closing minutes of the game and each drew a standing ovation from their teammates, coaches and a standing-room crowd at Manasquan.

"This is what football is all about HeJ in Small Town U.S.A., where the town and the people all come together," said Kubu. "We have the best parades, the; best school, the best town. Nothing beats this." Moments later, he was leaving the locker room. Outside waiting were fans. They surrounded him, hugged him and kissed him.

He had brought his team to meet the legends. "There's nothing better than this (winning)," said Scheidt. "We're part of the Manasquan mystique. Twenty years from now, they'll remember us." Joe Adelizzi is executive sports editor of the Asbury Park Press. His column appears Sunday.

By TOM 0LAUSEN Press Staff Writer OCEAN TOWNSHIP It was an impressive sight. Moments after a sectional championship had slipped through its fingers, Ocean's football team lined up one more time for post-game calisthenics. It showed character. In an incredible turn of events, Franklin yesterday captured its second consecutive New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Central Jersey Group III crown with a 20-16 come-from-behind win over Ocean. Junior quarterback Ernest Miller, subbing for the injured Louis Solomon, hit Jamal Wade in the end zone with a 12-yard pass with 36 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Warriors to the title.

Less than one minute earlier, it was the Big Red that seemingly had the championship locked up. With Franklin driving in the final minutes, down 16-13, Ocean's defense came up big. With 1:48 left in the game, the Warriors faced fourth down with an inch to go for a first down on Ocean's 13-yard line. The Spartans' defense held. It should have been the play of the game, the one that gave Ocean its first sectional title, but it was not to be.

A fumbled snap from center later and Franklin was back in business. "It took a miracle for them to win the ball game and we supplied it," said Ocean head coach George Conti. "The only way we could lose was if we lost it ourselves. That's what happened." It was Ocean's game to win. Senior quarterback Doug Rossback led the Big Red to a 13-0 halftime lead by running for one touchdown and throwing for another.

With Franklin senior quarterback Solomon knocked out of the game with a sprained right ankle, Ocean had the game under control. But the Spartans committed four turnovers in the second half. That, coupled with Miller's heroic second half, proved the undoing of Ocean. With Solomon looking on from a stretcher on the sideline, Miller took control by completed eight of 1 1 passes Furling, Darren Knobrocki and Jason game call on the conversion. With Overbrook twice having scored two-point conversions, Memorial was forced to try for two points also but now from the seven, not the two.

A pass failed. Both defenses tightened and the next five series ended in punts. Time and hope slipped away for the Mustangs. With under seven minutes left to play and Maurielo rushing seven and eight men on each play, Calabro went to the air again. It was third and 10 from the 41.

Crowley found Dave Lewis under for a touchdown, killed the first scoring threat. A penalty contributed to the failure of the second and a breakdown in pass protection the third. Little things that led to a big problem. "I was ready to get on the bus at halftime and go home," Calabro said. "They were running power sweeps and it seemed like they had a 1,000 guys out there blocking.

We're a quick team, but they had great speed." That speed, however, was not nearly as much of a factor in the second half. Sarluca made more adjustments than a pit crew on race day in the first half. But it wasn't until halftime he was able to fine-tune his Warlord defense. "We went back to more of our base defense," Sarluca said. "We were surprised a little early because they ran outside on us.

Then we slanted to take away the strong side sweep and that's when they broke the long touchdown to mi mm tar AiiKP' nmw By GARY DECKELNICK Press Staff Writer PINE HILL Brick Memorial High School, playing in its first sectional championship final game, scored three second-half touchdowns yesterday against one of the best defensive teams in South Jersey Overbrook but lost, 22-1 9. The win was the first championship for Overbrook, which lost in its two previous appearances in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association South Jersey Group III championship game. "The kids played well and every season is an improvement for us," Memorial coach Jim Calabro said. "Last year, we made our first trip to the playoffs. This year, we're in the finals for the first time.

Next year, well, we'll take it one step at our time. That's our plan." Calabro, who became the head coach two years ago and has given new life to what had been an ailing football program, took responsibility for the early interception that gave Overbrook a 7-0 lead. With the Mustangs driving steadily toward the Overbrook goal on running plays, Calabro tried to catch the Rams by surprise with a quick pass from the five-yard line. Wage Inge cut in front of the intended receiver, intercepted the ball at the one, and raced 99 yards untouched down the sidelines. "We had been moving the ball on the run," Calabro said.

"I called the pass. I should have stayed with the run. "It was a real big play for us," said Larry Maurielo, the Rams' coach. "They had been running through us and our defense isn't used to that. Then we stepped in and picked off the pass and all of a sudden, we're on top.

