Wall held Manchester to 57 total yards in a 21-0, season-opening win over the Hawks in the Liberty Division that spoiled the debut of the new permanent lights at Manchester's home field.
MANCHESTER - Manchester turned the lights on, and then Wall's defense went to work on turning them out in Friday night's season opener for both teams.
The Hawks were unveiling their new permanent lights to perhaps the biggest crowd in school history, numbering near 2,000, so it was imperative for the visitors to take that vocal group out of the mix early if the Crimson Knights wanted to find success. It was an emotionally charged atmosphere as the fundraising drive that resulted in the lights being installed was spearheaded by Mike Leppert, the father of Manchester junior linebacker Craig Leppert, who has a rare genetic condition in which he is allergic to sunlight.
"They came out here all juiced up (because they were) dedicating the field,'' said Wall junior defensive end Dave Janssen, who had four tackles for a loss or no gain and had a sack for a 12-yard loss. "We put a quick end to that.''
After allowing a first down on Manchester's first play of the game, Wall forced a punt and then stifled the Hawks from there, holding them to 57 total yards to walk away with a 21-0 win in the Shore Conference Liberty Division.
"They just totally lost the momentum,'' said Wall junior linebacker Blaze Caponegro, who also had a strong game.
After forcing the Hawks to punt on their first possession, Wall mounted a six-play, 42-yard drive that concluded with a one-yard touchdown plunge by senior quarterback Jim Louro for a 6-0 lead. The score was set up by a 19-yard pass over the middle from Louro to senior tight end Billy Lauch.
The Crimson Knights forced another three-and-out, once again resulting in good field position as they started at Manchester's 45-yard line.
On their first play, Rutgers-bound tailback Tim Wright, who finished with a game-high 104 yards rushing, busted a toss play down the left sideline for a 37-yard gain. Two plays later, Caponegro smashed it in from four yards out for the first of his two touchdowns on the night.
Lauch, who also had an interception on defense in the game, then hauled in a two-point conversion catch to make it 14-0 with 2:18 remaining in the first quarter. Manchester showed signs of life when senior defensive back Chris Boyle intercepted a pass that halted a Wall drive one play after a block in the back wiped out a 25-yard touchdown run by Caponegro, who finished with 43 yards rushing. However, the Crimson Knights' defense stiffened again, as Manchester could not get anything going with the running game up the middle or in the passing game in the debut of several new skill players. Wall, meanwhile, ran for 204 yards in the game.
"We planned for shotgun, we planned for reads,'' Janssen said. "We've been doing that for three weeks, and we were ready for it.''
A miscue on the ensuing punt by Manchester then put Wall in business at the Hawks' 12-yard line midway through the second quarter. The Crimson Knights capitalized, as Caponegro punched it in from three yards out to help give them a 21-0 lead with 5:45 left in the half.
That's the way it would end, duplicating Wall's 21-0 win over Manchester from last season, as the Hawks played the visitors to a stalemate in the second half to walk away with something to build on heading into their bye week and then a meeting with division heavyweight Red Bank Catholic.
"We know the first half was not very good from all facets of the game,'' said first-year Manchester head coach Gerard O'Donnell. "But the second half was good, so you've got to take that and you've got to go with that.''
Wall had two drives end in turnovers in the second half and committed eight penalties in the game, so there is still room for improvement heading into the rest of the season.
"We knew their coaches were going to fire them up (at halftime),'' Janssen said. "We came out fired up, but we could've done more.''
"We did real great the first half, but we could've picked it up a little better (in the second half),'' Caponegro said. "It was the first game, (we made) a couple mistakes, (and) we've got to make up for it.''
The Hawks had a chance to barge their way back into the game and get their crowd roaring again when junior D'Andre McFadden returned the kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown after Wall had scored to make it 21-0, but an illegal block negated that plan.
"I think the turning point of the whole game was the kick return,'' O'Donnell said. "If we get that it's 21-7 and you never know.''
Instead, Wall kept tightening the vise on defense, holding the Hawks to a mere 19 total yards in the second half and grinding out a win.
E-mail: stump@digitalsports.com
Box score
Wall 21, Manchester 0
First downs W M
Rushes-yards 37-204 22-32
Passing 5-10-2 4-12-1
Passing yards 51 25
Penalties 8-50 3-16
Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0
Wall (1-0, 1-0) 14 7 0 0 - 21
Manchester (0-1, 0-1) 0 0 0 0 - 0
Scoring summary
Louro 1-yd run (kick failed)
Caponegro 4-yd run (Lauch pass from Louro)
Caponegro 3-yd run (Shields kick).
Individual statistics
Rushing - W: Caponegro 10-43, Zalewski 1-3, Wright 17-104, Louro 6-46, Barberi 3-8. M: Whitley 10-31, Hurley 5-(-7), McFadden 4-22, Fredericks 1-(-17), Lawson 1-1, Smith 1-2.
Passing - W: Louro 5-10-2 51. M: Hurley 4-12-1 25.
Receiving - W: Lauch 1-19, Wright 2-16, Caponegro 1-7, Kirms 1-9. M: Griffin 2-10, Boyle 1-3, Whitley 1-12.
Interceptions - W: Lauch 1-14. M: McFadden 1-22, Boyle 1-0.
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