Friday Football Scoreboard, 9/12/14

Scores and details from Friday’s high school football action.

Friday, Sept. 12

Class A North

Freehold 29, Freehold Township 7

The Colonials (2-0, 2-0) matched their win total from all of last season by downing the Patriots (1-1, 1-1) as senior tailback Josh Dixon ran for a pair of touchdowns to give him six in two games to lead the way.

Freshman Ashante Worthy added his first varsity touchdown on an 8-yard run for a 13-0 second-quarter lead, and linebacker Jamel Smith-Rush chipped in with a 45-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Quarterback Jack O'Brien threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Frank Suglia in the loss for Freehold Township. O'Brien was 16-for-35 for 209 yards passing in the loss.

Class A Central

Raritan 41, Manasquan 34

The Rockets (1-0, 1-0) won a wild season opener against the visiting Warriors (0-1, 0-1), building a 27-0 lead before Manasquan roared back to tie it at 27, and then ultimately sealing the win on a 25-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Riley Sullivan with 2:15 left in the game.

Senior running back Rich Salerno had a huge game for the Rockets, rushing for 181 of his career-high 193 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries in the first half alone before leaving the game with a knee injury in the third quarter and not returning. Junior Derek Ernst had a fumble recovery in the end zone for a touchdown and also ran for a 4-yard touchdown that made it 34-27 with 6:38 left in the game. Sullivan also threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior Colby Jones in the win.

Senior running backs James McAlary and John Morris each ran for a pair of touchdowns in the loss for Manasquan, and Morris also had an interception on defense. Quarterback Liam Grieb connected with Max Hawkins for a 55-yard touchdown pass that tied the game at 27 in the third quarter before Jones blocked the extra point to keep it tied. McAlary scored on a 6-yard run with 59 seconds remaining to make it a one-score game, but Raritan recovered the ensuing onside kick.

St. John Vianney 31, No. 9 Matawan 10

Junior quarterback Anthony Brown had a strong debut in his first game as the starter, throwing for 194 yards and two touchdowns, and senior wideout P.J. Braccia had six catches for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown to help the Lancers (1-0, 1-0) roll past the Huskies (0-1, 0-1) to give new head coach Mark Ciccotelli his first win at St. John Vianney.

Senior wideout Dan Calabro added a 14-yard touchdown catch, and senior Aaron Mora ran for a pair of touchdowns in the win. Joe Rice also booted a career-long 40-yard field goal for the Lancers in his first game.

Senior Justin Ferrara had a 21-yard fumble return for a touchdown and senior Adam Elliot, a baseball player who came out for football this year, nailed a 37-yard field goal in the loss for Matawan.

Class A South

Southern 21, Toms River East 14

Senior Ryan Winkler ran for a career-high 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns and junior Pat Walker added a touchdown run to give the Rams (1-0, 1-0) a win over the Raiders (0-1, 0-1) in the season opener.

Senior Jeff Wood ran for 170 yards and a touchdown in the loss for Toms River East.

Class B North

No. 1 Red Bank Catholic 42, No. 10 Long Branch 7

Senior Tommy Spernal ran for touchdowns of 41 and 10 yards and also had an 86-yard interception return on defense as the Caseys (2-0, 2-0) scored 35 unanswered points to snap a 7-7 tie and win their 35th straight game against Shore Conference competition by downing the Green Wave (0-1, 0-1).

Junior quarterback Eddie Hahn added a touchdown pass to senior Nick Lubischer, senior tailback Mike Cordova had a 9-yard touchdown run, and senior linebacker Jamie Gordinier blocked a punt that was recovered by senior Doug Zockoll for a touchdown.

Senior Jordan Rodriguez had a 16-yard touchdown pass in the loss for Long Branch.

Neptune 30, No. 8 Ocean 27

The Scarlet Fliers (1-0, 1-0) came up with three fourth-quarter turnovers to help hold off the Spartans (0-1, 0-1) after building a 30-13 lead to give new head coach Rodney Taylor his first career victory.

Senior outside linebacker Diondre Dunn sealed the win with an interception with 1:27 left in the game and Ocean out of timeouts. It was the second interception of the quarter, as defensive back Zaire Alston also stepped in front of a pass at Neptune's 30-yard line to kill a drive with 3:28 left in the game.

Senior running back Jaree Parrish had 156 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 21 carries in the win, and senior quarterback Ralph McLean threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaiah Calhoun and also ran for a 10-yard touchdown. Senior safety Savior King also came up with a crucial fumble recovery at Neptune's 9-yard line early in the fourth quarter to kill an Ocean drive.

Senior tailback Tyler Thompson had 84 yards rushing on 23 carries while also returning a punt 91 yards for a touchdown and finishing with two catches for 34 yards. Sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett threw touchdown passes of 18 and 25 yards, both to senior Marcus Blackman, and also ran for a 9-yard touchdown in the loss for Ocean.

