TINTON FALLS – Point Pleasant Boro football has always been synonymous with smash mouth, hard-nosed, grind it out football, and that’s exactly what you got Saturday in the Panthers’ 16-6 win over a determined Monmouth Regional squad.
The Panthers weren’t flashy in Saturday’s 16-6 win, but they got the yardage when they needed it and the defense made the big stops when it counted most.
“We knew it was going to be tight,” Point Boro head coach Brian Staub said. “We didn’t know if it was going to be a low scoring tight game or a high scoring tight game but we told the guys that this is a good football team and it’s going to be a dog fight – credit the defense on this one for sure.
Almost all of the Falcons’ first-half yardage came on their first possession of the game when they drove to the Panthers’ 16-yard line before a third-and-12 Andrew Faccone pass fell incomplete and a 33-yard field goal attempt was blocked by defensive lineman Billy Borowsky.
The Panthers then took over at their own 29-yard line and drove to the Falcons 25 but on fourth-and-4, senior quarterback Garrett Romer’s only passing attempt of the day fell incomplete. Senior running back Bobby Cooper netted 34 yards on six carries before the drive stalled on the 25-yardline.
The Falcons took over on downs at the 25 but went nowhere. Linebacker Paul Franceschini stopped Ra’Sun Banks for a one-yard loss and a Ijzer Wilson’s strip sack of Faccone for a three-yard loss forced a punt from deep in their own territory.
Romer and Cooper kept the chains moving all day consuming large chunks of yardage while eating up the clock and keeping the ball out of the hands Monmouth’s dangerous skill players.
Cooper was the go-to guy in the first half rushing for 95 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown, while Romer carried the load in the second half running the ball 17 times for 79 yards and a touchdown.
“Cooper is sneaky fast. He’s not flashy; he’s not to big, but he’s a tough kid,” said Staub. He understands the offense and understands where his blocks are coming from.”
The 5-foot-10 Cooper scored on an eight-yard touchdown run on their second possession of the game – a six-play, 44-yard scoring drive that put the Panthers up, 7-0, two and a half minutes into the second quarter.
Taking over at the Falcons 44-yard line after a short punt, Point Boro moved to the 23 before Cooper finished off the drive picking up the final 23 yards on three straight carries.
Following another three-and-out and punt by Monmouth, the Panthers were on the move again advancing from their own eight-yard line to the Falcons 47, but a holding penalty derailed the drive and they were forced to punt the ball back to Point Boro.
The Falcons had two minutes before the half to do something but on first down, senior defensive end Scott Franceschini flushed Faccone out of the pocket and pulled him down for a three-yard loss. Then on third-and-eight he sacked Faccone for an eight-yard loss as the half ended.
Franceschini had a monster game camping out in Monmouth’s backfield all day long. He recorded two sacks for minus 15 yards with an additional two TFL and he batted down a pass on Faccone’s first attempt of the game.
“He’s probably got the best motor I’ve ever seen,” said Staub. “He’s a captain, starting right tackle, starting right defensive end and for him it’s a motor that just doesn’t stop.”
The two teams exchanged punts to start the second half before the Panthers expanded their lead to 14-0, marching 70 yards in 11 plays taking five minutes off the clock in the process.
Romer got the ball on six of the Panthers first seven plays of the drive picking up 33 yards and moving the ball and the chains to the Falcons 30-yard line.
On second-and-5 from the 30-yard line, Cooper picked up eight yards and a first down before the Panthers went back to Romer who finished off the scoring drive with carries of 12, six and four yards for the touchdown for a 14-0 lead after Christian Aurin’s PAT.
“We knew he was going to be good, he was good as a sophomore,” said Staub of his quarterback. “Obviously he sat behind two-time All-Division quarterback James Fara and just waited his turn always working hard. He has a great understanding of the offense, is a tough runner and gets the ball to the right guy at the right time – his play is not a surprise to us.”
However, Monmouth answered right back with a 71-yard scoring drive of their own highlighted by Faccone’s 36-yard completion to Dayshawn Porter all the way down to the eight-yard line. Two plays later, Porter took a direct snap around right end for a one-yard touchdown.
The drive was aided by a pass interference call and offside penalty that produced first downs on both occasions and kept the drive alive.
The extra point was wide so the score stood at 14-6 with 7:58 left in the game.
On Point Boro’s ensuing possession, linebacker Nayson Brown stopped Romer for no gain on third-and-three from the Panthers 41 forcing a punt. A penalty on the return pushed the Falcons back to their own 10-yard line with 5:40 remaining in the game.
A first down pass netted five yards but Faccone came up empty on two pass attempts and Monmouth had no choice but to punt out of their own end zone. But they never got a chance as the snap from center sailed out of the end zone for a safety.
Now holding a 16-6 lead and getting the ball back with under five minutes to play, the Panthers seemed to have things under control, but a muffed ball on the ensuing kick was recovered by Monmouth giving them one last shot at a miracle finish.
An interference call on fourth down gave Monmouth new life before a Faccone pass to Eli Rife for 26 yards on second-and-11 from the 36 gave them a first down at the 10-yard line.
However, on the next play, Aurin stepped in front of a Faccone pass in the end zone for the game-clinching interception and the Panthers prevailed, 16-6.
“We wanted to get a win, we didn’t care how we got it done,” Staub said following the game. “You know that old saying about ugly wins and it probably fits here but we got it done and played well enough.”
Cooper finished with 129 yards rushing on 21 attempts, while Romer added 122-yards on the ground on 26 carries.
The Panthers outgained the Falcons 251 yards to 185 with 84 of Monmouth’s yards coming on three long second-half passes. They allowed Monmouth just 53 total yards on the ground on 21 attempts (2.5 yards/carry) for the game and 55 total yards of offense in the first half.
Point Boro moves to 2-1 while Monmouth falls to 0-3. Monmouth’s three losses have been by a combined 15 points.
After graduating a strong senior class that included Fara – a first-team All-Shore quarterback/defensive back who is now at Monmouth University – and advancing to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II final, Point Boro was considered an afterthought by most entering the season but the Panthers are beginning to turn some heads.
“We told the team that first meeting in May that only us in that room knew what we had,” said Staub. “It’s a strong senior class, great leadership, tough workers and they were eager to prove to themselves that we did lose a great senior class but this also a great senior class that’s getting better little by little.”
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