Over the last two weeks, the Ocean Township High School Spartans showed us exactly why they have such high expectations for themselves this season. In beating a trio of quality opponents in Neptune, Brick Township and Manchester, the Spartans displayed explosiveness on offense and a strong defensive front, improving to 3-0 on the young season in impressive fashion.
While there was never any doubt that much of the Ocean Spartans’ success this year would hinge on the play of Brandon Robinson, the speedy senior continues to pick the right times to show that he is indeed one of the Shore Conference’s most electrifying players. And it’s not simply a matter of coincidence, as head coach Donald Klein and his staff made it their priority this year to take full advantage of Robinson’s abilities.
“I think looking back on last season, we didn’t do a good enough job of getting him the ball,” Klein said. “So entering this year, we decided that we need to do a better job of getting him the ball and letting him do his thing. I think his performance [against Brick] shows what can happen if we continue to do that.”
Robinson’s performance, which included 161 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns and an interception, sparked the Spartans to a 17- 7 win over Brick, cementing Ocean’s status as a contender for the Shore’s Liberty Division title.
After a scoreless first quarter, in which Ocean fumbled the ball twice inside its own 22-yard line only to see the Green Dragons fail to capitalize, the Spartans struck first in the second quarter. Facing a third-and-14 on his team’s own 19, Ocean quarterback Christian Bailoni found Robinson with a short screen pass. Brick appeared to have it perfectly covered, but Robinson reversed his field and raced down the left side of the field untouched for an 81-yard TD.
After the Ocean defense forced a threeand out, the Spartans’ running back, Raymond D’Apolito, spearheaded a seven-play, 61-yard drive that culminated with a 32-yard field goal from Joseph Pingitore.
On their first drive of the second half, Brick appeared poised to make a game of it, reaching the Ocean 17-yard line. However, Brick QB John Applegate was picked off by Robinson at the one-yard line, ending the threat.
Up 10-0, Ocean appeared to be in complete control of the game, until Applegate made a big play of his own, picking off a pass and returning it for a touchdown to make it 10-7. Brick, however, didn’t have very long to celebrate, as on the first play of Ocean’s ensuing possession, Robinson took a handoff and raced up the middle for a 58- yard touchdown, essentially sealing the game.
“Brandon had a monster game for us and really showed what he’s capable of doing if we keep putting the ball in his hands,” Klein said. “We’ve played pretty well. We’re hoping to carry some of that momentum over.”
The Ocean defense has been particularly good, allowing just one touchdown in its first three games. That fact becomes even more impressive when you consider that the Spartans’ week one opponent, Neptune, went on to defeat the top-ranked team in the Shore (Freehold Borough) on Sept. 19 with an explosive offensive performance.
Though the Neptune win sent shockwaves throughout the Shore, Klein expected Neptune to make a statement against the Colonials.
“I was not surprised to be honest,” he said. “Neptune is such an athletically gifted team; they’re a very scary team to defend against.”
This past weekend, the Spartans took on a Manchester team that was simply overmatched, with Ocean cruising to a 17-0 win. Ocean got a 20-yard field goal from Pingatore in the first quarter, then made it 10-0 when D’Apolito raced 22 yards on a swing pass. Meanwhile, the Spartan defense was as stingy as ever, not allowing a Hawk first down until the final minutes of the first half.
Up 10-0 after the break, Ocean made it 17-0 in the fourth quarter when quarterback Christian Bailoni found the end zone from three yards out.
It was a dominating effort from an Ocean team that is playing with confidence on both sides of the ball, and now has a week off to rest up and prepare for a tough Colonia team on Oct. 9.
Should the Spartans continue to play this well on defense, they could have the makings for a special football team.
Klein, however, is keeping his eye on the big picture.
“We need to keep everything in perspective at this point,” he said. “We’ve beaten some quality football teams, but we can’t make too much of those wins because we have too many goals we still want to meet.
“It’s still so early. There’s a long way to go.”