‘Tuned Up: Neptune QB Caleb Brown-Mason Ends Record-Setting Career by Stunning Raritan
NEPTUNE — Neptune senior quarterback Caleb Brown-Mason had one final game to shine on Thursday night in a career that put him among the Scarlet Fliers’ all-time greats.
The last thing he left on his home field was a wake of Raritan defenders.
Brown-Mason went off for a career-high 275 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 16 carries and also threw for 128 yards and a score in his final high school game to power a 42-28 upset of the Rockets (4-5, 2-3) in Class C North. Neptune (2-7, 1-4) is not picking up any consolation games, so Thursday night’s win was the capper on its 2026 season.
“My mindset was to come out and go out with a bang,” Brown-Mason said.
Neptune quarterback Caleb Brown-Mason (Photo by SidelineSamsShots)
The senior quarterback crossed 3,000 yards rushing for his career in the win and became the first Neptune player to ever have more than 6,000 total yards between rushing and passing. He finished his career as Neptune’s second all-time leading rusher with 3,260 yards behind the legendary Scott Harley (4,945) and the second all-time leading passer with 3,069 behind another Neptune great, Justin Cella (3,300).
“Once I get home tonight, it will all settle in,” he said.
Brown-Mason’s 403 total yards helped end a six-game losing streak as the Scarlet Fliers made Senior Night at Memorial Field a memorable one by playing the spoiler. Senior WR/DB Daaron Lynch also had a big night on his birthday with a touchdown catch, an interception and a fumble recovery to end his four-year varsity career.
Neptune wideout Daaron Lynch (Photo by SidelineSamsShots)
Raritan needed the win to all but lock up a state playoff berth, but now the Rockets will have to sweat out a few other games this weekend to see if they sneak in as a No. 8 seed in South Jersey Group 2 after losing to Neptune for the second straight season.
Brown-Mason took over the game in the fourth quarter, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for another as the Scarlet Fliers scored 21 unanswered points to stun the Rockets.
“I haven’t seen him run like that since last year,” Neptune head coach Mike Seber said. “He just took off. He was on a mission tonight. He’s a special kid.”
Raritan took a 28-21 lead on a one-yard touchdown run by senior Eric Berg, who had a huge night of his own, with 7:10 left in the third quarter. After the teams traded possessions, Brown-Mason tied the game by streaking 51 yards for a touchdown on fourth-and-3 with 10:21 left in the fourth quarter.
An interception by Lynch was followed two plays later by Brown-Mason lofting up a pass to the senior wide receiver. Lynch plucked the ball over a Raritan defender and ran it in for a 39-yard score that gave the Scarlet Fliers a 35-28 lead with 5:54 left in the game.
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Senior linebacker Kingston Pinnock then tackled Raritan quarterback Parker Needham for a loss on fourth down to kill the Rockets’ ensuing drive, which set up Brown-Mason to put the game away. On Neptune’s second play, he ran around the left side while holding the ball tightly with two hands and then burst down the sideline for a 58-yard touchdown to make it 42-28 with 2:34 remaining.
“I was actually just trying to hold on to the ball and get a couple yards,” he said. “I wasn’t really trying to score, but the left side of the field was wide open, so I had to just take it.”
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Brown-Mason also had touchdown runs of 29 and 32 yards in the first half, as well as a 63-yard run that set up a four-yard touchdown run by Pinnock. The game was tied at 21 at halftime thanks to a 9-yard touchdown pass from Needham to Berg, a 15-yard touchdown run by Needham, and a seven-yard touchdown run by Marko Brown. Berg finished with 229 total yards and two touchdowns between 116 yards rushing and six catches for 113 yards.
Raritan running back Eric Berg (Photo by SidelineSamsShots)
It was not enough to stave off a determined Brown-Mason, who capped his three-year stint as the starting quarterback with one of the best games of his career.
“Everyone says ‘play like it’s your last every week,’ but today actually was our last, so we had to come out here and do what needed to be done,” he said.
Neptune also played with pride considering the Scarlet Fliers are not going to the playoffs. In addition to Brown-Mason’s heroics, the Scarlet Fliers’ defense came up with three turnovers on interceptions by Lynch and senior Jason Whittaker, and a fumble recovery by Lynch at Neptune’s 11-yard line in the second quarter.
Last year the Scarlet Fliers won their first outright division title since 1998 by beating Raritan in their final regular season game. This season, they used it as a chance to end on a high note after a frustrating year that followed a nine-win campaign in 2025.
“Our expectations were high this year, and it was a humbling experience,” Seber said. “I told them that one win can change the whole year.”
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
