Bucs Triumph Over Matawan 10-9 with Late Field Goal

In the last few seconds of a bruising game against the favored Huskies, a field goal by senior Mike Malley put on top by one and earned RBR its first victory of the season.

The Bucs fought back from a touchdown by Matawan early in the first quarter. They tied the game in the second quarter when Senior Tyheem Crawford recovered a Matawan fumble in their own endzone.

But the Huskies went up by two in the third with a safety, and the rest of the game was a see-saw battle in which Matawan twice buried the Bucs in their own end with well-placed punts.

On their final drive, Red Bank dug out and drove hard to the Huskie goal line. With 15.4 seconds left in regulation time, the Bucs set up for the field goal attempt, and the Huskies tried to ice the kicker by calling a time-out just before the snap.

But Malley stayed cool and put a 32-yarder through the uprights to win the game. Junior Tim Vilardi snapped the ball to classmate William Noglows for the set-up.

"I was thinking 'just don't drop the ball,'" said Noglows.

Matawan threatened on the kickoff return, but Senior Seph Williams stopped the runner at midfield, and Crawford knocked down a Matawan hail Mary pass to end the game.

"We believed all week that winning was possible and we didn't stop believing until the final whistle," said RBR coach Nick Giglio.

Bucs Senior quarterback Terrance Scanlon scrambled for 63 yards, and Ajhan Wilson, also a senior, was the game's leading rusher with 100 yards. Red Bank, 1-1, has high hopes for its first winning season in many years. The Bucs meet the Rumson Fair Haven Regional Bulldogs next Saturday.

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.

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