Long Branch Football Faces Tough Challenge

Long Branch knows the daunting challenge ahead in its bid to avoid a deep hole to start the season, but the Green Wave is ready to meet it head on.

After an 0-2 start, Long Branch now has to face arguably the Shore Conference’s top two teams back to back, starting with Saturday’s 1 p.m. game at rival Neptune in Class B North. A week later, Long Branch will have to deal with No. 1 Red Bank Catholic in another divisional game. An 0-4 start most likely means Long Branch will miss the state playoffs for the second straight season for the first time since 1997-98.

“We’ve had a very good week of practice, and we have a group of kids who really enjoy football,’’ said head coach Dan George. “We’re just trying to concentrate on each day. We know what we’re up against, but we like playing in big games.’’

Long Branch showed its potential last week when it had another Top 10 team in the Shore, Ocean, on the ropes in an eventual 16-13 loss. The Green Wave led 13-3 but could not stop Ocean senior tailback Greg Moore in the second half, as he ended up running for 205 yards in the game. George chalks much of that up to having a host of first-year defensive starters still getting their feet wet and missing assignments or misreading the play. For instance, their young linebackers were getting caught inside frequently and sealed off, preventing them from filling the hole when Moore came flying through.

“When you only have four kids on the field that have never really played in a varsity football game before, you’re going to have mistakes,’’ George said. “We need experience, and we only had two scrimmages because one got wiped out from the hurricane, so that hurt us.’’

The new multiple-I formation offense run by coordinator John Amabile also has taken some time to get going, as Long Branch has scored a combined 19 points in two games. However, the Green Wave has shown flashes of big-play ability behind quarterback Avry Griffin and junior tailback Dwight Clark. It’s more a young offensive line behind senior star Ryan Brodie that is looking to become more productive.

“The system that we changed to, there's a learning curve involved,’’ George said. “We’re missing one or two things, blocking scheme-wise, on every single play.’’

Now they have to deal with a Neptune team that has one of the fastest defenses in the Shore and an offense with a plethora of weapons that include senior quarterback Jaheem Woods, senior running backs Ikie Calderon, David Gutzmore and Jazzmar Clax, and explosive junior wide receiver Geoff Fairbanks. The Scarlet Fliers are coming off a 20-14, double-overtime loss against Red Bank Catholic.

“We’re climbing up, and it’s a steep hill right now,’’ George said. “The saving grace for us has been the attitude of our kids.’’

The other positive sign is that Long Branch is learning each week. It played much better against Ocean after a season-opening, 21-6 loss to Colts Neck. The Green Wave is going to have to take another leap forward this week, but there will be no shortage of motivation given the long rivalry between Long Branch and Neptune.

“Even if we were 0-8, these kids would be fired up because it’s Neptune,’’ George said. “We’re going to know how much better we’ve gotten in a week. Is it good enough to win on Saturday? We’re going to find out.’’