By Rich Chrampanis
RUMSON – Owen O’Toole engineered the Rumson-Fair Haven offense for three years, winning three sectional championships and finishing with a perfect 13-0 state title season and over 5,000 passing yards. So how do you replace one of the Shore Conference’s all-time great quarterbacks?
For now, two quarterbacks are better than one, as the Bulldogs duo of Christian Moore and Brady Williams split duties. Both exceled in a dominating 34-0 win over Point Pleasant Boro at Borden Stadium and Two River Times Field.
“Last year I learned from Owen, so I learned a lot,” Moore said.
“I felt a lot of pressure this week, but I feel like we came out, we performed, we did what we had to do.”
RFH’s game plan was brilliant: The Bulldogs leaned on senior running back Kellen Murray, who set the tone in the running game. That allowed Moore and Williams to establish the pass game on play-action looks and quickly gain confidence.
Moore got the scoring started, finishing off a 12-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put RFH in front 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. Murray racked up 36 yards on the ground and Moore completed all three of his passes for 28 yards. In the second quarter, Williams got his chance to shine. The sophomore bulldozed a pair of Point Boro defenders to crash into the end zone from four yards out to make it 14-0. In the final minute of the first half, Moore showcased his arm strength with a 42-yard bomb to Brandon McDonald on fourth down. Rumson was in control with a commanding 20-0 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Williams had a pair of touchdown passes. He connected with Grant Zimmerer from 10 yards out in the third quarter. Chris Economou had a great run after the catch to score from 35 yards out.
In all, the duo of Moore and Williams combined to go 12-for-17 for 164 yards, three touchdown passes, no interceptions and two rushing scores. Add in Kellen Murray running for 104 yards and it seems the RFH offense suffered no dropoff despite newcomers getting their first taste of significant varsity experience.
“It was great,” Williams said. “Both of us operating at such a high level, it shows in the score that we put up today and a running game just opens up everything.”
The only thing more impressive than RFH’s two-headed QB monster was the Bulldogs’ defense. Point Pleasant Borocame into the game with a lot of veterans back from a team that averaged over 33 points a game. The Bulldogs’ defense was lights out, making a number of key fourth- down stops and wreaking havoc on the Pan- thers’ triple-option attack.
The last time Point Boro was shut out was back in 2020.
Last year, RFH beat Point Pleasant Boro twice en route to the state finals. This time around, Rumson served notice that it will once again be a dangerous team in the Group 2 ranks.
Next up for RFH is a big test at Brick Memorial. The Mustangs routed Wall 35-7 despite not having quarterback Jason Lajara, who missed the game due to illness. RB/LB Trey Tallmadge stepped in at QB and was tremendous both on offense and defense.
There’s no question coach Jeremy Schulte and his staff will spend the week figuring out a way to slow Tallmadge and the Mustangs down.
The article originally appeared in the September 4 – September 10, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
