Ocean remains unbeaten, tops Raritan, 34-13; Tyler Douglas nets 290 yards, three TDs

HAZLET – The beat goes on for Ocean. And once again it was Tyler Douglas making a lot of the noise.

This time it was the Spartans’ senior quarterback accounting for 290 yards of offense, running for two scores and throwing for another in a 34-13 victory over Raritan in a non-divisional clash Friday night.

In improving to 5-0, with a combined margin of victory of 131 points, the Spartans, No. 6 in the Asbury Park Press Top-10, continue to flash their big-play ability. Senior C.J. Flannigan had 145 receiving yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 30 yards and a score.

It was enough to offset 169 rushing yards by Raritan’s Kieran Falzon, as the Rockets dropped their second straight after opening the season with three wins.

“When you talk about being 5-0 in the Shore Conference,” said Ocean coach Don Klein, “and staying the course and battling every week, it’s a real testament to our program. It’s a testament to our coaches and our players, and I’m extremely proud of where we’re at right now.”

After Caleb Thompson opened the scoring for Ocean with a two-yard TD burst, Douglas, who had 496 yards of offense in a win over Brick Memorial two weeks ago, broke a 40-yard scoring run in the first quarter to extend the Spartans’ lead to 14-0.

Then Douglas did it with his arm early in the second quarter, firing a bullet to Flannigan on the left side. Flannigan spun away from a defender and outran everyone down the sideline on a 72-yard catch-and-run to push the advantage to 21-0 with 9:25 left in the half.

“C.J.’s big play ability I have known about forever,” Douglas said. “It was a 10-yard out and I knew if he could break the tackle he would go and he did.”

But the Rockets were not about to go quietly on their own field, rallying to drive 64 yards, with Falzon taking it the final 37 yards, pulling them within 21-6. They pulled within a score on the opening possession of the second half, with Falzon taking it in from 10 yards out, capping a 79-yard march to make the score 21-13.

But Ocean put the game away by scoring the game’s final 14 points, with Douglas capping the scoring with a three-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

What it means

It’s Ocean’s best start since 2019, when the Spartans won eight straight to start the season. A win against a solid Raritan squad will serve them well when it comes to the NJSIAA South Group 3 playoffs in terms of securing home games with a high seed.

Ocean now has an average margin of victory of 26.5 points, and has one of the top offenses at the Shore in terms of points and yardage.

Key plays

With Raritan threatening to cut into Ocean’s 21-6 lead in the final two minutes of the first half, having driven from its own 3-yard line to the Ocean four with nine seconds on the clock, the Rockets faced a fourth-and-goal.

But Thompson broke through and dropped Jayden Craft for a loss for the Spartans to preserve the advantage.

“I though that was huge going into the half,” Klein said. “Football is about momentum. We were able to maintain some momentum going into halftime.

By the numbers

303 – The number of yards the Raritan offense was able to roll up. But the Rockets committed a pair of turnovers, and both led to Ocean touchdowns.

376 – The number of offensive yards for Ocean.

Up next

Ocean travels to Brick to take on the Green Dragons in an important Freedom Division clash, where a win would clinch a share of the division title.

Raritan travels to face St. John Vianney next Friday night in a big Independence Division game.

Ocean 34, Raritan 13

Ocean    14   7   7    6  -  34

Raritan    0    6    7    0 -  13

Scoring

First quarter

O – Thompson 2 run (Sorrentino kick).

O – Douglas 40 run (Sorrentino kick).

Second quarter

O – Flannigan 72 pass from Douglas (Sorrentino kick).

R – Falzon 37 run (kick fails).

Third quarter

R – Falzon 10 run (Molnar kick).

O – Flannigan 3 run (Sorrentino kick).

Fourth quarter

O – Douglas 3 run (kick fails).

Statistics

Rushing – O: Douglas 17-137, Thompson 2-7, Flannigan 5-30, Iacouzzi 9-38, Garrett 1-10; R: Falzon 25-169, Calicari 6-57, Goldsberry 8-17, Craft 4-8, Murphy 1-16.

Passing – O: Douglas 6-11-0 133; R: Goldsberry 5-11-1 47.

Receiving – O: Flannigan 4-145, Sobieski 1-9, Thompson 1-(-1); R: Calicari 4-42, Moser 1-5.

Penalties - O: 6-42; R: 2-15.

Fumbles – O: 0-0; R: 2-1.

Interceptions - O: Sobieski.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean remains unbeaten, tops Raritan, 34-13, as Tyler Douglas leads way