Football – Morgan, Schreck Power Manasquan Past Ocean in B North

Photo gallery by Ray Richardson

MANASQUAN — Behind a power running game and a defense that swarmed standout Ocean quarterback Kenny Pickett, resurgent Manasquan continued its bounce-back season with a 28-14 Shore Conference Class B North victory on a picturesque Saturday afternoon at Vic Kubu Warrior Field.

Junior running back Connor Morgan ran for 183 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries, senior quarterback Jerry Maher tossed two touchdown passes and senior defensive end Adam Schreck had 3 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and a pass deflection to lead the Warriors (4-1, 2-1). Senior fullback Tommy Meyer added a short touchdown run and senior defensive lineman Ben Barry had an interception.

Pickett, who is committed to Pittsburgh, threw for 187 yards on 17 of 32 passing. He also ran for a pair of touchdowns on runs of 17 and 3 yards. Manasquan never gave him a chance to set his feet and look downfield, sacking him four times and forcing him out of the pocket on most of his drop backs. Senior wide out Joey Aldarelli caught a game-high 11 passes for 114 yards for the Spartans (2-4, 0-4).

Ocean got on the board first when Pickett scrambled for a 17-yard touchdown on fourth-and-12, extending his arm over the goal line for the score to cap a 8-play 42-yard drive. Manasquan responded on the next series with an 8-play, 81-yard drive to tie the score at seven. Morgan had an 11-yard run and a 19-yard catch before Maher found Jaime in one-on-one coverage for a 45-yard score.

After recovering a fumble with 4:28 left in the second quarter, Ocean went 55 yards in seven plays to take a 14-7 lead. Pickett found senior running back Anthony Tedesco for 29 yards down to the Manasquan 26, and Tedesco then ran for 11 yards down to the Manasquan 12-yard line. On fourth-and-1 from the 3-yard line, Pickett scrambled and scored to give the Spartans the lead.

Ocean attempted an onside kick with just 1:18 left in the first half and Manasquan recovered at midfield. The great field position was the start of the Warriors switching the momentum and taking the lead for good. A 16-yard run by Morgan on third-and-10 put the ball at the Ocean 33-yard line, and three plays later Schreck made a great one-handed, over-the-shoulder catch on a corner route to tie the score at 14 heading into halftime.

On the opening possession of the second half Manasquan marched 56 yards on 12 plays to take a 21-14 lead. Morgan carried eight times for 38 yards on the drive, and Meyer finished it off with a one-yard plunge.

After forcing Ocean three-and-out on the next series, Manasquan took a two-score lead with seven-play, 50-yard drive that ended with Morgan taking a toss for an 8-yard touchdown run. Morgan had a 36-yard run on third-and-six to set up his touchdown.

Box Score

Manasquan 28, Ocean 14

Ocean (2-4, 0-4)         7   7   0 0 — 14

Manasquan (4-1, 2-1) 0 14 14 0 — 28

Scoring summary

O — Kenny Pickett 17-yard run (Simon Lee kick)

M — Jerry Maher 45-yard pass to Damaso Jaime (Adam Schreck kick)

O — Kenny Pickett 3-yard run (Simon Lee kick)

M — Jerry Maher 21-yard pass to Adam Schreck (Adam Schreck kick)

M — Connor Morgan 8-yard run (Adam Schreck kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING — O: Anthony Tedesco 8-32, Kenny Pickett 14-16, Jasher Pena 2-13; M: Connor Morgan 31-183, Tommy Meyer 4-10, James Pendergist 1-5, Tommy Antonucci 1-5, James Miele 1-4, Canyon Birch 3-3, Damaso Jaime 1-(-7).

PASSING — O: Kenny Pickett 17-32-1 187; M: Jerry Maher 4-9-0 85.

RECEIVING — O: Joey Aldarelli 11-114, Anthony Tedesco 2-32, Kam Thompson 2-23, Mike Krug 2-18; M: Damaso Jaime 1-45, Adam Schreck 2-31, Connor Morgan 1-19.

Interceptions — M: Ben Barry 1-8.

Football editor Bob Badders can be reached at badders@allshoremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.