Preliminaries are scheduled to start at 9 a.m., the quarterfinals 9:30 a.m., semifinals at 12 p.m., third-place bouts at 3 p.m. and finals at 5 p.m.

Brick Memorial is expected to be the heavy favorite for the team title. The Mustangs have the most team titles in District 23 history with 18. The team has also won the past two seasons.

Point Beach has never won a District 23 team title. The last time Point Boro won, the team snagged back-to-back titles in 1990 and 1991. Point Boro also won in the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

This past year, Point Boro finished second behind Brick Memorial and Point Beach placed fifth.

The Garnet Gulls had two district champions in 171-pound wrestler Dylan Kelly and Andrew Gross [heavyweight]. Kelly went on to place third in region six. Both Kelly and Gross graduated before this season.

For Point Boro, brothers Ryan [103] and Matt Harter [125] won districts last year. Ryan also went on to place fourth in region six.

Matt Harter has since graduated, and Ryan Harter is a junior this year. The Panthers have now had 15 consecutive seasons with at least one district champion.

District 23 has 11 different schools. The participating schools are Asbury Park, Brick Memorial, Brick Township, Manasquan, Monmouth Regional, Neptune, Point Beach, Point Boro, Shore Regional, St. Rose and Wall.

Three overtime games. Three losses.

On Saturday, the Garnet Gulls fell short to Lakewood, 58-57, in overtime after holding onto a 31-15 lead at the end of the first half.
The loss marks Point Beach’s first home loss of the season. For Lakewood, Dajuan Morris scored a game-high 21 points and Tyrice Beverette added 17 for Lakewood. Matt Farrell scored a team-high 17 points with six assists and five steals for the Beach.

Here is Point Beach head coach Nick Catania’s reaction to the loss.

On the Lakewood’s comeback…

“We weren’t aggressive. We knew they were going to come out aggressive but we came out timid. When they tried to pressure us, we told them to just rip through and go by them. They came out to play and we have to react better than that. We didn’t get a shot the first four minutes of the third quarter and we called timeout up 10. We tried to settle them down and get them fired up but you have to credit to Lakewood. They did a good job.”

On losing three overtime games this year…

“I think we are young. Our free throws really hurt us. When you lose overtime games like that, you look at every little thing and the free throws really hurt us. We have been shooting a really poor percentage from the line all year.”

On the defensive game plan…

“They only had 15 points in the first half, when we were playing man. To be honest with you, I thought we were going to play three minutes of zone and we were going to have to mix and match all game. We were playing well in man and that is why I stuck with it during the game. When we went to the zone they were hurting us on the glass, so we switched back to man in the overtime and they still hurt us on the glass.”

On the last play of overtime…

“We were going to run something differently but we wanted the ball in [Matt] Farell’s hands, especially with Lakewood having 8 fouls. When P.J. [Kineavy] fouled out, we didn’t want to put the ball in somebody’s hands that was not used to handling it.”

For more on the game, check out the Ocean Star Sports twitter account @oceanstarsports.

For more on the game, check out the Ocean Star Sports twitter account @oceanstarsports.

Click here to check out my Point Boro vs. Manchester football statistics.

Central I
8. Middlesex at 1. Asbury Park
5. Point Beach at 4. New Egypt
6. Shore at 3. Florence
7. Metuchen at 2. Dunellem

South II
8. Willingboro at 1. Haddonfield
5. Woodstown at 4. Cinnaminson
6. Point Boro at 3. Barnegat
7. Pemberton at 2. West Deptford

Girls Soccer
NJSIAA CJ Group I Quarterfinals
Point Beach 0, New Egypt 1 (OT)

Volleyball
NJSIAA CJ Group I Quarterfinals
Point Beach 1, Madison 2

Friday

Boys Soccer
NJSIAA CJ Group I Quarterfinals
Point Beach 2, Florence 0

Football
Point Beach 38, Spotswood 0
Point Boro 36, Manchester 0

Saturday

Boys Cross Country

NJSIAA CJ Group I Sectional Championship at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, NJ

Team Result
Point Beach: 14th, Total Points Total Time: 1:52:24.00

Individual Results
31. Elliot Tombs 19:18
70. Robert Parlow 21:08
90. Conor Laterza 22:36
95. Daniel Narcisi 23:00
104. Jonathan Houser 26:22

NJSIAA CJ Group II Sectional Championship at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, NJ

Team Result
Point Boro: 4th, Total Points: 152, Total Time: 1:28:10

Individual Results
6. Sam Haber 16:40
26. Jeff Hanrahan 17:32
38. Brian Wozniak 17:48
43. Evan Martz 18:00
47. James Cardone 18:10
56. Matt Peled 18:25
59. Evan O’Leary 18:30

Girls Cross Country

NJSIAA CJ Group I Sectional Championship at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, NJ

