Ocean football remains unbeaten; tops Red Bank 26-22 with fourth quarter comeback
OCEAN TOWNSHIP – Facing fourth-and-3 near midfield with a minute to play, with an unblemished record and the Shore Conference Freedom Division title on the line, Ocean quarterback Tyler Douglas knew what had to be done.
“I told coach (Don Klein), I said 'call my number,’ ” Douglas said. “I’m playing a little banged up but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
What Douglas did was run right, cut back past several Red Bank defenders near the sideline before sprinting past everyone to the end zone on a 47-yard touchdown dash with 52 seconds on the clock, capping a furious fourth-quarter comeback for a dramatic 26-22 victory at Carelli Field.
In improving to 8-0 for the second time in four seasons, Ocean, ranked sixth in the Asbury Park Press Top 10, produced a heart-pounding victory for the second straight week, having won an overtime thriller over Middletown North seven days earlier.
“It’s a characteristic we try to instill in our players,” Klein said. “To play this game you’re asked to do things that most 15, 16, 17, 18-year-old kids are not asked to do on a daily basis, on a weekly basis when we compete against other good teams that are well-coached. We have a collective heartbeat and we talk about loving each other a lot in our program. And there is love within our players and coaches that leads to a never-say-die attitude.”
Having secured the division title, it’s on to NJSIAA South Group 3 play. The Spartans will be looking for their first sectional title since 2005 against South Jersey stalwarts including Delsea, Seneca, which beat Ocean with a touchdown in the final seconds in the opening round in 2019, and Timber Creek.
Red Bank (4-3, 3-2), which had won four straight games, built a 22-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter. But Ocean pulled to within 22-20 on a 13-yard TD pass from Douglas to James Sobieski with 8:42 remaining.
The Bucs, who got three touchdowns from Lamar Hicks, including a 35-yard catch-and-run for a score in the third quarter, appeared poised to put the game away when they got the ball back, driving to the Ocean 25. But a pair of penalties eventually forced a punt, with Ocean taking over at its own 17 with 4:17 to play.
Douglas converted a fourth-and-7 from the 20 with a 10-yard pass to C.J. Flannigan, before his game-winning fourth-down heroics.
“We didn’t come this far, going 7-0, to go 7-1 or share the division,” Douglas said. “So our mindset was we want to win the division outright so let’s find a way, and we did.”
First half fireworks
After Red Bank scored first early in the second quarter, Ocean answered with a 97-yard drive. A 21-yard run by Caleb Thompson moved the ball into Red Bank territory, before Douglas finished the drive off with a 36-yard TD strike to Flannigan to even the game at 7-all with 5:08 left in the first half.
Red Bank got a big play on its next possession, with quarterback Pierce Olsen finding Ky’Yam Martin for 57 yards down to the Ocean 18. Three plays later it was Hicks scoring on a four-yard run, sweeping to the right to push Red Bank’s lead to 14-7.
By the Numbers
Olsen hit all seven of his first half passes for 141 yards, as Red Bank outgained Ocean, 188-97, over the opening 24 minutes. For the game, Olsen was 12-of-16 for 215 yards.
Douglas accounted for 270 yards of offense including 157 passing and 113 rushing.
They said it
“We have a lot of confidence,” Klein said. “We’re going to continue to fight. We understand what the playoffs are about. It’s win or go home and we are not ready to go home.”
Ocean 26, Red Bank 22
Red Bank 0 14 8 0 - 22
Ocean 0 7 6 13 - 26
SCORING
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
RB – Hicks 6 run (Dautaj kicks).
O - Flannigan 36 pass from Douglas (Sorrentino kicks).
RB – Hicks 4 run (Dautaj kicks).
Third quarter
O – Flannigan 23 pass from Douglas (kick fails).
RB – Hicks 35 pass from Olsen (Borenius runs).
Fourth quarter
O – Sobieski 13 pass from Douglas (Sorrentino kicks).
O – Douglas 47 run (run fails).
STATISTICS
Rushing – O: Douglas 10-113, Thompson 13-91, Garrett 1-5, Iacouzzi 2-1; RB: Jones 11-48, Olsen 7-17, Hicks 5-14, Borenius 3-12, Eckerstrom 2-(-1), Niesz 1-4.
Passing – O: Douglas 12-17-0 157, Flannigan 0-1-0; RB: Olsen 12-16-0 215.
Receiving – O: Flannigan 6-90, Sobieski 1-13, Iacouzzi 1-8, Thompson 3-36 Garrett 1-10; RB: Hicks 4-97, Martin 3-63, Liam Stack 2-35, Eckerstrom 1-10.
Penalties – O: 6-37; RB: 9-60.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean NJ football beats Red Bank Regional 26-22 with late comeback
