Atlantic Physical Therapy Preseason Shore Conference Football Top 12

It’s finally time. 

The wait for Shore Conference football is over, as the 2025 season gets set to kick off with a full slate of nondivisional and nonconference showdowns in Week Zero that should give us some immediate answers about this year’s top teams. 

Heading into the 2025 season, the Shore Conference landscape resembles the highest level of college football in that the usual suspects are breaking in new quarterbacks and trying to compensate for heavy graduation losses, which leaves a lot of unknowns.  

Just like Ohio State and Texas are giving the keys to the machine to new quarterbacks replacing stars, so are teams like Toms River North, Red Bank Catholic and Rumson-Fair Haven. 

Just like teams like Clemson and Penn State return proven commodities looking to get their teams over the top and win it all, so do Brick Memorial and Point Boro. Just like teams have remade their roster in the offseason and look great on paper but are still unproven on the field, so are Donovan Catholic and a new Jackson Township squad that is a combination of Jackson Liberty and Jackson Memorial. 

Class A South in particular looks ruthless again, as every single team in the division is ranked in our inaugural Atlantic Physical Therapy Center Shore Conference Top 12. 

It all adds up to another exciting season of intrigue in the Shore, and it starts with a bang in Week Zero. There are three head-to-head matchups of ranked teams to start the season, so we’ll find out quickly about which teams are the real deal. 

Time to throw some rankings out there and see what sticks. 

1  Toms River North. Last season: 14-0.

The Mariners graduated a spectacular senior class of All-Shore performers, including first-team quarterback T.J. Valerio and SSI Defensive Player of the Year Blaise Boland, but they have earned the benefit of the doubt with an incredible run. They enter the season with the state’s longest current winning streak at 19 games after winning three straight NJSIAA Group 5 titles. Six-foot-3 junior Logan Brill takes over as quarterback, where versatile All-Shore talent Cole Garrison will be a primary target. The defense also brings back All-Shore linebackers Brady Cicala and Jack Baker. The key questions will be whether they can quickly overcome inexperience, how the new group of linemen perform on both sides, and whether there are extra weapons on offense to prevent teams from keying on Garrison. The first order of business is getting out of Week Zero with their winning streak intact against the last team to beat them. First game: Thursday at No. 3 Red Bank Catholic. 

2 Brick Memorial. Last season: 9-3. 

This is the most veteran and talented team the Mustangs have had in a while. It feels like now or never to rise up and take the Class A South title from Toms River North and make a run at a sectional championship. It’s a star-laden team under veteran coach Walt Currie led by All-Shore quarterback Jason Lajara, linebacker Trey Tallmadge, wideout Nyzier Matthews, running back Na’zeer Whittaker, WR/DB Shawn Fowler and more. They will get an immediate test on the road to start the season. Their schedule is a gauntlet right out of the gate with six straight games against teams ranked in the inaugural Top 12. They will have every opportunity to cement themselves as the Shore’s No. 1 team if they navigate that minefield. First game: Friday at No. 9 Wall. 

3 Red Bank Catholic. Last season: 6-4. 

The Caseys are one of the more intriguing teams because of their returning talent plus a group of highly touted freshmen. Can freshman quarterback Rahmir Rivera and tailback Gabe Kemp make an immediate impact? RBC returns a beefed up offensive line, a Power 4 prospect at defensive end in junior Lorenzo Tartamella, and a deep group of wideouts. They are out to show last season was a blip on the radar as they look to return to the top of the Shore. We will find out about them immediately when they try to end No. 1 Toms River North’s 19-game winning streak when they welcome the Mariners in the season opener. RBC is the last team to beat Toms River North, which they did back in 2023 in an overtime thriller. First game: Thursday vs. Toms River North. 

4 Rumson-Fair Haven. Last season: 13-0. 

Rumson is coming off the greatest season in program history after capturing its first NJSIAA Group 2 title and finishing unbeaten for the first time since 1959. Much like Toms River North, they graduated a stellar senior class full of All-Shore players, including SSI Offensive Player of the Year Owen O’Toole, who finished his career second in Shore Conference history in passing yards. Even for a program that routinely plugs the holes from graduation, it won’t be easy replacing the talent that graduated, especially from an offense that was No. 1 in the Shore in scoring. Senior Kellen Murray returns as one of the Shore’s top running backs, Colgate recruit Jack Gyimesi is a big target at tight end and junior Ben Gredell should be a game-wrecker on the defensive line. They are yet another team that will be immediately tested in Week Zero when they welcome a hungry team they beat twice last year, including in the Group 2 semifinals. First game: Friday vs. No. 5 Point Boro.

