Atlantic Physical Therapy Shore Sports Insider Final 2025 Football Top 12 Rankings

Another highly competitive Shore Conference football season is in the books, with a perennial power reclaiming its top spot, senior-laden teams achieving school history and up-and-coming squads making their mark.

This season was the first time since the NJSIAA playoffs expanded in 2022 that the Shore Conference did not produce a Group finalist. The season ended on Thanksgiving for the entire conference for the first time in decades. 

However, with a host of young talent returning, particularly the most accomplished freshman class in Shore Conference history, the future looks bright for the 42-team conference. 

The Shore produced the Central Jersey Group 4 champion (Brick Memorial) and the Central Jersey Group 3 champion (Holmdel), in addition to sectional finalists Wall in Central Jersey Group 2 and Shore Regional in Central Jersey Group 1. 

The winners of the Shore’s eight division titles were Red Bank Catholic (Class A North); Donovan Catholic and Brick Memorial (Class A South); Wall (Class B North); Southern (Class B South); Manasquan and Red Bank (Class C North); Toms River East (Class C South); Neptune (Class D North) and Point Beach (Class D South). 

Here are the final rankings. 

1 Red Bank Catholic (11-2). Preseason ranking: No. 3. 

The Caseys reclaimed their place atop the Shore Conference on the heels of a 6-4 season thanks to their returning talent and an infusion of some of the best freshmen in Shore history. They went 7-0 against Shore competition on their way to the Class A North title with wins over No. 3 Holmdel, No. 7 Rumson-Fair Haven, No. 10 Toms River North and No. 12 Middletown North. Their two losses were to Paramus Catholic, which beat them a second time in the Non-Public B semifinals to deny them a spot in their fourth state final in five seasons. RBC should start next season at No. 1 with All-Shore talents led by freshman quarterback Rahmir Rivera, freshman tailback Gabe Kemp, sophomore WR/DB Jason Berecsky, junior OL/DL Jordan Key, junior OL/DL Lorenzo Tartamella, junior DB Kieran McGonnell, junior RB/DB Jordan Mosenthine, sophomore LB Brock Goodman, junior LB Luke Scaturro and freshman kicker Simon Picinich all returning along with more up-and-coming impact players. 

2 Brick Memorial (10-3). Preseason ranking: No. 2. 

The Mustangs’ stellar senior class fulfilled its destiny in delivering Brick Memorial its first state sectional title in 17 years, as they captured the Central Jersey Group 4 crown as well as a share of the Class A South title. They had wins over No. 3 Holmdel, No. 5 Southern, No. 6 Wall, No. 9 Point Boro, No. 10 Toms River North and No. 12 Middletown North. They produced the Shore Sports Insider Offensive Player of the Year (senior quarterback Jason Lajara) and Defensive Player of the Year (senior linebacker Trey Tallmadge) as well as arguably the Shore’s top wide receiver in Nyzier Matthews. They graduate the greatest senior class in program history, but still have a solid junior class returning in WR/DB Shawn Fowler, TE Joe Livio, DT Jaxon Pacheco, OL Jaxon Ellis, OL Logan Perry, DB/K Jack Marotta and LB Colin Schoelkopf. 

3 Holmdel (9-3). Preseason ranking: No. 11. 

The Hornets turned in the best season in school history by winning the Central Jersey Group 3 title for their first state sectional championship. They more than held their own after getting moved up to Class A North, thanks to the No. 1 offense in the Shore Conference at 43.1 points per game. They produced the Shore Sports Insider Most Valuable Player (senior quarterback Jack Cannon) and the SSI Coach of the Year (Noel Kavanagh). Cannon finished his career as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Shore Conference history, which included a single-season state record 63 total touchdowns between rushing and passing. They had wins over No. 4 Donovan Catholic, No. 7 Rumson-Fair Haven and No. 12 Middletown North. Cannon is a massive loss along with other standout seniors like wide receiver James Murphy and linebacker Peter Berardi, but the Hornets return enough talent to remain among the Top 10 with sophomore WR/DB Anthony Serini, junior WR/DB Michael Todisco, junior LB Joey Berardi, junior RB/DB Matt Scheinman and freshman DB Tyler Carri all coming back. 

