All Heart: Pt. Boro’s Jack Sullivan Returns to Kick Game-Winning FG and Stun Rumson in the Sectional Semifinals
RUMSON – Point Boro senior kicker Jack Sullivan stared death in the face in a hospital bed six weeks ago and thought football had been taken away from him for good.
A game-winning field goal attempt with a trip to an NJSIAA sectional final on the line feels like nothing compared to that.
A day after he was cleared by doctors following a 40-day absence with a heart ailment, Sullivan booted a 35-yard field goal through the raindrops as time expired to send the third-seeded Panthers to an electrifying 24-21 win over second-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven in the Central Jersey Group 2 semifinals on Friday night.
“That kick was no pressure,” Sullivan said. “I’ve been through so much more. God gave me a second chance at life because many people don’t walk out of that unit. I’m just grateful, and this is just a cherry on top. It’s magical. It’s straight out of a book or movie.”
“Best storybook ending of all time,” Point Boro head coach Brian Staub said.
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The Panthers (7-4) finally vanquished their nemesis after the Bulldogs (7-4) had beaten them four straight times and ended their season in the state playoffs in each of the past two years at Borden Stadium. They also kept their composure after Rumson scored 14 points in the span of just over a minute to tie the game at 21 with 3:02 remaining in regulation.
“The No. 1 thing that we’ve always stressed is just no quit, fight to the very end, everything we have, it doesn’t matter the score,” senior fullback/linebacker DJ Albanese said. “We knew we just needed to do what we’ve done all game – just drive the field, get our guy a field goal and go win it.”
Point Boro will now try to slay Goliath after advancing to its third sectional final in the past four seasons. The Panthers will travel to top-seeded Glassboro, a two-time defending Group champion, for the Central Jersey Group 2 championship game after the Bulldogs dispatched of Manasquan 44-0 in the other semifinal.
Point Boro senior Jack Sullivan returned from a serious heart ailment to kick the game-winning field goal and send the Panthers to the Central Jersey Group 2 final. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspsportsimages.com)
Sullivan helped get them there after a harrowing ordeal had kept him out much of the season. The day after Point Boro’s loss to Brick Memorial on Sept. 25, Sullivan said he began feeling intense pain in his chest.
“I got rushed to the ER,” he said. “I was in the intensive care unit for three days, and I got diagnosed with a heart condition. It was something that just happened. It was a fluke accident.”
“It was a roller coaster of emotions,” Staub said. “It was a tricky situation.”
Sullivan thought his season was done, but he fought to return when he saw who Point Boro would be playing in the sectional semifinals.
Jack Sullivan runs to celebrate the win with his Point Boro teammates. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspsportsimages.com)
“Once I found out we were playing Rumson I wanted to come back because they ended our season twice, and I was like, ‘There’s not a better chance to go and end their season my senior year,’” he said. “I texted my mom Monday, we talked to the doctor, and she said I could play today.”
“To figure out a way to get cleared,” Albanese said while shaking his head. “He told me on Monday he’s going to hit a walkoff (field goal), and he called his shot. It was something you see in a movie.”
Point Boro appeared to be in control up 21-7 with 3:02 left in the third quarter thanks to its trademark flexbone option chewing up yards and the clock. Albanese churned out 162 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 28 carries, while senior quarterback Jake Clayton had 125 yards on the ground and a touchdown on 27 carries. The Panthers had scoring drives of 7:09, 7:25 and 9 minutes.
Point Boro fullback DJ Albanese rolled up 162 yards rushing and 2 TDs in the win. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspsportsimages.com)
Point Boro wanted to dominate time of possession and come up with at least one turnover to keep Rumson’s big-play offense and the Shore Conference’s leading passer, Bulldogs junior Brady Williams, off the field. They got both, as senior defensive lineman Aidan Dombrowsky recovered a fumble at Point Boro’s 4-yard line to thwart a Rumson scoring drive in the first half.
“We were super confident all week,” Clayton said. “We know what we can do, and I think it showed tonight. That’s trusting our coaches getting us into the right play. At the end of the day it’s about us executing, and I think we did a great job tonight.”
However, Rumson was not going out without a fight on its home field. Williams hit senior wideout Casey Moore for a 37-yard touchdown with 4:07 left in the game to cut it to 21-14. Rumson junior linebacker Jaden Cavise then had the home crowd roaring when he recovered an onside kick at the Point Boro 47-yard line with 4:04 remaining.
Rumson junior WR Michael Capra caught the game-tying touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspsportsimages.com)
Five plays later, Williams found junior wide receiver Michael Capra for a 17-yard touchdown to knot the game at 21 and send the purple-and-white faithful into delirium. Point Boro got the ball back with 2:56 remaining at its own 39-yard line after a kickoff return by Owen Hart, and the Panthers didn’t let the momentum shift overwhelm them.
“We said, ‘Guys, no one comes back better than Rumson,’” Staub said. “They kind of learned the hard way, but we were preaching that it’s one play at a time.”
“Just keeping our composure after every down, sticking together as one big group,” Clayton said.
Point Boro’s Jake Clayton ran for 125 yards and a TD in the win. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspsportsimages.com)
Staub’s goal was to get the ball to the Rumson 25-yard line to give Sullivan a decent chance at a field goal try. Sullivan kicked a career-long 42-yard field goal in a playoff loss to Rumson at Borden Stadium last year.
“I knew I’d have a shot,” Sullivan said. “I honestly didn’t feel any pressure. I was just so lucky to be back here. I didn’t feel anything like I normally do.”
An 18-yard run by Clayton pushed it to Rumson’s 40-yard line. Five plays later, a four-yard fullback dive by Albanese got it down to the Bulldogs’ 18-yard line to set up the game-winning attempt. Sullivan crushed it without about 10 yards to spare.
“I wasn’t worried at all,” Albanese said. “I’ve seen him make that kick a million times. Knowing the situation, I was more confident than I would be of anyone else in that spot.”
“You can’t write a better storybook ending, you just can’t,” Staub said. “I said in the coaches’ chat, we were like, ‘Wouldn’t it be crazy if Jack Sully comes back and kicks a game-winning field goal?’ Just so proud of him.”
Sullivan’s kick not only provided a moment he will never forget, it exorcised the playoff demons on a field that has become a house of horrors for Point Boro in recent years.
“I’ve never beaten these guys in my life,” Albanese said. “There’s nothing more than I wanted to do than just beat them before my career ends.”
“I usually hate this place. I don’t hate it as much right now,” Staub joked. “We’re due. You can’t really call it a rivalry when you lose the last four. Block out the noise, a lot of people counted us out, but we felt good.”
Now they will try to topple Glassboro in similar fashion to the way they stunned Camden in winning their last sectional title in 2024.
“We’ve done it kind of down in Camden,” Staub said. “It’s going to have to be a similar plan, but I can’t wait.”
“We’re going to attack it, the same way we attack everyone – all the way to the very end,” Albanese said.
Regardless of what happens, Sullivan and his teammates will always have a night they will never forget.
“You can’t script it any better than that,” Clayton said. “I’m so happy for that kid.”
Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999.
Email: scottstump25@gmail.com
