Air Raid, Ground Force: Freehold Township Flexes Its Muscles in Week 0

BAYVILLE — The calendar still said August, but outside Central Regional High School on Thursday night, the Shore Conference football season felt unmistakably alive again.

The snack stand stayed packed, the student section grew louder with every momentum swing and a seat was hard to come by. After months without high school football, the energy of Week 0 had returned — along with some early-season penalties, miscues and moments of rust.

Freehold Township supplied most of the explosiveness.

Senior quarterback Dakota Lasater threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, added another score on the ground and repeatedly answered Central’s attempts to rally, leading the Patriots to a 38-21 road victory over the Golden Eagles.

The performance offered an encouraging answer to one of Freehold Township’s biggest preseason questions. Despite replacing three starting offensive linemen, the Patriots controlled the line of scrimmage, protected Lasater and created room for senior running back Dennis Quattrache III. A Freehold Township offense known for spreading the field and throwing the ball showed that it could also impose itself up front.

“We knew what we were going against,” Lasater said. “We knew that they had a very good secondary, and their D-line is very big from the film that we watched. They’re guys who run at our offensive linemen and try to get them tired, but our guys stood up to the battle. I took what I was given. Dennis had a great game, but overall, we just played absolutely great. I wouldn’t do it with anyone else. I just love this team.”

Freehold Township needed fewer than four minutes to make its first statement. Lasater completed five of seven passes on the opening drive and accounted for all 75 yards, whether through the air or the ground, before finding Quattrache for a 6-yard touchdown. On Central’s ensuing possession, the Patriots intercepted junior quarterback/linebacker Isiah Troiano and immediately turned the takeaway into points.

Quattrache covered the final 14 yards in two carries, following a 12-yard run by diving across the goal line from 2 yards out to give Freehold Township a 14-0 advantage.

The senior finished with 71 rushing yards and a touchdown while adding 74 receiving yards and another score. His production was rooted in the work of a line that entered the opener with some question marks.

“I’m so proud of my linemen,” Quattrache said. “It took a lot of preparation. I gave them a bet at the beginning of the week: If they get me over 100 yards, they get a tomahawk steak.”

Quattrache eclipsed that mark in yards from scrimmage, meaning the rebuilt unit earned its reward, and will be eating well this weekend.

Central did not allow the early deficit to quiet its sideline or the home crowd. The Golden Eagles answered with a powerful 10-play drive that consumed approximately eight minutes, scoring on Troiano’s 1-yard run. Senior wide receiver/defensive back Mason Smith helped move the offense with a 25-yard reception.

Junior tight end/linebacker Gus Copes then intercepted Lasater the very next drive, giving Central an opportunity to pull even. That opportunity came with a significant complication when Troiano exited after being sacked and did not return.

Central turned to senior wide receiver/defensive back CJ Yates, a Monmouth University commit, and senior Derek Roth, a first-year football player and standout basketball guard, to handle the quarterback duties. Yates took most of the snaps, moving from his natural position and simultaneously removing Central’s most dangerous target from the receiving corps.

Still, Yates immediately showed why Freehold Township coach Cory Davies feared seeing him at quarterback. Following a Freehold Township facemask penalty, Yates connected with Smith on a 30-yard go route for a touchdown. After an earlier missed extra point, Yates ran in the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 14 with 8:17 remaining in the half.

“When somebody said their quarterback was hurt, I was like, ‘Oh, no. We’re in trouble,’” Davies said. “We didn’t want him to play quarterback. We actually had to change how we were trying to defend them. Our goal became: Don’t let him run the ball.”

The tie lasted less than six minutes.

Rather than chasing another quick strike, Freehold Township responded with a 14-play drive that demonstrated its balance. Lasater completed a 26-yard pass to senior Monmouth commit Jake Schultzel and a 17-yard pass to Quattrache, while the offensive line gave Lasater time in the pocket and opened lanes on the ground. Lasater finished the march with a 1-yard keeper, restoring the Patriots’ lead at 21-14 with 2:32 left in the second quarter.

