NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 1 football final preview: Shore vs. Woodstown
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1 CHAMPIONSHIP
WHO: 2-Shore (10-0) at 1-Woodstown (9-1)
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Clint Ware Field at Memorial Stadium, Woodstown High School, 140 East Ave, Woodstown 08098
SHORE’S ROAD TO THE FINAL: Defeated New Egypt 21-0 in the quarterfinals; defeated Woodbury 17-7 in the semifinals.
WOODSTOWN’S ROAD TO THE FINAL: Defeated KIPP Academy 31-8 in the quarterfinals; defeated Pennsville 21-6 in the semifinals.
SHORE’S BEST WINS: 32-0 and 21-0 over Group 1 quarterfinalist New Egypt; 34-0 over South Jersey Group 1 quarterfinalist Point Beach.
WOODSTOWN’S BEST WINS: 14-13 over Central Jersey Group 3 finalist Delsea; 26-0 over Central Jersey Group 1 finalist Schalick; 28-16 over Central Jersey Group 1 semifinalist Woodbury.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: Shore Regional is playing in its first state sectional final since going 12-0 in 2015 and winning the Central Jersey Group 1 title. The Blue Devils have won 7 sectional titles in their history and are playing in their 13th final. They are 30-20 all time in the playoffs…Woodstown is in a sectional final for the third time in four seasons and won last year’s South Jersey Group 1 title for its first sectional championship in program history. The Wolverines are in the finals for the fifth time in their history and are 13-17 all time in the postseason. They lost to Glassboro in last year’s Group 1 semifinals.
Analysis: These teams are very similar so this should be a hard-fought game for the title. They both like to establish the run and play to their defense, so line play will be more magnified than usual in a game like this.
Shore has more balance offensively than Woodstown, which only has 648 yards passing all season compared to 1,751 on the ground. Shore senior quarterback Josh Moeller has thrown for 1,129 yards, 14 touchdowns and only one interception in his first season in the team’s new pro-style attack, which averages 32.5 points per game. He spreads it around to four different receivers, led by junior Enzo Cagliastro (20-296-4) and senior Braeden Farmer (15-202-2).
Braeden Farmer and Shore will be looking to make some plays through the air in the sectional final against Woodstown. (Photo by Tom Smith/tspsportsimages.com)
The Blue Devils still lead with the run game, helmed by senior Brendan O’Brien (640 yards, 13 TDs), sophomore Cole Torres (764, 7 TD, 8.2 ypc) and a hard-nosed offensive line. That sets up play-action for Moeller, which is a dimension Shore has that Woodstown doesn’t.
Woodstown is generally a slug-it-out, run the ball, tough defensive team. The Wolverines allow only 10.2 points per game, and the only team to reach 20 points on them is undefeated Glassboro. They generally play low-scoring games against high-level opponents. This could come down to Shore leaning on them all game with a little bit of a size advantage until the Blue Devils can break through.
Woodstown senior Bryce Belinfanti, who is also the team’s top rusher, is a leader at linebacker, while senior Walter Carter is going to be a priority to block on the defensive line along with senior Rocco String. Moeller also needs to be accurate throwing the ball, as 6-foot-5 senior safety Garrett Leyman, who is also the team’s quarterback, has six interceptions.
Woodstown’s offense, which averages 22.7 points per game, has been beset with injuries. Starting quarterback Jack Holladay is out, with Leyman stepping in after being the team’s leading receiver. Leyman ran for 100 yards on 14 carries in Woodstown’s semifinal win.
Belinfanti, who is just under 1,000 yards rushing for the season, only played on defense in the semifinals because of an ankle injury but is expected to be back at running back for the championship game. His fill-in, senior Alex Torres, had 111 yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries in the win over Pennsville. No matter who has been running it back there, this team has moved the ball on the ground.
Shore is more than ready to take on that challenge with a rugged front eight of their own. The Blue Devils’ defense has posted five shutouts, and like Woodstown, only one team has cracked 20 points on them all season.
Shore will be coming downhill with linebackers Tommy Schroeder (107 tackles, 10 TFL), O’Brien (86 tackles, 10 TFL, 4 forced fumbles) and Mike Marotta (63 tackles, 7 TFL). Torres is also a playmaker with speed on the edge on the defensive line who creates negative plays with 14 tackles for a loss and 5 sacks. Cagliastro leads the secondary with 4 interceptions.
First down is going to be big in this game. If Shore can stonewall Woodstown on early downs or get a tackle for a loss to get the Wolverines off schedule, that could be crucial. It all comes down to stopping Belinfanti.
Both kickers are pretty solid, which also could end up being a major factor if the game is tight as expected. Woodstown’s Jake Ware has hit four field goals, with a long of 37, while Shore’s John Mazzacco is 5-for-6 on field goals with a long of 32 yards.
Another way these teams are similar is that they both have coaches looking to lead their team to a state sectional title in their first seasons. Shore’s Donnie Klein is in his first year at his alma mater and looking for his first state championship after 17 years at Ocean, while Woodstown’s Frank Trautz is also in his first season.
A big question is how much playing a tougher schedule matters here. Woodstown had games against sectional finalists Delsea, Glassboro and Schalick, whereas Shore did not face any teams of that caliber. They have a common opponent, as Woodstown beat Woodbury 28-16 and Shore beat them 17-7 in the semifinals.
This matchup favors what Shore does best, so you have to like the Blue Devils’ chances despite being the underdog on the road.
The pick: Shore.
