RBC Makes Statement with Strong Win Over Manalapan

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By Vincent Landolfi, Jr.
RED BANK – In front of an overflow capacity crowd of about 3,500 at Count Basie Park, the Red Bank Catholic High School football team, ranked No. 1 in Shore Conference and No. 7 in the state, answered some very poignant questions on Friday, Oct. 24, in exclamatory fashion with a resounding 35-7 defeat of Manalapan High School, ranked No. 2 and No. 8, respectively.
On the surface, the first – and most obvious of these questions – was which of the teams’ consecutive win streak against Shore Conference opponents, Manalapan’s 30 or RBC’s 38, would continue and which would end. With their 39th now in hand, the Caseys are still hot on the trail of Middletown South’s record of 43 straight, set during the seasons spanning 2003 and 2006. Their chase could make for an extremely interesting matchup during week 2 next season at Long Branch.
“To tell you the truth, I wish we didn’t have the winning streak,” RBC head coach Jim Portela said with a laugh. “To us, it’s not important. This win was important from a power-point perspective, sure. When you win against a good team with a lot of victories, you reap a lot of points, which puts us in a better situation with regard to seeding in the (NJSIAA) playoffs. But our goal is to play well each time out, and to the best of our capabilities.”
He then reiterated what he told his team after the game: “We haven’t won anything yet. If we play well next week at Ocean, then we have a chance to win B-North.”
Then, some wondered, after three consecutive shutouts, how the Caseys defense would handle the Manalapan Brave’s high-powered offense.
A New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 5 school, playing in the tough Shore Conference A-North division, Manalapan came into the game averaging 342.5 yards per game, 155 of those yards was the average per game sported by Division I prospect, senior running back Imamu Mayfield.

Junior quarterback Eddie Hahn, No. 9. gets the snap from center Nick Roy, No. 52, and tosses the ball for one of his seven pass completions for the game.
Junior quarterback Eddie Hahn, No. 9. gets the snap from center Nick Roy, No. 52, and tosses the ball for one of his seven pass completions for the game.

Fast-forward to around 9:30 p.m., and that stifling RBC “D,” featuring players like Miami-bound middle linebacker Jamie Gordinier, outside linebacker Nick La Grippo, and defensive back Dylan Murphy had smothered the strong, speedy tailback to the tune of 73 yards on 17 carries. It was the first time all season Mayfield was held to less than 100 yards on the ground.
When Manalapan was forced to take to the air, the Caseys’ pressure was relentless. Dialing up their pass rush, RBC defenders sacked the quarterback eight times, four of them recorded by Shore Conference leader Doug Zockall, who also recovered a fumble and tallied seven tackles.

“Our first objective was to stop the run,” Zockall said. “Once we had a lead and felt they (Manalapan) were going to pass, we could let loose and focus on getting to the quarterback.”
That’s something the Caseys’ co-captain did three times in the second half alone. Reminiscent of last year’s Shore Conference sack leader, RBC’s Shawn McCord, Zockall said he and McCord “are good friends. I learned a lot from him, and felt like I had big shoes to fill.”
Lastly, a big question coming into the game was what would become of the vaunted RBC offensive machine, averaging more than 350 yards per game, if a big, strong, fast defense “stacked the box” in an effort to slow their 232 yards per game rushing attack? Say hello to Offensive Player of the Game, Nick Lubischer. The Caseys’ senior wide receiver caught three of junior quarterback Eddie Hahn’s seven pass completions for 118 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He did not play in the second half due to a slight knee injury.
In what seemed to be a pedestrian start to the game, RBC faced a third down and 12 on their own 25-yard line just a minute and a half into the game. Lubischer (son of standout Shore Regional and Boston College running back Nick Lubischer), ran a quick seam route from his wideout position, where Hahn hit him in stride with a dart about 10 yards down the field. When Lubischer made a move to avoid a tackler and reach the first-down marker, the defender accidentally snared the speedy receiver’s facemask. The resulting spin aimed the Caseys’ second leading receiver toward the RBC end zone, where he ended up 75 yards later with 6 points.
The second Hahn to Lubischer touchdown, while measuring 25 yards in length, was actually the better catch of the two. Facing a fourth down and 12 from the Braves’ 25  yard line, Hahn specifically arched his pass to the 5-foot, 10-inch Lubischer with a perfect touch that allowed the athletic wide receiver to outjump two Manalapan defenders and come down with the ball in the end zone. That gave RBC a 21-0 lead with just under 5 minutes left in the first half. “Coach Hugger (RBC receivers coach Keith Hugger) always tells us to go up and get the ball,” Lubischer said. “Eddie put a nice arc on the ball and I was able to go up and get it.”
Hahn not only spread around his other four completions for 71 yards, but showed himself to be a keen offensive weapon running out of the shotgun pass formation on key plays. Several times the fleet-footed quarterback extended offensive drives by slicing through gaps opened up by his powerful offensive line when the Caseys faced what were usually passing down situations.
The two spectacular scoring plays sandwiched a tough Mike Cordova touchdown run earlier in the second quarter, but after a personal foul penalty tacked 15 yards onto the end of a run, Manalapan struck with a terrific scoring play of its own. Senior quarterback Dan Anarella showed off his high-caliber passing arm with a 36-yard strike to the Braves’ impressive wideout Gerard Hodge-Rocourt, also a senior, just before halftime.
Trailing 21-7 to start the second half, Manalapan had the momentum and received the kickoff. But it was unable to score again, especially after the Caseys stretched its lead to 28-7 on a 37-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Nick Cella.
Cella, a tailback hiding in a fullback’s body, took a handoff from Hahn while flanked to his left in the shotgun formation. A slightly high snap actually helped give further impressions of a pass play, and once he had the ball, Cella alternately ran through and away from several would-be Braves tacklers. He didn’t stop galloping until he hit pay dirt almost 40 yards later. The ever-so-fast Thomas Spernal, a senior running back and standout member of the Caseys’ track team, rounded out the Caseys’ scoring with an 18-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter.