Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

An hour before Coast Guard boats strung a thick yellow cord across the Manasquan Inlet, a woman peered through binoculars, sizing up the competition.

The Boroughs of Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach hosted their first-ever tug of war competition Saturday, where first-responders, high school football players and others pulled a rope across the towns' shared inlet as each municipality tried to prove its superiority.

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Each town hosted a festival on their respective shore. While a band played on Manasquan side, Karin Hennings Davis and her friends peered through binoculars to see if their Point Pleasant Counterparts were having as much fun.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

“We got three bands, they’ve got a bouncy house,” John Colvin, a Manasquan Elk Clubs member who was volunteering at the beer garden, cheekily said as he glanced a few yards over the water at Point Pleasant.

Fun, of course, is in the eye of the beholder; hours later a boy walking along the Manasquan boardwalk screamed, “Why don’t we have a bouncy castle?”

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

Around noon, Manasquan tug of war participants slipped on gloves and lined up along First Avenue, while their Point Pleasant counterparts assembled down Ocean Avenue. Event organizers screamed, and the first heat began. Onlookers — many clad in Manasquan or “Squan” gear — cheered on the tuggers, while the buoy tied in the middle of the rope momentarily stood still in the middle of the inlet. Then, the Manasquan crew gained traction, yanking the cord to their side.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

“Once we got it going, we just booked it,” Manasquan team member Amiko Donegan, said. “We turned and pulled. That’s strategy.”

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

Several more rounds occurred throughout the day; pitting rival teachers, first responders, gym members and lifeguards against each other. At 2 p.m. the score was tied, with only one round to go. High school football players on both ends stepped up to the rope – and moments later Manasquan tuggers were the definitive champions.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

Many Manasquan residents thought their town would win all along. Jackson McDonald, a 4th grader at Manasquan Elementary, had no doubt, stating his fellow town members' superior lower body strength was their secret to success.

“They could have a lot of leg strength here,” he said. “There’s a lot of running here, like 4Ks, 5Ks – lots of people do it.”

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The towns have a lot in common: both are along the shore and see a population surge in the summer months when “Bennys" — out-of-town vacationers — descend to surf and ride wide-handled bikes along the balmy boardwalks.

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Yet the towns have some differences that exacerbate the all-in-good-fun rivalry; Point Pleasant is in Ocean County while Manasquan is in Monmouth.

“Too high of property taxes over there,” Colvin said.

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Manasquan Mayor Ed Donovan said it’s hard to get his town’s 4,000 or so permanent residents down to the shore when the weather gets chilly, and the Bennys go home.

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But the giant tug of war game, which proceeds benefited both parks and recreation departments, did the trick. “It is awesome, I’ve never seen the whole town out like this,” Joe Trilli, a member of the up-and-coming Manasquan-based band “The Flukes” said.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips