Parker Day’s 122-Yard Effort Leads Manasquan Past Barnegat

By Vin Ebenau - Shore Sports Network Contributor

MANASQUAN — Special teams and the run game set the tone for Manasquan in a 26-7 Shore Conference nondivisional victory over Barnegat on Saturday afternoon at Vic Kubu Warrior Field.

Junior running back Parker Day ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries as he led the charge in the victory. Another key player who helped decide the tempo early for the Warriors was return man Damaso Jaime, who was kicked away from most of the day because of what happened on the first return, a 55-yard punt return touchdown. The only other big return for Jaime came on Manasquan’s second possession of the second half when he ran 60 yards up field before being brought down.

On a day after a torrential thunderstorm swept across the Jersey Shore on Friday, the natural grass field at Manasquan held up from the start. After both teams punted on their first possession, Jaime began and ended the Warriors second possession with 6:39 left in the first quarter by running a punt back 55 yards to the end zone to give the Warriors (3-2) an early 7-0 lead.

After a Bengals three-and-out, the Warriors ran eight plays ending with a 1-yard touchdown run by Day with 11:07 left in the first half. Manasquan took that 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Barnegat turned the ball over on downs after a 10-play drive, followed by a Manasquan fumble giving the Bengals (1-4) their second possession of the second half. Barnegat ran five plays and scored its only touchdown of the afternoon on a 26-yard pass from Joe Monaco to Paul Wickwire to bring the score to 14-7 with 1:07 left in the third quarter.

The Warriors answered right back after a 60-yard kickoff return by Jaime. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Paul Krueger carried most of the Bengals defense with him for a 17-yard touchdown run, giving the Warriors a 20-7 lead. After a Barnegat fumble on its next possession, Manasquan ran three plays and was in the end zone after a 15-yard touchdown run from Day to seal the victory.