Point Boro Knocks Manchester Out of Playoffs

It was the kind of night where nothing went right for Manchester.

The normally potent running attack couldn't get out of first gear. The passing game was made extremely difficult by a strong wind. And then special teams committed the kind of errors that would be expected from less-experienced players.

In the end, the Hawks fell to Point Boro 36-0 in a nondivisional matchup Friday night in Point Pleasant, and Manchester was eliminated from the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III playoff picture.

Point Boro (5-3) held Manchester (4-4) to 125 yards of offense and seven first downs. At the same time, the Panthers scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions, as quarterback John Dunbar and running back Jack Vitale found seam after seam to keep moving the ball downfield. Dunbar finished with 155 yards rushing and four of the Panthers' five touchdowns.

"The fact that they got up on us 14-0 hurt," Manchester coach Gerard O'Donnell said. "Then we had the bad snap on the punt and gave them the ball inside the 20, and it was 21-0. It's hard to climb back from that."

"We assigned kids to John Dunbar for every single play," O'Donnell said. "We just didn't get it done."

It wasn't for lack of trying. Manchester tried putting the ball in the air, and while Rogers had some nice completions, Point Boro's defensive backs were so thorough in their coverage that Rogers was forced to scramble extensively in an attempt to find an open receiver -- and was sacked as a result or stopped for a short gain if he managed to avoid deep pressure.

Manchester had won two straight coming into the meeting with Point Boro, but had a week off thanks to its bye week, which O'Donnell felt disrupted the Hawks' momentum.

"We had played two in a row and were getting on a roll, and then we hit the bye week," he said. "I'm not saying it's the cause, but it didn't help."

"Give credit to Point Boro, they played a great game," O'Donnell said. "Hats off to their kids and congratulations to them."

Manchester, which moves into the NJSIAA consolations, could be hosting that game next weekend. The Hawks' opponent will be announced on Monday.