Long Branch Gets Statement Win Over Manasquan Behind Wilkins, Fosque Aerial Assult

Photo above: Long Branch defense lining up

LONG BRANCH – The Juwan Wilkins to T.J. Fosque senior connection commanded rave reviews during the summers 7-on-7 tournaments – with Long Branch winning the Shore Conference entry - and in Friday’s opening night 28-19 win over Manasquan they proved it was for real.

“We worked so hard and we wanted this and needed this so bad,” Wilkins said of the win. “Nobody thought of us as a top team and tonight T. J. had a breakout game.”

The lanky 6-foot-4 Fosque hauled in three touchdowns passes from Wilkins finishing with six receptions for 178 yards and Wilkins passed for 223 yards completing 11-of-15 passes. The dynamic duo helped the Green Wave avenge last season’s 28-14 opening night loss to Manasquan and handed them their first opening night win since 2012 when they beat Manasquan 18—13.

“I think it all started with the quarterback, Juwan,” Long Branch head coach Dan George said. “He split time there last year and did everything he needed to do. He reads everything, he gets rid of the ball really fast and he gives a lot of guys a chance to catch the ball.”

“He’s just a great quarterback,” Fosque said of Wilkins play Friday night. “He has great vision and gets not only me but all the receivers the ball in just the right spot so we can make plays. That’s one of our power positions. He’s a great quarterback with great vision and he even busted out a great run today that was a big first down for us.”

Of Fosque’s six receptions, three went for scores, two handed Long Branch first downs on third-and-long plays and the other was a 36-yard pickup.

“You turn the college game on and you see 6-4, 6-5 wide receivers,” George said. “Physically with T.J. we’re getting mismatches. At the end of the day if you have someone who outjumps everyone you have a player. He stayed the course and made some really nice catches. And when we hurt them deep we started to get the comeback route with him.”

His 54-yard touchdown catch with 4:45 left in the second quarter gave the Green Wave a two touchdown lead, 21-7. On the play he made a nice shoe-string catch before jetting down the right sidelines and cutting inside leaving a defender grasping at air.

Manasquan pulled to within 21-13 on senior Connor Morgan’s one-yard burst up the middle with seven seconds left in the first half and the Warriors, who would receive the second-half kickoff, rolled into the locker room with all the momentum. Morgan’s merciless running style appeared to wear down Long Branch's defense on the drive when he carried the ball five-straight times for 35 yards.

However, the defense made a stand – and a statement - on the Warriors opening possession of the second half and Wilkins and Fosque connected for their third score of the night to take a commanding 28-13 lead with 28 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“We wanted to show Manasquan that we had a second engine,” Wilkins said of the game-defining scoring drive. “That we can still push and still have the energy behind us to push through.”

Following the second-half kickoff, the Warriors had a first-and-10 at the Long Branch 40-yard line after starting the second half at their own 23 but on first down sophomore Jah’kwan Gordon hauled Morgan down from behind for a six-yard loss. After an incompletion made it third-and-16, Gordon came through on a blitz and hit Manasquan quarterback Tommy Antonucci just as he released the ball causing an incompletion that forced a punt.

Long Branch then drove from its own 18 to the Manasquan 37 where they faced a second-and-11. On the drive, Fosque had two third-down catches of 13 and 12 yards for first downs and Gordon picked up two important first downs on the ground to keep the drive going. Then on second down Fosque used his height advantage again as Wilkins laid it up to him perfectly and he outleaped a defender falling across the goal line for the score and a 28-13 lead.

“What’s his vertical, like 40 inches or something?” Wilkins said. “It’s crazy; he should already be in the NFL.”

Fosque, who plays basketball and does the high jump in spring track, does not have a single college offer but after Friday’s breakout performance his phone is probably already ringing off the hook.

On Manasquan’s next possession senior Elijah Sherin and Gordon combined to sack Antonucci for a 15- yard loss on third-and-12 from their own 30 pushing the ball all the way back to the 15 and forcing another Warrior punt.

But the Green Wave went three-and-out following the punt and Manasquan got good field position after returning Paul Montague’s punt to the Long Branch 38-yard line. The defense then stepped up again. On fourth-and-4 from the 32 senior All-Shore defensive end Kaymar Mines stopped Antonucci a yard short of a first down and the Wave took over.

Antonucci was a thorn in Long Branch’s side all night. After the Wave took a 7-0 lead on Fosque’s first touchdown of the night – a 26-yarder perfectly placed by Wilkins in the back of the end zone with Fosque dragging one foot in bounds – junior James Pendergist picked off Wilkins at the five-yard line.

Long Branch forced Manasquan into a three-and-out on the ensuing series but on fourth-and-4 prior to the punt they were called for encroachment giving Manasquan a first down and new life. Three plays later Antonucci circled around right end on a keeper and raced 83 yards down the right sidelines to tie the game 7-7 with 3:07 still left in the first quarter.

The two teams then exchanged punts with Manasquan forced to punt from the back of the end zone giving Long Branch excellent field positon at the 17-yard line.

The Wave kept the ball on the ground and four plays later sophomore running back Jermaine Corbett raced around right end untouched for a five-yard score and a 14-7 lead with 8:48 remaining in the first half.

In his varsity debut, Corbett – who is the younger brother of Shore Conference single-season rushing yardage leader and 2015 Long Branch graduate Dahmiere Willis – ran for 62 yards on 24 carries and also gained 31 yards on a screen pass on third-and-13 in the first quarter.

Corbett and Gordan, who led last year’s freshman team to an undefeated season, both had stellar debuts to their varsity careers. Gordan rushed for 16 yards on six carries but was a force on defense all night from his middle linebacker spot where he recorded a sack and two other tackles for losses.

“We started four sophomores tonight and I thought we got a lot out of them,” George said. “I thought Jermaine and Jah’kwan both had outstanding games.”

With the game still 28-13 and time winding down in the fourth quarter Antonucci struck again. A Wilkins pass deflected off of Mines hands and into a waiting Pendergist at the 49-yard line. On the next play Antonucci again found daylight breaking through the right side for a 51-yard touchdown run that pulled Manasquan to within 28-19 with 5:38 remaining in the game.

Down by nine points the Warriors elected to go for two but junior linebacker Luke Arnold was there to stop Morgan short of the goal line and Long Branch remained two scores up

Antonucci finished with 136 yards on seven carries but was just three-of-11 for 31 yards and an interception through the air. Morgan rushed for 76 yards on 26 carries on the night.

Three runs netted one yard and a punt for the Wave giving the Warriors – still two scores behind – the ball at their own 34 with 3:31 left in the game. They reached as far as the Long Branch 39 but on fourth-and-14 they were stopped short on a sideline pass and Long Branch ran down the clock before a Pasa Fields interception with 37 seconds left clinched it.

The defense, led by junior defensive tackle Kevin Cerruti (2 TFL), Gordan, Mines, Arnold and Sherin also played a significant role in the win making critical stops when needed.

“We think we’ve done some really good things in the off season,” George said. “You’ve seen the script, Manasquan and Wall last year – their kids had been taking their lumps for a couple years and this senior class has been taking their lumps. We took a little different approach. We’re airing it out, we’re attacking and I think we had them (Manasquan) off balance in the second and third quarters.”

“You can never imagine a night like this; this is just a great feeling,” Fosque said. “These past couple of years we’ve had 2-8 and 3-7 seasons so just to come out here your senior year, your last year and just ball and play the way we played is one of the best feelings you can ever have. We’ve taken our bumps and bruises and now is our time.”

Follow @getmready