NJSIAA Football Group 5 Playoff Preview: Toms River North eyes legendary 3-peat

Shore Sports Insider is breaking down the NJSIAA public school playoffs with previews on each bracket involving Shore Conference teams. A total of 22 Shore teams have qualified for the playoffs across all five groups and nine different sections. Here is what to watch for beginning this Friday night when the battle for a state championship begins across New Jersey.

 

GROUP 5

Defending Champion: Toms River North

 

Central Jersey Group 5

8-Hunterdon Central at 1-Washington Township

5-Cherry Hill East at 4-Southern

6-Cherokee at 3-Old Bridge

7-Eastern at 2-Atlantic City

 

The Favorites: Washington Township & Atlantic City

Top-seeded Washington Township and No. 2 Atlantic City are relatively even on paper and it would be a toss-up if the seeds hold and they meet in the championship game.

The Minutemen enter with a 7-2 record and were South Jersey Group 5 finalists last season where they ran into the Toms River North buzzsaw. Their two losses are to Millville, the No. 1 seed in the Central Jersey Group 4 bracket, and Rancocas Valley, the No. 2 seed in South Jersey Group 5. Their schedule has been solid but unspectacular with three games against teams with two or fewer wins. They hold victories over playoff teams Northern Highlands, Pennsauken, Delsea, Kingsway, and Timber Creek.

Washington Township has a balanced offense with junior quarterback Cole Aquino having thrown for 1,125 yards but with just six touchdowns against six interceptions. Junior running back Colin Beeler is the team’s leading rusher with 825 yards and 8 touchdowns. Senior Dashawn Long (34 rec., 322 yards 2 touchdowns) and junior Paris Pratt (36-484-3) are Aquino’s top targets in the passing game. The Minutemen average 21.5 points per game.

Defensively, Washington Township is allowing 15.6 points per game with one shutout, which came in its Week 8 win over Timber Creek (17-0). The Minutemen have created 95 negative plays and forced 13 turnovers. Long has a team-high four interceptions and junior linebacker Jaylen Robinson has 21 tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive lineman Gabe Palagnas is their top pass rusher with 8.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.

Atlantic City started the season 0-2 with losses to Mainland and Millville before ripping off six straight victories to enter the playoffs with a full head of steam. Mainland was the Group 4 champion last season and Millville was the runner-up. Millville is the No. 1 seed in Central Jersey Group 4 and Mainland is the No. 2 seed in South Jersey Group 3. The Vikings’ best wins are 42-0 over a 7-2 Cedar Creek team along with victories over playoff teams Ocean City, Cherokee and Eastern.

The Vikings are averaging 28.5 points per game with a potent aerial attack led by Rutgers recruit Sah’nye Degraffenreidt at wide receiver and senior Khajuan Roseborough at quarterback. Roseborough has thrown for 1,695 yards with 18 touchdowns and four interceptions and Degraffenreidt has caught 27 passes for 484 yards and seven touchdowns. Roseborough is also the team’s leading rusher with 555 yards and seven touchdowns.

Atlantic City allows an average of 19.4 points per game and has yielded just 12.7 points per game during its six-game winning streak. Roseborough has a team-high four interceptions.

 

Contenders: Old Bridge, Southern, Cherokee

Old Bridge is a solid team that doesn’t really have a signature win, although the Knights nearly knocked off unbeaten Woodbridge before falling 36-34. They also dropped a 22-21 game to Piscataway. Junior quarterback Brody Nugent is the engine of their offense with 883 yards passing and 12 touchdowns and a team-high 931 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns.

Southern has enjoyed a resurgent season with its most wins since 2019 and enters the playoffs after clinching a share of the Class B South division title in Week 8. They will host an undefeated Cherry Hill East team that features senior running back Denzel Lee and his 1,273 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Zach Salsbery (769 yards, 10 TDs, 2 INTs)  has been efficient and taken care of the ball. His top target by a long shot is senior Isaiah Donaldson, who leads the team with 12 catches for 432 yards and seven touchdowns. The Rams will need to lean on the ground game led by senior running back Justin Silva and turn up the heat on defense under longtime coordinator Matt Abatto.

