Jaguars take out Spartans 21-0

Week zero on the high school football schedule is when teams actually play a game before school even opens. August 27, the Spartans of Ocean Township High School hosted the Jaguars of Jackson Township in a week zero contest.

The first half was rather ugly as both teams had opportunities, and both teams blew those chances. The game remained scoreless until the final quarter of play. That is where the Jaguars defense made some great stops.

It was late in the third quarter when Ocean fumbled the ball that was recovered by Jackson on the Spartans 25-yard line. A few plays later and into the fourth quarter, Jackson quarterback ran it in from a yard out for the first score.

Just over a minute later Jake Garrett, the senior Ocean quarterback, was intercepted and the Jackson player returned it 40 yards for the second touchdown. Not long after, Ocean fumbled the ball which the Jaguars recovered on their own 40-yard line. Jackson moved the ball 60 yards in ten plays and scored their final touchdown winning 21-0.

Garrett finished the game completing 5 of 11 passes for 52 yards. Ryan Travis, freshman, completed two of two passes for 13 yards for the Spartans. On the ground, sophomore Braylin Thompson  had 10 rushes for 35 yards, and Jake Volek ran the ball three times for 20 yards. They were the only Spartan rushers with positive yards. Volek also had one catch for 23 yards and Justin Farina had three receptions for 22 yards.

Chad King enters his third season as the Spartans head coach and his career record at Ocean is now 22-22. His team finished 5-5 last season and he brings back a lot of experienced players. This season, Ocean was moved from the Class C North into the Class D North of the Shore Conference.

In this new division, Ocean will face a few old foes in Red Bank Regional and the Scarlet Fliers of Neptune. In this new group of opponents, the Spartans will also face bigger schools such as Howell and Marlboro. They will also compete against Long Branch, Raritan, Point Boro and will play at Colts Neck on Saturday, September 9, with an 11:00 a.m. start.

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