JERSEY SHORE―As most of eyes fixed their gaze upon Bo Sechrist and Kash Herritt ripping off long touchdown runs; they need only look back and understand how those scores happened.

Offensive linemen often toil in anonymity, but Jersey Shore’s Talyn Lope, Mason Larson, Nate Thompson, Brayden Swales, Isaac Shirey and Jake Bressler commanded an audience throughout the second half Friday at Thompson Street Stadium. If the line is heart of an offense, those players made sure Jersey Shore’s kept pounding strong. And behind every impressive Jersey Shore run was a hard-working lineman helping create it.

The line took over, Sechrist and Herritt combined for 344 yards and five touchdowns and Jersey Shore put together a dominant half, defeating resurgent Shikellamy, 42-14. Sechrist ran for 220 yards and three touchdowns; Herritt 124 yards with two scores and Jersey Shore (4-1) scored the game’s final 21 points, pulling away from the determined Braves after a lackluster first half.

“We were talking with our linemen and saying we need to communicate and block better,” Lope said, after also excelling for a defense which surrendered just 162 yards. “We committed to ourselves to get it done and that’s what we did.”

In a big way.

Delivering a second-half performance which would make the old-school Washington Commanders offensive lines of the 80s and 90s smile, the line opened up gaping holes and helped the starters score on their final four possessions. Jersey Shore piled up 344 second-half yards, running at will while hitting some key pass plays as Nolen Pauling threw for 161 yards.

Carson Watkins (four catches, 74 yards, two interceptions) turned a short pass into a 33-yard go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter. After leading 14-7 at halftime but struggling offensively, Jersey Shore put all the pieces together those last two quarters.

“We emphasized at halftime to just stick with the plan with a mild wrinkle or two,” Jersey Shore coach Tom Gravish said. “Just keep pulling the rope in the same direction, play together and they believed in that, and it all paid off.”

“I felt like there was a lot of internal anger at ourselves. We knew we had to pick up some things and make them better in the second half,” Lope said. “We came out and did what we needed to do. We know what we’re capable of and know we’re better than that.”

Jersey Shore proved it in the second half, fighting off a challenge from an up-and-coming Shikellamy squad which entered 3-1. A botched punt snap led to a Brady Rebuck to Thomas Pollock 3-yard touchdown which put Shikellamy ahead, 7-6 in the first quarter. Rebuck made a fabulous deep throw while being hit by two defenders in the third, hitting Pollock who went into warp speed after the catch, completing a 78-yard touchdown which cut Jersey Shore’s third-quarter lead to, 21-14.

But Jersey Shore controlled all facets from there and the line helped lead the way. The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 14 less than three minutes later and kept their foot on the gas as the holes kept expanding and Sechrist and Herritt kept pounding.

“Our o-line works so hard and it’s nice to see them give me those holes to run through,” Sechrist said after topping his career-high by 62 yards and being one of the game’s leading tacklers. “It’s awesome.”

What happened in the second half looked like it might be the game’s story early. On the first play, Sechrist burst through a big hole up the middle and raced 63 yards for a touchdown which made it, 6-0 just 17 seconds into the contest. From there, however, Shikellamy swarmed, stuffed the run and held the Bulldogs to minus-9 rushing yards over the half’s final 23 minutes.

Obviously, Jersey Shore was not happy at halftime, but it did not panic either. Line coach Keith McCabe simply showed players small adjustments which could fix some issues. Those small tweaks led to big runs throughout the second half.

The Bulldogs virtually were unstoppable over those last two quarters as Sechrist and Herritt both went over 100 yards alone there, totaling 252 yards with four touchdowns.

“We took a look at some of our film and Keith McCabe and the rest of the coaches did a good job of looking at little adjustments we could make,” Gravish said. “It was just trusting the plan; trusting the process.”

That process included the line wearing upon an aggressive defense and Sechrist and Herritt adding yards after contact, never going down easy. The line and Sechrist combined to provide a near identical replay of the first Jersey Shore touchdown less than five minutes into the second quarter. Sechrist took an inside handoff, watched the line part the middle, exploded throughout hole and outran the defense for a 60-yard touchdown.

“The line blocked exactly how they were supposed to do there,” Sechrist said. “It opened up perfect and I just saw green grass in front of me. That’s an amazing feeling.”

Unlike the first half, Jersey Shore kept growing stronger following a long Sechrist touchdown. Herritt scored on a 16-yarder following Pollock’s second touchdown as Jersey Shore quickly regained momentum. Lope forced an errant throw that Watkins picked off for his second diving interception. Sechrist than capped a quick drive with a five-yard score on 4th-and-1.

Less than two minutes later, the line and Herritt officially dropped the hammer. Similar to the Sechrist touchdown runs, Herritt watched his line blow defenders off the ball and create a large gap in the middle. He hit that hole like Usain Bolt and went untouched the rest of the way, completing a 52-yard touchdown run which put Jersey Shore ahead, 42-14.

