BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer
ERIC SUCAR staff Ocean’s Vinnie Falkiewicz, of Brick Memorial, makes a one-handed catch during Friday night’s Shore 44 football game at Brick Township High School. BRICK – Record-setting running back Vin Falkiewicz had two centers blocking for him while playing in the Shore 44 all-star game last Friday. And both of them reside in Brick.
Jamie Pratt, who opened holes for Falkiewicz when he rushed for a school record 4,081 career yards and often helped him up for the past two seasons, shared the duties snapping the ball with Brick Township’s Dan Atheras.
“They both were motivated and blocked well in front of me,” said Falkiewicz, who carried 12 times for 54 yards as Ocean County held on to an 11-10 victory over Monmouth County at Brick Township High School field. He also had a 45-yard sweep around the left side called back by a holding penalty, one of many penalties in the game.
“It was great to play with Vin again, absolutely incredible,” said Pratt.
“To see him out there with the county’s best and playing well. They can throw anything at him and he’ll always come through with something. He’s resilient.”
After the game, the five participants from both Brick schools who played in the game, including F.J. Lucchetti and Vin Marra of Brick Township as well as Prince Young of Brick Memorial, who sat out the game while recovering from surgery, got together for a photo session. Falkiewicz, who is headed to Cornell, and Pratt, who is going to Bryant College, at that moment, had forgotten the bitterness of ending their high school careers with a loss to Brick Township on Thanksgiving.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” said Fred Sprengel, who stepped down as head coach at Brick Memorial to pursue postgraduate work but who returned to the sidelines as the Ocean team’s line coach.
“I told my [two seniors] that it was a sad day losing their final game here and little did I know at the time it would be my final game as a coach, but I told them we all have a chance to go out on top,” said Sprengel. “And Vin Marra played for two years at Brick Memorial before the district changed the boundaries, and to be reunited … it was all a great experience.”
And Sprengel and his two centers felt they had something to prove against a cocky Monmouth team.
“It felt like Brick [Township] football: hard knock, smash football,” said Atheras. “It’s great to be a part of a win after so many losses. Now I can say my record this season as a Dragon is 6-5.”
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the line,” said Sprengel. “Both [first and second string] units worked unselfishly and made the most of their opportunities.”
Jarred Morris swept left for a six-yard touchdown run early in the final quarter for the deciding points. Monmouth opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal and then bobbled the ball into the end zone for a safety later in the first quarter. A 29-yard Ocean field goal made it 5-3 before Monmouth Regional quarterback Tom D’Ambrisi’s four-yard touchdown run and the subsequent extra point kick put Monmouth ahead, 10-5, at halftime.
“We ran the ball between the tackles,” said Pratt, as Ocean had a 106-80 edge in rushing yards. “We kept hearing from them about how their defensive line is so good and we’re undersized.”
“We ran the ball down their throats,” said Atheras, who will attend Loyola of Baltimore this fall. “We were getting solid blocking from the line. I played only two series, but they were the ones where we scored.”
Marra played well at linebacker despite having a thigh bruise, turning in many plays from the outside to waiting tacklers, as did teammate Lucchetti, who went from his customary inside linebacker spot to outside linebacker.
“I just fought through the pain by thinking that I’m here to win it,” said Marra.
“It’s my last game of football and it’s nice to go out a winner,” said a smiling Lucchetti, who is headed to Wagner College on a baseball scholarship.