Back in Black: Neptune Ends a 5-Game Losing Streak to Rival Asbury Park with a 32-6 Win

ASBURY PARK – None of the players on Neptune’s roster had experienced a win over rival Asbury Park during their careers, so they emphatically went out and did something about it on Saturday morning. 

The Scarlet Fliers dominated from start to finish in a 32-6 win in Class D North that snapped a five-game losing streak to the rival Blue Bishops (2-2, 0-2) and returned the Friendship Trophy to Neptune for the first time since 2019. The victory also kept Neptune (4-1, 2-0) tied for first place in the division with Raritan. 

Junior running back Kingston Pinnock had a career-high 138 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 15 carries, junior quarterback Caleb Brown-Mason had 129 yards rushing and a touchdown on just eight carries, plus a touchdown pass, as Neptune rolled up 331 yards on the ground at Asbury Park Stadium. 

“This is a big game to us,” Pinnock said. “We took this really serious all week. We’ve been locked in.” 

The Scarlet Fliers now have their first four-game winning streak in 11 years and lead the all-time series against Asbury Park 51-42-4. The two had been longtime Thanksgiving rivals but moved the game to earlier in the season this fall. 

“Last year after (a 14-8 loss to Asbury Park), that was rough,” Neptune head coach Mike Seber said. “It was a month of telling kids it’s going to be all right. This year, we get to enjoy it. There’s bragging rights for a real long time.” 

Neptune owned the line of scrimmage on both sides, outgaining Asbury Park 304-6 in a dominant first-half performance. It outgained the Blue Bishops 404-96 in the win. 

The Scarlet Fliers held Asbury Park star running back Amiere Massie to 42 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries after he entered with 719 yards in three games on an average of 18 yards per carry. 

“Our mission this week was to stop him, and we set that tone early,” said senior defensive lineman Koen Johnson, who hit Massie for a seven-yard loss on Asbury Park’s first play and had three sacks. 

“That was our game plan,” Seber said. “If they’re going to throw on us, they beat us, or if they run outside with somebody else, that’s fine, but we had to stop (Massie). He’s really good.” 

The Neptune offensive line also came out firing. On the Scarlet Fliers’ second play from scrimmage in the game, Brown-Mason took off for an 80-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead. 

“Coach called my play, I saw it, and it was there,” Brown-Mason said. “We had good blocks, and it was wide open. The performance of the offensive line was great. We’ve been getting better each week in practice.” 

“Our offensive line is getting a lot better,” Seber said. “They’re getting physical.” 

After Brown-Mason’s explosive run, Neptune made it 13-0 when Pinnock rumbled for a 21-yard touchdown with 4:15 left in the first quarter. The Scarlet Fliers were attacking right up the middle with Pinnock, a 5-foot-8, 230-pound battering ram who was gaining significant yards after contact on every play. He now has seven touchdowns in the last three games. 

“I can’t do anything without my line, so I really appreciate how they blocked today,” Pinnock said. “It was a lot of up the middle.” 

“Kingston is unstoppable,” Brown-Mason said. “He’s short and stubby, so it’s hard to tackle someone who’s already low to the ground.” 

A sack by Johnson ended Asbury Park’s ensuing drive, and Neptune then marched 87 yards in eight plays. Brown-Mason lofted a 35-yard pass to junior wideout Daaron Lynch on fourth-and-13 to push the lead to 19-0 with 10:39 left in the second quarter. 

Asbury Park mounted its first real drive of the game on its next possession, but Neptune got a stop on downs at its own 5-yard line with a hit for an eight-yard loss and then an incompletion on fourth down. 

The Scarlet Fliers then drove 88 yards in 12 plays, with Pinnock carrying the ball seven times for 62 yards. He polished off the drive by bulling up the middle for a 2-yard score and a 26-0 lead that Neptune took into halftime. 

Neptune picked up right where it left off in the second half, coming up with a stop on defense and then driving 75 yards in seven plays to kill any suspense. Brown-Mason hit Lynch for a 23-yard gain and then a personal foul put the ball at Asbury Park’s 13-yard line. Two plays later, junior Hassin McMillan scored on a three-yard run for a 32-0 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Asbury Park avoided the shutout in the fourth quarter when Massie reeled in a 45-yard catch and then scored from three yards out five plays later for the final margin. 

In addition to making a run at their first division title since 2011, the Scarlet Fliers are also out to secure their first state playoff berth since 2019. 

“We’re coming for it all,” Pinnock said. “These last couple seasons have been a little rough, but this time we’ve got our heads on straight.” 

“We’re trying to become a playoff team, and we’re working to get to that level,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to keep it going.” 

Next up for Neptune is a nondivisional game against Keansburg. Asbury Park will try to bounce back when it faces Group 1 rival Keyport (1-4) in a nondivisional game. 

 

Box Score

Neptune 32, Asbury Park 6

	Neptune	AP
First downs	21	7
Rushes-yards	34-331	30-46
Passing	3-7-1	2-7-0
Passing yards	73	50
Fumbles-lost	1-0	0-0
Penalties-yards	7-65	5-38

 

Neptune (4-1, 2-0)	13	13	6	0	32
Asbury Park (2-2, 0-2)	0	0	0	6	6

 

Scoring Summary

N – Brown-Mason 80-yard run (Gartley kick). 

N – Pinnock 21-yard run (kick failed). 

N – Lynch 35-yard pass from Brown-Mason (run failed). 

N – Pinnock 2-yard run (Gartley kick).

N – McMillan 3-yard run (kick failed). 

A – Massie 3-yard run (kick blocked). 

 

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — N: Pinnock 15-138, Brown-Mason 8-129, McMillan 4-33, Holland 3-28, Jean 4-16. A: Massie 14-42, Kirkpatrick 10-(-8), Dunkley 1-16, Chathuant 2-(-5), Robinson 1-0, B. Johnson 1-2, Mitchell 1-(-1). 

PASSING — N: Brown-Mason 3-7-1 73. A: Kirkpatrick 2-7-0 50. 

RECEIVING – N: Lynch 2-58, MacLennan 1-15. A: Massie 1-45, Washington 1-5. 

INTERCEPTIONS — A: Berardesco 1-0. 

Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point. 

Email: scottstump25@gmail.com