Mater Dei Prep Routs Point Pleasant Beach

By Jim Hintelmann
MIDDLETOWN – Mater Dei Prep quarterback Christian Palmer chose to make his final home field appearance one to remember during Saturday’s B Division Central 52-13 rout of Point Pleasant Beach.
Palmer accounted for six of Mater Dei Prep’s touchdowns, scoring three and passing for three more scores as the Seraphs (7-2) now prepare for this Saturday’s opening round New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Group 1 playoff game against Moorestown Beard.
“This is great,” Palmer said. “We didn’t win the division title that we wanted, but this is a special moment for me because it is my final home game. Now we can get ready for the playoffs.”
“This is year five of our plan,” Mater Dei Prep coach Steve Sciarappa said. “Our expectations were to compete for the division title and advance far in the playoffs.”
“This was a tough division with Shore and Point Beach,” he said, “but it is a credit to our players that we achieved our goal.”
Mater Dei Prep – with the exception of two defensive lapses that led to Point Beach’s two touchdowns – was in complete control of the game and jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead.
The Seraphs went 70 yards in just three plays following the kickoff with Palmer throwing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jason Mandile for a 6-0 lead.
Mater Dei Prep made it 12-0 on its second series on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Palmer to Tyson Stamper, but Point Beach answered back when quarterback Jake Fioretti scored on a 36-yard keeper.
Mater Dei Prep got that right back on the first play following the kickoff when Palmer made a highlight run on a keeper, eluding a flock of Point Beach defenders and scoring on a 55-yard run to make it 20-7.
Point Beach retaliated when Zack Schaller raced 65 yards to cut the lead to 20-13, but the rest of the game belonged to Mater Dei Prep.
“We had to stay focused today,” Sciarappa said. “The two Point Beach touchdowns came when our players were out of position, but we did a good job of correcting them.”
Mater Dei made it 28-13 just before halftime on a 1-yard keeper by Palmer that capped a 77-yard drive.
Eddie Lewis caught a 22-yard touchdown and Stamper scored on a 15-yard run to close the Mater Dei Prep scoring.
“I can’t say enough about the senior class,” Sciarappa said. “It shows how much they matured. There is a lot of good football in Middletown. A lot of people told some of our players, especially Christian, that they were crazy to go to Mater Dei Prep, but they proved to be wrong.”