4 Donovan Catholic (8-4). Preseason ranking: No. 6. 

The Griffins grabbed a share of the Class A South title and reached the Non-Public B quarterfinals while weathering a host of injuries. They melded a young team and a group of transfers into a hard-nosed squad that had wins over No. 2 Brick Memorial, No. 9 Point Boro, No. 10 Toms River North and a seven-win Manalapan team. While they graduate Illinois recruit Kai Pritchard on both sides of the line, the Griffins return almost everyone next season and should be a top contender for the No. 1 spot. Junior QB Kahden Davis, junior RB Ethan Nicolas, junior RB/DB Alex Staten, junior WR Aidan Kelly, junior OL Carter Smith, freshman OL Xavier Fowlkes, sophomore WR T.J. Hunter, junior OL Tino Mammano, freshman WR Justin Roberts, sophomore QB/RB A.J. Pena, junior DE Jason Madden, junior DL Henry Byrnes, junior LB Diondre Foendoe, junior LB Sean Byrnes, junior DB Jael Hester, freshman DL Shai Hester, junior DB Nyron Snerling and junior K/P Sal Reynoso are all back. 

5 Southern (9-2). Preseason ranking: Unranked. 

The Rams were one of the surprise teams of the season as their underclassmen joined the returning talent to help them seize the spotlight. They won the Class B South title and started 7-0 for the first time in program history while also reaching the South Jersey Group 5 semifinals. They finished with wins over No. 10 Toms River North and No. 11 Central, and their only losses were to No. 2 Brick Memorial and South Jersey Group 5 champion Kingsway. They could be right in the mix for a top-five spot again next season, although they could potentially have a much more challenging schedule. Class B South Offensive Player of the Year Carson Abbato returns at quarterback, and division Co-Defensive Player of the Year Niko Iliescu will be back at linebacker. Iliescu’s talented twin brother, sophomore TE/LB Lukas Iliescu, will also return along with junior WR Chris Raub, junior kicker Cole Celeste, junior LB Lucas Iorio and junior DL John McGinnis. 

6 Wall (9-3). Preseason ranking: No. 9. 

The Crimson Knights won Class B North for their first division title since 2019 and also reached the Central Jersey Group 2 final for the second straight season. After starting 0-2, they won nine of their last 10 games and boasted wins over No. 7 Rumson-Fair Haven and No. 8 Manasquan. Their only losses were to No. 2 Brick Memorial, Tottenville of Staten Island and sectional champion Camden. Wall will be hit hard by graduation, headlined by the loss of B North Player of the Year Justin Davis at DE/TE, 1,000-yard rusher and B North Defensive Player of the Year Dylan Cohen, and WR/DB/K Heath Reinhardt. They lose their leading passer, rusher and receiver as well as their top two defensive players. They return some experience up front on both sides and sophomore RB Mike Boulard as the foundation of next season’s team. 

7 Rumson-Fair Haven (6-4). Preseason ranking: No. 4. 

Graduation finally caught up to the Bulldogs a little bit along with an injury to returning All-Shore running back Kellen Murray that knocked them out of their usual top-five spot. They beat No. 2 Brick Memorial and had two wins over No. 9 Point Boro and a win over No. 12 Middletown North, but their streak of 11 straight sectional final appearances came to an end in the semifinals in a loss to No. 6 Wall. While they lose some solid talent to graduation, they have the ingredients to push back up in the rankings next season with sophomore QB Brady Williams, junior QB/WR Casey Moore, junior RB/LB Ryder Izzo, junior DT Ben Gredell, junior OL Aidan Lane and junior LB Carmine Florio all returning. 

