2026 Shore Sports Insider Girls Flag Football Coach of the Year: Andrew Petruzzi, Barnegat

Barnegat flag football coach Andrew Petruzzi realized early in the spring that the Bengals had some ingredients for a special debut season as a program.

All they needed was someone to cook them up right. 

The veteran football coach made his first season as a girls flag football coach one to remember, guiding the Bengals to a 12-0 finish, a South Division title and the Shore Conference Tournament championship in their inaugural season. 

A year that started with Barnegat as an unknown to the rest of the Shore ended with the 2026 Shore Sports Insider Coach of the Year being showered with a water bucket after the Bengals beat Middletown South 39-12 to win the Shore Conference title on their home field. 

Barnegat announced itself with a 32-7 win over Central in its first varsity game, and the avalanche built from there. 

“Going into the (Central game), I didn’t know what to expect,” Petruzzi told SSI early in the season. “But I got some players, I’m not going to lie to you.” 

That turned out to be an understatement. The Bengals were led by SSI Most Valuable Player Camila Chamorro, a sophomore quarterback who led the Shore in passing yards and touchdown passes, SSI Offensive Player of the Year Syrah Holmes, a sophomore who led the Shore in receiving yards and touchdown catches, and SSI Freshman of the Year Julia Giangregorio, who had 703 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns. 

Petruzzi, who coaches running backs and serves as the director of football operations for Barnegat’s boys football team, particularly helped mold Chamorro. She had never played quarterback for any of her flag travel teams, but became a star in her first season running the show for the Bengals. 

“I kind of took her under my wing,” Petruzzi said after the SCT final. “I kind of developed her into what she is now. Her and I talk almost every day about football and what we need to do, and we’re in agreement.” 

He and the Bengals have now set the bar as high as it can go after a dazzling debut season. Barnegat returns almost its entire lineup next season, so the Bengals will be a favorite to repeat as Shore Conference champs and possibly make history as the first Shore team to win a state title when the first NJSIAA playoffs are held in 2027. 

“We’re definitely excited about the future,” he said after the SCT final. 

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