July 29 2014 Volume-VI Issue-14

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Show your support for the Shore Conferencefootball programs with an ad in our special2014 Football Preview issue coming out 9/4/14.This special issue includes in-depth teampreviews, feature stories, top 10 rankings anddirections to all the fields, making it theperfect keepsake. This issue has been a hugesuccess in the past years with support fromcoaches, players, parents and local businessesthroughout the Shore Conference. Thepreview will also be distributed to all 46 highschools as well as local businesses throughoutMonmouth and Ocean counties

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Brick football coach Rob Dahl is used towatching his teams pull out wins at KellerMemorial Field at Brick High School. OnJuly 17, while coaching the Ocean Countyall-stars in the U.S. Army All-Shore GridironClassic, he watched his team do the samethanks to a couple of familiar faces.Brick senior kicker Anthony Starego hammered the game-winning 20-

yard field goal with 5:21 left in the game after an interception byteammate Drew Scott and Southern cornerback Logan Sheehan sealed thewin with a late interception at the Ocean 5-yard line to wrap up a 17-14win for Ocean over Monmouth County. The win ends a two-game skidfor Ocean against Monmouth and is the second in the last six years forOcean, which trimmed Monmouth’s lead in the all-time series to 20-16-1.

“I think just being on the field and around the locker room provides anair of tradition,” Dahl said. “It has a big effect on our guys during theseason, and I think the guys on this team had that sense preparing fortoday. Even Kenny Bradley from Jackson was saying before the game,‘This field has a tradition of winning, and we’re not going to fail to liveup to that tonight.’”

Ocean County forced three turnovers and returned a blocked field goalfor a touchdown to headline the effort. Scott set up his Brick classmate for the winning fieldgoal by intercepting a screen pass from Howell quarterback Connor McGlynn and returning it26 yards to the 5 yard-line.

“Ocean County is a defensive county,” Scott said. “That’s what we do, that’s what we’re allabout, and I love it.”

Monmouth kept Ocean out of the end zone thanks to a tipped ball by Manalapan’s ChrisNoesges and a hit by Keansburg defensive back Kason Preston that broke up a potentialtouchdown connection on third down. Starego – who missed a 29-yard attempt in the firstquarter – made his teammate’s defensive play count by connecting from 20 yards out to putOcean ahead for good.

Starego was 2-for-2 on extra points and earned offensive Most Valuable Player honors for anOcean County squad that managed only 138 total yards and seven first downs, instead settingup its scoring behind an opportunistic defense. Starego, who has autism, was a two-year varsitykicker for the Dragons and has been a source of inspiration, according to one of his closestteammates.

“It was an awesome experience to see him do what he did tonight and do what he did allyear,” Scott said. “As close as I am to him, I wouldn’t want to see it end any other way forhim.”

Following Starego’s go-ahead kick, Monmouth County moved the ball down to the Ocean25 yard-line behind a 20-yard scramble by St. John Vianney quarterback Billy DeMato. On thefollowing play, however, Sheehan undercut a corner route and picked off DeMato’s pass at the5 yard-line, returning it to the 17 with 1:11 left.

“We messed up some coverages earlier when I was in the game, so they took me out for alittle bit,” Sheehan said. “So getting back in, I knew I was just looking for a chance to make aplay. Fortunately, the ball was a little underthrown, so I got a chance to undercut the route andmake a play.”

Monmouth had already answered Ocean twice in the game, although the visiting countynever led. McGlynn found Red Bank Catholic tight end Frank Olmo for a nine-yard touchdownpass to tie the game at 7 on the team’s first drive of the third quarter and Colts Neck runningback Anthony Gargiulo stormed in for a five-yard score to tie the game at 14 late in the third.

Ocean fumbled the ball on consecutive possessions to open the second half and Monmouthcashed in with Olmo’s touchdown on the first of them. Matawan kicker Mike Creamer drilled a42-yard field goal following the second, but a dead-ball encroachment penalty on Ocean killedthe play and forced Creamer to try again, albeit from five yards closer. This time, JacksonMemorial’s Marcus Ademilola blocked the kick up the middle and Manchester’s ShaquilleBenjamin picked up the loose ball and took it 71 yards for the touchdown, turning a potential10-7 deficit into a 14-10 lead for Ocean.

“It was a big momentum swing,” Ademilola said. “My coaches wouldn’t put me in (onspecial teams), and I told them I could block the field goal, so I just went out there and did it.”

The opening touchdown of the game was even more bizarre than Benjamin’s blocked kickreturn. Long Branch safety Myson Pennington intercepted a pass from Lacey quarterbackTom Kelly near the goal-line, and Kelly then ran him down from behind, forcing a fumble that

Monsignor Donovan’s Vinny Grasso snatched up and raced 26 yards to the end zoneto break a scoreless tie with only 55 seconds left in the first half.

Ademilola led all receivers with four catches for 49 yards to go with the blockedfield goal. Kelly handled nearly all of the quarterbacking duties for Ocean County andfinished 7-for-17 for 59 yards with one interception. Southern defensive linemanMason Fezekas earned Defensive Most Valuable Player honors for Ocean with fourtackles – two for a loss – and a blocked punt. Fezekas was also the Sam Mills Awardwinner for Ocean County, while Preston earned the honor for Monmouth.

Gargiulo rushed for a game-high 51 yards on 14 carries to earn Monmouth’sOffensive Most Valuable Player of the game. Matawan defensive end Nick Tomkins,a Dartmouth recruit, was the team’s defensive MVP with two sacks, a pass defensedand seven tackles, including consecutive stops at the goal-line on third and fourthdown in the second quarter. Tomkins stopped Grasso on a 4th-and-goal, quarterbackdive from the 1 yard-line to cap one of two goal-line stands by Monmouth.