Cherokee is a playoff staple that won last season’s South Jersey Group 5 title with a 19-13 overtime win over Marlboro before getting steamrolled by Toms River North in the state semifinals. Don’t let the Chiefs’ 4-5 record fool you. They’ve played a great schedule in the West Jersey Football League American Division with games against St. Augustine, Mainland, Atlantic City, Shawnee, Millville and Winslow. The knock is that they won only one of the aforementioned games, a 7-3 victory over district rival Shawnee. The loss to Atlantic City was by three points so it’s conceivable the Chiefs pull a couple of upsets and get to the sectional final. They’ll need big performances out of senior running back Murad Campfield, who leads their offense with 1,072 yards rushing.

 

Shore Shots: Southern

The Rams will be making their fifth straight playoff appearance and are looking for their first postseason win since the 2012 team featuring Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki made it to the South Jersey Group 5 sectional final. The Rams have never won a sectional title and the road this year is tough with an undefeated Cherry Hill East in the first round and then likely top-seeded Washington Township in the semifinals.

 

Non-Shore Player to Watch: Sah’nye Degraffenreidt, Sr., WR, Atlantic City

A Rutgers commit, the 6-foot, 185-pounder had multiple Power 4 offers, including George, Michigan and Penn State. He has caught 27 passes for 484 yards and seven touchdowns for the Vikings and is the top target for senior quarterback Khajaun Roseborough. He was a 1,000-yard receiver as a junior and has 2,387 yards and 32 touchdowns in the last three seasons.

 

South Jersey Group 5

8-Bridgeton at 1-Toms River North

5-Kingsway at 4-Howell

6-Freehold Township at 3-Hillsborough

7-Edison at 2-Rancocas Valley

 

The Favorite: Toms River North

This is self-explanatory for anyone who has followed Shore Conference football for the past three seasons. The Mariners are the reigning two-time defending Group 5 state champions and have gone 35-2 over the last three seasons. Their 14-game winning streak is the longest active streak in New Jersey.

Toms River North’s offense is different than the last two years when current Stanford University freshman running back and two-time NJ Player of the Year Micah Ford was the Mariners’ quarterback and leading a punishing rushing attack. The results have been largely the same, though, with senior quarterback T.J. Valerio piloting an explosive offense that is averaging 37.9 points per game. Their 341 points scored is top-five in New Jersey this season. Valerio has thrown for 1,683 yards and 19 touchdowns with just two interceptions and rushed for a team-high 525 yards and seven touchdowns. They have a bevy of talented and speedy skill players with senior wide receivers Nasir Jackson (25 rec., 556 yards, 6 TDs) and Cam Thomas (24-538-5), senior running back Mordecai Ford (514 yards rushing, 9 TDs) and valuable complimentary players such as senior Mekai Morse and sophomore Cole Garrison. A big, physical offensive line led by 6-foot-8, 330-pound senior standout Jaelyne Matthews, a Rutgers commit, ties it all together.

Toms River North’s defense might be the team’s top unit, which is certainly saying something. The Mariners’ 39 points allowed are the second-fewest in the state and they have posted five shutouts, including four straight entering the playoffs. Like the offensive line, the defensive line can collapse the pocket with senior Hathem Hooranyi leading the way on the interior. That opens things up for the Mariners’ excellent group of linebackers led by senior edge rushers Blaise Boland (71 tackles, 5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss) and Eddie Slosky (58 tackles, 3 sacks, 13 TFL) along with junior Brady Cicala (74 tackles, 6.5 TFL) and sophomore Jake Baker (61 tackles, 2 sacks, 12 TFL). The secondary features the same speed demons as the wide receiver group with Jackson, Thomas, Morse, Garrison and also Ford. Jackso has a team-high four interceptions while Thomas and Morse have returned interceptions for touchdowns.

