Brian McKenna’s All-Around Game Earns Him KWCC MVP Honors for Wall

By Jackson Batchler – Shore Sports Insider Contributor

TOMS RIVER – On a night where points were hard to come by, Wall senior forward Brian McKenna made sure to contribute in every facet of the game.

Freehold Township junior Jake Schultzel entered the championship game of the Jim Ruhnke bracket at the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic Championship on Tuesday averaging 20 points between the quarterfinals and semifinals, and Wall held him to nine in a 48-41 victory at RWJBarnabas Health Arena.  

For most of the game, Schultzel was guarded by McKenna. The senior forward, who leads the Crimson Knights in scoring, was held to eight points on offense, but didn’t let that affect the rest of his game. He added eight assists and five rebounds in addition to staying glued to Schultzel, earning him Most Valuable Player honors for the Ruhnke bracket. 

McKenna’s defensive efforts were on display, but for Wall head coach Bob Klatt, this is nothing new. 

“Brian’s been our defensive stopper since last year,” Klatt said. “He’s just a great athlete. He can guard a big, he can guard a guard. And it really doesn’t affect his offense either.”

McKenna isn’t only an athlete on the court. He also was Wall’s quarterback on a team that won a division title and reached an NJSIAA sectional final in the fall. He recognized that the quick transition from one sport to another is an adjustment, but he sees it as beneficial.  

“I guess it did take me a while to get my shot back to its full potential, but I think football actually helped me because I get to have that competitive edge year round, and I just keep getting more and more athletic,” McKenna said. 

McKenna and Schultzel also faced off on the football field, where Schultzel was a first-team All-Shore wide receiver who led the Shore in receiving yards. Wall came away with a 49-19 victory over the Patriots in the fall.

With McKenna’s high school football career over, the two won’t see each other again on the field, but they will face off again on the court in a few weeks when the Crimson Knights take on the Patriots at Freehold Township on Jan. 16 in a Class A Central game. 

For now, the Crimson Knights have won the first round. McKenna was pleased with his defensive performance, but he recognizes that the other four guys on the court with him were doing their part as well. 

“We were really locked in as a group, and we communicated really well,” he said. “We also have a really good gameplan coming in thanks to our coaches. So we really lock in on that and just get the job done.” 

This is now a defensive unit that held Red Bank Catholic scoreless in the final five minutes of the quarterfinals and Manasquan scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the semifinals. The Crimson Knights also limited Freehold Township to just seven fourth-quarter points to pick up the comeback victory. 

With a 5-0 record and a KWCC championship in the bag, McKenna feels that he and his team have just the confidence they need as they head into the new year. 

“I think we’ve shown that we can win,” McKenna said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re home or away, we can win wherever we go.”

The Crimson Knights have a few days to celebrate before their next matchup on Jan. 5 against Howell, which won the Albert E. Martin Buc Classic tournament title on Tuesday night at Red Bank Regional.