Photos by:Doug Bostwick

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by:B o b B a d d e r s

www.shoresportsnetwork.com

Jackson Mem. RB Khani Glover

All-Shore Gridiron Classic: Brick Pair,Defense Lift Ocean Past MonmouthBy Matt Manley – Staff Writer

The chatter could be heard throughout theOcean County sideline every time No. 54 in whitemade another impact play in this year's U.S.Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic.

“Is that the Southern kid again?”“What a beast!”“He just doesn’t stop.”For the many who played alongside Southern senior linebacker Mason

Fazekas for the first time it was an eye-opening experience, but for thosewho know him best it was just another I-told-you-so moment.

“I just kept telling all of them they got a little taste in practice, but theydidn’t really know what they were working with,” said fellow Southernlinebacker Bailey Bellissimo. “I told them they were going to find outThursday night, and I think everybody did.”

Fazekas finished with four tackles for a loss and a blocked punt to beselected as defensive MVP for Ocean County in its 17-14 victory overMonmouth County in the 37th annual U.S. Army All-Shore GridironClassic on Thursday night at Brick Township’s Keller Memorial Field.

Fazekas also took home the annual Sam Mills Award for Ocean County, anaward given by each team’s coaches to the player who best exemplifies thedetermination and perseverance of the late Sam Mills, a Long Branchlegend who was an All-Pro linebacker with the New Orleans Saints andCarolina Panthers.

“It’s real overwhelming and very humbling,” Fazekas said. “It’s stillsetting in.”

Fazekas ended his Shore Conference career with the same fervor he usedto terrorize opposing offenses during the 2013 season. An undersizedlinebacker/defensive lineman at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Fazekas morethan makes up for his lack of Division I size with all-pro heart anddetermination. He was second on the Rams in tackles with 68 (41 solo)while posting a team-best nine sacks on a Southern unit that led Class ASouth in points allowed at 14.2 per game. His nine sacks are the second-highest single-season total in Rams history.

When Fazekas arrived in Manahawkin as a transfer from Georgia for hisfreshman year, however, he wasn’t the beloved teammate he is today. Hewas the outcast, and the rest of the team took it out on him in practice. Butthat never deterred him. He continued to work and prove himself until hegot on the field as a junior. As a senior starter he was Southern’s mostimpactful and consistent defensive player.

“Everybody always told me I couldn’t do it, and that’s what I used (asmotivation),” Fazekas said.

“The only wordfor him is heart,”Bellissimo said. “Itcouldn’t happen toanyone whodeserves it more.”

In addition to hisfour hits for a lossand the blockedpunt, Fazekas alsomade a perfectform tackle in a 1-on-1 situationagainst AsburyPark’s DaquaneBland-Bennett on apunt return, andpressured Howellquarterback ConnorMcGlynn on DrewScott’s interceptionthat set up AnthonyStarego’s game-winning field goal.

During the shortweek of practicethat leads up the theGridiron Classicit’s always difficultfor coaches to get afeel for playersthey’ve nevercoached before. Butfrom the momenthe took the field,Fazekas leteveryone knowwhat he wasbringing to thetable.

“We knew abouthim as a Brick staffand we wereexcited to coachhim,” said Brick

head coach Rob Dahl, who led the Ocean County squad. “He didn’t let usdown. From the first day of practice to the fourth day he was flying aroundand making plays. I knew (Monmouth County) would come out with thatgigantic line, but he was quicker than them and in the backfield the wholegame. He’s s small kid, but he plays with more heart than most guys I’veseen in my life.”

When the coaching staff had to decide who to nominate for the SamMills Award, it was an easy choice.

“When Sam Mills played high school football he was more of anundersized guy that played with a lot of heart, and (Mason) was that guythat stood out in practice,” Dahl said. “You can’t judge him by his size, butyou can definitely judge him by his heart. He plays with a ton of heart andsoul.”

“It comes down to wanting it more than anyone else on the field,”Bellissimo said. “He comes to the weight room and works harder thananyone I’ve ever seen. He just deserves everything he gets.”

Fazekas will continue his career back in Georgia at ChattahoocheeTechnical College with the plan to transfer to FCS program Kennesaw Stateafter two years. With Southern head coach Chuck Donohue Sr. watchingfrom the sidelines and teammates Bellissimo and Logan Sheehan playingalongside him, Fazekas’s career came full circle in his final high schoolgame.

“I just wanted to leave with a statement and make Southern and myfamily proud,” Fazekas said

Recognition of Relentlessness: Southern’sMason Fazekas & Keansburg’s Kason Preston By Bod Badders – Staff Writer

Keansburg’s Kason Preston and Southern’s MasonFazekas accept their Sam Mil ls Awards before thestart of the fourth quarter during the 37th annual

U.S. Army Al l -Shore Gridiron Classic.

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Photos by:Doug Bostwick

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When it all began, it was simply a young boywith his father on an empty football field, tryingvaliantly for weeks just to get one ball throughthe uprights.Before the game-winning field goals, before appearances on the TODAY

Show and ESPN’s College GameDay, before this year’s magical finish inthe U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic, it was Ray Starego trying to findan activity for his autistic son, Anthony, that the two could do together.Anthony would be Rutgers kicker Jeremy Ito, and Ray would be his trustyholder as Anthony tried to stun Louisville again and again with a game-winning field goal, just like Ito in 2006, hearing the roar of thecrowd at High Point Solutions Stadium in his head while thecrickets chirped at the local park.

“Looking at it from Day One where he couldn’t reach the goal linefrom the 10-yard line, and now kicking the game-winning field goal in theGridiron Classic, it’s truly remarkable,” Ray said. “You can’t make thisstuff up.

