Central Jersey Group 1 Football Final Preview: Shore vs. Burlington City
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1 CHAMPIONSHIP
WHO: (2) Shore (8-2) at (1) Burlington City (10-1)
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Raymond Costello Field at Wilbur Watts Intermediate School, 550 High Street, Burlington
SHORE’S ROAD TO THE FINAL: Defeated New Egypt 34-0; defeated Point Beach 30-6.
BURLINGTON CITY’S ROAD TO THE FINAL: Defeated Bound Brook 49-0; defeated Manville 52-21.
SHORE’S BEST WINS: 42-14 over New Egypt; 63-7 over Point Beach; 35-19 over Matawan; 34-0 over New Egypt; 30-6 over Point Beach.
BURLINGTON CITY’S BEST WINS: 30-25 over Ewing; 20-14 over Bordentown; 42-8 over Riverside; 52-21 over Manville.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: Shore is playing in its second straight sectional final and the 14th in its history. The Blue Devils have won seven sectional titles, with the last one coming in 2015…Burlington City is in the final for the first time since 1979, when it made its only previous final appearance and won its only state title by claiming the South Jersey Group 2 crown.
SHORE STAT LEADERS
Logan Clark, Jr., QB (88-149, 1,106 yards, 11 TD, 6 INT)
Cole Torres, Jr., RB/DL (187-1,485 yards, 16 TD (17 total TD; 4 TFL, 3 sacks)
Enzo Cagliostro, Sr., WR (20 catches, 222 yards, 3 TD)
Vinny Sasso, Sr., WR/DB (17 catches, 206 yards, 3 TD; 41 tackles, 3 INT)
Jack Madalone, Sr., WR (14 catches, 215 yards, 2 TD)
Reid Spallone, Sr., WR/DB (11 catches, 194 yards, 2 TD; 3 INT)
Mike Marotta, Sr., LB (99 tackles, 13 TFL, 2 INT)
John Mazzocco, Sr., LB/K (77 tackles; 40-42 PAT, 1 FG)
Anthony Pernice, So., LB (69 tackles, 1 INT)
Kelty Connors., Sr., DL (45 tackles, 17 TFL, 7.5 sacks)
ANALYSIS
On paper, this is a battle of the star running backs.
It will be Shore Regional junior Cole Torres, who has 1,485 yards rushing and 17 total touchdowns on 7.9 yards per carry, against Burlington City senior Donte Davis, who has 1,824 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns on an impressive 10.5 yards per carry. It will be a methodical, pro-style Shore offense that averages 32.7 points per game under head coach Don Klein against an explosive, big-play Burlington City offense that averages 39.4 points per game.
Shore Regional running back Cole Torres will look to add a state sectional title to a big junior season. (Photo by Bob Badders)
The Blue Devils have also shown they can hurt teams through the air behind junior quarterback Logan Clark and a group of solid receivers led by seniors Enzo Cagliostro, Vinny Sasso and Jack Madalone. However, everything is based on Torres in the run game, and Shore will look to pound Burlington City with him to shorten the game and limit the touches Davis can get on the other side.
A big key will be neutralizing Burlington City senior defensive lineman Mike Marsh, who has 73 tackles, 16.5 of them for a loss. Junior defensive lineman Rashad Newkirk has 10 tackles for a loss of his own for a team that averages a whopping 7.5 tackles for a loss per game. Staying ahead of the sticks and limiting those negative plays will be crucial for Shore, and the screen game could come into play to take advantage of Burlington’s aggressiveness on defense.
One difference between the two teams is that Burlington City, which is also nicknamed the Blue Devils, also has two major receiving threats Shore will have to worry about, so it’s not just Davis.
Junior quarterback Mason Shansey has 1,536 yards passing and 17 touchdowns, and most of it is to two receivers – seniors Jayvyn Raspberry (31-684-9) and Malachi Sadler (41-631-4). Add that to Davis, who just put 199 yards rushing on previously undefeated Manville last week, and it’s a tough group to slow down.
Shore has a physical defense led by senior linebackers Mike Marotta and John Mazzocco as well as senior Kelty Connors up front. Connors’ ability to knife into the backfield, where he has 17 tackles for a loss, should be crucial. Torres should also be a factor at defensive end. Seniors Vinny Sasso and Reid Spallone anchor the secondary against one of the better passing teams Shore has faced this season.
Mazzocco could be a factor if it’s close, as he is 40-for-42 on extra points this year and has field goal range out past 30 yards. Burlington City regularly goes for two instead attempting extra points.
Kelty Connors (#44) and the Shore Regional defense will have their hands full with 1,800-yard rusher Donte Davis of Burlington City. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspimages.com)
Last year, Shore went down to Woodstown undefeated and thought it had a great shot at a sectional title, only to lose 31-0. This season, the Blue Devils’ beefed-up schedule should have them much more prepared. They played sectional semifinalists Manasquan and Matawan as well as playoff qualifier Red Bank rather than the usual Group 1-heavy schedule they had played in the past. They have seen star running backs like Manasquan’s Ace Etienne and FBS-caliber receivers like Matawan’s Cayson Williams.
Burlington City also played bigger schools and more than held its own. Its only loss is to rival Burlington Township, which was up to No. 12 in the state before getting knocked off by Mainland in the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals last week.
I would argue Shore still played the harder schedule, but Burlington City has some legitimate weapons on offense. Plus, this is a once-in-a-generation team for Burlington City, whose only state final appearance in history was in 1979 until this season. Shore will have to overcome a team looking to do something that happened before some of their parents were even born.
Will the tougher regular season pay off for Shore with its first title in 10 years? We’re about to find out.
The pick: Shore, 28-27.
Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point.
Email: scottstump25@gmail.com