Freehold Township then landed the defining blow of the half after Central’s next series ended with a failed fourth-down conversion on fourth and short. Taking over at the Golden Eagles’ 43 with 1:09 remaining, Lasater needed only two throws. He found junior wide receiver/linebacker Elijah Msomi for 18 yards, escaped the pocket on the following snap and delivered a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior running back/defensive back Scott Monge while moving to his right.

In 35 seconds, a seven-point game had become a 28-14 Freehold Township lead.

“My goal is to get all five receivers who can catch the ball involved,” Davies said. “We knew how they were going to play Schultzel, so we went in other directions with some other guys who can also make plays.”

That distribution became one of the night’s most important developments. Yates spent much of the game aligned against Schultzel, who still caught three passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. Instead of forcing the ball toward his returning First Team All-Shore receiver, Lasater trusted the rest of his options. Quattrache and Msomi each collected 74 receiving yards, while Monge scored on his 25-yard reception and senior wide receiver Mikey Lorenzo added 27 yards.

“We knew he was very athletic, probably one of the most athletic players we are going to play all year,” Lasater said of Yates. “We knew he was going to cheat toward Schultzel, so we knew that we had to keep our options open. Last year, my two targets were Schultzel and Michael Lorenzo. We just proved what we can do if you take away Schultzel.”

Central had one final chance to trim the deficit before halftime. Yates ripped off an 18-yard run, then connected with senior wide receiver/defensive back Zy’Shun Carroll for 30 yards to move the Golden Eagles into scoring range. Freehold Township blocked a 22-yard field-goal attempt as time expired, preserving its 28-14 advantage and sending the visiting sideline into the break with another surge of emotion.

The Patriots put the game out of reach in the third quarter. After Central advanced to Freehold Township’s 43-yard line, Yates’ fourth-and-1 pass sailed incomplete. Lasater directed another five-minute scoring drive, contributing 19 rushing yards before finding Schultzel for a 23-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 35-14.

Central continued fighting. The Golden Eagles responded with a 10-play drive consisting entirely of runs and involving five ball carriers. Copes powered in from 12 yards to cut the deficit to 35-21 with 9:26 remaining.

Freehold Township answered in a different fashion, draining more than half of the fourth quarter before adding a field goal. Quattrache rushed for 22 yards on the possession, Lasater connected with Msomi for 26 and a Central unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty helped move the Patriots into range. The kick made it 38-21 with just more than three minutes remaining.

Roth handled Central’s final possession and completed 17 yards worth of passes, but the Golden Eagles could draw no closer.

Central left opening night with concerns surrounding Troiano’s status and the effect his absence had on its passing game. It also left with evidence of its resilience, twice answering Freehold Township touchdowns and continuing to run physically after falling behind by three scores. Yates finished with 89 passing yards and 83 rushing yards after being pressed into emergency duty, while Copes ran for 58 yards and Smith recorded 82 receiving yards and a touchdown.

For Freehold Township, the larger message extended beyond a 17-point victory. Lasater looked composed and comfortable in his second year directing Davies’ offense. His targets remained dangerous even with Central concentrating on Schultzel, and a reworked offensive line passed its first test against a talented, physical opponent.

“Having Dakota back for another year is big,” Davies said. “We thought we would be OK on offense. We have seven returners, and although three of the linemen were gone, we thought the three linemen who took over for them would do well. Dennis did a great job running the ball for us, as well. He’s a strong runner.”

Lasater supplied plenty of opening-night emotion, at one point responding to the Central student section, but he also recognized that his position requires restraint alongside confidence.

“I have to stay more composed when I’m out here because I’ve got to be the leader,” Lasater said. “I have to show them that I’m doing my job. I can play hard and show emotion, but it has to be the right emotion and the right amount of energy. I can’t go overboard. I have to lead by example.”

The snack-stand line thinned and the rowdy student section filed away. The feeling that returned with Week 0, however, should last well beyond opening night.

Freehold Township made certain of that — and gave the Shore Conference an early warning that its Air Raid offense may now possess some muscle, too.