Ocean hands Asbury First Loss of the Season

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Making a great catch for a touchdown is Mickey McGovern, a senior at Ocean Township High School.

Friday night, September 19, the Spartans of Ocean Township High School traveled to the Stadium of Asbury Park High School to face the undefeated Blue Bishops in a Shore Conference D North divisional football battle.

Asbury Park started the season with a 42-29 win over Point Beach and then a 40-0 shutout over Keansburg. They scored 82 points in two weeks and were showing signs of a dominant team. Ocean on the other hand started the year with an impressive 27-7 win over Long Branch and then suffered a 33-14 loss to Matawan and 28-21 defeat to Raritan.

Ocean has had some issues with staying focused and not getting penalty flags during those first three games. However, Friday night it was a much different Spartan team on the turf. Chad King, who is in his second year as head coach, had a very disciplined team that night in Asbury with very few penalties. The result of the hard work was a 28-14 Ocean win.

It started red hot for Ocean as they took the opening kickoff at their own five-yard line. Just a few plays later, Josh Calixte ran in from one yard out and after the extra point, Ocean was up 7-0 on the Blue Bishops.

Asbury Park came right back at the Spartans with a fourth and one at the Ocean 20-yard line. Ny’John Kirkpatrick, senior quarterback for Asbury, dropped back to pass, but had it picked off by Mickey McGovern, senior who returned it 17 yards before getting tackled.

Next play from scrimmage, Jordan Gaudious, junior quarterback at Ocean, handed the ball to Calixte, who ran 63 yards for the touchdown and Ocean was up 14-0 over Asbury with 1:11 to play in the first quarter.

Starting the second quarter, the Blue Bishops moved the ball well against the Spartan defense. Asbury was on the Ocean 34-yard line when Kirkpatrick found senior wide receiver Kingston Dunkley open for the touchdown. The extra point kick failed.

One of the strengths this year for Ocean is the throwing game. Gaudious then connected on a big 35-yard pass to McGovern, putting the ball on the Asbury Park 30-yard line. The Blue Bishops were called for a penalty and Ocean had a first and 10 at the Asbury Park 14-yard line with 10:21 to play in the first half.

A’miere Massie is 5’9″ tall and weighs 210 pounds. The senior running back had 285-rushing yards in the 28-14 loss to Ocean Township.

The Spartans called a timeout with a third and 12 at the Asbury Park 15, with 8:42 to play in the half. Gaudious attempted a pass into the end zone, but was picked off by Asbury Park who now took possession at their own 20-yard line down 14-6.

A’miere Massie, who stands 5’9” and weighs in at 210 pounds, was the one big hope for the Blue Bishops. The senior running back blasted through the Spartan defense and ran 73 yards for the touchdown. Asbury Park attempted a two point conversion and tied the game at 14 with 7:30 to play in the first half.

Calixte was the man the Spartans turned to again, as he ran 28 yards for his third touchdown of the first half. The extra point was good and Ocean now had a 21-14 lead on Asbury Park with 4:44 left in the opening half of play.

Asbury Park worked their way to the Ocean 10-yard line and had a first and goal with 2:29 to play in the half. Ocean’s defense did a great job stopping the Bishops who faced a fourth and goal from the Ocean 11-yard line with seconds left on the clock. Kirkpatrick was tackled by a host of Spartans for a loss ending the first half.

In the third quarter, Massie had another huge run for Asbury Park going 51 yards, but he fumbled as he reached the end zone and it was recovered by Ocean with 5:33 to play in the quarter. Gaudious then connected on another big pass play with a third and 13 at the Asbury 45, and Ocean got to the 13. One play later, Gaudious found McGovern for a touchdown putting the final score of the game at 28-14.

Gaudious completed eight of 14 passes for 202 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The receivers for Ocean had a great evening. McGovern had four catches for 92 yards and a score, Justin Farina had two for 47 yards and Calixte had two catches going 63 yards. On the ground, Calixte had 15 touches for 130 yards and three touchdowns. His total performance for the night was 193 offensive yards.

Ocean had 15 first downs in the game and only five penalties for 50 yards. That is a huge improvement over the first few games.  King gave credit to Hayden Ansell, McGovern and Calixte, three seniors for leading the way to victory.

“Mickey’s stats speak for themselves. Josh ran like a man who worked his butt off all season,” said King. He also had some thoughts on De’Antae Richardson, a senior running back and defensive lineman. “De’Antae is slowly but surely playing like he is a Division 1 player and Hayden produced like we thought he would and showed he can play at the next level.”

With the win, Ocean is now 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Shore Conference D North division. This Friday night, September 26, Ocean will host Freehold Borough at 7:00 p.m.

Asbury Park drop to 2-1 on the season and are 0-1 in the D North. Massie had a huge game on the ground, finishing with 285-rushing yards. The Blue Bishops will host rivals Neptune on Saturday, September 27, at 10:00 a.m.

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