Toms River East Surprises Toms River North

On a beautiful fall day, Toms River East got a measure of revenge and closed out a difficult season on a high note.

Mario Steriti and Matt Guarnieri each scored two touchdowns, and the Raiders (2-8, 2-3) held off a late rally for a 29-17 victory over Toms River North at the Raiders’ home field.

The stands were packed and the parking lots were full of fans who turned out for the annual Thanksgiving clash, which has been evenly matched through the years. But this year’s victory – East’s first since the opening game of the season, when the Raiders beat Toms River South – gave East a 17-14-1 lead in the series.

Toms River East took a 22-3 lead into halftime. The Raiders scored a safety, then tacked on a 2-yard touchdown by Guarnieri, who rushed for just 16 yards on the day. Steriti then scored his two touchdowns, runs of 4 and 6 yards, with the second coming shortly before halftime.

The Mariners (4-6, 1-4) came out strong in the second half, with quarterback Scott Buxbaum completing a 50-yard catch-and-run to Damien Singleton early in the second half that fired up the Toms River North faithful.

And when Buxbaum completed another big pass that set up Chris Hunter’s leaping score from the 1-yard line to draw the Mariners within 5 points at 22-17, the cheers got even louder.

Chants of “DEFENSE, DEFENSE” filled the air as the Mariners and their fans sensed a comeback. The only cheers that were louder were the chants of “Happy Thanksgiving” that rolled through the good-natured crowd.

The Mariners remained hopeful until East responded with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Joe Funicelli to Guarnieri to put the Raiders up 29-17 with 4:19 to go.

North gave it a last-ditch effort, but on their second play East intercepted, ending the Mariners’ hopes.

The only thing was the awarding of the Tom “The Candyman” Kelleher awards for the players of the game, which went to Toms River North linebacker Ryan Verdon and East’s Funicelli.