Reitmeyer, Clayton, DiBiase lead No. 5 Point Boro past No. 8 Jackson Memorial

POINT PLEASANT BOROUGH — It may not have been their cleanest game, but when Point Boro needed a scoring drive or a key defensive stop, the Panthers delivered to earn another impressive division victory.

Senior fullback Dylan Reitmeyer ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns, sophomore quarterback Jake Clayton ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass, and senior two-way lineman Lou DiBiase was great in his season debut to lead the Panthers, ranked No. 5 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12, to a 34-24 Shore Conference Class A South victory over No. 8 Jackson Memorial on Friday night at Al Saner Field.

Point Boro (3-1, 2-0) opened a 13-0 lead and never let Jackson draw closer than 10 points on a night when the Jaguars played without star junior running back Jonah Glenn. The Panthers forged a 20-10 halftime lead and then held advantages of 27-10 and 34-17 before a late Jackson touchdown against the second defensive unit.

Clayton scored on runs of 35 and 3 yards and tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Nick Albanese. Reitmeyer had a 13-yard touchdown run and a 2-yard touchdown plunge. On defense, sophomore Nick Spanola intercepted a pass and senior Jacob Reitmeyer recovered a fumble, while DiBiase had two sacks, two tackles for loss and two pass deflections, including a pressure that led to Spanola’s interception.

“The offense executed and drove down the field all game and the defense bent but didn’t really break,” Dylan Reitmeyer said. They had a late score but we played a pretty good game.”

“We were mentally there and the energy was always high,” DiBiase said. “We never felt like we were going backward. We’re a tough team. We don’t care what happens, we’re going to keep coming at you.”

 

No Jonah Glenn for Jackson

Point Boro went right down the field on the game’s opening series when Clayton broke free for a 35-yard touchdown run to cap a 6-play, 53-yard scoring drive. Jackson kicked it short on the opening kickoff and the Panthers took advantage of the great field position.

Jackson began its first series on the plus side of midfield after a strong return, but notably absent from the backfield was Glenn, who was a First Team All-Shore running back as a sophomore last season and entered Week 3 second in the Shore in rushing yards with 549 on an average of 9.5 yards per carry. Jackson Memorial head coach Vin Mistretta said Glenn was dealing with a soft-tissue injury and the Jaguars were being cautious in holding him out. They are hopeful to have him back in the lineup in Week 4.

After a 10-yard pass from senior quarterback Dennis Caswell to senior wide receiver Eric Zebrowski moved the chains to the Point Boro 33-yard line, the Panthers forced a fumble that Jacob Reitmeyer recovered at the 34. From there, Clayton and Dylan Reitmeyer led the way on a 5-play, 66-yard scoring drive that ended with Reitmeyer bulldozing his way through the Jackson defense on a 13-yard touchdown run. Clayton set up the score with a 39-yard run to the Jaguars’ 20-yard line.

Jackson answered with an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive where Caswell made two clutch throws on third down. He connected with Zebrowski for 10 yards on 3rd-and-4 from the 38 and then connected with junior running back Jio Kabiri for 28 yards on 3rd-and-7 from just shy of midfield. Zebrowski then converted a 3rd-and-7 with a 9-yard run out of a Wildcat formation and Caswell finished off the drive by keeping on a read-option for a 9-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

Point Boro was forced to punt on its next possession but got the ball right back when DiBiase hit Caswell as he threw from inside the 10-yard line and Spanola camped under the wobbling pass and picked it off at the Jackson 4. Seven plays later, Reitmeyer surged across the goal line for a 2-yard touchdown run and a 20-7 Point Boro lead.

Jackson trimmed its deficit to 20-10 at halftime when senior kicker Joe Muzzillo connected on a 32-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter. Caswell had a 36-yard completion to Zebrowski to set up the field goal.

 

A Stop and a Score

With Jackson set to receive the second-half kickoff, Point Boro had a clear plan of attack.

“We had to get the stop and had to score,” DiBiase said. “That was the plan. We did not want it to be a one-score game.”

Point Boro stopped Jackson three-and-out on the first series of the third quarter and then marched 73 yards across nine plays to take a commanding 27-10 lead. Reitmeyer and Clayton combined to move the ball into Jackson territory where on 2nd-and-5, Clayton dropped back to pass and connected with a wide-open Albanese for the senior’s first career touchdown.

“That was awesome, he deserves it,” Point Boro head coach Brian Staub said. “We have to make defenses be honest with our tight-end sets and our wideouts. He got behind the defense, our O-line did an awesome job setting the protection and Jake threw a dime.”

“That was really cool,” Dylan Reitmeyer said. “He wore No. 51 last game, so that’s just shows how impressive that was.”