8 Manasquan (8-3). Preseason ranking: Unranked. 

The Warriors got back to their championship ways this season by grabbing a share of the Class C North title while also reaching the Central Jersey Group 2 semifinals. They had a win over No. 9 Point Boro as well as a victory over Central Jersey Group 1 finalist Shore Regional. They produced 2,039 yards rushing this season, and 1,862 of those yards will graduate between Ace Etienne, Justice Morgan, Dylan Lu and Frankie Tackett. They do return junior QB Kyle Dow and TE Luke Barry, but they will need almost an all-new skill position core next season behind a line led by junior OL Dom Incolla. Barry is also a standout at linebacker and will be back along with LB Chris Matthaei, DL Nick Loughrey, DL Lucas Kubu and DB Dax Klein. 

9 Point Boro (4-5). Preseason ranking: No. 5. 

No team was more snakebit with injuries this season than the Panthers. They had four players suffer season-ending ACL injuries and had standout junior quarterback Jake Clayton miss games with an injury. They had a win over No. 10 Toms River North and pushed No. 5 Donovan Catholic, No. 7 Rumson-Fair Haven and No. 8 Manasquan to the end in single-digit losses. The silver lining to the injuries is they started multiple freshmen who should be major impact players next season. They return a host of talent to get back into the top-five mix, led by Clayton, junior RB Nick Spanola, junior kicker Jack Sullivan, junior TE Mason Morris, junior OL Aidan Dombrowsky, freshman OL Nico Cangiano, freshman DL Trevor Evans, junior LB D.J. Albanese, junior DB Lorenzo Natoli, freshman DB Lincoln Blasi and junior RB/LB Luca Cangiano. 

10 Toms River North (5-6). Preseason ranking: No. 1. 

Graduation losses finally caught up with a team that had won three straight Group 5 titles. However, teams better have gotten their licks in this season because the Mariners return almost everyone, including a stellar group of freshmen and sophomores. They still finished with a win over No. 7 Rumson-Fair Haven and reached the South Jersey Group 5 semifinals this season. Their losses were to No. 1 RBC, No. 2 Brick Memorial, No. 4 Donovan Catholic, No. 5 Southern, No. 9 Point Boro and sectional finalist Atlantic City. They had 13 All-Division players in Class A South, and every single one of them is coming back, led by junior WR/DB Cole Garrison, junior LB Jack Baker, freshman DE Finn Boland, sophomore DE Kam Morse, junior QB Logan Brill, junior RB Lucas Elias and a host of returners on both sides of the line. 

11 Central (8-2). Preseason ranking: Unranked. 

The Golden Eagles shook off graduation losses to once again earn a state playoff berth with a relatively young team. They had wins over No. 12 Middletown North and a Steinert team that beat Red Bank in the state playoffs. Their only losses were to No. 5 Southern and Northern Burlington in the state playoffs. They should be a factor again next season with Class B South Co-Defensive Player of the Year Gus Copes, a sophomore linebacker, returning along with junior WR/DB C.J. Yates, junior RB J.J. Twohig, junior WR Dom Prasad, junior OL Jonathan Kale, junior WR/DB Zy’Shun Carroll and junior WR/DB Mason Smith. 

12 Middletown North (6-5). Preseason ranking: No. 7. 

The Lions reached their first sectional final since 2016 by upsetting second-seeded Manalapan in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals after facing a challenging regular-season schedule. They also beat rival Middletown South twice in one season after having only beaten them twice in the last 26 years. Their losses were to No. 1 RBC, No. 2 Brick Memorial, No. 3 Holmdel, No. 7 RFH and No. 11 Central, and they beat a seven-win Manalapan team and a Matawan team that reached the Central Jersey Group 3 semifinals. Graduation is going to hurt, as they lose a class with two-year starting quarterback Owen Robson, top receiver Jack Viola, record-setting kicker Seamus Montague and WR/DB Ryan Clark. They do return some important pieces to stay in the rankings next year, led by junior 1,200-yard rusher Matt Belenko, junior WR Danny Sigler, junior LB/TE Kade Little, junior DL Derek Laguna, junior DL Logan Grenham and junior DB MJ Parulis. 

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