Week Two Shore Conference Football Preview: Division Races Begin

The race for division titles in the Shore Conference is on.  

Week Two marks the beginning of divisional play in the Shore’s eight divisions with a host of compelling matchups between teams looking to nudge out in front of the pack. 

There are three head-to-head games between teams ranked in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12, headlined by No. 5 Holmdel at No. 2 Rumson-Fair Haven in Class A North. The Hornets put up 48 points in a season-opening win over Donovan Catholic behind senior quarterback Jack Cannon, while the Bulldogs have routed two teams that were ranked in the top five to start the season. 

Here’s what to watch as the Shore Conference football season heads into its third week of action. 

In addition to these games, Red Bank Catholic, Brick and Lakewood all have a chance to improve to 3-0 by beating winless opponents. 

No. 5 Holmdel (1-0) at No. 2  Rumson-Fair Haven (2-0), Friday at 7 p.m. 

This is a marquee showdown between a potent Holmdel offense led by returning All-Shore quarterback Jack Cannon and a Rumson defense that has only allowed seven total points in two games. 

Rumson enters with a 15-game winning streak, which is tied with Glassboro for the longest current winning streak in New Jersey. The Bulldogs have also beaten the Hornets at least 10 straight times dating back to 2003. 

The winner clears a major early hurdle in the race in Class A North, where Rumson is the defending champion. 

Cannon amassed 346 yards of offense in a 48-35 win over Donovan Catholic to open the season, running for three scores and throwing a pair of touchdown passes. The Hornets got whatever they wanted on offense, with sophomore Anthony Serini, junior Michael Todisco and senior James Murphy all showing they are playmaking targets for Cannon. 

Rumson has dominated on both sides of the ball and on special teams in its impressive start. The Bulldogs are disciplined and will try to turn Cannon exclusively into a dropback passer by removing the running element. They also thrive on turnovers, like the five they forced in a 35-7 win over Brick Memorial last week. 

Offensively, the Bulldogs’ tandem of junior Casey Moore and sophomore Brady Williams has been an effective 1-2 punch at quarterback. An X-factor in this game is senior Kellen Murray, one of New Jersey’s best running backs. He tweaked his ankle and sat out most of last week’s game against Brick Memorial, so even if he is in the lineup, he may not be at 100%. Junior Ryder Izzo, who’s also a standout linebacker, will be the main running back if Murray is unable to go. 

Much of this game comes down to whether Holmdel’s defense can get stops on Rumson’s offense. It’s hard to ask Cannon and Co. to hang 30-plus points on a defense like Rumson’s in order to keep up. The Hornets gave up 35 to Donovan Catholic, although two of the scores were in garbage time. However, they showed they can be susceptible to power running up the middle, so expect Murray, Izzo, Williams and Co. to attack that area.

Todisco and linebacker Peter Berardi lead a unit that needs to quickly fix its mistakes from last week to stand up to a Rumson team that has scored 34 and 35 points in its first two games.

Holmdel loves being the underdog and proving the pundits wrong, while Rumson has become accustomed to being on top and doesn’t plan to go anywhere. We’ll see which one of those scenarios plays out at Borden Stadium. 

No. 7 St. John Vianney (1-1) at No. 12 Freehold Township (2-0), Friday at 6:30 p.m.

The Lancers are coming off a strong 35-7 win over Raritan, while the Patriots picked up a 41-12 win over Colts Neck for their second win. The winner of this game instantly declares itself as a contender for the Class B North crown. 

This is the aerial attack of Freehold Township’s Air Raid against the power running game of St. John Vianney. Patriots junior quarterback Dakota Lasater leads the Shore Conference with 609 yards passing along with six touchdown passes in two games, including a 355-yard effort in a season-opening win over Neptune. He has four quality receivers in junior George Burdge, senior Andrew Dalton, junior Mike Lorenzo and junior Jake Schultzel, with Schultzel’s 16 catches for 319 yards and two touchdowns leading the way.  

St. John Vianney counters with the backfield of senior Danny Breen and junior Corleii Thomas, a pair of punishing runners. Senior quarterback Zach LaBarca is also a dual threat who can hurt teams that rush too far upfield while also throwing it deep on teams that cheat toward the line of scrimmage. 

The Lancers’ defense, led by Breen at linebacker, has also only allowed 19 total points in two games. Freehold Township’s defense looked better against Colts Neck after giving up 28 points to Neptune in which dual threat quarterback Caleb Brown-Mason lit them up for more than 400 yards of offense.

The story of this game looks to be whether Freehold Township’s front seven can stand up to St. John Vianney’s ground attack, because the Lancers will look for long, sustained drives to limit the Patriots’ possessions and shorten the game. 

Marlboro (2-0) at No. 6 Middletown North (1-0), Friday at 7 p.m.

Middletown North was realigned into Class A North this season after winning the Class B North title this year. 

The Lions will be greeted by a Mustangs team out to show that no matter who graduates, it will remain a hard team to beat. A new-look lineup is led by junior running back Zach Mojares and quarterback Nick Dimino. 

