Point Boro Emphatically Grabs Playoff Berth

If there were any doubts about how focused the Point Boro Panthers were on securing their spot in the South Jersey Group II football playoffs, the opening drive of the second half on Friday night erased them.

With quarterback John Dunbar leading the way, the Panthers marched 66 yards in six plays for their fourth touchdown of the game. Then they converted a bobbled snap on the point-after kick into an unplanned two-point conversion, part of a 36-0 victory over Manchester that locked up a trip to the NJSIAA playoffs. Point Boro will be on the road when the playoffs open next weekend.

Dunbar rushed for 155 yards and scored four touchdowns and the Panthers defense held the Hawks to 125 yards of total offense. More importantly, Point Boro (5-3) was focused from start to finish. 

"They beat us by one point last year," said senior running back Jack Vitale, who added 70 yards to the Panthers' offensive efforts. "We wanted this one."

"This was our last night on this field," said Dunbar, a senior. "This was huge."

That was clear from the start. Manchester (4-4) had been finding success this season with the ball in the hands of senior quarterback Tim Rogers and running back Joe Johnson. But the Panthers forced the Hawks into three-and-outs on their first two possessions and allowed just four first downs in the first half. When Rogers started to gain some momentum through the passing game, Point Boro's defensive backs closed down the passing lanes.

"We just wanted to keep them in the box," Point Boro defensive coordinator Pat Dowling said. "The kids did everything we wanted. They played great assignment football."

"They (the coaches) just kept us in the right spots," said defensive back Chris Oliphant, who broke up a couple of Rogers' passing attempts.

At the same time, Point Boro was extremely efficient on offense, scoring on its first three possessions, with Dunbar scoring on runs of 8 and 2 yards sandwiching a 9-yard score by Dan Trainor.

"We've been doing it, playing playoff football, for the last three weeks," said Kurt VanBenschoten, a junior linebacker who leads the Panthers' defense.

"We just kept building on the momentum," Oliphant said.

Dunbar's 4-yard touchdown opened the second half, then he added an 8-yard score with 2:36 left punctuated with a yell of joy that spoke volumes about what the victory meant to him.

"These kids weren't going to be denied tonight," Point Boro coach Sean Henry said. "It's a great feeling."