Big Night In Ram Country

The Southern Regional football program has been here before… a chance to win a game with championship ramifications that could put them on top of heap. It was only last November that the Rams hosted Toms River North in the final American Division game of the season with the winner to claim the title. Goldberger Memorial Field was packed with anxious and long-suffering fans wanting to celebrate that elusive outright Shore Conference division title but on that fall evening 50 weeks ago the Mariners spoiled the party 17-7. The teams would actually meet a few weeks later in the state sectional semifinals and this time it was a rout….North won 33-0 and the following week would complete a perfect season with the South Jersey Group 4 Championship.

So here we are again with one notable exception. Southern is the higher ranked team and the one chasing perfection after posting wins over Pinelands, Brick Memorial, Freehold Township and Jackson. The Mariners opened the season as the top-ranked team at the shore but stumbled in a season-opening loss at Middletown North. But they’ve rebounded from that non-conference setback and have been very impressive in wins over Manalapan, Howell and Brick Memorial.

Both teams are 3-0 in the Shore American and despite having two division games left after tonight whoever leaves the field victorious will have all but clinched a title. This is nothing new to North as they’ve got quite a few displayed on their scoreboard at Gernerd Field. However in Manahawkin the only football crown ever won in the history of the school came when they tied Wall and Asbury Park for the then Class C title in 1972. That was when Southern was a fairly small school and well before any of tonight’s players were even born.

Ram country is now big country as are players like Glenn Carson, Anthony Stroffolino, Mike Bonsky and Steve Sibona. They’ve played together for years dreaming of the opportunity which comes tonight. They will battle the likes of Mike Henry, Brian Newman, Evan Regas and Matt Sura who have tasted titles before and like the flavor.

However only one team can emerge victorious and after nudging the door last year Southern finally kicks it in tonight.