“When we adopted him at three years old, if you take me from thatmoment in time through now? It’s an act of God. This could not have beenorchestrated by chance.

The 19-year-old has had a knack for the dramatic flourish during hisremarkable and historic two-year varsity career with the Green Dragons,and he ended it in fitting fashion on Thursday. He thumped a 20-yard field

goal with 5:21 left in the game thatsnapped a tieand sent OceanCounty to a 17-14 win overMonmouth County,firing one last salvo at Brick’sKeller Memorial Field, where hehas kicked thousands of balls overthe years. Another game, another straight-out-of-a-Disney-movie moment.

“I had fun and kicked it right through the uprights,” Anthony said. “Was Inervous? Nope.”

After becoming the first special needs player to participate in the 36-yearhistory of New Jersey’s oldest high school football all-star game, he madeone more piece of history when he earned offensive Most Valuable Playerhonors for Ocean County after booting a pair of extra points in addition tohis winning field goal.

“I just can’t get over the things he continues to amaze me with,” hismother, Reylene Starego, said. “This is just incredible, and here of allplaces. Isn’t that great?”

“It’s a great ending to a storybook couple of years,” said Brick coach RobDahl, who served as Ocean County’s head coach in the win. “It was such atight game, and when we got in the red zone on third down, I’m thinking,‘This could be it.’ The ball was right where we wanted it on the left hash,and that’s his spot. He hit it, and I knew we just had to play good defensefrom there.”

As a kicker, Anthony has turned autism from a disability into a weapon.He missed a 29-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, but it was like itnever happened when he trotted out in a pressure-packed spot in front of3,000-plus fans in the fourth quarter.

Anthony was all smiles with his offensive MVP plaque after becomingthe first special needs player to earn that distinction in the 36-year historyof the U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic. (Photo by Sport Shots WLB)

“Even after he missed the first field goal, we had confidence in him,”Dahl said. “The greatest thing about him is that with his disability, he

was able to not think about that (missed field goal)and go and hit two extra points and the game-winning field goal.”

“Short memory is what you want from anykicker, and he’s got that just by the nature of hiscondition,” his father said.

Coming a Long WayEarly in his life, Anthony was

destined to be

forgotten, humanflotsam drifting through the system as an unwanted child.

When the Staregos adopted him as a 3-year-old, he had alreadylived in 11 different foster homes. He was largely non-verbal andwas highly sensitive to anyone touching him, both symptoms ofhis autism. When Ray and Reylene first laid eyes on him,somethingintangibleresonated

in them.

“It was just a gutfeeling,” Ray said.

As part of the process of potentiallyadopting him, they spent some timewith him in increments in orderto get to know him. They tookhim to McDonald’s for a fewhours the first time, andwhen they went to returnhim to his foster mother,they had to pry hisfingers off the doors oftheir vanbecausehedidn’twant toleave.

Hestillbarelyspoke aword, butthe nexttime theywent to seehim, he wassitting with hisfoster motherwhile she read abook to him. Hesaw Ray andReylene enter the

house and patted the seat next to him on the sofa as if to say, “Comeand sit next to me.”

“That’s when I knew, this is going to be it,” Ray said. “We knewright then he would be ours.”

When he was five years old, Ray said Anthony started to eerilyresemble Ray’s father as a young boy, another small sign thatsomething special was at work. When Anthony was in seventhgrade, Ray decided that kicking a football might appeal to

Anthony’s condition because it involvedrepetitive motion and a strict routine.

Ray ordered a kicking tee and ablock on eBay and took Anthonyto a local park near PointPleasant Borough HighSchool.

“I can’t tell you howmany times we went out,and he couldn’t make akick,” Ray said. “Notone. It could’vebeen a couple ofweeks until hefinally madeone kick. I

look backand almost feellike I was too hardon him because Icouldn’t understand howsomeone with hiscondition that focuses onroutine and repetition could

not get one ball through theupright.”

In an effort to help him improve,Ray signed Anthony up for a kicking camp

with Lee McDonald of Special Teams Solutions.All of the other kids were routinely making kicks

from the 20-yard line, which had Ray facing a dilemma.

“Do I move him up to the 10-yard line and single him out?Or do I leave him at the 20 knowing he has no shot to

make one?” Ray said. “What do you do? He wantedso much to be like the rest of the kids. He wasalready different, and I didn’t want him to bedifferent again in front of all the kids.”

Anthony lined up at the 20 for the wholecamp. He wasn’t able to get one through theuprights, but he got closer and closer witheach day. McDonald gave him the Most

Improved award for his relentlessdetermination.

Once he reached Brick Township High School,there were plenty more hurdles to overcome.During a jayvee scrimmage before his sophomoreyear, a defender trying to block a kick crashed intohim, leaving him black and blue and out for amonth.

“After that he said, ‘Dad, I’m scared,”’ Ray said.“He was always fearful of getting hurt. It’s reallyhard to become a good kicker when you’re scared. It

took him an awfully long time for him to get itback.”

By 2012, he had won the starting jobon the varsity team. Everything changedwhen he swung his big left leg and bootedthe game-winning 23-yard field goal in the

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Storybook Ending for Brick’sAnthony StaregoBy Scott Stump – Managing Editor

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final seconds of a 24-21 upset of Toms River North.The Mariners’ head coach that night was ChipLaBarca Jr., who is now the Brick offensivecoordinator and coached the offense for OceanCounty on Thursday night.

“The whole thing is amazing,” LaBarca said. “Tocome here and get to know him, he’s a great kid. Itwas incredible to see everything that happened afterhe made that kick.”