5 Point Boro. Last season: 10-3. 

The Group 2 Panthers showed they could more than hold their own with the big boys in Class A South last season, finishing second to undefeated Toms River North, which they took to the brink in a three-point loss. They bring back All-Shore quarterback Jake Clayton and slotback Nick Spanola as the engines of their flexbone option attack, while welcoming another influx of talent. Once again, Rumson will be in their way in the regular season and possibly again in the postseason. The Panthers captured their second sectional title in the last four seasons last year before the Bulldogs knocked them out in the Group 2 semifinals. Point Boro can show right away that this year will be different. First game: Friday at No. 4 Rumson.

6 Donovan Catholic. Last season: 2-7. 

The Griffins have fans buzzing with all their additions in the offseason after a tough 2024 season. Junior FBS prospect Kahden Davis, who started at Seton Hall Prep last year, steps in at quarterback. The team also added RB/WR Alex Staten from Ocean, wide receiver Nyron Snerling from Long Branch, speedy athlete Jael Hester from Toms River North and more. They also return the top recruit in the Shore Conference Class of 2026 in senior lineman Kai Pritchard, an Illinois commit. If they put all the new pieces together, they could certainly make a run at the No. 1 spot while competing in the rugged Class A South. They get a good nonconference test from a quality South Jersey program to start the season. First game: Thursday vs. Kingsway.  

7 Middletown North. Last season: 8-2. 

The Lions are coming off their first outright division title since 1983. They return quarterback Owen Robson and one of the Shore’s top wideouts in Jack Viola, but must replace four starters up front. Ryan Clark is another top receiver who should help the Lions maintain an offense that averaged 30.5 points per game last season. The schedule is also much tougher now that Middletown North has been moved into Class A North, which is headlined by No. 2 RBC and No. 4 Rumson-Fair Haven. First game: Sept. 5 at Howell. 

8 Jackson Township. Last season: N/A

This is the first year of the new combined team after the two Jackson high schools were consolidated into one that’s housed in the building of the former Jackson Liberty. The Jaguars return one of the Shore’s top running backs in senior Jonah Glenn and combine him with quarterback Mason Ciccariello, who was a three-year starter for Jackson Liberty. This is a team that might be good on the field, but not in the win column, as they are in Class A South with Brick Memorial, Donovan Catholic, Point Boro and Toms River North. Their games against Southern, Middletown South and St. John Vianney will be important to show their strength outside the division. First game: Thursday at North Brunswick. 

9 Wall. Last season: 8-3.

The Crimson Knights reached a sectional final last season and bring back a physical defense led by All-Shore senior TE/DE Justin Davis, a Colgate recruit. Star linebackers Dylan Cohen and Thomas Plisky are also back, while do-it-all senior Heath Reinhardt returns at wide receiver and kicker after an All-Shore season. Quarterback Franny Scaramellino, last year’s starter, transferred to RBC in the summer and then came back to Wall, so he has to sit out the first four games by NJSIAA rule. Senior Brian McKenna has stepped in as the Crimson Knights’ signal-caller. Wall should be right in the mix for the Class B North title in a division that also includes St. John Vianney, Manalapan, Howell and Freehold Township. First game: Friday vs. No. 2 Brick Memorial. 

10 St. John Vianney. Last season: 9-4. 

It’s been a season of turnover for the Lancers, but the ingredients are still there to make a run at a division title and more this season under new head coach Greg Penta. Senior Zach LaBarca returns as one of the Shore’s top quarterbacks, and junior Corleii Thomas, a Jackson Liberty transfer, gives them an explosive running option. They were obviously dealt a huge blow when SSI Most Valuable Player Abdul Turay, who led all of New Jersey in rushing last season, transferred to St. Peter’s Prep. If they can shore up the defense, they should be a factor in Class B North. First game: Friday at Seton Hall Prep. 

11 Holmdel. Last season: 8-2. 

The Hornets won back-to-back division titles for the first time in history last season in a banner year in which they also reached the sectional semifinals. While they were wiped out on both sides of the line by graduation, they return superstar quarterback Jack Cannon, a Dartmouth recruit. His presence alone makes Holmdel a factor in the Class B North race, and he has a group of wideouts led by senior James Murphy, junior Michael Todisco and sophomore Anthony Serini. Holmdel’s schedule will be a challenge after a move to Class A North, so much of their season comes down to the maturation of the newcomers on the line and their depth as they navigate a tough slate. First game: Sept. 5 at No. 6 Donovan Catholic. 

12 Manalapan. Last season: 5-6. 

The Braves were all over the place last season, making a run at the Class C North title and falling just short. They return one of the Shore’s deepest backfields in senior Ah’sere Woolfolk and junior Nicky Palmieri as they break in new quarterback Cameron Desfosse. The defense also returns plenty of experience, including Palmieri and Ethan Fogelstrom at linebacker and St. John Vianney transfer Donny Rocco Sosa. First game: Thursday vs. Tottenville (N.Y.). 

 

Keep an eye on: Southern, Raritan, Manasquan, Freehold Township, Central, Shore Regional.