MANASQUAN - Red Bank Catholic clinched the B-North title with a 41-19 win on the road against Manasquan.

On a chilly November afternoon, the game had the makings of postseason football: tough defense, a hostile environment and intensity on each play.

Red Bank junior quarterback Steve Lubischer opened the scoring with a 30-yard rush on a perfectly executed quarterback draw on third-and-12. Manasquan senior running back Connor Morgan answered with a nine-yard touchdown run on the following drive.

The game went to halftime tied 13-13, then Red Bank’s defense locked in and didn’t allow Manasquan a single first down in the second half. Lubischer added another three touchdowns, two in the air and one with his legs, to lead his side to victory and a division title.

It wasn’t easy, though. Red Bank lost three fumbles on three consecutive drives and Manasquan pulled the game within one score in the fourth quarter after Dylan D’Anton forced a fumble, recovered himself and ran 14 yards for the touchdown.

Three who mattered

Steve Lubischer: When a coach has a quarterback that can make all the throws like Lubischer can, the playbook is wide open. He’s as adept throwing on the run as he is from the pocket and was most effective on play action. Lubischer completed nine of 11 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 48 yards and another two touchdowns.

Jaden Key/Brandon Lombana: Sure, picking both receivers technically is cheating but both were fantastic for Red Bank. Lombana caught five passes for 121 yards with a touchdown while Key caught three passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.