The last time we saw Kamar Mimes, the rising senior was rising up over opposing defensive backs to lead Long Branch to a Shore Conference 7-on-7 Championship this past June.
Mimes hauled in three touchdown passes that night to lift the Green Wave over Central Regional by a 22-13 final.
According to Mimes, who will enter the upcoming season with scholarship offers from Rutgers, Temple, Monmouth and Old Dominion, that early summer success is something his Long Branch program can build upon as it heads into Week 1.
“It’s absolutely something that’s still resonating with us, and definitely a confidence booster,” Mimes said. “But at the same time, coach (Dan George) at the end of that game, was quick to address that it was just an individual victory. It was a victory for our skill guys, and we can’t stop here. We have to keep building. That was just the beginning of something special.”
It was also the emergence of Mimes as a two-way force that Long Branch will utilize heavily in the upcoming 2017 season.
In three two years of varsity competition, pass catching has not been a major part of Mimes’ game, as he’s recorded just 32 total catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns. However, he has developed an ability to disrupt the opposing passing game, and it’s become somewhat of his specialty.
“I love to go up and make and touchdown catch, but there’s nothing like making a big play on defense,” said Mimes, who has 120 tackles and seven sacks through two varsity seasons at the defensive end position.
With that said, after leading the Green Wave with 22 receptions last season, Mimes is excited about an elevated role on the offensive as the senior, as well as about the returning cast of playmakers around him on both sides of the ball.
“Our skill position players, I think, can match up with anybody around,” said Mimes. “But we just have to makes sure our lines are straight. Once that is sured up, and we’re all on the same page and clicking, then that 7-on-7 title game is definitely a preview of what can be expected of us this year.”
On the offense Mimes will work with a third-year starter under center in Juwan Wilkins, a strong armed signal caller with the ability to run who is coming off his best statistical season, in which he completed 54 percent of his passes while throwing for 760 yards and nine touchdowns to just three interceptions.
Wilkins had his best string of games during Weeks 5 through 7, when he was 15-for-23 passing (65 percent) for 359 yards and six touchdowns and zero interceptions against Class B North rivals Red Bank Catholic, Ocean Township and Middletown North.
Aside from Mimes, Wilkins will also have his leading receiver in T.J. Fosque back in the mix (after a junior season in which he made 17 catches for a team-leading 423 yards and six touchdowns), as well as Pasa Fields (who had 16 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns) and Kevin Porch (who made three catches for 72 yards and a score).
Thousand-yard rusher Keith Cooper and his 13 touchdowns will certainly be missed, but seniors Marc Dennis (47 carries for 289 yards and a touchdown) and Shawn Gonzaga (40 carries for 166 yards and two scores), as well as junior La’Qym Morris (15 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown) will help fill that hole.
Luke Arnold and Elijah Sherin will work alongside Mimes on defense, after leading Long Branch in tackles last year with 75 and 72, respectively. Fosque and Porch will also return to the defensive backfield where they combined for five interceptions in 2016.
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