Point Boro football rolls past Raritan to remain undefeated

HAZLET – Some big names who have racked up an unreal number of yards have passed through the doors at Point Boro. This year is no exception. Quarterback Matt Oliphant and backs Jake Croce and Connor Cilento have put up some huge numbers this fall.

But as good as those players are, and they sure are good, this offense doesn’t go without an offensive line that does its job. That’s exactly what the big boys at Point Boro did on Friday night and have done all season.

Behind 279 running yards – with 178 coming from Oliphant – Point Boro dominated on the ground once again and defeated previously undefeated Rartian 39-0. With the win, the Panthers improved to a perfect 4-0 and took control of the Independence Division.

“It’s great to dominate right at the start,” Point Boro senior lineman Cole Skinner said. “We’re Point Boro. You can’t mess with us like that.”

Big boys up front

The Point Boro offense line begins and ends with Skinner. The senior is a 6-foot-5, 305 pound monster at tackle with numerous Division-1 offers. He currently has a verbal commitment to Temple.

Skinner joins returning starter Charles Davison on the right side of the line. Beyond those two, the Point Boro line was full of new starters, but they’ve played exceptionally.

Center Declan Pratt and left tackle Zach Larr have opened massive holes for the running game. And even with a man going down with an injury, Joe Mazzaro filled in nicely at left guard.

WEEK 4: Shore Conference football scoreboard and highlights

“We take so much pride in it,” Skinner said. “We’re still learning, we’re a young team. We’ve got a couple people who are stepping up, and that’s what we need every game. It starts up front.

While the offensive linemen don’t get all the headlines, their hard work certainly doesn’t get overlooked by the offensive stars who do. When asked about the performance of the offensive line, Oliphant namechecked every single starting lineman.

“They’re really a big part of our offense,” Oliphant said.

Oliphant shines again

Oliphant himself is a big part of the offense too. In his first season playing under center, Oliphant has run the triple option quite well.

He ran for two touchdowns on Friday and already has 10 this year. The junior has also proven his ability to make the right decisions with the ball as Tyler Gordon and Brian Simoes each scored once and Croce found the end zone two times.

It’s not easy running one of the most potent offenses in the Shore Conference, but Oliphant has done so thus far.

“We expected him to hit the ground running,” Point Boro head coach Brian Staub said. “He’s too good of an athlete, and then you mix in a great work ethic and a high football IQ. That’s what we look for.”

Point Boro 39, Raritan 0

Point Boro (4-0) 12 6 14 7 – 39

Raritan (3-1) 0 0 0 0 – 0

First quarter

PB: Gordon 2 run (kick no good)

PB: Oliphant 33 run (kick blocked)

Second quarter

PB: Croce 2 run (2-pt. conversion no good)

Third quarter

PB: Croce 8 run (Forfar kick)

PB: Oliphant 2 run (Forfar kick)

Fourth quarter

PB: Simoes 12 run (Forfar kick)

Individual statistics

PASSING – PB: Oliphant 2-5-0-56. R: Goldsberry 9-13-0-89.

RUSHING – PB: Oliphant 17-178, Cilento 10-53, Croce 8-17, Muraglia 1-17, Simoes 1-12, Gordon 1-2. R: Falzon 9-28, Goldsberry 4-41, Jones 4-8, Craft 3--9, Calicari 2-6, McGreevy 1-0.

RECEIVING – PB: Cilento 2-56. R: Calicari 3-29, Craft 3-28, Agar 1-11, Molnar 1-11, Casiano 1-10.

Danny LoGiudice has covered local sports across New Jersey since 2014. Contact him at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com or @danny_logiudice on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Point Boro NJ football rolls past Raritan to stay undefeated