His feat made national headlines, showing theboundaries for special needs athletes might not beas constricted as once thought. The family soonfound themselves talking to Savannah Guthrie andMatt Lauer while Anthony smiled in his kelly greenshirt and white tie, and then it was a heartwarmingpiece on College GameDay that spread his storyacross the country.

“This whole story boiled down to a kick,” Raysaid. “One single kick.”

A Magical YearThis past fall, the bright lights of the national

media were traded for the stuffy confines ofcourtrooms as the Starego family battled to getAnthony an extra year of eligibility.

The NJSIAA had ruled him ineligible because heplayed four consecutive years of football and turned19 years old before the cutoff date of Sept. 1. TheStaregos went through a legal labyrinth of appealsbefore the NJSIAA ultimately granted him anunprecedented fifth year of eligibility on the day of Brick’s third game of theseason, a 47-21 win over Toms River South.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of the legal saga is that some hesitation bythe NJSIAA over reinstating Anthony was that his return might constitute anathletic advantage for Brick. All of the Green Dragons’ future opponents werecontacted and agreed to his return, but the notion that a player with autismcould be an unfair weapon for a team was unprecedented.

After the courtroom interlude, Anthony went right back to making historyand inspiring others. He became the first special needs player in New Jerseyhistory to play in a state championship game when he hit a pair of extra pointsin Brick’s 26-15 win over Colts Neck in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IVfinal that gave the Green Dragons their first state title since 1994.

He then became the first player with autism to ever achieve a postseasonaccolade when the coaches in Brick’s division, Class A South, voted him as theAll-Division kicker. That honor made him eligible to participate in the U.S.Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic.

“Really it was the coaches in the division overwhelmingly voting for him,”Dahl said. “I was humbled by that in the meeting.”

That set the stage for one final moment on Thursday night that had everyone

simply shaking their head and smiling inwonder after Ocean County’s victory.

“Being as close to Anthony as I am andplaying with him for so many years, it wasjust awesome to see,” said Brick linebackerDrew Scott, whose interception return set upAnthony’s game-winning field goal.

While he has become a symbol of hope forspecial needs athletes everywhere andparents struggling with diagnoses of autismfor their children, it is his transformation as aperson that is more astonishing than any fieldgoal he has ever kicked. The non-verbal,highly-sensitive boy is now a gregariousyoung man, smiling and shaking hands withreporters, high-fiving teammates, andconstantly reminding Brick kicking coachand noted Fighting Irish fan Kurt Wieboldtthat “Notre Dame sucks and Rutgers isbetter.”

“He talks trash with the best of them,” hisfather joked. “He’s really blossomed into akid that makes a difference in people’s lives,and he does it just by being who he is.”

“He’s a funny kid,” said his Ocean Countyteammate, Jackson Memorial’s MarcusAdemilola. “In the locker room, he wascracking jokes. I have a lot of respect forhim.”

The reason the Staregos fought so hard incourt isn’t because they desperately neededto see him make another game-winning field

goal. It’s because of what football has opened up inside him.

“I feel like when he made that kick to beat Toms River North, it was almostlike he came out of his shell,” Dahl said. “All of a sudden, the socialinteraction was better than it ever was. This is about more than kicking ballsthrough goal posts, this is about a kid developing from his success and theteam camaraderie. The overwhelming support he got, the more we got to seethe real side of Anthony.”

The Staregos have now been speaking at school assemblies about thebenefit that sports and camaraderie can have on children with autism.

“Basically we say to them, look what happened when his school, histeammates and his classmates helped and supported and nurtured him,” Raysaid. “Without that, it doesn’t happen.

“Just befriending them means the world to them. These kids know they’redifferent from the other students, but they just want to feel normal. When youpick on somebody, you feel good about yourself for five minutes. When youhelp someone like that, you feel good for a lifetime.”

The journey may not be over, either, as the Staregos said they have beencontacted by former Point Boro head coach Calvin Thompson, who is now the

head coach at Jersey Coast Academy, a junior college program based in TomsRiver that is affiliated with Ocean County College. There is a possibilityAnthony could kick for them this fall while still attending special educationclasses at Brick.

Until then, the goose-bump moments will continue, as the family is flying toLos Angeles on Friday to be feted at an event Saturday run by the HollyRodFoundation, named for actress Holly Robinson Peete. Anthony is receiving an

award for being an inspiration to those with autism.

It’s just another day in the life for the teenager who started out alone in afield with his father, just trying to get the ball 10 yards in the air. As he piledinto the family car with his MVP plaque tucked under his arm in the darknessof the Brick parking lot on Thursday night, he turned to his father and said,“Told you dad, I knew it was coming down to a winning field goal.”

He knew what everyone else could sense was coming in the final minutes ofthe game. After overcoming 11 foster homes, a disability that left him silentand afraid, and an arduous court battle, his job is simply to inspire. Whyshould Thursday night be any different?

“You knew it was gonna happen,” Drew Scottsaid before grinning. “It’s the Starego way.”

Photos by:Doug Bostwick

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Anthony was al l smiles with his offensive MVPplaque presented by At lant ic Physical Therapy

Center af ter becoming the f i rst special needs playerto earn that dist inct ion in the 36-year history of the

U.S. Army Al l -Shore Gridiron Classic.

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ith the preseasonfootball camps set toget underway in earlyAugust, the 2014

Shore Conferencefootball season is nearlyupon us.With three returning state champions in Brick (Central

Jersey Group IV); Rumson-Fair Haven (CJ Group II) andPoint Beach (CJ Group I) plus a host of hungry teams andothers looking to finish the job after reaching state finalslast season, this fall once again promises to be an action-packed saga every week.

