Barnegat Faces Point Boro Tonight in Home Playoff

Barnegat faces off against Point Pleasant Borough in a home playoff game at 7 p.m. today, and players and coach alike say they’re excited and ready for what's ahead.

“I’m very proud of where we are from where we started,” said Bengals coach Rob Davis. “Six years ago, we didn’t have a varsity program, and now we’re in the playoffs. It really says a lot about the kids now and the kids we’ve had in the past. There’s really no comparison.”

Tonight’s game will present a definite challenge to the team, which started off the season 0 and 2 but has won five out of its last six games.

“Point Borough has been a really hot team,” said Davis. “We’re going against a traditional playoff team, so we’re expecting a very tough game.”

Linebacker and senior Matt Schofield said everyone on the team is feeling proud of how far they’ve come this season, especially since some people expected them to suffer after the loss of a few key players.

“We didn’t rebuild, we reloaded,” Schofield said.

Quarterback Mark McCoy said the team has been practicing hard in the lead-up the game. None of them wants to let his teammates down, he said.

“On the field, that’s our motivation,” said the senior, who said the varsity boys spent Friday together, hanging out at Schofield’s house. “We’re basically a big family.”

Now, it’s eyes on the prize. They said they’re grateful for all the support their fellow students have heaped on them so far this season. Now, there’s a student section to cheer them on at home games.

“It’s awesome,” said Schofield. “We’re just trying to build tradition that we never really had around here.”