One Step Closer: Shore Dominates Point Beach to Win B Central Title
WEST LONG BRANCH — Shore and Point Beach have been on a collision course since the season began, and their roads have led each to the rare, back-to-back showdowns to end the season and decide championships. In game one of the two-part slugfest, the Blue Devils sent a message.
Senior Brian Miller and sophomore Doug Goldsmith each ran for 100 yards, quarterback Matt Muh tossed a pair of touchdown passes and the Blue Devils’ defense notched its fourth shutout of the season in a dominating 31-0 Shore Conference Class B Central victory on Friday night at Feeney Field. The win completed an undefeated run through B Central for Shore (10-1, 5-0), which captured its 14th division title and first since 2010.
Miller also recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass on defense and Jack Britton added an interception in the end zone. Shore held Point Beach to 155 yards of offense and has still not allowed an opponent to score more than 14 points this season. The interior of the Blue Devils’ defense kept Point Beach from establishing an inside running game while its pass rush and secondary limited Garnet Gulls quarterback Jake Fioretti to three completions on 19 attempts.
“This is where we should be right now,” said Blue Devils head coach Mark Costantino. “We’ve played a few games like this offensively, and defensively we’ve been this way all year. Nobody scores on us. It’s the backbone of our team.”
“When we come out on all levels, which we did tonight, we’re unstoppable,” Miller said. “When we play to our potential we’re a really good team. We showed that tonight, and we have to do it again next week.”
The challenge for both teams is now the same, albeit for different reasons. The Blue Devils will celebrate for a day, then move on to preparation for next week’s NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I championship game, which will be played at The College of New Jersey at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Shore wants to bottle up all the good it did Friday night while at the same time not growing overconfident.
“(Point Beach) is good enough it can come back and beat us next week, and we both know that,” Costantino said. “We have to stay focused. We’ll watch the film and move on.”
“We have to keep our intensity high and push that to next week,” Miller said. “One of the most important things is to not look too much at this result. Next week is the game.”
By the time the team was boarding the bus to head back home, Point Beach had already shifted its focus to the state championship game.
“Right now I don’t care about tonight, it’s over with,” said Point Beach head coach John Wagner. “It’s time to prepare for next week. There’s nothing to think about here, nothing to hang our hats on.”
Shore began the scoring midway through the first quarter after Miller recovered a fumble just shy of midfield. The turnover came one play after Point Beach linebacker Joe Wegrzyniak made a diving interception at the Shore 45. The Blue Devils went 53 yards in six plays, aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty, and scored when Muh lofted a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Brandon Neyhart. Jake Monteiro’s extra point gave Shore a 7-0 lead at 6:22 of the first quarter.
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The teams traded punts on the next five possessions with Shore gaining increasingly favorable field position. With 11:00 left in the second quarter, the Blue Devils began a drive from their own 40-yard line. A 23-yard run by Miller and back-to-back 11-yard runs by Goldsmith put the ball at the Point Beach 15, and two plays later Muh found junior tight end Cole Barrale in the back of the end zone. Monteiro’s extra point extended Shore’s lead to 14-0 with 8:31 left in the half.
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The Blue Devils began to pull away on their next possession, a four-play, 63-yard scoring drive that put them up 21-0 at halftime. Goldsmith broke a 46-yard run on the first play to move the ball inside the Point Beach 20. Three plays later, senior fullback Chris Francisco powered in from five yards out to give Shore a commanding three-score lead. Point Beach drove to the Shore 20 late in the half, but Britton’s interception in the end zone with 48 seconds left kept the Gulls off the scoreboard.
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Point Beach’s offense threatened much more in the second half, but Shore’s defense continued to stifle them at every turn. The Gulls again drove to the Shore 20 early in the third quarter, but Miller’s interception on fourth-and-eight stopped their progress. Miller’s interception set the stage for a 12-play, 84-yard scoring drive that put Shore up 24-0 late in the third quarter. A 16-yard run by junior Mike Moore and a 22-yard run by Goldsmith put the ball at the Point Beach 25, and the Blue Devils inched closer for Monteiro to connect on a 24-yard field goal.
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Shore stopped Point Beach on fourth down on the ensuing possession to get the ball back at the Gulls’ 42. On third-and-one, Miller got loose on an outside run for a 33-yard touchdown that put Shore up 31-0 and moved the Blue Devils one step closer to their ultimate goal.
“Coach was saying all week to treat each game just as important,” Miller said. “We came out focused and shut them down on defense, and offensively we did great.”
The stage is now set for next Saturday when Shore will aim to win its sixth sectional championship and third under Costantino, while Point Beach is trying to win its first sectional championship since the playoffs were created in 1974. Was Shore’s dominant victory a sign of things to come? Can Point Beach rebound and win a state title to complete its unbelievable turnaround? In one week, those questions will be answered.
Box Score
Shore 31, Point Beach 0
| Point Beach | Shore | |
| First downs | 7 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 31-100 | 37-243 |
| Passing | 3-19-2 | 2-7-1 |
| Passing yards | 55 | 35 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 3-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-50 | 0-0 |
Point Beach (9-2, 5-1) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Shore (10-1, 5-0) 7 14 3 7 – 31
Scoring summary
Matt Muh 20-yard pass to Brandon Neyhart (Jake Monteiro kick)
Matt Muh 15-yard pass to Cole Barrale (Jake Monteiro kick)
Chris Francisco 5-yard run (Jake Monteiro kick)
Jake Monteiro 24-yard field goal
Brian Miller 33-yard run (Jake Monteiro kick)
Individual statistics
Rushing – PB: Michael Fraunheim 11-35, Jake Fioretti 6-31, Joe Wegrzyniak 10-21, Marshall Gombos 4-13; S: Doug Goldsmith 10-115, Brian Miller 14-101, Mike Moore 3-14, Chris Francisco 5-13, Kyle Masica 1-3, Devin McLaughlin 2-0, Alex Johnson 1-(-1), Matt Muh 1-(-2).
Passing – PB: Jake Fioretti 3-19-2, 55; S: Matt Muh 2-7-1, 35.
Receiving – PB: Noah Yates 2-35, Michael Fraunheim 1-20; S: Brandon Neyhart 1-20, Cole Barrale 1-15.
Interceptions – PB: Joe Wegrzyniak 1-0; S: Brian Miller 1-0, Jack Britton 1-0.
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