As we head into the land ofoptimism for everyteam known as thepreseason, hereare someburningquestions.

1Can anyoneknock RedBank Catholic

off its perch atop the Shore Conference?

The Caseys have finished ranked No. 1 inthe Shore Conference for the past threeseasons and have won 33 straight gamesagainst Shore Conference competition. Theyare in this interesting position of dominatingthe local competition but still searching fortheir first state title since 1976. They havereached the NJSIAA Non-Public Group IIIsemifinals in each of the past two seasonsonly to fall to perennial juggernaut St.Joseph-Montvale, which looms as RBC’sfinal hurdle to the state elite. They havethe local teams grumbling that theyshouldn’t have to play the Caseys atthis point and the North Jerseynon-public fans crowing thatthey’re not good enough to beat thebig boys up there in the playoffs.Regardless, they are a regular topicof discussion, and this season

should be no different eventhough they

graduated a

stellar class led by Notre Dame freshman lineman QuentonNelson and two-time, 1,000-yard rusher Larry Redaelli as wellas a host of stars on defense. This year’s team will behighlighted by senior tailback/safety Mike Cordova, who looksto pick up where Redaelli left off, junior quarterback EddieHahn, an FBS prospect who is poised for a breakout year as hetakes over full time after splitting snaps as a sophomore, andanother powerful line led by Fordham recruit Ryan Kroegerand junior FBS prospect Liam Smith. On the defensive side,Miami recruit Jamie Gordinier leads another rugged group. Theschedule is solid after the Caseys were realigned into thecompetitive Class B North and got nondivisional games againstManalapan, which has made three straight NJSIAA finals, anddefending Class A South champion Jackson Memorial. Theyalso have a nonconference game against St. Joseph’s-Metuchen, which looks to be a serious test as well. They areNo. 1 in the Shore until someone takes it from them, and rightnow they appear to have the firepower to retain that status in2014.

2How will realignmentaffect the divisionalraces?

Every two years, the Shore Conference realigns itsdivisions based on school enrollment, so this yearsome new faces will be part of different divisional

races.

The biggest change is the move of RedBank Catholic and Colts Neck into ClassB North, while Freehold Boro moves outof that division and into Class A Northand Matawan moves to Class A Central.As noted above, RBC is the 800-poundgorilla of the Shore, so that instantlymakes this division rougher.

Meanwhile, Colts Neck is coming off aschool-record 10 wins and its firstappearance in a state final as it fell to Brickin the Central Jersey Group IV championshipgame. Adding those two to a group thatalready includes Ocean, Long Branch,Neptune, Wall and Red Bank makes thisdivision one of the deepest in the Shorethis side of Class A South. Somequality teams will find themselves atthe bottom of the standings and outof playoff contention simplybecause somebody has to bethere. This division is alsointeresting because it featuresnew coaches at Colts Neck(Peter Shaw); Neptune(Rodney Taylor); and Wall(Dan Curcione) so there isthe unknown factor ofhow they will performunder their new staffs.

Matawan returning to Class A Central renews the greatrivalry it formed in recent years with Rumson-Fair Haven, asthe two each beat one another to win a Central Jersey Group IItitle in 2010 and 2011. With RBC out of the way, that opens thedoor for Rumson to make a run at the overall crown afterfinishing second last season. Meanwhile, the Huskies were theonly winning team in the Shore Conference not to make theplayoffs last season at 7-3, so they will be hungry to stormback into the championship picture with a solid group ofreturners.

Class B South and Class B Central remain the same, and theoutlook on those divisional races remains the same as well.Defending champion Barnegat will be heavily favored torepeat in Class B South, with Lakewood and others breathingdown its neck. Class B Central looks to once again come downto Shore Regional and Point Beach after the Blue Devils won itlast season before Point Beach avenged that loss and took theCentral Jersey Group I crown. Class A South also remains thesame, with Jackson Memorial returning as the defendingchampion and a loaded Brick team looking like thepreseason favorite to win a deep division.

Class A North loses Colts Neck and adds aFreehold team searching for its first winning seasonsince 2010. Manalapan has won this division fourstraight times, and usually it has beenMiddletown South and Colts Neck as thebiggest challengers. With a strongjunior class and a stellar sophomoreclass ready to make an impact,Middletown South will look tochallenge the Braves’ supremacyonce again, while an up-and-comingMiddletown North team will look to bea contender.

3Who are some ofthe top returning players to watch For?

The Shore Sports Network first-teamAll-Shore selections returning from lastyear include SSN Offensive Player ofthe Year Charlie Volker, a seniortailback at Rumson-Fair Haven,along with Brick senior quarterbackCarmen Sclafani and runningback/linebacker Ray Fattaruso, PointBeach senior fullback/linebacker JoeWegrzyniak, Miami-bound RBClinebacker Jamie Gordinier, Matawanjunior linebacker Aliem Shaw, andManalapan senior punter/kicker MikeCaggiano.

Others to watch for include Penn State-boundBarnegat senior linebacker Manny Bowen, who ispoised for a huge season

RBC's Eddie Hahn

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

T

9

along with teammate Sam Madden, an offensive linemancommitted to Wisconsin, and senior quarterback Cinjun Erskine,who is committed to Bucknell. Lakewood seniorquarterback/linebacker Chapelle Cook, another FBS prospect,will try to lead the Piners to their first state final since 1986along with senior linebacker/defensive end Datrell Reed. TomsRiver South senior quarterback Tymere Berry returns as one ofthe Shore Conference’s most dynamic and exciting talents.Virginia recruit Tanner Cowley, a senior tight end/linebacker,should be a force for a Manasquan team that is always in thehunt in the division and state playoff races. Holmdelfullback/linebacker Frank Condito should also be one of theShore’s best after an injury-riddled junior season, and LongBranch senior running back/defensive back Dahmiere Willis ispoised for a big year in his third varsity season.

