Bickford Leads Central Win Over Point Boro to Blow the B South Race Wide Open

By John Bush - Shore Sports Network contributor

POINT BORO – Thanks to sophomore running back Mike Bickford and the rest of his Central Regional teammates, there’s now a major logjam atop the Shore Conference Class B South division.

Bickford ran 33 times for a career-high 242 yards and two touchdowns while junior quarterback Michael Miserendino ran for a touchdown and threw for another score as Central defeated Point Boro, 27-13, at Al Saner Field on Saturday night.

With the win, Central (3-2, 3-1) pulled even with Point Boro (3-2, 3-1) as part of a five-way tie for first place in B South. Barnegat, Jackson Liberty and Lakewood also are sitting at 3-1 in the division. It also marked Bickford's second straight 200-yard effort after putting up 228 in a win over Pinelands a week earlier.

“This game was for first place and we pulled it out,” Bickford said. “We won this game, and I feel like we can win from here on out. If we do, we have a home (state) playoff game.”

Behind Bickford, Central compiled 320 rushing yards against a Point Boro defense that had allowed just 22 total points in its first four games.

“Our offensive line was huge, our blocking, I couldn’t have done it without them,” Bickford said. “They made the holes for me.”

“He’s tough, simple as that,” Central coach Willie Jacobs said of Bickford. “He’s tough. And he’s a sophomore. It’s scary.”

The Golden Eagles established their dominance in the first quarter with an 11-play, 82-yard drive – all runs – that took over six minutes. Bickford did the bulk of the heavy lifting, running eight times for 62 yards and capping the drive by taking a toss 38 yards for a touchdown to give Central a 7-0 lead with 49 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Miserendino then came up with a big play of his own in the second quarter. After Bickford ran three times for 24 yards, Miserendino faked a handoff and hit senior receiver Anthony Arneth in stride for a 48-yard touchdown to make it 13-0 with 3:32 left in the first half.

“I trusted Anthony and trusted my arm and I just threw it deep,” Miserendino said.

“I was tired, I was happy they scored that,” Bickford said.

Point Boro, which was held to 85 total yards in the first half, finally struck in the third quarter. Senior quarterback Jack Fitzsimmons threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Hayden Frey, capping a 73-yard drive to pull the Panthers to within 13-6.

Central, though, answered with a 9-play, 80-yard drive – again, all runs. Bickford opened the drive with a 35-yard run, and Miserendino finished with a 15-yard scramble for a touchdown on fourth-and-5 to give the Golden Eagles a 20-6 lead with 2:25 left in the third quarter.

“It was supposed to be a screen left, but the running back (Bickford) was covered, so I took it and ran,” Miserendino said. “I couldn’t have scored without an amazing block by (senior tackle) Rudy Solomon.”

Bickford delivered the knockout punch in the fourth quarter by running five times for 36 yards on a short drive, including a 7-yard touchdown run to make it 27-6.

Along with the Golden Eagles' offensive line, sophomore backup fullback Denis Corbin was another key element in leading Bickford's big rushing game.

"Our original fullback is hurt right now, Mike Yager," Jacobs said. "We are more oriented toward our fullback. Teams know we run a lot of power, and (Corbin) has to kick out the end. He did a good job tonight. He played his best game tonight."

Point Boro closed the scoring at 27-13 when junior backup quarterback Noah Husak hit senior receiver Jax Wigert in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown with 2:17 left in the fourth quarter.

Box Score

Central 27, Point Boro 13

Central (3-2, 3-1) 7 6 7  7 –  27

Point Boro (3-2, 3-1) 0 0 6 7 – 13

Scoring summary

C – Bickford 38 run (Quick kick)

C – Arneth 48 pass from Miserendino (kick blocked)

PB  – Frey 45 pass from Fitzsimmons (kick blocked)

C – Miserendino 15 run (Quick kick)

C – Bickford 7 run (Quick kick)

PB – Wigert 30 pass from No. Husak (Ansbach kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing – C: Bickford 33-242, Miserendino 9-51, Leone 5-20, Singleton 2-7; PB: Na. Husak 9-54, Fitzsimmons 14-44, Franceschini 7-20, Connelly 2-14.

Passing – C: Miserendino 2-4-1 53; PB: Fitzsimmons 2-9-0 58, No. Husak 2-3-1 47.

Receiving – C: Arneth 1-48, Hardy 1-5; PB: Frey 2-58, .Wigert 1-30, Franceschini 1-17.

Interceptions – C: Vaughn 1-0; PB: Dunn 1-0.