Toms River North also has one of the Shore’s top kickers in senior Yianni Papanikolas. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder has also developed into a ferocious blocking tight end.

 

Contender: Rancocas Valley

While Toms River North is the clear favorite, the Red Devils could make things interesting if they reach the sectional final. Their schedule in the West Jersey Football League includes marquee victories over Washington Township (27-0) and St. Augustine (20-14) over the last three weeks. Their losses are to a 7-1 Pascack Valley team that is the No. 1 seed in the North Jersey Section 1, Group 3 bracket and to Camden, which is seeded No. 1 in the South Jersey Group 2 section.

After playing sparingly as a sophomore, junior dual-threat quarterback Sayvien Adams has burst into the scene in his first year as a starter with 1,678 yards passing and 20 touchdowns against just four interceptions and a team-high 675 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Junior Jameer Bellamy (67 carries, 392 yards, 1 TD) and senior Montre Wilson (57 carries, 338 yards, 7 TDs) are the primary running backs. All eyes should be on  Brody Delter in the passing game as the senior wide receiver has monster numbers with 54 catches for 1,032 yards and 15 touchdowns. Wilson and senior Devin Duana are also threats when Adam drops back to pass.

Toms River North has an excellent secondary with athletes to match up with Delter and company plus a ferocious pass rush, so that would be a strength vs. strength matchup if the two teams meet in the sectional final.

Rancocas Valley’s defense is also strong with 96 negative plays and 17 forced turnovers to its credit, including 11 interceptions. A pair of underclassmen have had big seasons with sophomore David Ogunsola posting 67 tackles, 8 sacks and 17 tackles for loss and freshman Michael Beasley recording 66 tackles, 5 sacks and 15 TFLs. Wilson has a team-high three interceptions including a pick-6.

 

Shore Shots: Toms River North, Howell, Freehold Township

As mentioned above, Toms River North is the clear favorite. Howell has a tough first-round matchup with a 7-2 Kingsway team that won the section in 2021 and has a strong postseason resume. If the Rebels can get past the Dragons they would have to deal with a Toms River North team that beat them in Week 6.

Freehold Township is the No. 6 seed and will travel to face No. 3 Hillsborough in the first round. Going on the road and taking down higher-seeded teams has been the Patriots’ specialty under head coach Cory Davies and they’ll try to do it again. Last season, they upset top-seeded and undefeated North Brunswick, 21-20, in the first round of the Central Jersey Group 5 playoffs. They’ll need to turn it around and find that magic once again after being outscored 100-38 the last two weeks.

What the Patriots always have going for them is a high-volume passing attack that is tough to prepare for. Senior quarterback Nick Cardone leads the Shore with 2,230 yards passing and 25 touchdowns and senior wide receiver Noah Cancela has caught 67 passes for 891 yards and nine touchdowns. They will have to be better defensively after allowing 55 points to Manalapan and 45 to Middletown North in their last two games.

 

Non-Shore Players to Watch: Sayvien Adams, Jr., QB & Brody Delter, Sr., WR – Rancocas Valley

Adam has thrown for 1,678 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 675 yards and six touchdowns to lead an offense that is averaging 31.8 points per game. Delter having 1,032 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in nine games is extremely impressive. He has seven 100-yard games, including an outrageous 9-reception, 254-yard, 2-touchdown performance versus Camden. The only team to slow him down has been Pascack Valley in Week 0 (3 rec. for 31 yards) and he’s been nearly unstoppable since.

 

North Jersey matchups

North 1

8-Passaic at 1-Ridgewood

5-Montclair at 4-East Orange

6-Bayonne at 3-Piscataway

7-Linden at 2-West Orange

 

North 2

8-Newark East Side at 1-Union City

5-Irvington at 4-Bridgewater-Raritan

6-Plainfield at 3-Passaic Tech

7-Morristown at 2-Elizabeth