Football Award Frontrunners Heading Into the State Playoffs
The crucible of the postseason is when the winners for Shore Sports Insider’s top awards are usually decided.
Here are the frontrunners and top candidates heading into the state playoffs, which kick off on Friday.
Most Valuable Player
Frontrunner: Gabe Kemp, So., RB, Red Bank Catholic
If you mean MVP in the NFL sense as the best overall player in the Shore, it’s Red Bank Catholic’s Gabe Kemp, the Shore’s leading rusher and the engine of the No. 1 team in the conference. If he’s not the Offensive Player of the Year, he would be the MVP. Take him off RBC, and they’re a whole different team.
RBC sophomore running back Gabe Kemp has been the Shore’s most unstoppable player this season. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspsportsimages.com)
He leads the Shore with 1,405 yards rushing and has 15 rushing touchdowns. You’re talking about a player who has a chance to make first-team All-State, let alone the Shore.
Honestly, everyone else is kind of playing for second at this point unless a player has an unreal playoff run.
Offensive Player of the Year
Frontrunner: Brady Williams, Jr., QB, Rumson-FH
The Bulldogs’ star is at the front of the pack here with Kemp seen mainly as the top MVP candidate. And when he faced Kemp’s RBC team, he threw for a school-record 387 yards in a three-point loss.
Rumson-Fair Haven quarterback Brady Williams has been in the end zone frequently this fall for the Bulldogs. (Photo by Patrick Olivero)
Williams leads the Shore with 2,202 yards passing and 19 touchdowns, and he’s also run for 455 yards and 11 touchdowns. Every opposing coach I have spoken to about Williams has raved about him. He also is the Shore’s most improved player.
Top candidate: Alex Staten, Sr., RB, Donovan Catholic
Staten, the Shore’s No. 2 rusher behind Kemp with 1,222 yards and 15 TDs, is right behind Williams. He will face some of the best competition in the state in the playoffs, so a big couple of games could vault him to the front of the conversation. It also bears mentioning that in a head-to-head game with Rumson, he lit up the Bulldogs for a school-record 371 yards rushing.
Defensive Player of the Year
This is the hardest of all the categories because there’s no heavy favorite right now. I think these are the main players in the discussion, so we’ll see who really brings it in the playoffs.
Montrell Carter (#44) has been a defensive force for undefeated Pinelands. (Photo by Vincent Scarpone)
Frontrunner: None
Top candidates (in no particular order)
Kade Little, Sr., LB, Middletown North
Niko Iliescu, Jr., LB, Southern
Finn Boland, So., LB, Toms River North
Luke Scaturro, Sr., LB, Red Bank Catholic
Montrell Carter, Jr., LB, Pinelands
Ben Gredell, Sr., DL, Rumson-FH
Jason Madden, Sr., DE, Donovan Catholic
Colin Schoellkopf, Sr., LB, Brick Memorial
Mason Morris, Sr., LB/DE, Point Boro
Best two-way player
This isn’t an official category, but maybe we should make it one. These guys get it done on both sides of the ball.
Holmdel’s Anthony Serini has been one of the Shore’s top all-around players. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com)
Frontrunners:
Anthony Serini, Jr., WR/DB, Holmdel
Shawn Fowler, Sr., RB/WR/DB, Brick Memorial
Ryder Izzo, Sr., RB/LB, Rumson-FH
Jason Berecsky, Jr., WR/DB, Red Bank Catholic
Nick Palmieri, Sr., RB/LB, Manalapan
Serini is having a huge all-around season for the Hornets with 44 catches for 716 yards and 7 touchdowns, 176 yards and 4 touchdowns rushing, and 73 tackles, 4 for a loss, a fumble recovery, two interceptions and a pick-six.
Berecsky is one of only a handful of two-way players for the Caseys, and he makes his presence felt on both ends. He has 38 catches for 534 yards and 7 touchdowns along with 27 tackles and 4 interceptions in the secondary.
Fowler has been all over the field for the Mustangs with 328 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns, 306 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns, 34 tackles, 4 for a loss, two interceptions, and a punt return touchdown. He averages 10.4 yards every time he touches the ball on offense. He is one of multiple two-way stars for Brick Memorial. You could easily argue Colin Schoellkopf in this spot as well.
Izzo has 931 yards rushing, including a 212-yard, three-touchdown effort against No. 3 Brick Memorial. He also has 43 tackles, 5 for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. Palmieri is right there with him with 949 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns, plus 93 tackles, 16 for a loss, and 4 sacks for the Braves.
Top candidates:
Colin Schoellkopf, Sr., RB/LB, Brick Memorial
Justin Rosato, Sr., RB/DB, Middletown South
Xavier Fowlkes, So., OL/DL, Donovan Catholic
Levi Foote, Sr., RB/DE, Southern
DJ Albanese, Sr., RB/LB, Point Boro
Nick Dimino, Sr., QB/DB, Marlboro
Coach of the Year
John Tierney has Pinelands in the midst of the best season in program history.
Frontrunner: John Tierney, Pinelands
The Wildcats have already won their first division title since 1987, their first outright division title in history, gone undefeated in the regular season for the first time and registered a school-record nine wins. One or two state playoff wins and that gives Tierney a really strong candidacy. Pinelands has only won one playoff game in history and that was 22 years ago.
Top candidates:
Dan Wendel, Monmouth
James Mahoney, Brick Memorial
Potential candidates: Obviously if Middletown North makes a run to its first state sectional title since 1996, Steve Bush zooms to the front of the line.
Also, if RBC wins Non-Public B against a field that includes DePaul and Paramus Catholic, Mike Lange would be right there as well. Point Beach’s Joe Zaccone would also jump up there if the Garnet Gulls stun Paulsboro in the state playoffs and make an underdog run.
Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999.
Email: scottstump25@gmail.com