Middletown North has a formidable running game of its own led by junior Matt Belenko, who piled up a career-high 235 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a season-opening 31-19 win over Howell last week. The Lions also have senior Owen Robson at quarterback and receiver Jack Viola to give their offense balance. 

This is a step up in competition for Marlboro after its first two games, but the Mustangs have shown in the past few seasons that they relish the challenge. Their signature is winning low-scoring, defensive slugfests by forcing turnovers and getting just enough offense to pull it out. Middletown North is out to prove that it can hold its own in one of the Shore’s toughest divisions. 

No. 10 Manalapan (1-1) at No. 11 Jackson (1-1), Friday at 6:30 p.m.

This is a nondivisional game, but a crucial one for both teams as far as the rankings and laying the groundwork for a playoff berth are concerned. 

Plus, every time these teams play, the game seems to be a heart-stopper. The last time they met was in 2023, when Jackson pulled out a 20-13 win in overtime after a controversial end to the game on a call at the goal line. Jackson scraped out a 10-7 state playoff win over the Braves in 2022, and Manalapan beat the Jaguars 21-14 in 2021. 

This game is a showcase of some of the Shore’s top running backs in which Manalapan junior Cameron Desfosse could be the difference-maker. Manalapan’s Ah’sere Woolfolk and Nicky Palmieri are playmakers as runners and receivers, while Jackson senior Jonah Glenn is a threat to go the distance on any play. 

The Jaguars have been primarily a ground attack, while Desfosse has given the Braves balance with 349 yards passing and four touchdown passes in two games. Jackson will try to get its offense back in gear after a 10-7 loss to Southern, while the Braves come in off a 24-14 win over Middletown South. 

One way or another, there’s a good chance it will come down to the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. 

No. 9 Southern (2-0) at Central (2-0), Friday at 6:30 p.m.

The two old Thanksgiving rivals will square off in the latest edition of the Boyd-Emmert series, which looks like an early separation game in the Class B South race. 

Central is off to an unbeaten start behind a balanced offense and a defense led by sophomore Gustave Copes, who has eight tackles for a loss in two games and 16 tackles overall. The Golden Eagles have also forced four turnovers, two of which they have returned for touchdowns.

Southern’s calling card is also its defense behind senior defensive lineman Lucas Favorito (4 sacks), junior Luke Iorio (8 tackles, 2 TFL) and sophomore linebacker Lukas Iliescu (1.5 sacks). The Rams just stifled Jackson in a 10-7 win and have not had a team crack double digits on them yet.   

The game between these two came down to the final seconds last year, with Central pulling out the win, so the Rams will be looking for some payback. 

Other games to watch: 

Point Boro (0-2) at Brick Memorial (1-1), Friday at 6 p.m.

This looked like a marquee game in the preseason, but Point Boro’s struggles against two good opponents have turned this into a desperation game for the Panthers to avoid an 0-3 hole. Brick Memorial gets back senior quarterback Jason Lajara, an All-Shore talent who missed the first two games with an illness. The Mustangs look to regain their footing after losing 35-7 to Rumson last week and stamp themselves as a top contender in Class A South. Point Boro is out to show people not to write the Panthers off just yet. 

No. 3 Toms River North (1-1) at Donovan Catholic (0-2), Friday at 6:30 p.m.

This is another game that looked like a highlight matchup in the preseason, but Donovan Catholic has stumbled against two good teams and now is trying to avoid an 0-3 start. Making matters worse is that starting quarterback Kahden Davis and running back Alex Staten are expected to miss this game with injuries. Meanwhile, the Mariners roared back from a loss to Red Bank Catholic to rout Toms River East last week. Their young lineup looks to keep things trending in the right direction against a fellow Toms River team that has become a rival in recent years. The Mariners’ defense of their Class A South title starts here against a Griffins team looking to stun the Shore. 

Wall (0-2) at Howell (1-1), Friday at 6:30 p.m.

The Crimson Knights are getting into backs-against-the-wall territory and need this one to break into the win column. They will try to get the offense rolling after 22 total points in two games. Howell battled Middletown North to the wire last week, and getting this one would help bolster the Rebels’ run to a state playoff berth. This also is an important game in the Class B North race. 

No. 8 Manasquan (2-0) at Matawan (1-1), Friday at 6 p.m.

The Warriors are flying high off a 14-10 win over Point Boro and look to show that they are the team to beat in Class C North. These teams have had some great games in the regular season and playoffs over the years. Can the talented young Huskies give Manasquan a run after putting 33 points on Ocean last week? Or will Ace Etienne and the running game continue to flourish for the Warriors? 

Keansburg (1-0) at Asbury Park (1-0), Friday at 5 p.m.

Two teams that exploded out of the gate by hanging 40-plus points on their opponents get together to see which offense is more potent. It’s a nondivisional game between the longtime Group 1 rivals that should go a long way toward the winner securing a state playoff berth. 

Asbury Park senior running back Amiere Massie, who erupted for 252 yards and four touchdowns on only 12 carries against Point Beach, will look to outduel Keansburg senior Milan Mraz, who had a 169-yard game of his own against Freehold. 

Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point. 

Email: scottstump25@gmail.com