By John Bush - Shore Sports Network contributor

OCEAN TOWNSHIP – In a Middletown North-Ocean matchup featuring two top junior running backs, it was Lions senior Troy Thompson who stole the spotlight.

A receiver and outside linebacker, Thompson scored a touchdown on both sides of the ball to lead the Lions to a 21-7 nondivisional victory over the host Spartans.on Friday night that equaled their win total from all of last season.

A strong all-around game by senior Troy Thompson (#11) helped Middletown North tie its win total from last season. (Photo by Bill Normile)
A strong all-around game by senior Troy Thompson (#11) helped Middletown North tie its win total from last season. (Photo by Bill Normile)
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It was the third win in the last four games for Middletown North (3-2), the lone blemish a 56-34 defeat last week to No. 3 Manalapan, as the Lions improved their chances for a berth in the state playoffs. Ocean (1-3) lost its second straight game.

“We said before the week started, it was an 0-0 game because it’s a must-win,” Thompson said. “We’re like in a playoff situation, we have to win out.”

Each team’s top running back – Chad Freshnock for Middletown North and Tyler Thompson for Ocean – was the focus of attention, and both put up solid numbers. Freshnock ran 17 times for 96 yards and a touchdown, while Thompson finished with 87 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

It was the Lions’ Thompson, though, who delivered a standout performance. Thompson made eight catches for 116 yards and a touchdown, and returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown that gave Middletown North a 21-0 lead in the fourth quarter.

“Troy did a heck of a job,” Middletown North coach Steve Bush said. “We’re kind of taking what people are giving us, and we felt some of the plays to him were open. Some games it’s going to go more to another guy. We’re spreading out and seeing what they’re giving us and taking advantage of that, and Troy received a lot of those balls tonight and he did a good job making plays on them.”

The game was scoreless for much of the first half before the Lions broke through for a touchdown after stopping the Spartans on fourth-and-3 at their own 34. Freshnock followed with a 49-yard run, breaking numerous tackles along the way, to move the Lions to the Ocean 16. Thompson then scored his first touchdown, hauling in a 16-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Donald Glenn, and the Lions took a 7-0 lead with 1:52 left in the second quarter.

“It was a great call actually,” Thompson said, “because we caught them on a blitz and the kid who was supposed to cover me just blitzed.”

The Lions had a chance to build on their lead before halftime when senior defensive lineman Vincent Pianoforte recovered an Ocean fumble at the Spartans 27, but Ocean senior defensive back Marcus Blackman made an interception in the end zone to end the threat.

Ocean threatened to tie it to start the second half by driving to the Lions 8-yard line as sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett threw 29 yards to junior Quadratullah Qadiri and 18 yards to sophomore Joey Aldarelli. The Spartans, though, were stopped when Lions senior linebacker Dylan Hallard sacked Pickett for a 9-yard loss on third down, followed by an incompletion on fourth down.

Middletown North then took to the air as Glenn threw three straight completions to Thompson for 52 yards, moving the Lions to the Ocean 31. Freshnock added two runs for 18 yards to the 13, but the drive ended on a missed field goal.

After forcing a punt, Middletown North took over at the Ocean 38. Once again, it was Thompson who made the big plays, making a 27-yard reception and adding a 10-yard catch as the Lions reached the Ocean 2. From there, Freshnock leaped into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter to give the Lions a 14-0 lead.

“Coach Bush made the great play calls,” Thompson said. “He improvised during the game. He just decided to call those plays.”

Thompson then scored on defense to break the game open in the fourth quarter. With Ocean at the Lions' 44-yard line, a high shotgun snap sailed over Pickett, and a blitzing Thompson picked up the loose ball and ran 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0 with 6:31 left.

“It was a designed blitz call, a great call by our coach,” Thompson said. “I saw the ball go over that kid’s head and tried to help the team out as much as I could.”

“We knew coming in that (Thompson) was a good player for them,” Ocean coach Don Klein said. “He does a great job for them defensively and he stepped up and made a couple big plays for them on offense, too, and in key situations on third down. They have a couple of really, really good players and he’s one of them.”

Ocean finally scored with a 14-play, 65-yard drive, capped by Thompson’s 1-yard touchdown run to pull to within 21-7 with 58.7 seconds remaining. The Spartans recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Lions senior defensive back Jordan Pitts made an interception on the game’s final play to seal the win.

“(The defense) did a great job,” Bush said. “(Tyler Thompson’s) a really good back, he can score at any time and I was really proud of our guys the way they contained him. I thought the whole defense really played well.”

“Teams are going to key on Tyler and take him away,” Klein said. “He’s our first option, he’s been our first option since the moment he got here. We have to do a better job in getting things going on the ground and being able to assert ourselves there, but (Middletown North) did a good job up front and there wasn’t much room there.”

Box Score

Middletown North 21, Ocean 7

 

Middletown NorthOcean
First downs1112
Rushes-yards24-10935-47
Passing13-19-112-22-1
Passing yards144124
Fumbles-lost1-04-2
Penalties-yards2-241-5

 

Middletown North (3-2) 0 7 7  7 –  21

Ocean (1-3)                  0 0 0 7 – 7

 

Scoring summary

MN – Tr. Thompson 16 pass from Glenn (Banta kick)

MN – Freshnock 2 run (Banta kick)

MN – Tr. Thompson 30 fumble recovery (Banta kick)

O – Ty. Thompson 1 run (Fisher kick)

 

Individual statistics

Rushing – MN: Freshnock 17-96, Pitts 2-8, Glenn 4-3, Tr. Thompson 1-2; O: Ty. Thompson 23-87, Blackmon 3-13, Pickett 9-(-53).

Passing – MN: Glenn 13-19-1 144; O: Pickett 12-22-1 124.

Receiving – MN: Tr. Thompson 8-116, Pitts 4-27, Freshnock 1-1; O: Aldarelli 5-31, .Qadiri 3-55, Henry 2-20, Ty. Thompson 2-18.

Interceptions – MN: Pitts 1-5; O: Blackmon 1-0.

 

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