Ocean Twp., RFH among local week-one football winners
BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent

CHRIS KELLY staff Rumson-Fair Haven High School's Josh Brister (No. 5) works the ball on a wet night against Holmdel during a 24-7 victory. The team's next game is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. against Keansburg.

On a week that was full of surprises, with the Shore's two top-ranked teams being upset (and convincingly), only two of the local high school football teams were able post seasonopening victories.

With Ocean Township looking to regain its status as one of the Shore's elite teams, the Spartans certainly looked the part by traveling to Manasquan and beating the host Warriors, 14-0. Meanwhile, Rumson-Fair Haven was also looking to make a statement this weekend after graduating virtually its entire offense from last year's state sectional finalist squad. The Bulldogs took advantage of an undermanned Holmdel squad that was also ravaged by graduation, posting an impressive 24-7 victory in Holmdel.

Junior Josh Brister was the story in the RFH victory as the junior halfback torched the Hornet defense for 197 yards and three touchdowns on just 22 carries. Brister made his presence felt from the start, racing 25 yards for a TD on his very first carry, which came after RFH recovered a Holmdel fumble. His second TD came on the Bulldogs' next possession, when he carried the ball six times for 33 yards before plunging into the end zone from a yard out.

Holmdel cut the lead in half on a 38- yard run from Mike Sasso and appeared ready to make a game of it.

However, by the time Brister got his third score — a 48-yard tackle-breaking gallop with just over two minutes left in the half — Rumson was firmly in control of the game, with the more-experienced RFH defense proving it wasn't going to budge anymore against its inexperienced foes across the line of scrimmage. Tucker Smith padded the lead to 24-7 on the final play of the first half, before the two teams played the second half in a steady drizzle that made play difficult for both sides.

Next up for RFH is a 1 p.m. showdown with another state sectional finalist from a year ago — Keansburg. The Titans opened their 2008 season with a tough 22- 0 lost to Point Boro, so they will certainly be looking to respond with a big effort. Game time is 1 p.m. in Keansburg.

Ocean Township had to wait until Saturday afternoon to make its debut, after lighting problems at Manasquan postponed the start of the game from Friday. However, once they got their chance to play, they certainly made the best of it, blanking the Warriors 14-0 in what was a dominant defensive effort.

Ocean got all of its points in the first quarter, with junior quarterback Christian Bailoni hitting wideout Shaun Goodwin with a 29-yard TD pass for the first score, and junior fullback R.J D'Apolito capping a 19-play, 52-yard drive with a four-yard scoring plunge.

Those 14 points were all the Ocean defense would need, as the Spartans continually shut down the Manasquan offensive attack, holding them to just 64 yards of total offense for the day.

It was exactly the type of performance Ocean head coach Don Klein was hoping for from a team that he expects to be one of the top teams in the conference.

Next up for Ocean is a Sept. 26 date with a Manchester team that opens its season on Saturday against Monmouth Regional.

As for the aforementioned Golden Falcons, they put up a good fight on Saturday before succumbing to a Neptune team that appears to be every bit as good as advertised.

The Scarlet Fliers jumped out to an 18-0 halftime lead before Monmouth showed enough resiliency to make it interesting. The Golden Falcons got on the board when quarterback Anthony Fruncillo and senior wideout Devaughn Norfleet combined for a 20-yard TD in the third quarter, and then hooked up for a second score, this one from 49 yards out, to get within 18-13.

Despite an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Norfleet following the TD, he again hooked up with Fruncillo from 18 yards out to complete the two-point conversion and get Monmouth within 18-15.

After Neptune's Michael Peavy broke free for a 77-yard TD to make it 25-15, Monmouth was within striking distance once again late in the game, reaching the Neptune 21-yard line, when Fruncillo was hit from behind by senior linebacker Taabef Smith, causing a fumble that the Scarlet Fliers recovered. Neptune was able to run out the clock and earn a hardfought win over a Monmouth team that certainly proved its mettle in the second half.

The Long Branch Green Wave is playing its first home game in five years this weekend, so you could understand if head coach Danny George's team was looking ahead a bit while playing a tough Wall Township team this past weekend.

That, however, was not the case, as Long Branch gave Wall all it could handle before succumbing, 35-34, in overtime. The Wave actually scored on its possession in overtime, when quarterback Randy Rodriguez scored from a yard out, but failed to convert on the two-point conversion, opening the door for the Wall win.T

he Crimson Knights then scored in the extra session when quarterback Dan Russo hit Fred Sprengel with a 24-yard completion, setting up a one-yard scoring plunge from Blaze Caponegro. Michael Lieb then sealed the win with a PAT, giving Wall a hard-earned win against a Long Branch team that struggled to contain Caponegro (32 carries for 246 yards and four touchdowns). Long Branch's offense was certainly up to the challenge that Wall presented, but it was Wall that won a game that absolutely could have gone either way in the extra session.

Shore Regional got off to a good start in its season-opener against defending Central Jersey Group I champion Asbury Park, driving 66 yards on 10 plays and opening the scoring with a 32-yard field goal from Shane Carroll. However, the Blue Bishop defense shut down the Blue Devils from there, allowing just 170 yards of offense the rest of the game, while the Asbury Park passing game clicked into high gear, leading the host team to an impressive 24-3 victory. While Shore struggled for most of the game offensively, Asbury Park used its big playmakers to hurt the Shore defense, which didn't play as poorly as the final score may indicate. A number of Shore turnovers, including four fumbles that led to Neptune touchdowns, were the difference in this one.

The Blue Devils will look to bounce back on Sept. 27 against a Mater Dei team that was completely overmatched by an improved Raritan team in its 49-0 opening-day loss this past weekend.

As for the Red Bank Regional Bucs, an improved team facing a very difficult schedule, their season-opener had all the makings of a coming-out party in the first half.

The Bucs, who hosted their first night game in the program's history, had a 7-0 lead over St. John Vianney at the break, as Tyler Lesbirel found the end zone from seven yards out with 7:40 to play in the first half. RBR was the better team throughout the first half, controlling the ball and slowing what was expected to be a dynamic Lancer offense early on.

However, the second half was a different story, as SJV's Chris Mayo found his rhythm and scorched the RBR defense for two TDs. SJV seemed to focus on the running game after the break, and RBR was unable to control what proved to be a dominant rushing attack. The Lancers scored three times in the second half, while the defense, which saw much less time on the field, was able to contain RBR's playmakers to preserve the 21-7 win.N

ext up for RBR is a game this Saturday against a Matawan team that scored an impressive 15-0 win over rival Keyport this past weekend. This should be a winnable game for RBR; however, they will certainly need to be better against the run against the Huskies. Game time is 1 p.m. in Matawan.