A New Group of Hungry Dawgs: 2024 Rumson-Fair Haven football preview
Rumson-Fair Haven only has four starters back on offense and two on defense, but graduation has hardly been a problem at a program that has reached 10 straight NJSIAA sectional finals.
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that one of those returning starters happens to be one of the best quarterbacks in the Shore Conference in senior Owen O’Toole.
He is hoping to lead a group that once again suffered an excruciating loss with an overall Group 2 title on the line. The Bulldogs ended last season with a crushing, 21-20 overtime loss to Westwood in their second straight appearance in the only two Group 2 finals ever played.
“It’s the last game, and you don’t have a chance to get over it with another game,” head coach Jeremy Schulte said. “A lot of (players) probably have it as the background on their phones, but we have bigger fish to fry in Group 2 before we worry about all that again.”
Offense
The Bulldogs’ multiple attack will once again be engineered by O’Toole, a three-year starter who threw for 2,045 yards and 18 touchdowns against a rugged schedule last season.
O’Toole, who has drawn interest from Sacred Heart and New Hampshire, has 4,206 career passing yards and 43 touchdown passes in his two seasons. He could become one of only six quarterbacks in Shore Conference history to reach 6,000 yards passing this season. O’Toole can also pass former star Mike Roberto (5,635 yards) as Rumson’s all-time leading passer.
“We just expect him to keep being super consistent,” Schulte said. “He’s continuously gotten better, and we trust him with more stuff. He’s a captain and a leader.”
Senior wide receiver Nick Thomas returns as one of his primary targets after registering 26 catches for 300 yards and a touchdown for an offense that finished 10th in the Shore at 23.4 points per game. The Bulldogs’ staff believes senior Jordan Angstreich has the potential to give Rumson a formidable 1-2 punch in the passing game at wide receiver.
Angstreich started multiple games last season when former star Nick Rigby was out injured, and his role should only grow this fall. He had 14 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown last year.
“I think between him and Nick, Owen’s going to have some fun,” Schulte said about Angstreich.
Seniors Art Tambaro, Nic Economou, Carson Memmott and sophomore Cole Spoonire, along with junior tight end Jack Gyimesi, round out a deep receiving corps.
The running backs will be senior Nolan Winters and junior Kellen Murray, the latter of whom put up 654 yards and 7 touchdowns last season. The Bulldogs will also throw in an old-school wrinkle with a fullback in the mix. It will be hard-nosed junior Luke Dougherty, who is a 195-pounder on the wrestling team in the winter.
“Kellen’s a really good running back, and Nolan jumped right in and impressed us with how well he’s done,” Schulte said.
The offensive line returns two starters, senior left tackle Matt Smith and senior center Jack Mauthe. Sophomore Aidan Lane steps in at left guard, senior Hayden Edwards is at right guard, and senior Henry Malpass will be the right tackle.
Memmott and sophomore Jackson Wile will handle the kicking duties.
Defense
The defensive line has some experience but will break in several newcomers in the Bulldogs’ 4-3 scheme.
“I think we’ll be absolutely fine,” Schulte said. “We’re going to be young, but we have a lot of guys who have seen time in a varsity game.”
Sophomore Ben Gredell, juniors Ben Roberts and Toby Najenson, and senior Frank Argilagos will be the defensive end rotation. Mauthe, Smith, Malpass and senior Liam Thomson will be the defensive tackles.
The Bulldogs took a hit on the D-line in the offseason when junior Jack Harris, a 300-pound FBS prospect who came on strong at the end of last season, transferred to play for the state’s No. 1 team, Bergen Catholic. Harris had attended The Hun School of Princeton as a freshman, transferred to Rumson-Fair Haven as a sophomore and now is at Bergen Catholic.
Senior Austin Kiernan is back to lead the defense as a returning starter at middle linebacker after finishing with 76 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks last season for a unit that allowed 18.2 points per game.
The linebackers should be a strength with senior Jacob Tobias also returning after recording 77 tackles and 9.5 tackles for a loss last season. The other outside linebacker will be either Dougherty or sophomore Carmine Florio.
Senior Evan Ridgway will be at cornerback after seeing time last season. Thomas and junior Beau Devine are in the rotation at the other cornerback spot. Economou, Memmott and junior James Kiley make up the safety rotation. Junior Drew Cavise is a returning starter as the punter.
The secondary also suffered a loss in the offseason when senior Cole Pangborn decided not to play football this fall after recording 50.5 tackles last season. Pangborn is a wrestling standout who broke his collarbone in the Group 2 final last year and missed a large chunk of wrestling season. He has suffered a season-ending injury in football every year of high school and decided to focus on wrestling, according to Schulte.
Season outlook
The Bulldogs once again have a solid schedule as a member of the newly created Class A North division. They face old rival Red Bank Catholic, plus Long Branch, Colts Neck, Marlboro, and Middletown South. RBC looks like the favorite, with Rumson right there among the top of the contenders. The Bulldogs also have nondivisional games against fellow Group 2 contender Point Boro and a Donovan Catholic program that has routinely been in the top five in the Shore.
We’ll learn about the Bulldogs immediately because they open the season with Point Boro on Friday in a showdown of teams ranked in the top five in the Atlantic Physical Therapy Top 12.
They also will play this season in memory of legendary Bulldogs coach Jerry Schulte, Jeremy’s father. The Hall of Famer died at 72 in March.
At a Glance
Head coach: Jeremy Schulte, 3rd season
Career record: 16-10
2023 record: 8-5
Offense: Multiple
Defense: 4-3
Coaching Staff
Offensive coordinator: John Corneliusen
Defensive coordinator: John Bellavance
OL: Joe Murphy
WR/special teams: Chris Quinn
RB/special teams: Randy Kalman
LB/special teams: Steve Roberts
DB: Glenn Grainger
DL: Kyle Marinelli
Kickers: Mike Zadlock
Strength and conditioning: Rob Orrok
JV: Brandon Wall
Freshman: Jerry Gagliano
Freshman: Chris Juliano
Freshman: Ryan Meyers
Videographer: Jack Velcamp
Athletic trainer: Alex Stein
Circle the Date: Oct. 10 at Red Bank Catholic
The season opener against Point Boro is a huge game, particularly for playoff seeding down the road, but the Caseys are the Bulldogs’ oldest rival. There’s also the possibility that this game could decide the Class A North title. RBC has had the upper hand for years, so the Bulldogs are looking to reignite the rivalry.
Rookie Watch: Ben Gredell, So., OL/DL
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Gredell is expected to make an impact as a starter on the defensive line. That unit was hit hard by graduation, so Gredell figures to see plenty of action.
Stat to Know
Rumson-Fair Haven has a whopping 12 alumni currently playing on teams in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). The high-academic, Division III conference features schools like Middlebury, Tufts, Wesleyan and Amherst.
SCHEDULE
| Date | Team | Time | W/L | Score |
| Friday 9/6 | Point Boro | 7 p.m. | ||
| Friday 9/13 | Marlboro | 7 p.m. | ||
| Friday 9/20 | @Long Branch | 6 p.m. | ||
| Friday 9/27 | @Middletown South | 7 p.m. | ||
| Saturday 10/5 | @Manchester | 6 p.m. | ||
| Thursday 10/10 | @Red Bank Catholic | 7 p.m. | ||
| Friday 10/18 | Donovan Catholic | 7 p.m. | ||
| Friday 10/25 | Colts Neck | 7 p.m. |