Ocean Township junior Tyler Thompson is one of the bestrunning backs in New Jersey in the Class of 2016 and is seekinghis third straight 1,000-yard rushing season. Joining Caggiano ina stellar senior class of kickers is Shore Regional’s JakeMonteiro and Neptune’s Hunter Daly, and Middletown Southjunior Matt Mosquera and Lacey’s Pat Davis are two others towatch after stellar sophomore seasons. Thompson’s formerOcean teammate, senior quarterback/defensive back RoyalMoore, is another to watch after transferring to Neptune,where he looks to be a crucial player for the Scarlet

Fliers. Red Bank Catholic’s Mike Cordovais ready to take over the star-makingspot as Red Bank Catholic’stailback after having a greatseason at safety as a junior andmaking an impact offensively.

Jackson Liberty senior MattCastronuova is another player tokeep an eye on as a wideoutand one of the top safetiesin the Shore. Thelinebacker tandem ofBrick’s JamesJuliano and Shore’sJames Bedell as well asBarnegat defensive back

Ricky Gerena will all becounted on by their teams to have

big years defensively.

4Who are somebreakoutplayers to watch?

Heading into last season,Rumson tailback Charlie Volkerwas an unknown, and he exploded

for a 2,000-yard rushing seasonto win Offensive Player of theYear honors. That means thatthe player who ends uphaving the biggest jump

forward might noteven be on this

list because we’ve never seen himplay any extensive time on varsityyet. Wide receiver is a positionbegging for breakout playersconsidering all nine of the ShoreSports Network first-, second-, andthird-team All-Shore selections lastyear at that spot were seniors. Whilehaving a season like Volker’s is rare,here are some potential candidates toexplode on to the scene this fall.

St. John Vianney dual threat quarterbackAnthony Brown, a junior, is tailor-made forthe flexbone offense run by new coach MarkCiccotelli. He has made stars out of pastquarterbacks, producing four first-team All-Shore signal-callers and three offensiveplayers of the year, so the talented Brown hasthe chance to take off this season after seeinglimited snaps as a sophomore. In the same

division, Fordham-boundMonmouth Regional seniorIsaiah Searight, aversatile talent whoplays all over the field,also should raise his

profile with astrong year.

While theMiddletown Northtandem of sophomorequarterback DonaldGlenn and juniortailback ChadFreshnock made animpact last season, thiscould be the year theyreally become aforce with a fullvarsity seasonunder their belt incoach Steve Bush’soffensive system.Long Branchsenior

linebacker/defensiveend Hunter Baillie hasquietly put together twostrong seasons and couldbe a Defensive Player ofthe Year candidate if theGreen Wave improve on lastseason. Toms RiverNorth seniorlinebacker

Jordan Craig has multiple FBS offers andjunior running back Asante Moorer alsohas attracted interest. The Marinersare coming off a 1-9 season, so animproved year could put thosetwo in the spotlight.

Lakewood junior linebackerAmir Tyler had a strong

sophomore season and should be anintegral part of a talented defense this fall.Asbury Park senior runningback/linebacker Tyquis Davis alsoshould get increased attention if theBlue Bishops can find a way tobreak up the Shore-Point Beachdominance in Class B Central.Shore junior fullback/linebackerDoug Goldsmith also shouldhave a big year in inheritingthe star-making role in theBlue Devils’ offense. Aftersplitting carries the pastfew seasons, Toms RiverSouth senior runningback Khaleel Greeneshould form an explosivetandem with quarterbackTymere Berry.

Senior tailbackImamu Mayfield looksto move into the star-making spot inManalapan’s offense afterseeing some carries in reliefof Tyler Leonetti last season,and watch for Freehold juniorquarterback Jake Curry to bemore of a playmaker. Curry sawtime as a sophomore and has standout seniortailback Josh Dixon in the backfield to keepdefenses honest. Neptune senior tailback JareeParrish was putting up huge numbers by the endof last season after cementing himself as thestarter and will be running behind a veteranoffensive line this fall.

Red Bank junior wide receiver Sadiq Palmer,also a basketball standout, showed flashes ofbrilliance as a sophomore and should be one ofthe top wideouts in Class B North and beyondthis fall. Mater Dei Prep’s versatile senior,Tysaun White, is a playmaker on both sides ofthe ball who should only boost his productionthis season.

5Who are somebreakout players to watch?

A loaded Brick team returns to defend its CentralJersey Group IV title and certainly has a good

Toms River South's Tymere Berry

Brick's Ray Fattaruso

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QUESTIONSContinued on page 10

Monmouth's Isaiah Searight

shot to win another one. The Colts Neck team it faced in the finallost a stellar senior class as well as its coaching staff, while atalented Burlington Township team that Brick beat in lastseason’s semifinals has suffered a huge loss in starquarterback Khalil Trotman, who has reportedly transferredto Timber Creek. Contenders like Middletown South, Neptuneand Middletown North return, but a strong program at Nottinghamis now in Central Jersey Group III. One new team in the bracket isBrick’s Class A South rival, Jackson Memorial, which moves overfrom South Jersey Group V.

Rumson-Fair Haven also looks like a good bet to return to theCentral Jersey Group II final after winning it last season.Standout tailback Charlie Volker and a strong defense return,plus the talented Weequahic team that the Bulldogs beat in thefinal last year got moved to North II Group I, so thatremoves one obstacle. Lakewood looks like a primecontender, and the Piners play Rumson during theregular season, which could be a state playoffpreview.

