Ocean gets shutout win over Colt Neck 26-0

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr
It was not pretty, but it was effective. Saturday afternoon the Spartans of Ocean Township traveled to and beat Colts Neck 26-0 in a Shore Conference B North game.

Walter O’Neill, Jr LINK sports Ocean Township junior wide receiver Joey Aldarelli (1) had two touchdown catches during the 26-0 win over Colts Neck.

With the victory the Spartans improved to 7-1 and received the two seed in the NJSIAA playoffs for Central Jersey Group III. Rumson-Fair Haven received the top ranking in that bracket and the only team to beat Ocean this season. RBR has the third seed.

Many were wondering if the huge upset victory last week over Red Bank Catholic would impact their play against Colts Neck. Well, the first quarter was sloppy until junior Joey Aldarelli intercepted a Colts Neck pass and ran it to the Cougars seven-yard line ending the quarter.

On the second play of the second quarter, Kenny Pickett, junior quarterback for Ocean, connected on a four-yard pass to senior receiver Greyson Stoothoff.

On the following offensive series the Spartans again were moving the ball against the Cougars. Finishing off a 10-play drive was Pickett, who connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Aldarelli. The extra point kick failed.

During the halftime break, Ocean held a 13-0 lead over Colts Neck. In the locker room Aldarelli stated that the Spartans need to wake up. “We all knew we could be playing better,” said Aldarelli. He added that they expected to crush the Cougars. “But that wasn’t the case, and it’s a credit to them.”

The spark Ocean needed to ignite them in the second half came on the opening kickoff of the third quarter. Senior running back Ruquan Dean used his speed and tremendous balance to return the ball 45 yards to the Colts Neck 25-yard line.

It took five plays for the Spartans to score. This time it was Tyler Thompson, senior running back, who blasted up the center of the Colts Neck defense for a 13-yard touchdown.

Like many players Dean is on the offensive and defensive unit. He made a very athletic diving interception of a Colts Neck pass. Ocean took over the ball and Pickett connected on another pass to Aldarelli for a four-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Thompson was the main man on the grass as he had 21 carries for 153 yards. He is closing in on 3,000 career yards. So far this season he has 143 carries for 1,161 rushing yards, career yards is 2,916. He also has 13 touchdowns and eight catches for 112 yards.
Pickett completed 13 of 18 passes for 88 yards and rushed for 13. “Our guys did a great job getting open today,” said Pickett.