Third Time's the Charm?

For Manasquan football teams, winning is as normal a part of life as breathing.

“We won’t be satisfied with just having been in the playoffs,” head coach Jay Price said. “We expect to win.”

That comes from a tradition where sons follow in their fathers’ cleats, their uncles’ cleats, their grandfathers’ cleats.

“These kids have all grown up watching their dads and grandfathers play,” Price said. And, for many of those dads and grandfathers, winning has been a big part of that.

The Warriors are in their 28th journey in the NJSIAA sectional playoffs, their seventh straight trip going back to 2005. They’ve reached the sectional finals 17 times, and have 11 sectional crowns, the most of any school in the Shore Conference. Over the Warriors’ history, they’ve played in 56 playoff games, including last weekend’s 34-7 victory over Red Bank in the first round of Central Jersey Group II.

But the last two years, Manasquan has run into a brick wall in its attempts to lock up its 12 state sectional crown, a wall by the name of Matawan.

For the third straight year, Manasquan will be playing the Huskies, and for the second straight time in the sectional semifinals. Last year, the game was at Matawan. This year, however, the Warriors will be on their home turf of Vic Kubu Memorial Field, with all the comforts of being at home … including the magic that seems to preside over that ground.

Price knows Manasquan will need more than magic to beat Matawan.

“They play very physical defensive football,” Price said, “so we will be trying to protect our quarterback.”

Tyler Saito has been a key element for the Warriors, throwing for nearly 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns, with receiver Connor Grogan on the receiving end of 10 of those scores. Running backs Joe Murphy and Kodie McNamara have combined for 1,000 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns, giving Manasquan a balanced offensive attack that has kept the Warriors – who wound up as the second seed in the section as a result of losing a coin flip with Rumson for the top seed – unbeaten through nine games.

Matawan (7-2), which won the Central Jersey Group II title in 2009 and reached the final last year, falling to Rumson, comes in as the sixth seed. The Huskies surprised unbeaten Carteret last Friday, with a second-half surge that resulted in a 28-14 victory.

Price said they haven’t put much emphasis on the fact that it’s a rematch with Matawan.

“This team is a lot different from last year’s team,” he said. “With this team, we’ve been focused on trying to preach four quarters of effort. I think if you ask the kids, they’ll tell you they haven’t given that yet. Maybe 45, 46 minutes, but not the full 48.”

They’ll need the full 48 minutes on Saturday to slow down Matawan’s offense, which includes Larry Alston, who’s rushed for nearly 700 yards and 12 touchdowns, and has three receiving touchdowns as well; Chris Walton, who has four scores, and quarterback KaShaun Barnes, who has nearly 600 yards passing and four touchdowns to his credit.

The kids know the history, Price said, and they know the expectations.

“They have to seize the opportunity,” he said. “They know what’s happened in the past, but we’ve told them, ‘This is your time.’ “

That opportunity comes Saturday, starting at 1 p.m.