Rough ‘Sea: Manasquan Upended by Delsea in Playoff Semis

MANASQUAN - A swarming Delsea defense and a grinding, physical running game put an end to top-seeded Manasquan's playoff hopes on Saturday afternoon by fueling a 27-10 victory at Vic Kubu Warrior Field in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III semifinals.

Delsea (9-2), the defending sectional champion, limited Manasquan to 91 total yards while its punishing running game in the Wing-T produced a pair of 100-yard rushers in senior fullback Rob Hooks and junior halfback Isaiah Spencer, who both are over 1,000 yards for the season. The fourth-seeded Crusaders will now face another Shore Conference team, third-seeded Barnegat, in the championship game at a time and date to be determined on the weekend of Dec. 6-8 at Rowan University.

Defending South Jersey Group III champion Delsea knocked off top-seeded Manasquan, 27-10, to advance to face Barnegat in the championship game. (Photo by Scott Stump)

"They're a complete team,'' said Manasquan head coach Jay Price. "The closest team I would compare them to that I've seen like that, I go back to the late '90s with Somerville teams where their linemen can run, and they can close on the ball. They were the total package."

After the Warriors (7-3) took a 3-0 lead, Delsea reeled off 27 unanswered points as the defense registered three interceptions and stifled Manasquan's running game while the offense produced 261 yards on the ground. Hooks finished with 101 yards rushing on 20 carries, while Spencer had 119 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries for a running attack that entered the game averaging 323 yards on the ground.

"Every week, we come out and we tell each other that everybody comes out in the game on fire, everybody is going to play hard at the beginning, but we have to keep pushing and break their will,'' said Delsea senior quarterback Rob Rolle, who ran for two touchdowns. "It's only a matter of time before they get tired or make a mistake, and our linemen do a great job blocking. It's only a matter of time before the running backs get going. You can't hold us down all game."

After the teams traded three-and-outs to start the game, Manasquan had the early momentum when senior defensive tackle Matt Forst scooped up a fumble forced by senior defensive lineman Monte Sinisi and rumbled 35 yards to Delsea's 21-yard line. The Crusaders nearly got the ball right back on the next play when junior defensive end Phil Sampson stripped Manasquan quarterback Tucker Caccavale and took off, but Delsea was called for helmet-to-helmet contact on the sack of Caccavale. The Crusaders' defense held, forcing a 23-yard field goal by senior kicker Raul Perez for a 3-0 lead with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

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Delsea took the lead for good in the second quarter when it capped a 13-play, 84-yard drive with a one-yard plunge by Rolle on a quarterback keeper on third-and-goal with 8:59 left in the second quarter. The lead remained 6-3 when Delsea tried to pull off a fake point-after attempt that was thwarted by Manasquan's Tom Bellefeuille.

A tremendous interception by Delsea's James Chukwurah on the first play of Manasquan's ensuing drive gave the Crusaders the ball at the Warriors' 23-yard line, but Manasquan's defense held by forcing an interception by Kieran Preston on fourth down to end the threat.

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However, Delsea's defense forced another three-and-out, setting up a seven-play, 46-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by Rolle for a 13-3 advantage that the Crusaders took into halftime. Their defense held Manasquan to 18 total yards and two first downs in the first half.

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The two teams traded turnovers to start the second half, with Sampson snatching an interception and Manasquan linebacker Blaine Birch recovering a fumble. After the Delsea defense then forced a punt, Birch sacked Rolle on fourth down at Manasquan's 19-yard line to thwart Delsea's next drive.

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However, one play later, Delsea senior cornerback Ron Russell made the Crusaders' third interception of the day with one hand while falling backward. That set up a seven-play, 40-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by Spencer for a 20-3 lead with 1:01 left in the third quarter.

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Delsea's defense then continued its rampage by forcing a three-and-out in which defensive end Ameer Banks and linebacker Scott Parker sacked Caccavale for a 10-yard loss on third down.

"The biggest concern was to stop their run game, but we worked all week and we knew we had it,'' Sampson said. "We just had to make sure they couldn't run the ball down our throats. That was what we wanted to put them in all week - make them throw the ball and put our guys in man coverage on them."

"We didn't take care of the ball very well,'' Price said. "We gave them a short field a couple times. I was proud of the way the kids played. They played as hard as they could as long as they could, but when you're facing that (defense), you're trying to come up with answers, and when you get down to the end of that list, you start turning the page. Now you're just drawing up things in the dirt. Not that we got quite that far. We didn't have a bottle cap or a stone, but we were close."

In the fourth quarter, Delsea put the cherry on top of the win when Spencer broke off a 69-yard touchdown run for a 27-3 advantage. Manasquan mounted one scoring drive before the end of the game when Murphy found the end zone on a 32-yard run for the final margin. Before that final 65-yard drive against Delsea's backups, the Warriors were held to six yards in the second half and 24 for the entire game.

Delsea started the season 2-2 but has since gone on a seven-game winning streak to round into championship form.

"I think early on we took things for granted,'' Rolle said. "We would show up and think because we have 'Delsea' on our shirts that we're going get a win. Those two early losses I think served us well because it was a realization that we're not invincible, and we can take a loss. After those two losses, we had to come back, re-evaluate and work harder each day at practice."

Manasquan will wrap up its season with its second meeting with rival Wall on Thanksgiving after beating the Crimson Knights 29-7 in the first round of the playoffs.

Box score

Delsea 27, Manasquan 10

. D M

First downs 13 7

Rushes-yards 48-261 24-50

Passing 1-3-1 6-13-3

Passing yards 33 41

Penalties 6-52 5-50

Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0

Delsea (9-2) 0 13 7 7 - 27

Manasquan (7-3) 3 0 0 7 - 10

Scoring summary