CHRIS KELLY Rumson’s R.J. Gaynor runs through a slew of Shore Regional defenders during last Friday night’s game in West Long Branch.
Their trip to the Central Jersey Group I state tournament was locked up before the game was even played. But to a man, the Shore Regional High School football team insisted that this game was for pride.
Friday night, the Blue Devils dispatched their longtime rivals, Rumson-Fair Haven, 24-21, in a hard-fought game between two hungry football teams.
Despite several nearly costly mistakes, the Blue and White were able to stave off their adversaries with a series of heroics.
"Rumson did a great job tonight. They are well coached and came to play," said Shore head coach Marc Costantino. "We still have to get better in some areas, but a lot of the kids played an outstanding game, played with a lot of heart."
After both teams either punted or turned over their possession in the beginning of the first quarter, Shore finally lit up the scoreboard when Joe Toccacelli muscled his way up the middle of the field for a 39-yard touchdown run.
Rumson began the ensuing drive on the wrong foot when they fumbled the kickoff. However, after recovering the fumble, the Bulldogs used two plays, burning Shore’s defense with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Dan Manfra to R.J. Gaynor. John Rose converted the PAT kick, giving the visitors a 7-6 lead.
The Bulldogs improved their lead after a David Wessel intercepted a Ben Grandinetti pass, setting up Rumson’s second touchdown. Gaynor first caught a 35-yard pass, before scoring his second touchdown on a one-yard pass. Rose converted the PAT kick again, giving the Dawgs 14-6.
The Blue Devils strung together a seven-play drive on their ensuing possession, pulling within two points of their guest on a leaping catch by Dan Carhart on a 15-yard pass from Grandinetti.
Late in the first half, Shore regained their lead on another touchdown pass from Grandinetti to Carhart, this time from 21 yards out. At the end of the first half, Shore narrowly led the Bulldogs, 18-14.
Rumson came out of the locker room on fire, forcing Shore to punt away their first possession of the second half. However, even though Matt Geraud averaged 36.3 yards per punt, 6-1 Ryan Babeuf battled his way toward Geraud to block the punt, giving Rumson the ball on Shore’s three-yard line.
Rumson once again gave the ball to Gaynor, who sprinted up the middle untouched. Rose converted the kick, earning a hat trick of PAT attempts.
Following several missed plays and fumbles on both sides of the ball, Shore set up the go-ahead touchdown when Mike Snow stripped the ball away from a Rumson ball carrier, with Shore recovering the fumble. The recovery set the Blue Devils up for an eight-play drive, which ended with a one-yard scoring effort by Carhart. But Shore only led by three points at this point, after failing to convert a single PAT.
The Bulldogs tried to muscle their way into scoring position as the clock wound down, but Shore’s defense was able to prevent their efforts. On three occasions Rumson was forced to put their defense on the field when Carhart, Mike Amodio and Jessie Leonard picked off passes from Manfra. Shore also recovered three out of four Rumson fumbles.
"We were ready for this team," said senior receiver Mike Amodio. "We have a great line on both sides of the ball. Coach Costantino knew we could come up with the big plays when we needed it."
Shore, the No. 3 seed in CJ Group I, will have a first-round bye in the state tournament, before traveling to Spotswood on Nov. 17, where they will face the No. 2-seeded Chargers at 1 p.m.
Rumson’s record and power-point rankings denied them entrance into the playoff schedule; however, the Dawgs travel to Raritan High School for a consolation game today at 7 p.m.