|
Webster carries, kicks Ocean to win
Published in the Asbury Park Press 10/08/00
By JOHN BUSH
STAFF WRITER
LONG BRANCH -- The only thing Dana Webster didn't do Saturday for
Ocean was gain 100 rushing yards.
Webster, though, did just about everything else in leading the Spartans
to a 24-7 victory over Long Branch in a Shore Conference Federal
Division game at Bresett Stadium.
A 5-foot-11 junior, Webster scored all three Ocean touchdowns -- two
rushing and one receiving -- and kicked a 30-yard field goal. He also
set up his first touchdown by blocking a Long Branch punt.
As for his rushing game, Webster fell just two yards shy of 100,
finishing with 98 yards on 15 carries.
"He's still figuring out how to play this game," said Ocean
coach Scott Larkin. "He was out last season with an injury, but
he's such a coachable kid and he keeps getting better and better every
week. That was a great show he put on for everybody today."
Webster gave Ocean (4-1, 4-1) a 3-0 lead in the second quarter when
his 30-yard field goal ended a 15-play, 57-yard drive that took 9:35 off
the clock. Long Branch was then forced to punt from its 10, and Webster
came in from the left side and blocked the punt as Ocean's Sean Gilvary
recovered the ball at the Green Wave 8. One play later, Webster ran for
a 3-yard touchdown to give Ocean a 10-0 lead with 4:53 left before
halftime.
"We were working on our punt blocks because we saw that they
were slow with the snap and getting the punt off," Webster said.
"I just came off the left corner and tried to force
something."
Long Branch (3-2, 3-2) began to mount a rally in the third quarter
after recovering a fumble at the Ocean 49. Quarterback Berkeley
Hutchinson kept the ensuing drive going by completing a 13-yard pass to
Michael Lambert to the Ocean 4 on fourth-and-12, and scored on a 1-yard
sneak as the Green Wave pulled to within 10-7 with 1:57 left in the
third.
Ocean then regained control when Larkin took a huge gamble late in
the quarter. With the Spartans facing fourth-and-1 at the 50, Larkin
kept the offense on the field and running back Bobby McManigal gained
two yards for the first down. On the very next play, Webster opened the
fourth quarter with a 48-yard touchdown run, finding a hole to his left
before slipping through the Green Wave defense.
"I think I didn't think about it, which was good," said
Larkin of the fourth-down gamble. "Long Branch had called timeout
to force a punt into the wind, so we said, 'What the heck? Let's go.'
"
Ocean sealed the win with a 40-yard drive following an interception
by Greg Sariotis, as Webster gathered in a 9-yard touchdown pass from
quarterback Charles Timbers for a 24-7 lead with 6:18 left.
from the Asbury Park Press
Published on October 8, 2000 |
