Don Bosco Prep and Shore native Deven Sisler rout RBC to drop the Caseys to 0-2

RED BANK – Don Bosco Prep senior quarterback Deven Sisler and Red Bank Catholic senior quarterback Frankie Williams train together in the offseason and have known each other their entire lives.

That made it a little sweeter for Sisler when he earned bragging rights over his friend in a major way on Friday night at Count Basie Field after the Ironmen blitzed the Caseys 44-0 in a nonconference game between two teams ranked in the top 10 in the state.

“It was great to come back,” said Sisler, who transferred from Central Regional to Don Bosco Prep before last season.

“Me and Frankie grew up together our whole lives, our dads played at Maryland together, so it was great to go against my friend. It was great to also put up 44 points on him.”

Don Bosco domination

Don Bosco Prep (1-1), ranked No. 5 in the state by NJ Advance Media, dominated from the opening whistle. The Ironmen held the Caseys, ranked No. 8 in the state, to 53 total yards and handed them their most lop-sided defeat since Don Bosco beat them 55-7 in the state playoffs in 2009. The Caseys fell to 0-2 for the first time since that 2009 season after losing to one of Delaware’s top teams, Middletown, in the season opener.

“I think it’s obviously a humbling experience,” RBC head coach Mike Lange said. “The reality is that it’s only two games. We lost to two of the better teams in the Northeast. My mindset, I don’t want to say you hit the reset button, but you evaluate and get better and just take it one at a time. That’s where we’re at.”

The Ironmen led 30-0 at halftime thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by junior tailback Dante DeLuca, an 18-yard touchdown pass from Sisler to sophomore wideout Zakai Murphy, a touchdown run by junior running back Colin Brennan, and a safety on a sack in the end zone by junior linebacker Gino Greco. Directing that offense was coordinator Cody High, a former Manalapan standout.

Deven Sisler whips an 18-yd TD pass to Zakai Murphy and it’s all Don Bosco so far up 14-0 on RBC with 1:49 left in the 1st Q. Sisler used to be the QB at Central before transferring to DBP last year pic.twitter.com/E2dRPrfeBL

— Scott Stump (@Scott_Stump) September 6, 2024

Don Bosco Prep outrushed RBC 259 to minus-10 in the win, led by 131 yards on 13 carries from Brennan. The Ironmen did not attempt a pass in the second half.

Sisler had a 27-yard run to RBC’s 2-yard line on fourth-and-9 on Don Bosco’s opening possession to set up a touchdown, and the Ironmen never looked back.

“I knew once we punch them in the mouth right away, we’ll take the wind out of them, and they’ll be down,” Sisler said.

RBC only managed 27 total yards and two first downs in the first half, including minus-10 yards rushing. The defense sacked Williams three times in the half, and Greco had an interception. RBC also had a punt blocked that set up a 2-yard touchdown run by DeLuca.

“They’re great defensively, and we knew the challenges we were going to have, but I just think we gave them so many short porches we just couldn’t dig our way out,” Lange said.

Don Bosco opened the second half with an 11-play, 69-yard drive that ended on a 1-yard keeper by Sisler. The Ironmen tacked on one more score in the fourth quarter when they handed the ball to sophomore running back Jason Bocio 12 straight times on a 45-yard drive he capped with a three-yard run.

It added up to a satisfying night for Sisler, and a frustrating one for Williams and the Caseys. The two train in the offseason with quarterback coach Tony Racioppi, a former Red Bank and Rowan University star who has worked with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett, a former Ocean standout.

“That’s my brother since we were born,” Sisler said about Williams. “It’s great to go against him. We’ll still be friends after this.”

What’s next for Red Bank Catholic?

As for RBC, which is ranked No. 2 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12, the Caseys will look to dust themselves off and try to break in the win column with a divisional game on the road next week against Long Branch (0-2).

“It’s obviously not ideal, but it’s two games,” Lange said. “I know everybody’s going to look at this as 0-2, but who did we play to get to 0-2? That’s the assessment here.”

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Box score

Don Bosco Prep 44, Red Bank Catholic 0

.                                 D                     R

First downs            14                     4

Rushes-yards       41-259           22-(-10)

Passing                 3-8-0               12-18-1

Passing yards          40                    63

Fumbles-lost          1-0                    2-0

Penalties               6-60                  4-20

 

Don Bosco Prep (1-1)  21  9   7   7  – 44

RB Catholic (0-2)            0  0   0  0  –   0

Scoring summary

DeLuca 2-yard run (Devir kick)

Murphy 18-yard pass from Sisler (Devir kick)

Deluca 2-yard run (Devir kick)

Greco sacked F. Williams in end zone for safety

Brennan 7-yard run (Devir kick)

Sisler 1-yard run (Devir kick)

Bocio 3-yard run (Devir kick)

 

Individual statistics

Rushing – R: F. Williams 9-(-36), Gutridge 1-1, J. Williams 2-1, Scaturro 7-10, Garrett 3-14. D: DeLuca 10-50, Murphy 1-3, Bocio 13-39, Sisler 4-36, Brennan 13-131.

Passing – R: F. Williams 12-18-1 63. D: Sisler 3-8-0 40.

Receiving – R: Berecsky 4-22, J. Williams 4-20, Scaturro 3-12, Zabora 1-9. D: Murphy 1-18, Ditrano 2-22.

Interceptions – D: Greco 1-19.