Bihlear scores 3 touchdowns in 21-0 win
By: Sean Moylan
Shore Regional went into Saturday’s opening Central Jersey Group I playoff game at "The Pit" with the idea it could throw against the Florence Township Memorial High varsity football team.
That was a bad idea.
Shore Regional quarterback Gary Knoeppel attempted 14 passes and the only two he completed were to Chris Foehr and Rob Hutchison, two Florence defensive backs.
After a 34-28 loss to a potent Holy Cross club the week before, the Flashes’ fast and furious defense was back in full force in a 21-0 win over the very Blue Devils. And it didn’t hurt that Timmy Bihlear bulled his way to three touchdowns and 121 yards along the way.
Foehr set the tone for the game when he picked off a Knoeppel pass on third and long and took it all the way down to the 13-yard line.
"We went back in a nickel dog and he threw it right to me," said Foehr, who also rushed for 12 hard yards as a fullback. "I didn’t think I was going to get that many carries. I’m more of a blocker than a runner."
Following Foehr’s pick, Bihlear ran straight up the gut of the Blue Devils’ solid rush defense three straight times. On his third run, Bihlear appeared to hit a brick defensive wall, which momentarily stopped him dead in his tracks. But Bihlear is not one to give up that easily.
"On my first touchdown I tried to run right up the middle but was stopped. But I bounced to the right and scored," said Bihlear, whose 3-yard touchdown staked Florence to a 6-0 lead.
With yards hard to come by on the ground, Florence quarterback Rob Hutchison found Quentin Loftin open on the right side for a 17-yard reception. Then over the next few plays Hutchison completed three more passes to Loftin and Jeff Perro. But it was a crucial 18-yard third down pass to Malcolm Jenkins which ultimately led to Bihlear’s subsequent back-breaking 2-yard touchdown.
"I told Hutch to put it up and I’d out jump him," said the 6 foot 5 inch Jenkins, whose great catch was followed by a great run by Loftin. Florence decided to go for 2 points and Hutchison delivered a strike to Kevin Reeder to give Florence a 14-0 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Florence had a chance to go for the jugular on a 4th-and-1 situation. But if there’s one thing Florence head coach Joe Frappolli does better than anyone it’s coach a field position game. So he had Jimmy Martinson punt the ball to put Shore in a big hole. In fact, Martinson punted seven times in the game to put the Blue Devils’ offense in seven holes.
Yet, even with a 14-0 lead, the Flashes’ crowd seemed to still be a little exhausted from all the excitement of the Holy Cross game. Still Loftin drew a rise from the crowd when he flattened Knoeppel, who showed a lot of guts in the contest, with a tackle which drove the Blue Devils’ quarterback out of bounds. Moreover, "Shaq was back" as the Flashes’ superstar defender Shaquan Virgil returned from an injury to make several key tackles.
However the crowd didn’t truly come alive until Anthony Krause, wearing Joe Spahn’s old number 6, raced down on the punt team and creamed a Blue Devils runner with a punishing tackle on the 4-yard line.
"I had to do something to get the team going," added Krause.
Florence did get going. Moments later Dahvis Blakney appeared to score a defensive touchdown, but it was called back while Florence fans cursed Tom Brady’s name and the fall out from the "tuck rule call" a few years back. But to Blakney the play was cut and dry as he explained, "Jeff Perro knocked the ball out of their quarterback’s hands and I picked it up for a touchdown."
Even so, Florence took over in good field position and Bihlear scored on a powerful 15-yard run where he shook off several Shore defenders along the way.
"I’d much rather win this game than win any regular season game we played," said Bihlear, who wants a championship. After Bihlear’s touchdown, Hutchison put the icing on the cake with a great interception.
Inspired by Rutgers big win last Thursday, Frappolli made sure his team never gave Shore an inch it didn’t have to.
"Shore is a tough team. They play a Wing-T and even though we’re a Wing-T we haven’t played a Wing-T. But we stayed at home (didn’t over-commit) well," said Frappolli. "You’ve got to keep chopping."
And Bihlear and Hutchison found a way to chop Shore’s terrific defense into little tooth picks with their exceptional play. Florence is scheduled to host a strong Metuchen (third-seed) team on Saturday.