"They couldn't catch us and in the end, that's what I think it was," Maurielo said. "The speed. We had it and it was decisive." As much as the play gave life to the Rams, it took spirit from Memorial. "When I looked, he was open and I threw it," said Marc Crowley, the 6-foot-2 sophomore quarterback. "He (Inge) is a very good athlete and he just came up quickly and took it." Overbrook used its speed and the big play to set up two second-quarter scores that boosted the Rams to a 22-0 halftime lead.

On the first, Calvin Toomer went wide right on a sweep and outraced everyone 74 yards for a touchdown. The second was an almost identical sweep to the left that went 41 yards to the one. Toomer scored on the next play. "There were no mistakes on those plays," said Memorial defensive coordinator Ed Sarluca. "We slanted in to the strong side and they went to the weak.

They caught us by surprise. There were a couple of missed tackles but that's a physical mistake. They happen. You can't fault that." So, Memorial trailed by 22 points at the half against a team that had seven shutouts this season, including one against Lacey last week, and which, at one point, played 1 7 consecutive quarters without allowing a point. "I told the kids at halftime that this game wasn't over," said Maurielo.

"You don't get to the finals without being a good team and without being well-coached. This team was both and Joe ZEDALIS "You can't play one half of football and expect to win, especially at this level," Calabro said. Cruelly, for Brick Memorial, Overbrook played one good half of football, too. It's half was just a little better than the Mustangs'. "We just let them (Overbrook) get a little too far ahead of us," said Brick Memorial defensive coordinator Ed Sarluca.

What is sure to irk Calabro and staff more than anything was Over-brook's inability to stop them. uF3 1 Mustangs' teammates (from left) Adam they made some very good adjustments at the half. I also think they caught my kids asleep, thinking the game was over." Calabro had given his team the same kind of pep talk at the half. And the Mustangs came out determined to prove they belonged in the final. The team took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 15 plays, mostly on short, tough yardage ground out by Devivi.

He put Brick on the board with a four-yard run around the halfway mark of the quarter. Then came a key play a delay-of- Even in the first half, when Overbrook sped to a 22-0 lead, Brick Memorial was every bit as effective offensively as the Rams. The difference was purely logistical. Overbrook was able to score from afar. On the other hand, Brick Memorial was unable to score from in close.

The Rams scored on plays of 99, 74 and 21 yards. The Mustangs, meanwhile, failed from the four-, the 16- and six-yard lines. Each time it was the Mustangs who tripped over their own feet The little things, and not just the big plays, were decisive for the Mustangs in their demise. "We moved the ball," Brick Memorial quarterback Marc Crowley said of the first half. "But we just couldn't jam it in." An interception, returned 99 yards Comeback in 2nd half not enough for Mustangs PETER ACKERMANAsbufy Pirfc Brest Bowlish look on in closing minutes.

neath the coverage. Lewis spun off one tackier, reached the five, and slipped. As he went down, his free hand hit the turf and pushed. Just enough. He kept his knees off the ground and stumbled to the end zone before falling.

Devivi ran for the conversion but a motion penalty nullified the score, pushed Memorial back five yards and again a pass for the two points failed. Overbrook couldn't move the ball and the Mustangs took possession trailing by 10 points with 4:01 to play. A trick option netted 20 yards, a pass See MUSTANGS, pageH12 the weak side. It was a great guess on their part." Brick Memorial shut down the sweep in the second half. It chased like hounds after a fox from the back side.

Overbrook, meanwhile, never guessed right again. Brick Memorial's offense, likewise, came out strong in third quarter. Ten carries by halfback Mike Devivi sparked a 10-play, 74-yard drive that got Brick Memorial on the scoreboard. But while the Mustangs were potent in the second half, collecting over 200 yards of offense, they also squandered two other scoring chances. The Mustangs also started their next two possessions in good position at their own 44-yard line and the Overbrook 37-yard line.

In both cases, Memorial ran three plays and punted. See ZED ALIS, pageH13 PINE HILL When it was over, Brick Memorial football coach Jim Calabro did the only thing he could do, said the only thing he could say. He praised his team for its effort. He praised the players for their unwillingness to quit. He did, after all, coach under Warren Wolf for nearly a decade.

Neither effort or fortitude could be questioned in yesterday's 22-19 loss to Overbrook in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association South Jersey Group III championship. Yet, for all the diplomacy of Calabro and his assistants in defeat, they took the bumpy ride up Route 70 damning fate. Brick Memorial won the second half. It out-scored Overbrook, 19-0. It out-rushed Overbrook, 189-66.

It out-hustled, out-hit, outplayed Overbrook. But that was only in the second half..