The 5-seed, Neptune, relied heavily on its defense and got some power running from Kingston Pinnock late in the contest to defeat 4-seed Hopewell Valley 21-11 in a first round game in the NJSIAA/Xfinity Central Jersey, Group 3 Tournament in Pennington Friday night.

Although the Scarlet Flyer offense was spotty at best, Neptune’s defense was able to limit Hopewell’s running game and also held the bulldogs to just 68 yards passing to come away with the win.

Neptune will now advance to the semifinal round next Friday at top seeded Holmdel, a 43-10 winner over 8-seed Cinnaminson in their quarterfinal matchup Friday night.

“Our defense has been holding us in this all year,” Neptune coach Mike Seber said after the win. “The defense wins championships, and the offense did just enough to sneak

See Full Page