Shore Regional football holds off Manville in South Group 1 playoff opener
MANVILLE- The Manville High School football team had a milestone season ended Friday night by a program rich with playoff success -- and a bit more depth.
No. 5 seed Shore Regional turned a fumble recovery off a punt into a score late in in the first half, then held off a strong Manville second half for a 23-16 win in a South Group I first-round game.
Shore got out to a 17-0 lead before Manville’s senior standout Shawn Purcell began making an impact. Purcell ran a kickoff back 90 yards for a score in the second quarter and the Mustangs looked like they had taken the momentum back. But a fumbled punt late in the half delayed any comeback attempt.
Shore’s Brendan O’Brien recovered the fumble at the Mustangs’ 4. Two plays later it was O’Brien carrying the ball in for a touchdown and 23-6 lead.
“Right there, it changed the game,” said Shore coach Mark Costantino, who has led Shore for 31 years and to four of its eight titles. “We knew they’d come back, and they did. But that was huge there at the end of the first half. Our defense was lights out in the first half.”
“There were so many times tonight that we could have thrown in the towel and given up but we were really right there until the last snap,” said Manville coach Pat Gorbatuk. “It’s super-admirable for what these kids did, not just for tonight, but the last three years.”
Purcell finished the year with 182 points and 30 touchdowns. But Shore found a way, despite being without junior backs Alex George and Lucas White.
“These guys weren’t at full strength tonight. I tip my hat to them, two of their better backs weren’t out there,” said Gorbatuk.
Constantino hopes they can return for the next round.
“That kid’s a great player,” said Constantino of Purcell. “They hit him with a throw-back pass (for a second half touchdown). We had it covered but he got open.
Manville answered on the first drive of the second half as quarterback Dan Wildgoose hit Purcell on a 27-yard touchdown pass. A 29-yard field goal from Alex Orzol cut the Shore lead to 23-16 with 9:16 left in the game.
But Shore survived on the efforts of senior back Lucas Rosa who ran for 104 yards and a score in the first half, then picked up big yards as the second half wound down.
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GAME BALLS
Purcell had both Manville TDs, blocked an attempted point after and made a standout defensive play breaking up a would-be touchdown pass. Shore got a 28-yard field goal from Mike Furling to take a 3-0 lead.
Senior Lucas Rosa was one of Shore’s backs who continually picked up yards on second or third attempts. Rosa also helped keep a drive going as he converted a third-and-nine with a catch from QB Ty Koch.
THEY SAID IT
“He’s been an X-factor for us the last three years, a lot of college coaches need to open their eyes and see he deserves to be a scholarship player,” said Manville coach Pat Gorbatuk on Shawn Purcell.
“We’ve faced a number of quality running backs so far this year, and he’s right up there with any of them. That’s the guy. We’re going to try to contain him and limit the big plays.” -- Shore coach Mark Constantino on Purcell
WHAT’S NEXT
Shore will play the winner of Saturday’s No. 8 Penns Grove at No. 1 Woodbury game next week. Fourth-seed Manville finished 8-2 with a Big Central Conference Freedom Silver Division title.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Manville NJ football loses to Shore Regional in playoff opener
