Sports
Warriors Eliminate Bucs, 34-7 [VIDEO]
Red Bank fought hard in their first playoff appearance in six years, but were overrun by undefeated Manasquan. Ross Gisondi hurt on play, but x-rays reveal no fracture.
Manasquan High School played precision football on Saturday and ended 's post-season play, but not without a fight from the first Buccaneer team to make the playoffs in seven years.
The Bucs, 5-3 in the regular season, struggled to find their groove, but held the undefeated Manasquan Warriors to seven points until the last minute of the first half. The Warriors capitalized on opportunities, however, and when time ran out under blue skies at Vic Kubu Warrior Field in Manasquan, the home team had won, 34-7.
"Great football teams like Manasquan do all the little things right," said Bucs Head Coach Nick Giglio. "They make big plays when they need them."
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Giglio, however, said he was proud of his players, who "gained great experience this week, and that will help the program grow for the future."
The Bucs' Ishier Lawrence returned the opening kickoff to the 30, beginning a back-and-forth first quarter that ended scoreless but not without strong offensive play by Bucs quarterback Terrance Scanlon, running back Jahimere Hinton, and others, and gritty defensive play by Wylie Bogden, Mike Malley, and the Bucs' line.
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But at 9:43 of the second quarter, the Warriors drew first blood with a pass into the end zone. Bucs safety Ross Gisondi nearly broke up the play, but took a hit that put him down for several minutes. Gisondi was helped from the field and taken for x-rays, which showed no fracture, according to Coach Giglio.
The Bucs clearly missed Gisondi and were already playing without starters Tajhi Tomaino and Thyeem Crawford. In addition, Captain Pat Quinn and starter Ajhan Wilson were less than full strength physically.
The Warriors threatened again in the second quarter with a long drive, but on fourth down senior Tyler Karalewich was all over the Manasquan quarterback, and the Bucs took over on downs at their own 19 with 6:22 left in the half. A long run by Hinton put the Bucs into Manasquan territory, but the Warriors successfully broke up the Bucs' passing game and eventually took over on downs. After a long drive, Manasquan put the ball in the end zone with 34 seconds left in the half and hit the extra point to make it 14-0.
Scanlon acknowledged that the lack of production early by the offense hurt the team, and said that the defense, while playing "hard nosed," eventually "cracked" after having to be on the field so long. He acknowledged the return of "warrior" Pat Quinn, but said the loss of Gisondi hurt the Bucs on both offense and defense.
In the second half, the Warriors went up 21-0 at 8:49 of the third quarter. They scored again seven minutes later but missed the extra point, making the score 27-0 at the end of the third quarter.
The Warriors scored once more at 8:55 of the fourth quarter and went up 34-0, but the Bucs never gave up. After driving, but facing a fourth down and long, Red Bank's Alex Fox faked a punt and ran for a first down. A pass by Scanlon to Fox at 7:22 of the fourth gave the Bucs another first down. A Scanlon keeper, a Scanlon pass to Nick Patterson, and a final run by Hinton put the Bucs on the scoreboard at 4:23 of the fourth.
Juniors Garrett Sickels and Dillon Stambaugh played well on both offense and defense.
"I feel like I left everything I had on the field," said Stambaugh. "I gave it everything I had and knew that I had to step it up in that kind of playoff game."
His teammates agreed.
"We played our hearts out, but we had just a few mistakes and they captilaized when they needed to," said Wylie Bogden, who played a strong game on defense. "I was happy with my performance, but it was clearly not enough to get the win."
On Thanksgiving Day, the Bucs play the Green Wave of Long Branch in their traditional rivalry. It will be the final game of the season.
Coach Giglio's expectation: "VICTORY!!!"
The players agreed. And perhaps Saturday's playoff loss will actually help the Bucs against Long Branch.
"It really hurts," Stambaugh said of the Warriors' victory. "But I feel like its going to bring us closer for our last game. Especially for the seniors - they really want this last one."
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.
