FOOTBALL: Second-half rally sends Point Beach over Manville in CJI

MANVILLE - It’s been a season of firsts for the Manville High School football team. First back-to-back winning seasons in 30 years, first-ever back-to-back playoff appearances, and the first-ever playoff home game are all things the Mustangs achieved this season.

But thanks to a second half that was a stark contrast to the opening period, Manville won’t be able to add first-ever playoff victory to its list.

Seventh-seeded Point Pleasant Beach flipped the script on the second-seeded Mustangs after the intermission, turning a 14-point deficit generated by three turnovers and an anemic offense into 22 unanswered points. John Nista finished with 111 yards and a touchdown, including the game-winner with 35 seconds left in regulation, and the Gulls advanced to the NJSIAA Central Group I semifinals with a 22-14 victory over Manville at Ned Panfile Field.

“We came out kind of flat, and we just weren’t really focused enough for a playoff game,” said Point Beach senior quarterback Luke Frauenheim, whose club managed just 43 yards from scrimmage in the opening half, finishing with 238 yards. “In the second half, there wasn’t really any adjustments to be made. It was all on us. We just had to come out a lot harder and with a lot more energy and get it done.”

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Frauenheim led Point Beach’s second-half defensive effort, as the unit that allowed 218 first-half yards pitched a second-half shutout, surrendering just 44 second-half yards and forcing three of five Manville turnovers, including two Frauenheim interceptions.

Nista paced the offense, but the Gulls also got a key effort from and Chris Webber, who chipped in 65 rushing yards and a score, as Point Beach was able to limit Manville standout lineman Michael Tyle and win the battle at the line of scrimmage.

“We came out and our offensive line started moving,” Frauenheim said. “We were blocking kids down and our backs ran really hard and winning it in the hole every single time. We came out and dominated the ball on both side.”

Point Beach advances to face third-seeded Bound Brook in next weekend’s semifinals, and while a trip to the final will be the first priority, the meeting has a little extra special meaning for the Gulls quarterback. Frauenheim is the grandson of legendary Immaculata High School head coach Pierce Frauenheim, who serves as a volunteer assistant for Bound Brook, as another of his grandsons, Kyle, is a standout for the Crusaders.

“A little family battle,” said Frauenheim, who has another cousin, Patrick, Kyle’s brother, also playing in the playoffs as the quarterback for Immaculata. “That will be fun.”

For Manville, as much as it can celebrate all it has accomplished and how far this program has come, a loss like this definitely hurts. The Mustangs looked like they were cruising, but whether it was Point Beach getting itself straightened out or Manville not carrying the proper focus through four quarters, this one was a gut punch.

“It’ll feel nice to know that as a staff and a unit, that we’ve done thing that haven’t been done before,” said Manville coach Pat Gorbatuk, whose team finishes 7-2, its winningest season since 1968. “But at the same time, we feel we’re much better than we played tonight ,and we have nothing to show for it. It’s obviously very disappointing.”

Manville came out fired up on a bitterly cold night, as John Sharbaugh recovered a fumbled snapped on the game’s second play from scrimmage and the Mustangs cashed in, getting a 37-yard touchdown pass from Shane Demeter to Nick Firth and an extra point from Tyle to take a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

The Mustangs added to the lead on the second play of the second quarter, as Demeter hit Nasir Peek with a 17-yard scoring pass, and took a 14-0 lead into halftime. But things changed quickly after the break.

After Manville went 3-and-out on the first possession of the third quarter, Point Beach got on the board, as Frauenheim found a leaping Jean Verrier on a touchdown toss on a fourth-and-goal from the 15-yard line. Jeff Wall added the kick to make it 14-7, but the Gulls weren’t done, recovering the ensuing kickoff after a Manville muff of a squib kick, giving Point Beach the ball at the Mustangs’ 32-yard line. Webber capped the drive with a 6-yard scoring run, with Wall adding the PAT to tie it.

After the teams exchanged unsuccessful drive, Frauenheim grabbed an interception near midfield, and drove his team for the game-winner, getting it on a 1-yard run from Nista with 35 seconds left. Nista then ran in the 2-point conversion after an offside penalty to provide the final margin.

“Not taking anything away from Point Pleasant Beach, their kids or their coaches, but the way we played and the way we carried ourselves in the second half was completely inexcusable,” said Gorbatuk, whose club was led by 114 rushing yards from Steven Garcia. “You play that poorly and don’t take care of your business, the result is you give up 22 straight points and blow a big playoff game.”

Simeon Pincus can be reached at SPincus@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN

POINT PLEASANT BEACH (6-4) 0-0-14-8 -- 22
MANVILLE (7-2) 7-7-0-0 -- 14
SCORING PLAYS:
M – Firth 37 pass from Demeter (Tyle kick)
M – Peek 17 pass from Demeter (Tyle kick)
PPB – Verrier 15 pass from Frauenheim (Wall kick)
PPB – Webber 6 run (Wall kick)
PPB – Nista 1 run (Nista run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
RUSHING: PPB—Webber 15-65, Nista 12-111, Frauenheim 7-21, Parry 3-18; M—Garcia 17-114, Demeter 4-4, Peek 7-16, Firth 7-44.
PASSING: PPB—Frauenheim 2-8-1-0-23; M—Demeter 3-11-2-3-84.
RECEIVING: PPB—Yates 1-8, Verrier 1-15; M—Firth 2-67, Peek 1-17