Jake Curry’s Perfect Game Leads Freehold Past Toms River East

By Vin Ebenau - Shore Sports Network Contributor

FREEHOLD — Senior quarterback Jake Curry completed all 14 of his pass attempts for 261 yards and four touchdowns to lead Freehold to a 45-20 Shore Conference nondivisional victory over Toms River East on Saturday afternoon.

Jamel Smith-Rush caught six passes for 161 yards and a touchdown and sophomore running back Ashante Worthy ran for 139 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries to help the Colonials improve to 5-2.

From the very start, the Colonials were executing a versatile offensive attack against the Raiders (0-7). The Colonials were able to hold off the Raiders from what could have been a monumental fourth-quarter comeback as East scored three times in the closing quarter. The Colonials used the natural grass surface to their advantage, as they were able to spread the field with a variety of their skill players seeing a great deal of time. On their very first possession of the game, only five plays were needed before Smith-Rush went five yards in for the score with 9:42 left in the first quarter.

After a Toms River East punt on its first drive, the Colonials scored on a Curry pass to Matt Curcio from 14 yards out, giving them a 13-0 lead. Carrying a two-score lead into the second quarter, the Colonials scored midway through the frame with 6:10 left on a Matt Krauss 23-yard touchdown reception for a 20-0 advantage.

Smith-Rush scored his second touchdown of the afternoon as the Colonials offensive surge continued with 2:25 remaining in the half. His 24-yard touchdown catch with three Toms River East defenders in his way put Freehold up 26-0. The Colonials were able to take a 32-0 lead into halftime as Worthy was able to storm into the end zone after a 29-yard reception.

With 2:10 remaining in the third quarter, Worthy bolted down the sidelines for a 48-yard touchdown run to put Freehold up 39-0. The Raiders were able to get their first score on an Avery DelValle 46-yard touchdown with 10:27 left in the final quarter. Two drives later, the Raiders were able to score again as DelValle punched the ball in from the 2-yard line for the touchdown.

The Colonials answered back with a score of their own on a Travis Sparks 8-yard touchdown run for a 45-14 lead with 5:37 left in the game. Toms River East added a final sore on a 30-yard touchdown by Matt Gannon.