The Shore’s other defending state champion,Point Beach, also appears to be set for anothertitle run in Central Jersey Group I. The GarnetGulls return 1,500-yard rusher Joe Wegrzyniak,senior quarterback Jake Fioretti, do-it-all senior MikeFrauenheim and others, and it once again could be them andShore battling it out for the title, with usual suspects like

Florence and Asbury Parklurking as threats.

Manalapan has madethree straightNJSIAA finals buthas not been able toget over the humpin Central JerseyGroup V. HunterdonCentral graduatedPenn State recruitJason Cabinda afterbeating Manalapan inlast year’s final,which certainly helps,

but Sayreville and otherMiddlesex County squads will againbe tough in addition to HunterdonCentral. Plus, Manalapan has toreplace an outstanding senior classheadlined by Penn State recruitSaeed Blacknall at wideout and SSNDefensive Player of the Year ChrisNoesges.

The world is upside down in CentralJersey Group III, which was long ruled by

the Shore Conference but could be entering anera of dominance by Mercer County, long a

doormat for Shore teams. Hopewell Valley stormed toits first state title in program history by beating Lawrence

last year, and neither of those teams is going away. LongBranch, Matawan and Ocean are the main hopes to try tostem the oncoming Mercer County tide.

In South Jersey,the most realistichope for the Shoremay be Barnegat,which was realignedinto South JerseyGroup II fromGroup III. TheBengals made theirfirst state final lastyear, losing toDelsea, and return ahost of standouts.Their mainobstacles in the newbracket look to bedefending championHaddonfield,returning finalistWoodstown, andperennial powerWest Deptford aswell as a solid Glassboro program moving up from Group I. TomsRiver South has the ability to make a run in South Jersey Group IV,but with defending champion Shawnee and another loaded TimberCreek team back, the Indians will be underdogs.

Also, never count out Manasquan, which reached the South JerseyGroup III semifinals last year but once again will have to deal with arugged Delsea team that beat them on its way to the title.

QUEST I ONsCon t i n u e d f r om p a g e 9

Ocean's Tyler Thompson

10 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 1 4 / 7 / 2 9 / 1 4

File Photo by:B i l l N o r m i l e

w w w . b i l l n o r m i l e . z e n f o l i o . c o m

Brick's Ja'Quez Johnson

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Fri 9/12 Jackson Memorial at Jackson Liberty (7pm)

Sat 9/13 Lacey at Toms River North (7pm)

Fri 9/19 Toms River East at Toms River South (7pm)

Fri 9/26 Lacey at Brick Memorial (7pm)or Toms River North at Toms River South (7pm)

Fri 10/3 Brick at Jackson Mem. (7pm)or Red Bank Catholic at Wall (7pm)

Fri 10/10 Manasquan at Barnegat (7pm)or Wall at Brick (7pm)

Fri 10/17 Lacey at Brick (7pm)or Barnegat at Point Boro (7pm)

Fri 10/24 Jackson Mem. at Toms River South (7pm)

Fri 10/31 Toms River South at Brick Memorial (7pm)or Lakewood at Barnegat (7pm)

Fri 11/7 Toms River South at Brick (7pm)or Brick Memorial at Southern (7pm)

Thr 11/27 Wall at Manasquan (11am)

NJSIAA Playoffs TBD

All games to be broadcast on News Talk Radio and streamed live at www.shoresportsnetwork.com

12 V O L UM E - V I / I S S U E - 1 4 / 7 / 2 9 / 1 4

In what has been a positive omen for past winners, Matawantook home the Shore Conference 7-on-7 title before this year'sU.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic with an 18-12 win overBrick at Keller Memorial Field.Since the inception of the 7-on-7 tournament in2010, every team that has won has made the playoffsin the fall, including Lacey going undefeated in 2010and Barnegat reaching the South Jersey Group IIIfinal in 2013. The Huskies did it behind seniorquarterback Jimmy Pierce, with freshman quarterbackGeorge “LC” Pearson, the nephew of former DallasCowboys great Drew Pearson, also seeing somesnaps.

Makiya Caesar caught the game-winning touchdownpass to help defeat the Dragons, who are thedefending Central Jersey Group IV champions andfeature returning first-team All-Shore quarterbackCarmen Sclafani.

The victory is a positive sign for the Huskies, whowere the only winning team in the Shore Conferencethat didn’t qualify for the playoffs in a 7-3 seasonlast fall. While a standout defense that only allowed8.9 points per game was their backbone, the offensestruggled, averaging 18.2 points per game, but failingto score more than 13 points against playoff teams.

With former Matawan great and NFL defensiveback Jay Bellamy now coaching thequarterbacks, the Huskies hope to reverse theirfortunes offensively this fall.

“The competition has really helped Jimmy stepup, because Jimmy had a great 7-on-7tournament,” head coach John Kaye said.

Matawan Wins 7-on-7 and MoreBy Scott Stump – Managing Editor

Matawan won its first Shore Conference 7-on-7 title by beating Brick before this year's U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic.

by:B o b B a d d e r s

www.shoresportsnetwork.com

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www.njspor ts .com 201-445-9355 255 Franklin Ave. Midland Park, NJ 07432

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Toms River Wins State LittleLeague TitleBy Matt Manley – Staff Writer

JJonathan Giordano set out Mondaynight to carry his Toms River team to astate championship-clinching win overOcean City-Upper Township with hisflame-throwing right arm and a dose ofhis thunderous bat. Ocean City held itsown against his right arm and didn’tbother to challenge his bat, but in theend, it could not prevent Giordano’sglove from securing yet another Toms Giordano made a game-ending, game-saving diving catch with the bases

loaded in the top of the sixth inning to set off a celebration as Toms River heldon to beat Ocean City-Upper Township, 7-6, to win its second Joe GrazianoLittle League State Championship in the last five years.

