Most football coaches go into preseason practice focused entirely on their season opener.
But Jackson Liberty High School football coach Tim Osborn was looking beyond that to his team’s second game, the Shore Conference C Central Division opener at defending division champion Wall High School.
“That could decide the league,” said Osborn, whose team has just fallen short of a winning record the past two seasons.
After opening the season with a nonconference victory over John F. Kennedy High School of Woodbridge, the Lions (1-1) now must bounce back from a 33-30 loss they sustained at Wall on Sept. 16.
Jackson Liberty will host Point Pleasant Borough High School (1-1) at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 in Jackson.
“The kids played their hearts out [against Wall], but we are past the point of moral victories,” Osborn said. “We need to do a better job in the red zone. We should have had 14 points [in two deep threats] when we ended up with three [points].”
Special teams generated many of the Lions’ points with kickoff returns for touchdowns by Jon Morgan (85 yards) and Bryon Daniels (82 yards) and a 78-yard punt return by Ira Hayes for a third special-teams touchdown.
“The defense struggled all the way through against their quarterback — nobody stood out,” Osborn said of the Lions’ performance.
Wall QB Steve Cluley threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
“The offense played well in the first half. We just didn’t get the ball after that,” Osborn said. The Crimson Knights controlled the ball on long drives in the second half as Jackson Liberty ran only six plays, but part of that was due to the Lions’ quick response to Wall’s scores off drives of 12 and 10 plays with two kickoff returns for touchdowns.
“Our offense didn’t get a chance to get on the field and control the ball, and then our defense got worn out,” Osborn said.
Justin Billups certainly did his part when he got his hands on the ball. Billups rushed for 178 yards — all in the first half — on 17 carries. He gave Jackson Liberty its second and final lead of the game at 10-7 with a 44- yard burst.
It was the second big game for Billups, who rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns in Jackson Liberty’s 34-7 seasonopening victory.
Tyler Wright saw some time at quarterback for the Lions after missing the preseason and the opener while recovering from shoulder surgery.
“He played a little bit and will play a little bit more this week,” Osborn said of Wright. “He looked rusty, but Bob Davies has been doing a good job for us stepping in.”
The Lions came out of their first two games without any new serious injuries and with their morale intact despite the frustrating loss, said Osborn.
They will now face a Point Pleasant Borough team with a quarterback who is more dangerous running the ball. John Dunbar rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns as Point Pleasant Borough beat Holmdel, 30-20.
“We feel we proved we’re a good football team and we are excited about playing this week. We are ready to prove how good we are,” Osborn said. “Now we’re playing an option team that runs the ball well with a lot of speed.”