Neighboring schools Manasquan and Wall will once again go at it in one of the fiercest rivalries the Shore Conference has to offer in their annual holiday skirmish Thursday at Wall.
Last Thanksgiving the two schools entered their Thanksgiving Day clash with their impending NJSIAA championship games scheduled for nine days later.
This year, depending on the outcome of Wall’s Central Jersey Group III semifinal game versus Rumson-Fair Haven and Manasquan’s Central Jersey Group II semifinal game against Pt. Pleasant Boro, both held last Friday, the same situation could repeat itself.
After Wall beat the Warriors 21-3 last year for their third consecutive win in the Thanksgiving Day classic to take a 9-8 lead in the series, both schools went on to win state titles. The Warriors dismantled Barnards, 42-6, for their 12th sectional title in program history and the Crimson Knights took care of Delsea, 20-7, for their fourth sectional title.
It had been 14 years since that last happened on Thanksgiving Day 2002 – the third year of the current annual holiday game. That’s when both schools met in one of the most anticipated showdowns the Shore Conference has ever seen with both teams undefeated and ranked 1-2 in the Asbury Park Press with an estimated 10,000 fans in attendance.
Manasquan came back to win that game, 14-7, and went on to win their Shore Conference-record fifth straight sectional crown. Coincidently, Rumson – Wall’s opponent in Friday night’s semifinal – has won four consecutive sectional titles and are attempting to equal that record this season becoming only the second team in Shore Conference history to do so.
The Warriors originally played Point Pleasant Beach on Thanksgiving Day in a rivalry game that dates back to the 1930s. Then in 1972 Point Boro – which opened its doors in 1964 – and Manasquan began a Thanksgiving Day rivalry game that lasted until 2000 when the current holiday classic between Wall and Manasquan commenced.
A year prior to their first Thanksgiving Day game with Point Boro, Manasquan met the Panthers in 1971 with Point Boro – coached by the legendary Al Saner, who won 11 division titles and 153 games at Boro – riding a 34-game winning streak only to have Manasquan snap the streak and set the stage for the Thanksgiving rivalry that lasted almost 40 years.
Both teams are coming off impressive wins in last week’s first round of the playoffs.
Fifth-seeded Manasquan (6-3, 2-3) senior running back Connor Morgan ran for 97 yards and four touchdowns and linebacker Jack Fabean returned a fumble for a touchdown as the defending champions moved on to the semifinals with a 41-8 rout of No. 4 seed Roselle. The Manasquan defense – always stout come playoff time – limited the Rams to 116 yards of offense.
Fifth-seeded Wall (5-4, 1-4) jumped out to 21-0 lead over No. 4 seed Steinert and led, 35-7, at the half but had to turn back a furious Steinert comeback attempt before finally putting Steinert away, 49-41. Senior running back Brady McNally had a career day with over 300 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Senior quarterback Eddie Scott had a 17-yard touchdown run and connected with senior Tim McKernan on a 65-yard touchdown pass.
UPDATE: Both Wall and Manasquan were eliminated from the state playoffs Friday night so there will be no holding back on Thursday when the two teams take the field.
Wall fell to Rumson-Fair Haven, 28-13, while Manasquan took it on the chin losing to Point Boro, 27-6.
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