“I just saw a massive gap and I ran right through. That’s all I had to do,” Herritt said after also shining on defense and collecting a sack as well as several quarterback hurries. “My line blocked it perfectly for me. Working with all my teammates, it pays off.”

As the offense opened up throughout the second half, the defense continued to squeeze the juice from an explosive offense. Take away the fabulous 78-yard Rebuck to Pollock touchdown and Jersey Shore allowed just 84 yards on 43 plays. Before Kaleb O’Connor gained 12 yards on the game’s final play, Jersey Shore limited Shikellamy to four rushing yards on 24 attempts, four sacks helping lower that total.

The defense kept Shikellamy from building on its early lead, allowing just one first-half, first down. The Braves generated just three more in the second half as Jersey Shore shut down the run and constantly pressured Rebuck. The talented senior rarely had time to plant his feet and/or scan the field and Luke Thompson and Conner Yingling each produced 1 ½ sacks.

“In the first half, they barely had anything at all. That’s what our coaches preach doing,” Sechrist said. “Coach Jackson does an awesome job of putting us in the right spots to make plays.”

Following Sechrist’s opening touchdown, Jersey Shore’s offense struggled to make plays. Despite Watkins and Luke Ryan providing good field position with quality kick and punt returns, Jersey Shore endured four straight three-and-outs following its quick lightning on the first play.

Pauling, however, helped get things going when he hit Sechrist with a 15-yard pass on a 2nd-and-11. A play later, he zipped a quick pass in the left flat to Watkins who had a defender close by. In a flash, that defender was eliminated as Herritt provided a text-book block. Watkins took it from there, going down the sideline untouched for his 33-yard touchdown. Following Ryan’s super catch on the 2-point conversion Jersey Shore lead, 14-7 and never trailed again.

“I knew that was a really important block, so I had to get it done,” Herritt said. “I just had faith in Carson to get down the field and he made the play.”

More plays followed and Jersey Shore took control in the second half. No matter how good a team is, not every game will be a masterpiece. This is a squad with a lot of first-time starters, too, so overcoming that first half adversity and staying together could provide the Bulldogs a boost.

Jersey Shore does not want to make a habit of rough starts, but it knows now it can overcome them if they happen. And that heart continues pounding strong.

“As we experience new things, it opens up our capabilities on what we can do,” Lope said. “It shows us what we should be doing the rest of the way.”

Jersey Shore 42, Shikellamy 14

Shikellamy 7 0 7 0―14

Jersey Shore 6 8 14 14―42

First Quarter

J–Bo Sechrist 63 run (kick failed), 11:43

S–Thomas Pollock 3 pass from Brody Rebuck (Ryan DePhillips kick), 2:39

Second Quarter

J–Carson Watkins 33 pass from Nolen Pauling (Pauling pass to Luke Ryan), 5:04

Third Quarter

J–Sechrist 60 run (Jayden Passetti kick), 7:13

S–Pollock 78 pass from Rebuck (DePhillips kick), 6:12

J–Kash Herritt 16 run (Passetti kick), 3:52

Fourth Quarter

J–Sechrist 5 run (Passett kick), 8:44

J–Herritt 52 run (Passetti kick), 6:48

TEAM STATISTICS S J

First Downs 4 22

Rushes-yards 25-16 47-345

Passing yards 146 170

Total yards 162 515

Comp-Att-Int 7-18-2 12-24-0

Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-2

Penalties-yards 10-102 6-57

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Shikellamy, Kaleb O’Connor 3-13; Christian Smith 7-14; Bobby Felmy 1-2; Kyler Campbell 1-0; Brady Kurtz 1-(-1); Luke Keally 2-(-1); Brody Rebuck 10-(-11). Jersey Shore, Bo Sechrist 21-220, 3 TD; Kash Herritt 11-124, 2 TD; Hayden Kelly 1-15; Jayce Fetzer 3-13; Chase Ellison 2-8; Jason Jennings 1-(-3); Nolen Pauling 7-(-4); Luke Ryan 1-(13); Team 2-(-15).

PASSING: Shikellamy, Rebuck 7-18-2, 146 yards, 2 TD. Jersey Shore, Pauling 10-21-0, 161 yards, TD; Hayden Kelly 2-3-0, 9 yards.

RECEIVING: Shikellamy, Thomas Pollock 4-92, 2 TD; Charlie Walter 2-31; Bobby Felmy 1-23. Jersey Shore, Carson Watkins 4-74, TD; Luke Ryan 3-32; Carter Rhinehart 2-40; Sechrist 1-15; Aiden Platts 1-6; Dalton Rehrig 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS: Jersey Shore, Watkins 2.

SACKS: Shikellamy, Keally 2, Bryce Brumbach. Jersey Shore, Luke Thompson 1 ½; Conner Yingling 1 ½; Herritt

Records: Jersey Shore 4-1. Shikellamy 3-2.