BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY FARRAH MAFFAI staff Above, Long Branch’s Johnny Williams is tackled by Matawan’s Jason Haskins during the Green Wave’s CJ Group III semifinal win in Matawan on Saturday. At right, the Wave’s Terrance McKeller and Jack Stovall combine to stop Haskins.
Just because both the Red Bank Regional Bucs and Long Branch Green Wave may be thinking about their state championship games next weekend, don’t expect this Saturday’s rivalry game to be any less intense.
That’s the message Long Branch head coach Dan George has for anyone who doesn’t think both teams will be giving their all tomorrow when the two squads square off in Long Branch.
"There’s a lot of tradition at stake here," he said. "This is one of the oldest and greatest rivalries in the state. The kids love to play each other and really look forward to it.
"It really goes back to a ‘let’s go meet after school and play ball’ kind of thing," he added. "And this year it’s even better because both teams are having tremendous seasons and have a chance to be state champions."
Red Bank Regional coach Harry Chebookjian concurs.
"The tradition of the rivalry will take over, I guarantee you that," he said. "I told the kids to have fun talking about the state championship game after this weekend because we have a game of the utmost importance on Saturday.
"We’re playing it like we don’t know who we’re facing in the state final, and concentrating only on Long Branch."
The Green Wave is coming off a thrilling 22-20 win over previously unbeaten Matawan on Saturday, in a game where they came back from an early 13-0 deficit to upset the host Huskies in dramatic fashion.
Long Branch’s Jerrod Langley and Eddie Spearman celebrate their team’s upset win over Matawan on Saturday in Aberdeen.
The turning point came toward the end of the first half when the Wave converted a fourth-and-nine from the Matawan 30 into a Maurice Turpin-to-Francisco Gomez touchdown to get on the board. They then got their second score following a Matawan fumble on the LB 11-yard line when Turpin hit Joseph Nunez with an 89-yard TD pass that closed the gap to 13-12.
Long Branch took the lead when Manuel Navarro and Donald Conover combined to sack Matawan QB A.J. Roque in the end zone for a safety to start the fourth quarter. They later added to that lead when Cameron Zuidema scored on a one-yard plunge and Turpin found Milton Hastings on the right side for a two-point conversion, and a 22-13 lead.
Matawan managed to climb within 22-20 on a late touchdown, but a Jarret Sanderson interception with four minutes left and a clutch fourth-and-two completion from Turpin to tight end Jerrod Langley sealed the win for the Green Wave.
"We made some mistakes early on special teams, and I think that showed that we were a little nervous," George said. "But once we settled down a little, we got a good feel for them and were able to make some plays.
"They did a nice job of taking our running game away, and basically we had to adjust," he added.
And the player who did the best job of adjusting was Turpin, according to George.
"Our quarterback was phenomenal," he said. "He was calm, cool and poised, and did exactly what we needed him to do all day."
George also credited his defense, which played inspired football in the second half, led by an outstanding effort from middle linebacker Milton Hastings.
"We were not surprised by what they were doing," George said. "What surprised us was their size. Most of the time when you look at a team on film, they look bigger than they do on the field. But not these guys. They looked bigger in person."
With the win, the Wave earned a shot at New Brunswick, the second seed in the CJ Group II bracket, who knocked off Spotswood on Friday in their semifinal, 25-14.
The Zebras, who are currently ranked sixth in the state, are led by senior Dwayne Jarrett, the top wide receiver in the state, and QB Josh Jones, who leads the Greater Middlesex Conference’s most prolific offense.
"We know they’re very good," George said. "They’ve got some tremendous wide receivers, and are very fast and very tall. They are definitely the best team we’ve seen all year. "But initially, we’re really just concerned with Red Bank. The good thing is that Red Bank is in the same situation."
The Bucs are coming off an impressive 31-17 win over Hamilton on Saturday in their Central Jersey Group III semifinal.
Head coach Harry Chebookjian’s Bucs jumped out to a 10-3 halftime lead on a Cliff Toodle 73-yard TD run and a Mike Pizzulli 23-yard field goal, and never looked back, outscoring Hamilton 21-14 in the second half.
With the win, the Bucs earned another shot at top-ranked Middletown South in the sectional final. South won the previous meeting, held the first week of the season, 39-6, but will be meeting a different RBR team this time around. And this time a sectional title is on the line, something the Bucs haven’t won since 1975.
On Saturday, Toodle was the difference, scoring four touchdowns on the day. The senior found the end zone on all three of the Bucs’ second-half possessions (from two, one and two yards, respectively) and finished with 205 yards on 24 carries to lead the way.
"It’s scary to say this, but that kind of effort is what we expect from him now," Chebookjian said. "And the guys up front don’t get enough credit for the job they’ve done."
Chebookjian credited tackles Pete Roskowinski and Gene Kaskiw, guards Rob Maslanek, Mike Pizzulli and Mark Biafore, center Chris Hill, tight ends Bo Olsen and Frank Monfort, and fullback Tom Rigby with opening the holes for Toodle all year.
But as prolific as the Toodle-led offense was on Saturday, Chebookjian was equally proud of his team’s defensive effort.
"Their quarterback did a fabulous job, and we knew containing him was going to be a big problem for us," he said. "He really is a tremendous player, and our guys did a great job of slowing him down.
"Our three linebackers (Olsen, Rigby and Tyler Copeland) were beat up at the end just from trying to throw a net around their QB all day. And our secondary could have given up a lot more than it did, so they did a nice job as well."
The Bucs now turn their attention to rival Long Branch, who will host Saturday’s game.
After that, and only after that, according to Chebookjian, they will focus on Middletown South, who powered past Willingboro, 40-12, in their semifinal game on Friday night.
The Eagles are the top seed in the bracket, and will enter the contest with the swagger that comes with being the favorite. But again, this is not the same RBR team they beat a couple of months ago. In fact, this RBR has not lost since that day, winning nine straight games.