Despite two straight playoff appearances, the brutal truth was staring a talented senior class at Wall right in the face heading into its annual Thanksgiving showdown with rival Manasquan.

“We were supposed to be the class to win some titles, and we had nothing to show for it,’’ said senior defensive back Mike Russo.

“(Assistant) coach (Jim) Rochford told us yesterday that if you really think about it, our senior class hasn’t really done anything yet,’’ said senior tailback Jim Guiliano.

Seeking concrete validation of their talent after a surprising first-round exit from the state playoffs, the Crimson Knights earned it with a 16-6 win over Manasquan (9-2, 4-1) on Thursday that clinched the outright Shore Conference Class C Central title. It is Wall’s first division title since 2007, its first outright division crown since 2001, and the 12^th division title overall in school history. 

“I couldn’t be more happy right now,’’ said senior quarterback Steve Cluley, who finished with 197 total yards of offense. “Not only division champions, but beating Manasquan to get it feels great. The whole season I felt like we were getting dissed a little bit, so it’s nice to come out and show everyone that we’re the real deal.’’

Guiliano rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, and senior Tyler Block booted three field goals, while the defense tied its season-low with six points allowed. The Crimson Knights (8-2, 5-0), who started the season 7-0 before losing two straight, sent a message from the outset with a 14-play, 90-yard scoring drive to open the game. Guiliano scored on a 4-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 5:12 left in the first quarter.

An illegal block on the kickoff and a false start penalty put Wall in an immediate hole to start the game. However, the Crimson Knights chewed up nearly seven minutes to take a lead they would not relinquish by executing a 10-play script to start the game that they had practiced repeatedly.

“These two teams know each other so well,’’ said Wall coach Chris Barnes. “I told the kids that they know what we are going to run, so it’s just execution, and the kids executed. To start like that after it didn’t look good in the beginning, that was crucial. I think it set the tone for the game and gave our kids some confidence.’’

“We wanted to let them know they were in for a long game,’’ Cluley said.

A tackle for a four-yard loss by defensive back Richie Bomenblit killed Manasquan’s first drive, and then Wall answered with another scoring march. Cluley found Guiliano with a perfectly-timed screen pass, and he raced 58 yards to Manasquan’s 2-yard line. The Warriors made a goal line stand, forcing Wall to have to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Block and a 10-0 advantage with 10:06 left in the second quarter.

Senior Conor Mulholland batted down a pass by Manasquan’s Tyler Saito on fourth down to wreck the Warriors’ ensuing drive, and two possessions later, Wall put together one final scoring drive before the half. Cluley, who threw for 137 yards and ran for 60, found Mulholland for an 18-yard gain on third-and-18 to keep the drive alive. Five plays later, Block hit a 23-yard field goal as time expired to give Wall a 13-0 lead at the half.

Things got even worse for Manasquan early in the third quarter when Saito left the game with a left knee injury. On the fourth play from scrimmage in the second half, he scrambled down the Wall sideline and as he was heading out of bounds, his left knee buckled, and he crashed to the ground in agony. His leg was stabilized, and he was put on a stretcher and into an ambulance. It may have been a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which would be an especially cruel blow because Saito is a Division I baseball recruit committed to Monmouth University and could potentially miss part or all of his senior baseball season depending on the severity of the injury.

“I felt terrible for the kid,’’ Cluley said. “There’s nothing worse than getting hurt doing something you love, and you don’t expect to come out today and get hurt like that. My prayers go out to him, and hopefully he’s not too badly hurt. If he is, hopefully it’s a speedy recovery because I want to see him playing for Squan this spring.’’

“It was a shame he went down like that,’’ said Russo, who had an interception in the win. “They had to change their whole gameplan after that.’’

Sophomore back-up quarterback Tucker Caccavale entered the game, and the Warriors also tried some Wildcat looks with senior running back Kodie McNamara lining up at quarterback. Manasquan drove down to Wall’s 13-yard line after Saito left the game, but a 2-yard pass from Caccavale to McNamara on fourth-and-7 left the Warriors empty.

Wall answered with a 14-play, 83-yard drive that resulted in Block’s third field goal, a 21-yarder, for a 16-0 lead with 10:32 left in the game. Manasquan finally got on the scoreboard when McNamara scored on a 3-yard run with 3:15 remaining before missing the 2-point conversion pass to keep the score at 16-6.

The Crimson Knights beat Manasquan for the second time in three seasons, helping to salve the wound of a 19-7 loss to seventh-seeded Steinert as the No. 2 seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III playoffs two weeks ago. Steinert went on to reach the championship game after upsetting third-seeded Woodbridge, 32-27, in the semifinals.

Wall had a joking ceremony to bury the bad karma from the loss to Steinert in which they threw a pair of old cleats over the goalposts to exorcise the demons. Barnes picked up the tradition while playing at Syracuse.

“We called it ‘The Burning of the Shoe,’’’ he said. “You just do it to get rid of all the bad memories and move on. We couldn’t let one loss count as two, and these kids came back strong today.’’

“It was a long two weeks,’’ Guiliano said. “Way too long. Yesterday we threw the cleats over the goalposts, and it got all the bad memories out of us. We came into this game with the mentality that we’re not coming off this field without a win and a championship’’

Box score

Wall 16, Manasquan 6

.                                         W              M

First downs                   16              11

Rushes-yards             38-160          26-96

Passing                     9-15-0              13-23-1

Passing yards          137                   109

Penalties                 7-45                   6-55

Fumbles-lost          1-0                   0-0

Scoring summary:

W: Guiliano 8-yard run (Block kick).

W: Block 24-yard field goal.

W: Block 23-yard field goal.

W: Block 21-yard field goal.

M: McNamara 3-yard run (pass failed).

Individual statistics

Rushing – W: Guiliano 19-89, Cluley 13-60, Louro 5-7, Hetzel 1-4. M: Grogan 3-10, McNamara 11-49, Murphy 3-10, Saito 6-22, Fittin 1-4, Caccavale 2-1.

Passing – W: Cluley 9-15-0 137. M: Saito 3-7-0 18, Caccavale 10-15-1 91, Aromando 0-1-0 0.

Receiving – W: Mulholland 3-50, Gardner 1-6, Louro 2-11, Hetzel 1-8, Guiliano 1-58, Petitta 1-4. M: McNamara  2-7, Ariante 1-(-4), Aromando 1-17, Grogan 2-10, Fittin 7-81.

Interceptions – W: Russo 1-0.