Red Bank 21, Wall 14

The Bucs (1-0, 1-0) picked up their first win under the lights in school history by downing the Crimson Knights (0-2, 0-2), as junior quarterback Jack Navitsky ran for a 31-yard touchdown and Alim Godsey ripped off an 87-yard touchdown run to build a 14-0 third-quarter lead on the way to the win.

Class B Central

Pt. Beach 15, Asbury Park 12

The Garnet Gulls (1-0, 1-0) grinded out a comeback win over the Blue Bishops (0-1, 0-1) thanks to a defense that registered eight sacks and a seven-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Jake Fioretti in the fourth quarter that put Point Beach ahead 15-12 on the way to the win.

Junior Tanner Smith had 10 tackles, a tackle for a loss and a sack, senior linebacker Joe Wegrzyniak had 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and a sack, sophomore Matt Zuhowski finished with 5 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks, and linebacker Jake Delorenzo registered 9 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, a sack and an interception in the win.

Zach Schaller stepped in for starter Mike Frauenheim, who suffered a hand injury during the game, and ran for 39 yards on six carries during the game-winning drive. Wegrzyniak finished with 67 yards rushing and a touchdown on 19 carries and also ran for a two-point conversion.

Charles Sanders had a 1-yard touchdown run and quarterback Sal Swain had a 6-yard touchdown run in the loss for Asbury Park.

Class B South

No. 5 Barnegat 26, Manchester 7

Senior quarterback Cinjun Erskine ran for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 8 carries and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Nick Camarato as the Bengals (1-0, 1-0) snapped a 7-7 halftime tie on their way to downing the Hawks (0-1, 0-1).

Senior defensive back Ricky Gerena added an interception that helped set up a touchdown, and senior defensive lineman Xavier Young had a fumble recovery that led to a touchdown. Senior Manny Bowen added a 52-yard touchdown run in the first half and also had 6 catches for 99 yards. Erskine finished 11-for-16 for 142 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Pt. Boro 17, Pinelands 6

Gene Franceschini and Nate Husak each had touchdowns for the Panthers (1-0, 1-0) and Collin Ansbach added a field goal to give them a season-opening win over the Wildcats (0-2, 0-2).

Connor Bussey had a 25-yard touchdown run in the loss for Pinelands.

Nondivisional

Howell 20, Colts Neck 16

The Rebels (1-1) gave new coach Luke Sinkhorn his first win at Howell by upending the Cougars (0-1) thanks to a career-high three touchdown passes by sophomore quarterback Bobby Cavallero, two of them to senior running back Jarvis Leaks, who scored touchdowns of 58 and 76 yards.

Cavallero also threw a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Joe Selafrio in the win.

Junior quarterback Max Mullaney threw two touchdown passes in his debut as the starter for Colts Neck.

No. 6 Toms River South 40, Donovan Catholic 7

Senior quarterback Tymere Berry ran for three touchdowns and 170 yards and senior running back Khaleel Greene added two scores as the Indians (1-0) rolled up more than 400 yards on the ground on their way to a season-opening win over the Griffins (0-1).

Quarterback David Calderon ran for a 31-yard touchdown in the loss for Donovan Catholic.

Jackson Memorial 50, Jackson Liberty 16

The Jaguars (1-0) improved to 7-0 all time against the cross-town rival Lions (0-1) by setting a school record with 50 first-half points in building a 50-0 lead on their way to cruising to the win.

Sophomore running back Mike Gawlik scored a career-high three touchdowns on runs of 9, 5, and 28 yards, junior Vinny Lee had a 68-yard touchdown run, senior fullback Zach Tetro added a 4-yard scoring run, senior Aaron Curet ran back a punt 49 yards for a score, senior quarterback Joe DeMaio had a 5-yard touchdown run, and junior Tyler Towns returned a blocked punt for a 25-yard touchdown, all in the first half.

Nonconference

South Brunswick 36, No. 7 Middletown South 24

Junior Cole Rogers ran for touchdowns of 1 and 3 yards, and junior Matt Mosquera threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Leandro and booted a 28-yard field goal, but it was not enough for the Eagles (1-1) to overcome Syracuse recruit Dontae Strickland and the Vikings (1-0).

Strickland had a fumble return for a touchdown and had touchdown runs of 76 and 24 yards for the Vikings, who also got a pair of touchdown runs from Amir Johnson.

Middletown North 40, Perth Amboy 0

The Lions (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening loss by routing the Panthers (0-1) as junior tailback Chad Freshnock ran for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns and senior wideout Jordan Pitts ran for one score and caught a touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Donald Glenn.

Glenn also threw a touchdown pass to senior tight end Troy Thompson, who also had a strong game at linebacker, and senior Aaron Borrero added his first varsity touchdown run. Sophomore Dwight Wilkerson added an interception and a blocked punt on defense, and sophomore Nick Kish also had an interception.