Four-Headed Monster: Point Beach Rolls Past Keansburg to Secure Back-To-Back Division Title

POINT PLEASANT — Point Beach spent the season building a three-headed rushing attack.

On Friday night, the Garnet Gulls welcomed back a fourth — and unleashed all of them with a division championship at stake.

Point Beach scored on offense and defense, produced 418 total yards and built a 41-point halftime lead on its way to a commanding 41-6 victory over Keansburg. The win improved the Garnet Gulls to 5-1 and secured at least a share of the Class C South title, giving the program consecutive division championships for the first time in its history.

Senior running back Danny Neal scored on runs of 20 and 50 yards, junior running back Tommy Aiosa rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on five carries, and junior fullback Gage Boyle added 34 yards and a score on three attempts.

Sophomore running back Jalen Kreiger also returned after missing the first half of the season with a broken collarbone, turning an already deep backfield into what Point Beach head coach Joe Zaccone called a “four-headed monster.”

Kreiger gave Point Beach another versatile runner, blocker and receiving threat in its Wing-T offense while adding depth at linebacker. His return allows the Garnet Gulls to rotate four capable backs without sacrificing the speed or physicality of their offense.

“We’re just firing on all cylinders,” Zaccone said. “Jalen coming back was big. He’s a different asset. Our running game is now a four-headed monster. We are in a great spot to do great things.”

Point Beach’s Wing-T did more than overpower Keansburg. It forced the Titans to defend every gap and account for multiple potential ball carriers before the direction of a play became clear.

The Garnet Gulls used motion, misdirection and lead blocking to spread out Keansburg’s 3-4 front. When the Titans’ linebackers followed the initial action, Point Beach attacked the open space outside or cut back behind them.

No one benefited more than Neal.

On Point Beach’s opening possession, Aiosa carried twice for 18 yards before Neal followed his blocking through a crease for a 20-yard touchdown.

“The blockers do everything for me. I just run the ball,” Neal said. “Tom Aiosa leads the block for me. He bursts out in front of me every time, and I ran and scored a couple touchdowns. He does it for me.”

Keansburg entered with a substantial size advantage up front leading the way for junior running back Taurian Black, one of the Shore Conference’s most productive ball carriers. Point Beach neutralized both.

The Garnet Gulls made Keansburg’s larger front defend from sideline to sideline instead of trying to overpower it between the tackles. Defensively, Point Beach controlled its gaps, set the edges and prevented Black from reaching the second level with momentum.

Black, who entered with 581 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, finished with 27 yards on eight carries. His only touchdown came in the third quarter after Point Beach began turning to its reserves.

The Garnet Gulls also prevented Keansburg’s spread offense from finding its usual balance. Junior quarterback Mason Rand entered with 908 passing yards, while junior wide receiver Daizhan Jones had accumulated 383 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Against Point Beach’s starting defense, however, the Titans struggled to protect Rand or create separation downfield.

Rand completed 6 of 17 passes for 53 yards and an interception. Much of his 68 rushing yards came on keepers of 19 and 38 yards in the second half after the outcome had been decided.

Keansburg’s best early opportunity came when sophomore Cameron Clagon returned the opening kickoff 60 yards to the Point Beach 30. The Titans failed to capitalize, however, as pressure forced Rand to scramble on fourth-and-11 before he was stopped well short of the marker.

Even Point Beach’s biggest early mistake could not shift the momentum. Aiosa broke a 66-yard run before a mishandled snap gave Keansburg possession at its own 1, but the Garnet Gulls immediately forced a three-and-out. Neal scored on a 50-yard toss on Point Beach’s next snap, and senior defensive lineman Allan Micheletti followed with an interception in the end zone for his first varsity pick and a touchdown.

In a matter of minutes, Point Beach turned its own red-zone turnover into 13 unanswered points and a 20-0 lead.

The Garnet Gulls continued producing explosive plays. Aiosa scored from 11 yards out after junior quarterback Billy Cavanaugh connected with his brother, senior wide receiver Danny Cavanaugh, on a perfectly placed 35-yard back-shoulder fade. Boyle later finished another drive with a 7-yard touchdown.

The success of Point Beach’s running game forced Keansburg’s secondary to become more involved in run support. Cavanaugh capitalized when the Titans’ defensive backs began creeping downhill.

“When we’re running the ball well, it helps us during play-action pass because they’re forced to commit to the run,” Cavanaugh said. “We have more open men upfield, and the line’s doing a great job holding their blocks and giving me time to throw.”

Cavanaugh completed 4 of 5 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown. His biggest throw came after a holding penalty left Point Beach facing first-and-20 from its own 10 late in the half.

Cavanaugh sold the run, reset and found sophomore tight end Ethan Sulkowski behind the defense for a 90-yard touchdown. The score sent Point Beach into halftime ahead, 41-0, and triggered a running clock for the second half.

The completions to Danny Cavanaugh and Sulkowski accounted for 125 yards and showed the stress Point Beach’s Wing-T placed on Keansburg’s secondary. Once the Titans committed additional defenders to stopping the run, play-action created favorable matchups over the top.

Point Beach rushed for 251 yards despite resting its starters for nearly the entire second half. The Garnet Gulls averaged almost 10 yards per carry as a team, while Neal, Aiosa and Boyle combined for 227 yards and four touchdowns on only 12 attempts.

Defensively, Point Beach held Keansburg to 53 passing yards, limited Black to 3.4 yards per carry and forced two turnovers. Micheletti returned his interception for a touchdown, and sophomore linebacker Trey Reme recovered a fourth-quarter fumble to stop the Titans’ final scoring threat.

Keansburg broke through on its opening possession of the third quarter. Rand connected with Jones for 25 yards and senior wide receiver Mikey Clayton for 17 before Black finished the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.

Even with a 41-point halftime advantage, Zaccone remained animated when his defense surrendered Keansburg’s lone scoring drive.

“We want to be great,” Zaccone said. “I always have to be coaching them up. I don’t care what the score is. It could be 100-0, and I’ll find something.”

Point Beach entered the night facing a Keansburg team with division title aspirations, one of the Shore’s largest offensive lines and enough skill-position production to make the matchup appear competitive on paper.

By halftime, the Garnet Gulls had answered every question. Their offense produced explosive runs from multiple backs, Cavanaugh punished Keansburg’s commitment to stopping the run and the defense prevented the Titans’ top playmakers from establishing any rhythm.

Point Beach entered Friday projected as the No. 8 seed in South Jersey Group 1. With four capable backs, an efficient play-action passing game and a defense that can limit an opponent’s top playmaker, the Garnet Gulls have the personnel and identity to become a difficult postseason out regardless of where they are seeded.

Point Beach entered Friday chasing a second straight division championship. Behind four backs, an opportunistic defense and one overwhelming half, the Garnet Gulls delivered the knockout and secured their share of the crown.