McAlary Helps Manasquan Roll Past Holmdel

By Art Gordon – Shore Sports Network contributor

MANASQUAN - Any thoughts Holmdel had about catching Manasquan looking ahead and coming out flat in Saturday’s Class A Central at Vic Kubu Warrior Field were dashed on Manasquan’s opening offensive play of the game.

Junior running back James McAlary dashed 75 yards for a touchdown to kick off a career-high 190-yard rushing day and send the No. 8 Warriors to a 37-0 victory over the Hornets (1-6, 0-4).

The Warriors (6-1 4-1) were ready and came out with a purpose. On a day dubbed “Hall of Fame Saturday,” the home team did not disappoint.  Manasquan honored eight individuals and the 1987 girls basketball team before the game.

“We played fundamental football today,’’ head coach Jay Price told the team after the game. “We did the little things and kept our focus.”

Manasquan scored on four of its first five possessions to claim a 30-0 halftime lead, and the defense posted its second shutout of the season.

“We wanted to dominate the run game on both sides of the ball,’’ said senior two-way lineman Matt Clayton. “We wanted to show we can run the ball and also stop the run.”

McAlary, a converted soccer player in his first year playing football, amassed his 190 yards rushing on just 14 carries. Senior fullback Jack Bianco also had a strong day with a career-high three touchdowns. McAlary and Bianco were the feature backs on Saturday because senior running back Joe Murphy was nursing a leg injury.

“It was a little different today,’’ said McAlary, who is nicknamed “Bubba.” “We usually alternate, and I can take advantage of that because the defenses are set up to stop Joe, and I am a different kind of runner.”

Holmdel took the opening kickoff and had its best drive of the day, going 40 yards before the Warriors’ defense settled down and forced a punt.

“We just had to settle down and take a breath and play our game,’’ said senior linebacker Blaine Birch. “We wanted to do the little things.  We wanted to get better after last week’s disappointing performance.”

Holmdel went three-and-out on its next three possessions and Manasquan took complete control of the game with each possession. The Warriors extended their lead on their second possession, marching 57 yards in 12 plays and going up 16-0 on a 2-yard run by Bianco. Manasquan had two 2-point conversions after botching two snaps.  Junior tight end Tanner Cowley caught Joe Fittin’s pass the first time and then Fittin ran one in.

Manasquan kept the pressure on when Bianco scored from a yard out and again scored on a fourth-and-inches pop pass from senior quarterback Tucker Caccavale to Cowley for an 18-yard touchdown and a 30-0 lead at the half.

The pass game took a back seat to the rushing attack in the win.  Caccavale was 4-for-6 on the day, and his two incompletions were drops as he continues to have a great season.

“I have been around for four years so I am very comfortable in whatever the situation is,’’ Caccavale said. “I just try to be a leader at all times.”

The Warriors started the second half by going 66 yards in 7 plays, making it 37-0 on a 1-yard run by Bianco to cap the scoring.

Manasquan will return to action after their bye against an undefeated Rumson team on the road in a huge Class A Central game. The winner of that matchup will put itself in good position to earn the No. 1 seed in its respective state playoff bracket.  The Warriors are in South Jersey Group III, while the Bulldogs are in Central Jersey Group II.

Box score

Manasquan 37, Holmdel 0

SCORING

TEAMS                                   1          2          3          4          FINAL

HOLMDEL                             0          0          0          0              0     

SQUAN                                  8          22       7          0            37    

Scoring summary

JAMES MCALARY 75-YARD RUN.  JOEY FITTIN TO TANNER COWLEY CONVERSION.

JACK BIANCO 2-YARD RUN.  JOEY FITTIN CONVERSION RUN.

JACK BIANCO 1-YARD RUN. RAUL PEREZ KICK.

TANNER COWLEY 18-YARD PASS FROM TUCKER CACCAVALE.  RAUL PEREZ KICK.

JACK BIANCO 1-YARD RUN.  RAUL PEREZ KICK

STATS

TEAMS                                   HOLMDEL                             SQUAN                                 

FIRST DOWNS                                 8                                     13

RUSHING                                   26-129                             29-231

PASSING                                   7-13-59                             4-6-49

PENALTIES                                     3-15                                  2-15

PUNTING                                       4-30                                  1-21

FUMBLES                                          2-1                                   1-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING:  HOLMDEL:  MARK SCHERZER 6-9, MATT DIXON 4-69, FRANKIE CONDITO 10-31, DYLAN POPIN 1-5, ERIK ALVINO 4-(3),MATT NUZZI 2-18.                                        SQUAN:  JAMES MCALARY 14-190, JACK BIANCO 8-38, BLAINE BIRCH 1-0 PAUL KRUGER 5-21, LIAM GRIEB 1-2

PASSING:  HOL:  ERIK ALVINO 7-13-59  SQUAN:  TUCKER CACCAVALE 4-6-49

RECEIVING:  HOL:  MATT DIXON 2-8, COREY NUZZI 1-13, JOE TAGES 1-5, MARK SCHERZER 3-33   SQUAN:  TANNER COWLEY 1-18, JACK BIANCO 1-10, MATT PATURZO 1-13, JOE FITTIN 1-8.