Last week, Manasquan closed out a dominant run to its third Shore Conference championship in four years, setting itself up for a potentially historic season for the program.
The teams lined up to face Ranney in the Shore Conference Tournament knew the Panthers were no ordinary 11th-seed and for the last week-and-a-half, the Panthers have proved them right.
Since a 0-4 start to the season, Middletown South has rattled off 11 straight wins, including back-to-back wins over Red Bank Catholic and Rumson-Fair Haven last week.
Southern took two major steps toward winning a Class A South division title last week with home wins over rivals Jackson Memorial and Toms River North.