VIDEO, PHOTOS: Pt. Pleasant Boro’s dynamic triple-option offense gives Lower Cape May fits in state playoff game

Posted: October 31st 2026

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

PT. PLEASANT BORO – Five times in its first nine games, the Lower Cape May Regional High School football team held its opponent to 12 points or less. In four of those five occasions, it was a touchdown or less.

The Caper Tigers couldn’t bring that kind of defensive prowess to its Central Jersey Group II playoff game Friday, however.

Pt. Pleasant Boro scored a touchdown on every one of its offensive possessions, save for a one-play stint with five seconds remaining in the first half, and rolled to a 49-14 victory over Lower.

Pt. Pleasant Boro used a crisp triple-option offense to rack up 357 rushing yards in the contest.

“We knew coming in it was going to be tough to stop their offense,” Lower coach Billy Damiana said. “We don’t see that kind of offense often. They run it well, and we had a tough time combating what they were doing.

“But I didn’t think it would be like this. I thought it would be a back-and-forth affair but once they really got rolling the wheels just fell off for us.”

Despite the Panthers’ offensive dominance, Lower Cape May was within striking distance at the half, trailing 19-14. On the second-half kickoff, a Pt. Pleasant Boro player called for a fair catch but fumbled it and the Caper Tigers recovered the ball inside the Panther 35-yard line. However, one of the officials blew his whistle as the Panther player who had called the fair catch touched the ball. The officials came together and ruled a replay of the kickoff. Pt. Pleasant Boro went on to execute a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive to increase its lead to 27-14. The touchdown and two-point conversion were the first of Pt. Pleasant Boro’s 29 unanswered points in the second half.

“The inadvertent whistle was unfortunate for us,” Damiana said. “It doesn’t matter on a fair catch if you fumble. If you fumble the ball, you fumble the ball. That could have been a momentum changer for us, but it went the other way. Then they got the ball and drove it right down our throats and there was nothing we could do to stop them.”

Lower scored its touchdowns on a pair of long runs in the first half. Ashton Ray galloped 35 yards on a wide receiver sweep on the final play of the first quarter. Later, Ryan Mallon’s wonderful 77-yard scoring run and extra point by Britton Walls gave the Tigers a 14-13 lead midway through the second quarter. But Pt. Pleasant Boro (6-4) answered with another score before the break to take the lead at halftime before the Panthers dominated the second half.

D.J. Albanese and Jake Clayton, who each rushed for more than 125 yards, scored two touchdowns apiece to lead the offense for Pt. Pleasant Boro (6-4).

Mallon rushed 15 times for 136 yards. The senior back posted 1,270 rushing yards this season.

Lower finished the season at 7-3. Damiana had high praise for his group, particularly the seniors, for their efforts over the last two seasons.

“Our seniors are one of the winningest classes in school history,” he said. “They accomplished a lot with back-to-back playoff appearances, a state playoff win (last season), and back-to-back division championships. They’ve accomplished an awful lot. They definitely don’t need to hang their heads after one loss.”

(photos courtesy Heidi Ray/LCMR football)