Toms River will now travel to Bristol, Connecticut, for the United States EastRegional championships, which begin with pool play on Friday. This year’ssquad will look to duplicate the run of the 2010 team, which won the East toadvance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

“This was great,” Giordano said. “I’ve played in games like this before, butnever in an atmosphere like this. I made the catch and all of a sudden, the wholeteam was piling on top of me and people are rushing on the field. It was prettyincredible.”

Kayla Roncin earned the save by throwing one pitch – a 2-0 fastball with thebases loaded to Ocean City cleanup hitter and first baseman Eric Greenling.Roncin also broke a 2-2 tie with her first homer of the tournament, a two-runblast to left field in the third inning.

Ocean City scored five runs against Giordano – four earned – in five inningsand ran his pitch count past the 85-pitch limit during a ground out to start thesixth and final frame. Alex Civitello recorded the second out of the inning, butran into trouble with a walk, a single to the fence by leadoff hitter and shortstopGannon Brady and an RBI single by third baseman Brock Mercado.

Toms River manager Pete Avallone elected to walk catcher Joe Gallagher toload the bases after watching Gallagher hit his third home run against TomsRiver pitching of the tournament with a first-inning solo shot.

“I’ve managed in a bunch of these tournaments over the last couple of yearsand that’s the first time I’ve ever called for an intentional walk,” Avallone said.“We were not going to let (Gallagher) beat us in that spot. He’d shown usenough. That was a pretty easy call.”

When Civitello fell behind Greenling 2-0, he called on Roncin to challengethe Ocean City cleanup hitter already down in the count.

“I thought I might pitch if John couldn’t finish,” Roncin said. “I was stillnervous.”

“We brought her into the game in a very difficult situation, but that’s why Iwanted her out there,” Avallone said. “She is such a competitor, and I felt goodabout our chances to get out of it with her out there.”

Greenling hit a shallow fly ball to center field, and as Giordano and secondbaseman Vinny Rose converged, Giordano made a diving grab while alsoavoiding a collision with Rose.

“I just saw the ball,” Giordano said. “I was probably pretty close to colliding(with Rose), but all I was focused on was the ball. As soon as I saw it in the air,I knew I had it.”

Colin Baker knocked in what proved to be a crucial insurance run in thebottom of the fifth inning with a single to the gap in right-center that scored leftfielder Jason Kapp all the way from first base, making the score 7-5. Ocean Cityhad cut the lead to 6-5 in the top of the fifth with three runs off Giordano,

highlighted by a two-run homer by Mercado that made the score 6-4. Mercadoalso saw six pitches in the at-bat, which pushed Giordano closer to his pitchlimit.

Starting pitcher Brian Furey singled home Gallagher from third with two outto cut the Toms River lead to 6-5.

“Once they got it to 6-4, we know we’ve got a fight on our hands because atthat point, a bloop and a blast ties the game,” Avallone said. “It’s the same thingwe look for when we’re down one or two runs and now, they are right there with(Giordano) coming out of the game soon and their big hitters coming up.”

Giordano had quieted the Ocean City bats for the previous three innings afterallowing solo home runs to both Brady and Gallagher in the top of the firstinning. He finished the game allowing four earned runs on seven hits with onewalk and 13 strikeouts.

Toms River drew even with two runs in the bottom of the second inning.Baker beat out a potential double-play ball with the bases loaded and one out todrive in catcher Connor Cino, and Roncin scored a second run on the play whenthe low return throw from second base got away from Greenling at first.

Roncin then broke the tie with a first-pitch home run that comfortably clearedthe fence in left field to plate two runs. Roncin – the only girl on any of the fourrosters in the championship tournament – had started Toms River’s first threegames and came off the bench to deliver, arguably, the game’s biggest swingand its biggest pitch.

It felt great just to get a hit,” said Roncin, who said her father – assistant coachRay Roncin – told her to look for a first pitch to hit. “I have been in a slumpduring the whole tournament, and I really wanted to help the team.”

“We know what she is capable of, and we knew she was going to comethrough with a home run at some point during this tournament,” Giordano said.

Toms River tacked on two more runs in the fourth to go ahead, 6-2. Pinch-hitter Joe Schifilliti delivered a clutch two-out single to center field to score PhilAntoniotti from second to put Toms River up, 5-2, before giving way to Rose,who re-entered to run after Schifillitti hit for him. Giordano drew his third walk

of the game to put runners on first and second for shortstop Nick DeRose, whosmacked a long single off the fence in center field to score Rose from second.

Nine different players accounted for the 10 Toms River hits, with Antoniottichecking in with two singles for the team’s lone multi-hit game. Cino, firstbaseman Christian Wood, Kapp, and right fielder Bill Fleury each singled to gowith run-scoring hits from Roncin, Schifillitti and DeRose.

Monday’s win capped a three-game series between the two teams during thedouble-elimination tournament. Toms River won the first meeting, 4-2, with twosixth-inning homers – one by Giordano and one by DeRose – and Ocean Cityanswered with a 10-6 win on Sunday afternoon that forced a decisive gameMonday night. Over the three games, Ocean City outscored Toms River 18-17,but Toms River won the two close games.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Antoniotti said. “We’ve been talkingabout this since we’ve been playing together, and it’s awesome that we wereable to win a state championship and go play for a chance at the World Series.It’s a dream come true.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,”Antoniotti said. “We’ve been talking aboutthis since we’ve been playing together andit’s awesome that we were able to win a statechampionship and go play for a chance atthe World Series. It’s a dream come true.”

by:M a t t M a n l e y

www.shoresportsnetwork.com

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