Manalapan Wins 29th Straight vs. the Shore in a 42-14 Victory Over Lacey

Manalapan cruised to its 29th consecutive victory against Shore Conference opponents with a 42-14 nondivisional win over winless Lacey on Saturday afternoon. Senior tailback Imamu Mayfield ran for 99 yards and 4 touchdowns on 14 carries to lead the undefeated Braves (5-0) in their fifth straight game scoring 40 or more points to start the season.

Manalapan's starting defense held Lacey under 100 total yards before exiting the game late in the third quarter. Senior defensive end Kyle Mullen had a fumble recovery for a touchdown and senior John Cheung returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown to set up a crucial Class A North meeting against Middletown South next week.

Here is the game, summed up in six key plays.

A sack by senior defensive end Ben Sieczkowski forced Lacey to punt on its first drive, and senior John Cheung gave Manalapan an early lead 7-0 lead with a 55-yard punt return touchdown.

Imamu Mayfield scored the first of his four touchdowns to cap a 9-play, 60-yard drive and extend the Braves' lead to 14-0 with 20 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Manalapan's defense and special teams gave the Braves' offense great field position at the Lacey 37, and Mayfield made them pay with his second touchdown run for a 21-0 advantage.

Meanwhile, Manalapan's defense was making life difficult for Lacey quarterback Conor Davies. The unit got in on the scoring when Joe Mendez sacked Davies and forced a fumble which Kyle Mullen scooped and returned 8 yards for a touchdown.

Lacey used a 23-yard pass from Davies to George Sayre to move to Manalapan's 30-yard line, but consecutive sacks by Mullen and Mendez brought the drive to an abrupt halt.

Mayfield's third touchdown run late in the first half gave Manalapan a 35-0 lead at halftime, and the senior polished off the Braves' victory with a 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter to put Manalapan up 42-0.

Lacey added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Davies to senior Sean Cahalane and a 1-yard touchdown run by Sayre.

Lacey (0-5) has now lost 10 straight games dating back to last season, and head coach Lou Vircillo remains tied with legendary Manasquan/Middletown head coach Vic Kubu for second all-time in Shore Conference history with 263 victories.

Manalapan senior kicker Mike Caggiano was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points to pull into a tie with former Middletown South kicker Connor Ryan as the Shore Conference's career scoring leader with 212.

Mayfield has now rushed for 800 yards and 18 touchdowns in 5 games.