MATER DEI PREPâ€™S MALIK INGRAM RUSHING TO GO OUT ON TOP

MATER DEI PREP’S MALIK INGRAM RUSHING TO GO OUT ON TOP

By Mike Ready

MIDDLETOWN – Last season senior running back Malik Ingram shattered the Mater Dei Prep single-season rushing record running for 1,914 yards and 22 touchdowns on 165 carries for a mind-blowing 11.6 yards per carry average.

He was a first-team All-Shore selection at running back and the Patriot Division Offensive Player of the Year while leading the Seraphs to a 10-2 record and the No. 11 ranking in the state.

Averaging 160 yards per game on the ground, Ingram helped the Seraphs average 36.8 points per game on offense – first in the Shore Conference – and advance to their third straight state final, his second.

“Malik’s a smart football player,” said Mater Dei head coach Dino Mangiero. “He’s got great vision; he sees the holes and sees the play developing. He’s got great balance with such a low center of gravity. For a 215-pound kid he moves very, very well and he’s really one of a kind. He’s a guy people look up to and a guy who has carried this football team for a couple of years.”

Mangiero wasn’t kidding when he says Ingram moves well. The 5-foot-8, 215 pounder is an accomplished track man, running the 100 meter, 200 meter and 4X200 meter events in the spring and has been known to be a weight-room warrior year-round.

“He’s a tremendous hard worker,” said Mangiero. “Just look at his body; he’s all muscle. I call him a 215-pound bowling ball.”

Ingram is not only a standout on the football field but in the classroom as well. He holds 3.5 GPA and scored a 1030 on his SATs.

In passing situations, Ingram comes in at linebacker in the nickel defense showing his all-around athleticism. In the Seraphs’ 17-0 win over Manalapan last week, Ingram made a crucial fourth-down stop late in the fourth quarter to turn the ball back over to the Seraphs when it was still a 10-0 game.

In last year’s NJSIAA Non-Public Group III final against Shore Conference rival Red Bank Catholic, Ingram exploded for 250 yards rushing and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as the Caseys halted two late Mater Dei drives for the win.

It was a crushing defeat for Ingram, who had now suffered two straight losses in the state finals.

In Ingram’s sophomore season, the Seraphs lost to undefeated and No. 9 St. Joe’s (Hammonton) in the state final putting a damper on his break-out sophomore campaign which saw Ingram garner All-Class B Central honors after rushing for 1,251 yards and 15 touchdowns on 181 carries for a 7.0 yards per carry average.

In the semifinals that year, in Mater Dei’s thrilling 35-34 win over Holy Spirit that sent them into the final against St. Joe’s, Ingram had a sensational second half rushing for 60 yards on 13 carries and had

two catches for 70 yards, including an epic catch-and-run down to the 9-yard line that set up a late score.

The year before Ingram transferred to Mater Dei in 2016, the Seraphs had beaten St. Joe’s, 26-0, in the NJSIAA Non-Public, Group III semifinals on their way to a perfect 12-0 season and the first state championship in program history.

As a freshman, Ingram was the starting tailback for Neptune High School where he grew up playing in the Neptune Youth Leagues. However, following his freshman season he made the decision to transfer to Mater Dei, and the rest is history.

After his monster junior season Ingram now had a target on his back. And with the Seraphs starting an inexperienced sophomore at quarterback, teams began to game-plan specifically to stop Ingram by loading the box with eight players.

“That was no surprise, we knew teams would do that going into the season,” said Mangiero of Ingram’s plight. “They’ve ganged up on Malik but he’s handled it well. Our quarterback (Alex Brown) has steadily improved every week and is going to be a really fine quarterback and I think the key for us is to throw it around a little bit to open things up for Malik.”

Despite Ingram now being everyone’s No. 1 priority, he’s still produced some very nice numbers so far this season. He’s rushed for 916 yards and 14 touchdowns on 123 carries averaging 7.4 yards per attempt and has caught 12 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

The Seraphs are 6-3 this season after playing one of the most demanding schedules in program history and are ranked third in the Shore Conference having shut out its last two opponents by a combined score of 54-0.

Ingram is hoping for one last shot at a state championship in his final season but he and his team are just focusing on their NJSIAA Non-Public, Group III first-round opponent Pope John.

No. 6 seed Pope John enters the playoffs with a deceiving 1-8 record. The Lions are members of one, it not the, toughest conferences in the state – the North Jersey Super Conference, United Division.

Seven of their losses are to top 25 teams with five of those teams ranked in the top 10 and their eighth loss coming against Iona Prep, the No. 1 ranked team in New York.

The third-seeded Seraphs will definitely have their hands full.

“You watch their tape and they’re out there competing with not only some of the best teams in the state, but in the country,” said Mangiero. “Those teams they’re competing against play national schedules and it’s clearly a different level of football up there. And we got to be ready to play; they’re not going to be intimidated by us.”