Long Branch High School Football Game Moved, Will Be Played Without Spectators
Long Branch High School's football game versus Neptune originally scheduled for Friday night has been postponed to Saturday at 10 a.m. and will be played without spectators.
The Asbury Park Press was the first to report of the game being moved after obtaining a letter to the school community written by Long Branch Superintendent of Schools Francisco E. Rodriguez.
The letter also stated that cancellation of the game remains a possibility. Additionally, all other high school and middle school games will be away games and any night and weekend events have been postponed, moved to a virtual setting, or outright canceled.
Long Branch is coming off a 14-10 upset of Middletown North, which was ranked No. 10 in the prior week's SSN Top 10. The victory improved the Green Wave's record to 2-3 under first-year head coach Chad King. Neptune is searching for its first win of the season.
The reasons for the changes are unconfirmed. The APP story said that it was not revealing the reason for the postponement due to public safety reasons.
On Monday, there were three shootings within nine hours in Long Branch and neighboring West Long Branch that are believed to be connected to each other, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago told Townsquare Media's New Jersey 101.5. It is not clear at this time if those acts are related to the football game being postponed.