Shore Conference football: 9-0 for first time in Brick Memorial history

BRICK – There are rivalries, and then there are cross-town rivalries. And there’s nothing like when two competing high schools from the same district meet under the lights on a Friday night.

Call this one the Miracle in the Mud, because the annual Brick-Brick Memorial game turned out to be one for the ages.

The game looked lost for Brick Memorial - along with the first undefeated regular season in program history - after Connor Dietz threw an interception with less than two minutes to play and Brick holding a 14-13 lead. But then Trey Tallmadge stripped the ball way from Jacob Toye as the Green Dragons were trying to run the clock out, with Nicco Maribo scooping up the loose ball off the rain-soaked turf and racing 33 yards for a touchdown with 48.9 seconds on the clock.

Finally, it was a fourth down sack with 18 seconds left sealing a 19-14 victory over a Brick team that had won nine of the past 10 rivalry meetings, as the Mustangs streak into the NJSIAA South Group 4 playoffs with a 9-0 record.

More: Shore Conference football schedule, scoreboard, highlights: Week 8

“This is a special one for us,” said Maribo. “Ever since that last game last year when they beat us and I saw all my seniors lying on the ground crying because the loss hurt them so much. They say don’t take it personal, but for me, I took it personal. I had a lot of friends. And this is probably the best atmosphere you can be involved in.”

Brick had taken the lead on a four-yard TD run by Toye in the final minute of the third quarter, before its defense withstood a long Brick Memorial drive in the final minutes, which ended with an interception by Gavin Maffei on a fourth-and-11 at the Brick 37-yard-line.

Brick Memorial had three timeouts remaining, and was about to call its second when the fumble happened on second down.

“I don’t really have the words to describe the ups and downs of that football game and how it ended,” Brick Memorial coach Walt Currie said. “But I do know that I am happy for these guys, 9-0 never been done in school history.

“I’m happy for these guys to experience that, to experience this kind of atmosphere, to experience this kind of win, and hopefully that will be a springboard for us moving forward.”

Dietz led the way for Brick Memorial with 172 yards rushing and two TDs, giving him 1,427 yards on the season.

What it means

The victory clinches the Shore Conference Independent division title, improving to 5-0. It marks the program’s first outright Shore Conference division crown since winning A South in 2010, although the Mustangs have shared several titles since. They are one of two unbeaten teams remaining at the Shore, along with Holmdel.

Brick falls to 4-5 with its fifth straight loss, after opening the season at 4-0. Brick had won nine of the last 10 in this series. Even when Brick Memorial went 21-11 between 2013-15, it lost its three games to Brick by a combined 99-20.

Key plays

There were plenty of important moments, beyond the dramatic endgame.

Faced with a fourth-and-9 from the Brick 38, Dietz took the shotgun snap, moved right and cut upfield through a hole, racing 31 yards. It set up a two-yard scoring run by Dietz three plays later, giving the Mustangs a 7-0 lead with 6:57 left in the first quarter

The Mustangs’ defense then came up with a big stop, holding the Green Dragons on a fourth-and-8 from the Brick Memorial 14, with Booker’s pass intended for Toye broken up in the end zone.

The Green Dragons got a stop of their own, with Ezra Meyers making the top on Kevin Andrews on a fourth-and-1 at the Brick 41. It was the play they needed, because four plays later Booker launched a deep ball that Germaine Rice ran under for a 48-yard touchdown strike to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:52 left in the first half.

The Brick defense held again in the final minute of the first half, with Dietz sacked on a fourth-and-8 from the Brick 13 with 18 seconds on the clock.

They said it

“It means a lot,” Dietz said. “My freshman year we beat them in the first game I got pulled up varsity, playing a little on special teams. My sophomore year I was a starter and we didn’t really put up a good fight against them. Last year, getting ejected was not in my plans but this year I knew I had to have the right mindset no matter how chippy it got.”

Up next

Brick Memorial will await its first-round opponent when the NJSIAA South Group 4 opponents are announced Sunday. The Mustangs enter the weekend No. 3 in power points behind Mainland and Millville, with one of those teams to be in the Mustangs’ section.

Brick is currently 19th in points in South Group 4, with the top 16 teams getting in.

Brick Memorial 19, Brick 14

Brick               7  0   7  0 - 14

Brick Mem.    7  0  6  6  -  19

SCORING

First quarter

BM – Connor Dietz 2 yard run (Lucas Barnshaw kicks).

Second quarter

Brick – Germaine Rice 48 yard pass from Christian Booker (Wieboldt kicks.)

Third quarter

BM – Dietz 5 yard run (kick fails).

Brick – Toye 1 yard run (Wieboldt kicks).

Fourth quarter

BM – Nicco Maribo 33 yard fumble return (run fails).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – BM: Connor Dietz 23-172, Kevin Andrews 18-77; Brick:  Jayden Johnson 6-45, Christian Booker 13-20, Justice Morgan 1-(-10), Travis Trempy 2-4, Toye 3-(-1).

Passing – BM: Dietz 4-7 8; B: Booker 7-15 105

Receiving – BM: Nyzier Matthews  1-3, Andrews 2-3, Jasaan Whittaker 1-2 B: Jacob Toye 4-46, Johnson 1-(-5), Germaine Rice 1-48, Travis Trempy 2-15.

Interceptions – Brick: Gavin Maffei.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jersey Shore football: Brick Memorial beats Brick in rivalry game