Team Result
Point Beach: 4th, Total Points: 110, Total Time: 1:54:54

Individual Results
1. Brianna Feerst 18:47
11. Amanda Hoeler 21:51
17. Megan Staub 22:28
33. Erin O’Connell 24:28
58. Sarah Brodeur 27:20
59. Kelsey Mayhew 28:04

NJSIAA CJ Group II Sectional Championship at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, NJ

Team Result
Point Boro: 10th, Total Points: 244, Total Time: 1:55:01

Individual Results
44. Destiny Neuman 22:22
48. Lindsey Havens 22:38
53. Eileen Parks 23:00
58. Samantha Lassen 23:21
65. Taylor Biggs 23:40
86. Lacy Gruendling 25:16

Night of the Living Dead: Point Boro football has been so scary on the gridiron this close to Halloween that probably even ghosts are sitting around a camp fire telling stories of the team’s most recent surge. After starting 2-3, Point Boro has now won two straight, defeating the Lakewood Piners (27-13) and the Raritan Rockets of Hazlet (35-17), almost guaranteeing the program a bid to the state tournament.

The Black Cat: Whenever Point Beach’s Brianna Feerst shows up to a cross country meet, it is bad luck for everyone else. Feerst has placed in the Top-5 in every major meet this season and the senior has also guided the Gulls to a B Central Public School Championship.

Paranormal Activity: Point Boro high school cross country coach Kevin Conheeney says his cross country program used to be the “doormat” of the C Central Division. This season they are one of the most feared. The Panthers won the C Central Public School Championship under the leadership of sophomore Sam Haber, who placed first in every single divisional race. The Panthers lone division loss was to Monsignor Donovan, coming up short by just one point.

The Ring: The Garnet Gulls girls’ soccer program won a Central Jersey Group I state championship ring in 2010, but it has only haunted the team since. Now the team is 7-8 entering the state tournament still cursed with injuries. The movie ‘The Ring’ revolves around a mysterious video cassette which is said to curse those who watch it so that they will die within a seven days of viewing. Could these Garnet Gulls be just one week away from state tournament elimination?

IT: Don’t worry. There are no scary clowns such as the one characterized in Stephen King’s 1990 horror film looming near the Point Beach football stadium. However, the Garnet Gulls have the ‘it’ factor this season: an indefinable something that makes a team special. The Gulls haven’t had a winning season since 1997 or make the playoffs since 2001, but they don’t care how some view their playoff aspirations this year. The Garnet Gulls now stand at 4-2 after losing a 24-22 thriller to undefeated Dunellen (7-0) on Friday night. Could this still be a dream season in the Beach, or an apparition?

The Graveyard: Point Beach won a state championship this season, but the year is now over. Point Boro Tennis did not qualify for the state tournament and Point Boro field hockey was eliminated from NJSIAA state playoffs yesterday in a 1-0 road loss to Delran High School.

Football
Point Beach 22, Dunellen 24
Point Boro 35, Raritan 17

Field Hockey
NJSIAA State Tournament – First Round
Point Boro 0, Delran 1

Boys Soccer
Point Boro 0, Southern 2

Girls Soccer
Point Boro 1, Rumson 0

Saturday

Boys & Girls Cross Country
Shore Conference Meet
Postponed, Tuesday at Ocean County Park

Point Boro boys’ soccer can crash a good party: The 24th seeded Panthers have officially crashed the Shore Conference Tournament in epic style. The Panthers knocked off 9th-seeded Freehold Boro High School 1-0 on Thursday and stunned the 8th-seeded Colts Neck Braves 2-1 on Saturday. The Panthers will officially attempt to shock the world today playing Christian Brothers Academy, whose program is ranked high as 5th in the United States.

Winds of change blow in Point Beach: This past season Mater Dei pulled a stunning 7-6 upset over Point Beach. This year is different with the team showing a little consistency. The Garnet Gulls got their revenge with a powerful rushing attack. Kyle Samaritano finished with 141 yards on 11 carries, Cody Coleman rushed for 106 yards on 13 carries, and Andre Cochran ended the night with 73 yards on six carries. The 48-28 victory at Donald T. Fioretti Field improved the Garnet Gulls record to 5-1. Point Beach is on a collision course with Dunellen High School, who has opened the season unscathed with a 6-0 record. The two teams will square off on Friday night at Dunellen.

Point Boro field hockey peaked a little too late: The Panthers field hockey program finished just shy of a .500 record — just missing the Oct. 19 cutoff date to qualify for the state tournament. Since the deadline, the Panthers are 2-0, defeating St. Rose 3-1 Thursday and Brick Memorial 4-1, Tuesday. The Panthers will end the season playing Central Regional on the road today and Metuchen in a home finale on Friday.

For full coverage of all local sports teams, check out this Friday’s issue of The Ocean Star.