Green Wave takes out previously unbeaten RBC

While the Red Bank Catholic football team has been busy bullying lesser teams this year, the Long Branch Green Wave has been facing what some consider the toughest schedule in the Shore.

Heading into Saturday night's game in Red Bank between the two Liberty Division contenders, much of the talk surrounded whether Long Branch's hard-nosed defense could slow down the Shore's most prolific offense - a Casey unit that had been averaging over 47 points a game through five contests.

The Green Wave came into the game anticipating that the best way to keep the Caseys out of the end zone would be to keep their offense off the field by chewing up the clock with a methodical ground game. And that's exactly what head coach Dan George's team was able to do in knocking the Caseys from the ranks of the unbeaten, 20-14, on Saturday in a well-played football game between two of the Shore's top five teams.

"That was a complete football game," George said following the win. "We controlled the first half offensively, (and) we played great defense. In the second half we got into a rut a little bit offensively and our defense kept us in the ballgame the entire way."

Truth be told, Long Branch seemed to be in control throughout. The Wave, who suffered a disappointing 13-12 loss the previous week to Wall following a failed two-point conversion attempt, was anxious to play its way back into the divisional title mix, while also handing the Caseys their first defeat. After forcing a quick three-and-out on their first defensive series to open the game, Long Branch used nearly six minutes while rumbling their way down the field, going 50 yards on 13 plays, with senior running back Travis Patterson (118 yards on 28 carries) finding the end zone from five yards out.

The Long Branch defense then forced another three-and-out, before Michael Luke blocked the subsequent punt, giving his team the ball at the RBC 34-yard line with 8:39 left in the first half. Then, on a fourth-andfive play, Long Branch quarterback Isaiah Hall rolled out to the left and found sophomore tight end Billy George wide open on a screen pass, and George took it from there, racing into the end zone to give the visiting team a 14-0 lead.

RBC's offense meanwhile finally got things going towards the end of the first half, driving 53 yards down to the Long Branch seven-yard line before having to settle for a 25-yard field goal from sophomore Tucker Hawley.

Down 14-3 at the break, the vaunted RBC offense had managed just 51 yards

In the first half, and was in the unfamiliar position of not only having to play its starters for four quarters, but also of having to play from behind.

In the second half, Long Branch continued to eat up the clock with its grind-it-out offense, however, they were not putting points on the board.

That's when the Green Wave defense all but sealed it. After pinning RBC on its own seven-yard line with a punt, Long Branch's Donte Gilliard intercepted a screen pass and took it 15 yards for a touchdown, giving his team a seemingly insurmountable 20-3 lead with under a minute to play in the third quarter.

To their credit, the Caseys kept fighting, starting with the defense, which tackled Hall in the Long Branch end zone for a safety to get within 20-5.

RBC then took the ensuing kick-off and got a quick touchdown, going 45 yards in five plays, when Michael Wilbur raced 27 yards. With the PAT, which came from 33 yards out following an unsportsmanlike penalty, it was 20-12.

As they had all game, Long Branch continued to move the ball methodically using its running game, picking up a pair of first downs. However, a fumble by Travis Patterson gave RBC one last chance, as the Caseys got the ball back at their own 44 with 2:38 left to play.

RBC calmly drove down to the Long Branch 18, only to watch Hall clinch the win with a leaping interception of a tipped pass with just 48 ticks left on the clock.

"That ball was up for grabs," Hall said after the game. Every ball they threw in the secondary was up for grabs. We weren't really worried as much about their rushing game. We were more worried about their passing game."

Long Branch then took an intentional safety with three seconds left in regulation to cut it to 20-14, but RBC threw an incomplete pass on the final play of the game to give the Green Wave the win.

With the victory, Long Branch proved they are very much a championship-caliber team, and one that is capable of shutting down the most explosive of offenses. After holding the No. 1- ranked offense in the Shore to just 107 total yards, the Green Wave defense is playing with plenty of confidence.

As they look ahead to Friday night's game with Manchester (2-4), the Green Wave can start thinking about the upcoming state playoffs. While much of the talk coming into the season concerned whether anyone could beat Middletown South in the Central Jersey Group III bracket, back-to-back losses by the Eagles (to Toms River North and Freehold Borough) have left many people thinking either Wall, Freehold or Long Branch may be the team to beat once that tournament starts.

Throw into the mix the fact that Long Branch's new home field may be ready in time for the postseason after playing nothing but road games for the last four years, and it's easy to see why they would be a popular pick among prognosticators.

As for RBC, the Caseys still have plenty to play for this week. They will be taking on Wall for a share of the Liberty Division title. The Crimson Knights, who had a bye this past week and took in the Long Branch win, are playing for the outright title, however, should RBC emerge victorious, Wall, RBC and Long Branch will share the divisional crown.

This should be another tough game for RBC, as Wall's defense has also been among the best in the Shore. The Caseys will need to get Wilbur going in this one if they hope to have more success moving the football than they did against Long Branch. Defensively, RBC will need to key on Rutgers-bound Tim Wright, who is the catalyst for the Wall offense at running back. Wall's offense may not be as dynamic as Long Branch's, however, that doesn't make it any easier to stop. Game time is 7 p.m. tomorrow at Count Basie Park.

Unfortunately, none of the other local teams that played this past weekend were as successful as Long Branch. Red Bank Regional, coming off its shocking win over Freehold Borough the previous week, fell to Manchester, 33-13, and will look for win No. 2 on Saturday when its hosts Lakewood (2-4) for a 1 p.m. kick-off.

Shore Regional (3-4) fell to powerful Keansburg, 34-7, and will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday when the Blue Devils travel to Keyport to take on a 2- 5 Red Raiders team.

Monmouth Regional also lost over the weekend, dropping a 16-10 affair to Matawan to fall to 2-4 on the year. The Golden Falcons played hard in this one, coming back from a 13-point deficit to get within six late in the game, but were unable to finish the comeback. They'll hope to be more successful tomorrow when they take on a young Jackson Liberty team that is struggling in its first year of varsity ball. Game time is 7 p.m. in Jackson.

Both Rumson-Fair Haven and Ocean Township were off last week, but play important games this weekend. RFH (5-1), which has to win to keep its state playoff hopes alive, takes on 1-5 Point Beach on Friday in Point Beach.

Meanwhile, Ocean (3-3) takes on a reeling Middletown South team that desperately needs a win to right the ship. The Eagles will likely have a little extra motivation as well, as the Spartans were the only team to hand the Eagles a loss last year. Game time is 7 p.m. tomorrow at Ocean.