SHORE CONFERENCE GRIDIRON HIGHLIGHTS

 SHORE CONFERENCE GRIDIRON HIGHTLIGHTS 

By Mike Ready
 
WEEK TWO RECAP
No. 1 MATER DEI PREP 55, FREEHOLD 0
The Seraphs – ranked No. 5 in the state – are on a roll having now outscored their three opponents by a combined score of 136-20 after thoroughly dominating Freehold (1-2, 0-1) on the Colonials’ home field. Sophomore quarterback Alex Brown threw for 165 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as Mater Dei (3-0, 2-0) scored on eight consecutive possessions. Sophomore running back Ra’Jahn ran for 115 yards and two scores, including an 89-yard run and seniors Malik Ingram and Isaiah Noguera each had one receiving touchdown and one rushing touchdown. Sophomore Timothy Thomas ran for a score and sophomore Kyree Drake caught a touchdown pass. 
No. 2 WALL 24, JACKSON MEMORIAL 0 
The Crimson Knights kept pace with Mater Dei and SJV in the Colonial Division with another stellar defensive performance as they shut out last week’s No. 8 team, Jackson Memorial, for an impressive road win. The Jaguars have allowed just 13 points this season with wins over three Top 10 teams. The Knights erupted for 24-fourth quarter points with Matt DeSarno breaking up the scoreless duel with 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth for a 7-0 lead. The Knights then turned a fumble recovery into a 33-yard field goal by Matt Oakley before Casey Larkin returned an interception for a touchdown and Dale McNalley capped off the win with a 20-yard touchdown run. 
No. 3 RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN 49, LONG BRANCH 20
The Bulldogs (2-1, 2-0) got back on track with an impressive win over the Green Wave (1-2, 0-1), who continue to struggle after entering the season ranked third in the Shore. Junior running back John Volker ran for two touchdowns and caught another accounting for 166 yards from scrimmage and senior quarterback Collin Coles threw two touchdown passes helping the Bulldogs cruise to the win. Coles hit Volker on a 65-yard scoring play and found senior wide receiver Patrick Jamin for a 23-yard score. Pete Crowley had a 10-yard touchdown run and Dan Affilito added a short touchdown run while senior Matt Ruane returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown – his second pick six of the season. 
No. 4 DONOVAN CATHOLIC 31, HOLMDEL 0
The Griffins (3-0, 1-0) posted their third straight shutout to start the season, this one against a tough Holmdel squad that features All-Shore running back Cameron LaMountain, to keep pace with Red Bank Regional in the Liberty Division. Senior quarterback Ryan Clark ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 117 yards and the defense did the rest. Nasir Calhoun and Jahdir Loftland added short touchdown runs and Keaon Torres kicked a 27-yard field goal. Chris Aldrich and Nico Ippolito each had fumble recoveries on defense. 
No. 5 SAINT JOHN VIANNEY 45, BRICK 21
The Lancers easily handled last week’s ninth-ranked team, Brick, as senior running back Kavon Chambers rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns on 15 attempts and senior quarterback C.J. Duell had another impressive outing throwing for 193 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score. Duell completed touchdown passes of 59 yards to Josh East and 35 yards to sophomore Jayden Bellamy, who also returned an interception for a touchdown – one of two picks on the night. 
No. 6 TOMS RIVER NORTH 42, No. 7 MANALAPAN 40
The Mariners (3-0, 1-0) built a 22-point lead early in the fourth quarter and had to withstand a frenzied comeback attempt from the Braves (2-1, 1-1) to get the win and stay atop of the American Division. Junior quarterback Jake Kazanowsky threw touchdown passes of 40 and 65 yards to junior receiver Zack Browne, who finished with 139-yard receiving, and 33 and 68 yards to junior receiver Zach Goodale for 252 yards passing. Junior running back Jordan Grey stepped in and rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts.  Manalapan senior quarterback Sean Kehley completed 16-of-25 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns. Senior running back Andre Johnson ran for 175 yards and senior tight end Matt Benedetti caught five passes for 61 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore wideout Paul Wojciechowski caught three passes for 67 yards and a score and fullback Andrew Gritsiuk and running back Raymond Vender each ran for short touchdowns. Johnson broke a 60-yard run to set up Venders’ 2-yard touchdown run to pull within 42-40, but the Mariners stopped a 2-point conversion pass to hold on for the win. 
No. 8 RED BANK REGIONAL 21, MANASQUAN 7
Senior quarterback Jack Chamberlain had 210 yards of total offense, including 86-yards rushing on 23 attempts and a 3-yard touchdown run and 124-yards passing, including a 50-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Albarno. David Hicks returned a kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown as the Bucs improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2015 when they advanced to the NJSIAA Group II final and finished 11-1. The Bucs have outscored their opponents, 94-26, in their three wins. 
No. 9 MIDDLETOWN NORTH 14, MARLBORO 10
The Lions (2-1, 1-0) continued their surprising start with a win over divisional foe Marlboro to stay tied with Southern (2-1, 1-0) atop the Constitutional Division. Sophomore running back Brain Haddow, filling in for senior running back Anthony Soto who’s lost for season with an injury, ran for 105 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and senior Matt Spencer returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. Senior linebacker Eddie Farrell recorded a game-high 16 tackles (10 solo) along with three tackles for loss while senior Kaden Letual and freshman Jacinto Lopez each recorded a sack and junior Quentin Soler had an interception. 
No. 10 OCEAN 41, MONMOUTH REGIONAL 6
The senior-led Spartans break into the rankings after overwhelming the Falcons for their second straight win to open the season. Ocean scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and five of their first six as they seemingly scored at will and the defense held Monmouth to 53 first-half yards. Temple-bound senior Trebor Pena rushed for 166 yards, including touchdowns runs of 23, 3 and 52, on just nine carries – all in the first half. Senior quarterback Robbie Nungesser scored on a nifty 22-yard run and Nassir Thompson added a 3-yard touchdown run. Ishyne Woodard capped off the Ocean scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run on the Spartans’ first possession of the second half to make it 41-0. Thompson and Woodard led the defense with double-digit tackles and Thompson and Ruan Faria added a sack apiece. 
 
