Ocean Puts Patriot Division On Notice After 41-6 Rout Of Monmouth

Photos courtesy of Eric Braun

TINTON FALLS – Since former Ocean Township standout quarterback and current University of Pittsburgh starting quarterback Kenny Pickett led the Spartans to a nine-win season and a trip to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III semifinals in 2015 the Ocean Township football program has fallen on lean times.

They won just 11 games in the last three years, including back-to-back 2-8 and 4-6 seasons the last two years respectively.

But after Saturday’s 41-6 dismantling of Monmouth Regional I think it’s safe to say the Big Red Machine is back and better than ever.

With the win, the Spartans move to 2-0 on the season, including an impressive 19-6 win over Neptune on opening night and 1-0 in the Patriot Division after todays win over Monmouth.

Ocean brought back seven starters on both sides of the ball with most of those starters being seniors, so you could say this season has been simmering in the pot for four years now.

“At Ocean Township the expectations are going to be competitive every year,” said Ocean head coach Don Kline. “We haven’t done a very good job of that the last couple of years. But I feel like we have a very strong group this year that’s played a lot of football and have kind of taken their lumps. We had a tremendous offseason and the environment is very positive. We have very good leadership and guys are buying into what we’re preaching and working very hard. So when you have that combination plus you have some talent you can play this game at a high level.”

On Saturday, the Spartans scored on their first three possessions and five of their first six with their seventh ending up on the 5-yard line after a missed 22-yard field goal attempt as the first half expired with a 34-0 lead.

“I thought it was important for us to start fast and we talked about that,” said Kline. “We were able to do that on both sides of the ball. I thought we played physical and fast and executed on a pretty high level.”

Ocean then came out on the first possession of the second half and drove 55 yards in seven plays with senior Ishyne Woodard taking a Robbie Nungesser handoff up the middle for the final 12 yards pushing the score to 41-0.

It was at this point that Klein called off the dogs and sat most of his starters for the rest of the game.

Senior running back and Temple commit Trebor Pena was unstoppable as he weaved his way through the Monmouth defense for 166 yards and three touchdowns on just nine attempts – all in the first half.

“The holes were wide open and I’m just happy we won,” said Pena. “This was a nice win but we’ve got to get better but I think we have what it takes to get there. “We’ve been rebuilding the past couple of years and I think this year we have a really solid, good team. So I think we’ll be in good shape for whoever we play.”

Pena scored on runs of 23, 3 and 52 yards leaving one defender in the dust after another. According Klein, Pena packed on 23 pounds of muscle during the winter weight room sessions and now adds power to his skill set that already includes speed, acceleration, elusiveness and uncanny vision.

The Spartans rushed for 275 yards on the day with a three-back rotation that combines the speed and finesse of Pena with the north-south power of seniors Nasir Thompson and Woodard. Thompson finished with 72 yards and a 2-yard touchdown on 12 carries while Woodard added 36 yards on six attempts and a touchdown.

“It all starts up front,” said Kline. “I thought the offensive line did a very good job today controlling the line of scrimmage. Obviously, Trev’s an explosive athlete and we feel he’s the most dynamic player in the Shore Conference. Then Thompson’s a very good between the tackles runner. He’s a physical, north-south runner.”

Thompson says all the hard work is paying off and he sees the results every day in practice.

“We have a really strong core this year at running back,” said Thompson. “Everybody’s been lifting and running and we’re physically in top shape right now so everybody’s just getting after it. It’s good for us to have depth at running back and we have good rotations. We all can do a lot of things.

“Tevor is a different bread,” Thompson added. “There’s nobody around the Shore like him - nobody with the same speed, same vision as Trevor. He can get it done on both sides of the ball and that helps us a lot.”

Nungesser, a 6-foot-1, 190 pound senior quarterback, is a seasoned field general that has the arm strength to get the ball downfield to his talented group of wideouts.

On the Spartans second scoring drive of the day, Nungesser hit senior wide receiver Tye Brookins with a perfect pass on his outside shoulder down the right sideline for 37 yards for a first-and-goal at the seven. Pena ran it in from two yards out two plays later for a 14-0 lead after Tyler Douglas’ extra-point kick.

Nungesser also showcased his athleticism scrambling for a 22-yard touchdown to push the score to 27-0 with 8:15 left in the second quarter.

“Our quarterback is one of the best quarterbacks in the Shore Conference,” said Kline. “He’s got a very good touch on his deep ball and he’s very accurate and then you had the touchdown run that showed his athleticism. He’s a big strong kid that’s playing the quarterback spot at a high level for us.”

Thompson, Woodard and Ruan Faria led a defensive effort that shut down the Monmouth offense limiting them 143 total yards with 87 of those yards coming on a Keontae Wiggins run early in the fourth quarter with a running clock in effect.

“We’re always locked in on defense,” said Thompson. “I feel like the defense starts with me. I have to do my job all the time and if do that we’ll win.”

Thompson and Woodard had double-digit tackles with Thompson and Faria recording sacks.

“Nasir was all over the place and we preach that,” said Kline. “He had a really good game. Had the interception and was around the football sideline to sideline. He had a lot of energy today and gave us a visible force in the middle.”

Kline likes what he see’s of his team but knows there’s always variable in play.

“I think if we stay healthy and improve every day we’re going to be competitive,” said Kline. “I think every opponent that we have is going to have their hands full when they play us. It’s important for the football team to stay focused, stay healthy and continue to get better every day.’

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