Bucs Defeat Rockets 14-7, Win Second Straight

After a scoreless first half, the  Buccaneers' stellar defense and laser-like offense lit up Raritan's football field Thursday night to defeat the Rockets 14-7 and give the Bucs a winning record of 3-2 midway through the regular season.    

Coming off a big win last week against Holmdel, Coach Nick Giglio dangled the carrot before the game: not since 2005 had the Bucs won two games in a row.    

"We had one simple goal of winning two games in a row," he said. "That was the extra incentive our kids played with tonight."     

The Bucs came close a couple times in the first half, but neither team put a point on the board. Bucs junior Dillon Stambaugh sacked the Hazlet quarterback in the second quarter, which Giglio credited with throttling down the Rocket momentum.    

In the second half, with just over two minutes to go in the third quarter, Bucs quarterback Terrance Scanlon hit receiver Thyeem Crawford with a 40-yarder to put Red Bank within striking distance. Two plays later, Crawford ran it in on a fourth down from the two, and Mike Malley hit the extra point to make it Bucs 7, Rockets 0.     

The Rockets ran the Bucs' kick back to the 50 yard line to start the fourth quarter, making it clear they still had the Bucs in their sights. But they were pushed back by a penalty, and then by another Stambaugh tackle in the backfield for a big loss.    

When the Bucs regained possession, Scanlon handed off to junior Jahimere Hinton, who took the ball 32 yards for the Bucs' second touchdown. Again, Malley hit the extra point, with 7:14 left in the game.     

At 6:54 of the fourth quarter, with the Rockets' starting quarterback sidelined with an injury, the Rockets got creative. Their quarterback pitched to Jacquin Jordan, who threw a long pass to Steven Larona. Larona was well covered by the Bucs' Ross Gisondi and Alex Fox, but he snagged a flukey tip and ran it in for the Rockets' only touchdown.     

After the kick, the Bucs started out on their own 24 yard line. When a long run was called back on a holding penalty, Red Bank was unable to get to the end zone again. But they didn't have to. With the Rockets threatening on their final drive of the game, a key sack by the Bucs' Garrett Sickels for a big loss, followed by a huge hit by Bucs junior Isaac Coates, kept the Rockets on the launching pad.    

A final Raritan long bomb was intercepted by Red Bank's Tajhi Tomaino at the seven yard line in the final seconds of the game, securing the Bucs' victory - their second in a row.    

"The kids showed a lot of character out there, and that character has increased throughout the last three years," said Giglio. "The number of character kids out there will decide if you either win or lose a game like this."    

The Character Kids, now 3-2 for the season, next play St. John Vianney at home in Little Silver at noon on October 22.

Editor's Note: This story comes to you from Little Silver Mayor Robert C. Neff, Jr., who was previously a newspaper reporter for the Red Bank Register and Asbury Park Press. Neff's son Carey plays football for Red Bank.