WEEK THREE RECAP
No. 1 MATER DEI PREP 35, No. 7 SAINT JOHN VIANNEY 0 
The Seraphs (4-0, 4-0) rolled to their fourth win of the season as senior running back Malik Ingram ran wild rushing for 310 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries. Ingram now has rushed for 588 yards on 52 attempts in four games for a 11.3 yards per carry average. Sophomore Kyree Drake added a 10-yard rushing touchdown picking up 34 yards on six carries. The defense posted its second straight shutout, led by senior defensive lineman Khurram Simpson’s three sacks and eight total tackles, including five solo tackles. Junior Dominick Giudice added two sacks and six tackles while senior defensive back Isaiah Noguera had an interception, his first of the season. 
No. 2 WALL 42, FREEHOLD 21
Junior running back Casey Larkin had three short touchdown runs and junior quarterback Logan Peters added a 22-yard touchdown run and a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Gus Setteducato helping the Crimson Knights (4-0, 2-0) to their fourth straight win to open the season. Sophomore wide receiver Matt Dollive returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to set the tone for the game. 
No. 3 TOMS RIVER NORTH 22, No. 4 RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN 21
Senior Dominick Jacob made a diving catch of a deflected pass for the winning two-point conversion after senior Ray Carlson’s one-handed touchdown catch pulled the Mariners (4-0, 2-0) to within 21-20 of Rumson (2-2, 2-1) in the second overtime of the instant classic. Carlson, playing his first-ever game on offense, caught five passes for 166 yards, including touchdown receptions of 67 and 28 yards. Junior quarterback Jake Kazanowsky was 17-of-30 for 293 yards and three touchdowns but also got picked off three times. Zach Goodale had an 8-yard touchdown catch from Kazanowsky and Zach Browne caught six passes for 71 yards. 
No. 5 DONOVAN CATHOLIC 45, CENTRAL REGIONAL 14
Senior quarterback Ryan Clark ran for 176 yards and four touchdowns on 18 attempts; senior running back Nasir Calhoun rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and Jahdir Loftland added 84 yards on the ground on eight carries as the Griffins (4-0, 2-0) racked up 442 yards rushing for their fourth win in row to open the season. 
No. 6 MANALAPAN: BYE WEEK 
No. 8 OCEAN 47, BARNEGAT 0
The Spartans returned three interceptions for touchdowns, including two by junior safety Chris Carasia of 49 and 99 yards and a 55-yarder by Trabor Pena, who also rushed for 99 yards and a 9-yard touchdown on 13 carries. Senior quarterback Robbie Nungesser was 8-of-17 through the air with two touchdowns, including a 19-yarder to Mike Gavakis and 43 yards to senior wideout Tyrell Wigfall. Senior running back Nasir Thompson added 79 yards on the ground, including a 2-yard touchdown run on 13 attempts. 
No. 9 SOUTHERN REGIONAL 42, BRICK MEMORIAL 32
The Rams (3-1, 2-0) came back from an 11-point deficit outscoring Brick Memorial, 21-0, in the fourth quarter to stun the Mustangs and pick up an important Constitution Division win. Sophomore running back Jaiden Brown scored on a 21-yard run to pull within 32-27 after the 2-point conversion was stopped. The Rams then forced a Mustang punt and took a 35-32 lead when quarterback Cole Robinson found senior Will Devine for a 25-yard touchdown and Brown ran for the 2-point conversion. Brown then intercepted a pass to set up his own 3-yard touchdown run – his second of the game - with 2:02 left in the game. Robinson also had touchdown passes of 49 yards to Xavier Hendricks and 21 yards to Devine, giving him three on the night. 
No. 10 TOMS RIVER EAST 24, COLTS NECK 20 
Senior quarterback Mike Goodale led an eight-play, 75-yard drive and capped it off with a 31-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter and the Raiders (4-0, 3-0) ran out the clock with a 14-play, 85-yard drive that chewed up the final 7:40 of the game. Toms River East converted two third-and-1 plays, a fourth-and-1 play and a fourth-and-2 play when Yusuf Ahmed ran for 19-yards down to the Cougars one-yard line to clinch the win. Goodale ran for a game-high 95 yards and one touchdown and Ahmed rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Senior running back Frank Giannetti ran for a touchdown but was forced out of the game with an injury. 
 
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