Cannon Blast: Holmdel Lights It Up For 65 Points to Reach Its First Sectional Final in 34 Years
By Luke Sprengel – Shore Sports Insider correspondent
HOLMDEL – Holmdel lit up the scoreboard and added another chapter to the school record book behind senior quarterback Jack Cannon in Friday night’s 65-42 win over Neptune in the Central Jersey Group 3 semifinals.
Cannon shined for the top-seeded Hornets (8-2), totaling nine touchdowns and 430 yards of total offense in the latest performance in his epic senior season. The Dartmouth recruit made history by setting the single-game school record for total touchdowns as the Hornets punched a ticket to their first sectional final since 1991 and the second in school history.
The 65 points by the Shore Conference’s highest-scoring offense are also believed to be a single-game school record for Holmdel. Cannon now has 109 career touchdowns between rushing and passing for one of the highest totals of any quarterback in Shore Conference history.
The victory ended a nine-game winning streak by Neptune (9-2) and set up a matchup with third-seeded Seneca at Bob Roggy Field on Nov. 14 in which Holmdel will look to win its first state sectional title in school history.
Holmdel senior quarterback Jack Cannon totaled a school-record nine touchdowns between rushing and passing in the Central Jersey Group 3 semifinal win over Neptune. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspimages.com)
“Coach ‘Kav’ (Noel Kavanagh) said all week, ‘Be on the right side of history, don’t be on the wrong side’, and that stuck with us,” Cannon said.
The Hornets’ offense came out firing to start the game when Cannon broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage to give Holmdel an immediate lead only 20 seconds into the game.
On Neptune’s first possession, the Scarlet Fliers (9-2) faced a fourth-and-3 on Holmdel’s 29-yard line and converted it on a four-yard run by junior running back Kingston Pinnock. Junior quarterback Caleb Brown-Mason then connected with junior wideout Daaron Lynch twice for a total of 25 yards, setting Neptune up at the 1-yard line.
Brown-Mason then capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie it 7-7 with 8:07 left in the first quarter.
On Holmdel’s ensuing possession, senior defensive lineman Koen Johnson leaped in the air, intercepted a pass by Cannon and rumbled 41 yards down to the 1-yard line. On the next play, Pinnock punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown, putting the Scarlet Fliers on top 14-7 with 7:50 left in the first quarter.
Holmdel senior wide receiver James Murphy caught three touchdown passes in the win over Neptune. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspimages.com)
The Hornets flipped the momentum right back in their favor quickly, as Cannon broke free and made several Neptune defenders miss for a 54-yard touchdown run on the first play of the possession. Kavanagh trusted his star quarterback and went for a two-point conversion, which gave Holmdel a 15-14 lead when Cannon found sophomore wideout Anthony Serini.
“I normally don’t get too down on myself and I wasn’t, but all of my teammates were telling me ‘You’re good, next play,” Cannon said. “That just really sticks with you, knowing that your guys won’t give up on you after a stupid mistake. I knew it had to be the next-play mentality and that we had to put up a lot of points to win this game.”
On the next possession, Holmdel’s defense forced Neptune to a fourth-and-inches from midfield. Senior linebacker Peter Berardi showed off his athleticism, shooting through Neptune’s veteran offensive line and stuffing Brown-Mason for no gain, forcing a turnover on downs.
“I would definitely say we got our intensity back this week,” Berardi said. “We were getting after it in practice, and something we preached all week was iron sharpens iron. If we want to make history we have to play like champions.”
After the turnover on downs, Holmdel’s offense showed no signs of stopping. After Cannon ran for a 23-yard gain on second-and-18, he connected with senior wideout James Murphy on a swing pass for a 10-yard touchdown. Murphy’s first of three touchdown catches gave Holmdel a 22-14 lead with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
Junior quarterback Caleb Brown-Mason had nearly 400 yards of offense in the loss for Neptune. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspimages.com)
Holmdel went on to force a three-and-out on the next drive, setting the Hornets’ offense up to try to push their lead higher. The Hornets found themselves in a second-and-13 when Cannon showed off his playmaking capability, evading defenders and connecting with Serini for a 33-yard gain. On the next play, Cannon found James Murphy for an 18-yard gain, setting them up with a first-and-goal.
Cannon ran for an eight-yard touchdown – his third of the first half – to give the Hornets a 29-14 lead at the start of the second quarter.
Neptune came right back with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Brown-Mason to Lynch to cut the lead to 29-21 with 7:23 left in the first half.
Just when Neptune started to gain back some momentum, the Hornets took it right back. On the first play of their drive, Cannon found junior wideout Michael Todisco for a 31-yard gain. Two plays later, Cannon connected with senior tight end Carmine Aliperti across the middle of the field for a 21-yard touchdown. The Hornets’ offense looked unstoppable, pushing the lead to 36-21 with 6:13 to play in the second quarter.
Holmdel then forced its second three-and-out of the first half, giving the dangerous Holmdel offense the ball back. Two plays into the next possession, Cannon showed off his immense arm talent and connected with James Murphy for a 45-yard touchdown for Murphy’s second receiving touchdown of the game. Cannon’s third touchdown pass of the first half gave Holmdel a 44-21 lead that it took into halftime.
“They make me look good. I know I just have to get the ball into their hands, and they’ll make a play,” Cannon said about his receivers.
Cannon’s numbers in the first half were eye-popping. He was 9-for-11 passing for 190 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns on 10 attempts.
At the start of the second half, Neptune clawed back into the game when Brown-Mason connected with junior wideout Hassin McMillian for a 25-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 44-28 with 9:40 left in the third quarter.
However, Neptune still didn’t have answers for the Hornets’ offense as Cannon found junior Michael Todisco for an 18-yard touchdown to push the lead to 51-28 in the third quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Murphy showed off his defensive abilities by intercepting Brown-Mason and returning it for a touchdown that would ultimately get called back due to a block in the back. On the first play after the turnover, Holmdel called Murphy’s number and Cannon threw his fifth touchdown pass, with this one an 18-yard touchdown to the senior wide receiver to put it out of reach at 58-28 with 6:23 left in the third quarter.
Holmdel tight end Carmine Aliperti had a pair of touchdown catches in the win for Holmdel. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspimages.com)
Holmdel’s defense forced a punt and then Cannon threw his sixth touchdown pass of the game, finding Carmine Aliperti for a 21-yard score to balloon the lead to 65-28.
“Carmine’s been banged up,” Cannon said. “He played through it and had a great game with two touchdowns. It’s amazing having guys like that in our offense.”
Despite the lopsided score, Brown-Mason continued to show off his playmaking capability and passion. He ran for touchdowns of 50 and 25 yards for the final margin.
The Hornets are now focused on making history as the program’s first state sectional champion.
“It’s amazing we get to play at home next week,” Cannon said. “To play at home in front of our fans who really haven’t seen much success in this program’s history is going to be a surreal feeling. We have to execute. Our goal was to win the sectional, not just to get there.”
