Dan George picks up his 100th win at Long Branch in OT victory over Neptune

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LONG BRANCH - Whenever Long Branch head coach Dan George hits a career peak, it always seems to involve one of the Green Wave's oldest rivals.

Long Branch coach Dan George picked up his 100th career win at his alma mater with a 13-7 overtime victory against Neptune in Class B North, and his wife Lisa (left) was invited to present him with the game ball as the Green Wave celebrated a hard-fought win. (Photo by Scott Stump).

In his first season coaching at his alma mater in 1999, Long Branch beat Neptune to win the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III title. On Saturday at Bresett Stadium, George's 100th career win at Long Branch came at the expense of the Scarlet Fliers in a 13-7 overtime victory in a Class B North game.

"There's not a bigger rivalry for Long Branch right now," George said.

George, who has 116 career wins overall including a prior stint at Ocean, is also the highly-successful wrestling coach for the Green Wave and a fixture at the school and in the community.

"It is my life,'' he said. "I am in this school on Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day....365 days a year, because I love it. I love coaching. I've been blessed to be around a lot of people who are administrators (including his two brothers) that might've thought they got out a little early and say, 'Whatever you do, make sure that blood is out of your system before you move on.'''

However, as George stressed to his team after the win, it was not as much about his milestone as it was about Long Branch (2-1, 1-0) getting an important Class B North win over Neptune (1-2, 0-2), its first victory over the Scarlet Fliers since 2005. After the game went into overtime tied 7-7, senior safety Myson Pennington intercepted a pass by quarterback Shakeem Richardson on Neptune's first play of the extra session.

Long Branch then needed seven plays to find the end zone, winning the game when senior fullback T.J. Covin plowed in from two yards out.

"We just had to fight and play like we know we can,'' Covin said. "I got excited and said I had to punch it in on that play to end it."

George was doused with the water bucket in celebration, and then his wife, Lisa George, was invited to present him with the game ball following the win to the cheers of his team and coaching staff.

"I think the biggest thing is tradition, it's family,'' George said. "In a day and age where it's a fast food society, and people are here and there, it's just so important to be here. These guys have stuck with me through thick and thin."

As has been the case all season, Long Branch's defense led the way in the win, limiting Neptune to 162 total yards, including only one pass completion for minus-two yards, and also had a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery.

"Defense is the most important thing at Long Branch,'' Pennington said. "For these seniors, it was a really big thing because we had never beaten them in our careers."

"This is a team run by its defense,'' George said.

Both teams kept the ball almost exclusively on the ground the entire way, with Long Branch breaking the ice first when it drove 60 yards in five plays, keyed by a 38-yard run by senior quarterback Shabazz Shuler, and scored on a 4-yard plunge by senior tailback Deon Williams for a 7-0 lead with 8:38 left in the second quarter.

Neptune was able to tie the game in the third quarter when Williams was unable to get off a punt from Long Branch's 16-yard line, giving Neptune the ball at the Green Wave's 14 after a tackle for a two-yard loss. Four plays later, junior slotback Ziare Alston scored on an eight-yard run to tie it at seven with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the Long Branch offense had three three-and-outs in the third quarter and four total yards, but the defense was able to keep the Green Wave right in it.

"We're inexperienced, and it shows at times, but we just stuck together,'' George said. "Is that one of the most disastrous third quarters you've ever seen in your life? And then we hung in there."

Once the game reached overtime, Pennington and the defense created the momentum that the offense rode to a victory in a showdown between the two teams that shared the Class B North title last season. Covin, the nephew of Green Wave boys basketball head coach Don Covin, gave Long Branch a lift with all 41 of his yards on nine carries after halftime, including his first varsity touchdown.

"It's his first year playing in a couple years, and he loves getting the ball, too,'' George said. "He's a big body."

The victory sets up another crucial divisional showdown on Friday at Long Branch against unbeaten Wall.

Box score

Long Branch 13, Neptune 7 (OT)

. L N

First downs 10 8

Rushes-yards 54-188 36-164

Passing 2-7-0 1-9-2

Passing yards 17 (-2)

Fumbles-lost 4-2 2-1

Penalties 7-41 5-35

Neptune (1-2, 0-2) 0 0 7 0 0 - 7