Jackson continued to battle, and with Glenn out of the lineup it was Caswell and Zebrowski who put the team on their shoulders. Kabiri converted a 4th-and-2 with a 4-yard run at midfield and Caswell hit Nick Dos Santos for 16 yards on 3rd-and-11 to keep the drive moving. On 3rd-and-16 from the Point Boro 36, Zebrowski ran a corner route and beat double coverage and Caswell dropped in a perfect pass for a 36-yard touchdown that cut the Panthers’ lead to 27-17 with 10:41 left in the fourth quarter.

As they did all game, the Panthers authored an appropriate response. Reitmeyer carried six straight times for 43 yards and Clayton punched it in on 3rd-and-goal to put the Panthers up 34-17 with 3:58 left.

“Credit to our O-line and our workhorse in the backfield, Dylan Reitmeyer,” Staub said. “In the second half we said let’s get a stop and we’re going to grind this out. It wasn’t pretty but he’s a bull and we were getting five to six yards consistently.”

A sack by DiBiase helped force a turnover on downs on Jackson’s next series. Point Boro put in its backups and went three-and-out, and Jackson added a late touchdown when Zebrowski caught a 28-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left.

 

DiBiase’s Debut

Point Boro senior two-way lineman Lou DiBiase spend his first three seasons at Donovan Catholic where he was one of the Griffins’ top players the last two years. He transferred to Point Boro during the offseason and had to sit out the first three games per the NJSIAA’s transfer rule. He made his debut with authority on Friday with multiple impact plays on defense while also helping the Panthers rush for 265 yards and four touchdowns.

“It was the longest three weeks of my life,” DiBiase said. “I never had to sit a high school game in my career so coming out here and dominating felt amazing.”

“He fits our culture perfectly,” Staub said. “He lives in the weight room and he loves football, and that’s the type of players we want. He was foaming at the mouth to get out here and he played great. He’s going to be one of our leaders moving forward.”

 

What’s next for both teams?

Point Boro will take its crack at No. 1 Toms River North, which defeated No. 4 Brick Memorial, 35-6, on Friday and has won 30 straight games versus public schools.

“Every week is a hard week,” DiBiase said. “North is the No. 1 team in the Shore and hasn’t been beat by a public school in like a thousand days or something like that. We’re looking to break that and I think we’re one of the only public schools who can do it. We’re going to execute our plan.”

“That’s who this team is,” Staub said. “We’re not cocky but we have confidence and we play fast and physical. We respect the hell out of Toms River North and we’re excited for the opportunity.”

Jackson Memorial will host Howell (1-2) next Friday night.

 

Box Score

No. 5 Point Boro 34, No. 8 Jackson Memorial 24

 

	Jackson Memorial	Point Boro
First Downs	14	17
Rushes-yards	25-48	43-265
Passing	11-18-1	2-2-0
Passing yards	200	40
Fumbles-lost	1-1	2-0
Penalties-yards	6-40	6-55

 

	1	2	3	4	F
Jackson (2-2, 0-2)	0	10	0	14	24
Point Boro (3-1, 2-0)	13	7	7	7	34

 

Scoring Summary

PB – Jake Clayton 35-yard run (kick blocked)

PB – Dylan Reitmeyer 13-yard run (Jack Sullivan kick)

JM – Dennis Caswell 9-yard run (Joe Muzzillo kick)

PB – Dylan Reitmeyer 2-yard run (Jack Sullivan kick)

JM – Joe Muzzillo 32-yard field goal

PB – Nick Albanese 29-yard pass from Jake Clayton (Jack Sullivan kick)

JM – Eric Zebrowski 36-yard pass from Dennis Caswell (Joe Muzzillo kick)

PB – Jake Clayton 3-yard run (Jack Sullivan kick)

JM – Eric Zebrowski 28-yard pass from Dennis Caswell (Joe Muzzillo kick)

 

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — JM: Dennis Caswell 4-16, Eric Zebrowski 8-16, Jio Kabiri 12-15, Blake Farrin 1-1; PB: Dylan Reitmeyer 24-144, Jake Clayton 11-109, Colin Obser 3-12, D.J. Albanese 2-4, Nick Spanola 2-(-2), Brady Kirk 1-(-2).

PASSING — JM: Dennis Caswell 11-18-1, 200; PB: Jake Clayton 2-2-0, 40.

RECEIVING – JM: Eric Zebrowski 6-121, Jio Kabiri 2-41, Brock Babiak 2-28, Nick Dos Santos 1-10; PB: Nick Albanese 2-40.

INTERCEPTIONS – PB: Nick Spanola, 1-0.