Playing With Purpose: Red Bank Battles Past Shore in Emotional Season Opener

WEST LONG BRANCH — Red Bank had already endured an emotional offseason when another dose of adversity arrived just two days before its season opener. Starting running back Jewelz Forehand went down with an injury, leaving the Bucs without one of their top offensive weapons against Shore.

Instead of allowing another setback to derail them, the Bucs responded.

Behind a huge performance from senior wideout Kaden Jackson, an unlikely breakout night from senior running back Joe Henry and a steady effort from senior quarterback Brett Laude, Red Bank held off Shore, 14-7, Thursday night to snap a six-year losing streak in season openers.

Jackson piled up a game-high 214 yards from scrimmage, including a 92-yard touchdown run, while Henry scored a touchdown in his first football game since eighth grade. Laude completed 13-of-23 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown as the Bucs found enough offense to complement a defense that repeatedly came through in critical situations.

With weather impacting games throughout the Shore Conference on Thursday, both offenses struggled to find a rhythm early. The first quarter ended scoreless as Shore was forced to punt multiple times from deep in its own territory and Red Bank turned the ball over on downs in Blue Devils territory.

Shore got the first major opportunity of the second quarter when senior defensive back Anthony Luque intercepted Laude with 10:50 remaining, giving the Blue Devils excellent field position. Red Bank’s defense answered, however, stopping senior quarterback Logan Clark short of the line to gain on fourth down.

Starting from its own 11-yard line, Red Bank responded with a long drive into Shore territory. After back-to-back incompletions brought up fourth down, Laude found Henry in the flat. Henry did the rest, spinning out of a tackle and racing into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown to give the Bucs a 7-0 lead with 2:51 remaining in the half.

Red Bank’s defense quickly forced another punt, but a penalty on the return pinned the Bucs at their own 8-yard line.

It didn’t matter.

Jackson took a jet sweep to the outside, found daylight and exploded for a 92-yard touchdown that sent Red Bank into halftime with a 14-0 advantage.

“Once I saw the hole, I knew I was gone,” said Jackson.

Shore refused to go away.

After stopping Red Bank on downs in the red zone during the third quarter, the Blue Devils drove into Bucs territory and faced fourth-and-6 from the Red Bank 28. Clark delivered, finding a wide-open MiKael Fleming for a 28-yard touchdown that cut the deficit to 14-7.

The score remained there deep into the fourth quarter, when Shore took possession at its own 29-yard line with 7:16 remaining and threatened to tie the game.

Once again, Red Bank’s defense answered.

The Bucs forced a fourth down and snuffed out a reverse when Shore was unable to secure the exchange. Shore’s defense gave the Blue Devils one final opportunity by forcing a punt, but Red Bank shut the door again to secure the 14-7 victory.

Jackson was at the center of the Bucs’ offensive success throughout the night, stepping into an even larger role after Forehand’s injury and responding with 214 scrimmage yards.

“It gave me a lot of motivation,” said Jackson. “I knew we had a good second-string running back who could step in for him, but we also knew we had to do this for JuJu.”

Red Bank head coach Tyler Karalewich has watched Jackson develop into much more than the offensive weapon he was a year ago.

“Kaden has worked so hard to become a two-way player. He’s playing defensive back now,” said Karalewich.

“Last year, he could really only play special teams and wide receiver, and then he needed a spell. Now, he doesn’t need to come off the field. Whatever we give him, he’s been fantastic with it.”

Henry’s performance came under even more unlikely circumstances.

The senior was playing organized football for the first time since eighth grade, but with Forehand unavailable, Henry was called upon to take on an expanded role at running back. He responded by scoring the game’s first touchdown, picking up key yards on the ground and contributing defensively at linebacker.

His touchdown came after he noticed an opportunity one play earlier.

“On third down, we ran the exact same play. When we got back to the huddle, I told Brett that I had been wide open. We ran it again, he saw me and got me the ball,” said Henry.

“After that, I kind of blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was in the end zone celebrating with my teammates.”

Karalewich wasn’t surprised that Henry was ready when his opportunity arrived.

“Joe Henry did a fantastic job stepping up,” said Karalewich. “We weren’t sure what he was going to be able to do, but he jumped right in there. He hasn’t played football since eighth grade, but he worked hard. He did not miss an offseason lift. He was at every install night and every practice in August. He was ready to go.”

For Henry, the assignment was simple: do whatever was necessary to help replace the production Red Bank lost when Forehand went down.

“I knew I had to step up in a big way,” said Henry. “JuJu is a very talented player, and I had some big shoes to fill. I’m proud that I did my job tonight. The whole team did its job, and we earned a great team win.”

While Jackson and Henry provided the biggest plays, Laude gave the Bucs a steady presence at quarterback.

The senior finished 13-of-23 for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception. More importantly, he responded to his second-quarter interception by helping lead the Bucs on the drive that produced the game’s first touchdown.

Laude had never experienced a season-opening victory during his varsity career, making Thursday night’s result particularly satisfying.

“We hadn’t won our first game of the season since 2019,” said Laude.

Karalewich praised the veteran quarterback’s ability to lead the offense.

“Brett has worked hard. It’s no secret—he was a 1,000-yard passer last year,” said Karalewich.

“We know what he’s able to do for us. We trusted him and relied on him. We were able to spread things around a little bit and then gut it right up the middle with the run game.”

The victory carried significance well beyond ending Red Bank’s opening-night losing streak.

The Bucs have dedicated their season to Terry Haupt, a former teammate of many of the current players who passed away earlier this spring. For a team that has spent months dealing with that loss, Karalewich saw Thursday night’s resilience as another example of the strength his players have shown throughout an extraordinarily difficult offseason.

“I talked to our kids all throughout the week and throughout the offseason. We’re dedicating this season—it’s no secret—to Terry Haupt, one of our kids’ teammates. They played with him all throughout AYF, and he passed away earlier in the spring,” said Karalewich.

“I reminded them, just for you guys to be out here, ready to play and fighting through adversity, I’m so proud of them for being able to be here right now. Some of them could have felt really sorry for themselves. It’s a very tough thing that they had to go through, and I’m so proud of them for coming out the other end.”

On Thursday night, the Bucs came out the other end with a win.

Red Bank (1-0) will host Holmdel next, while Shore (0-1) returns home to face Point Beach.