SSI Football Report: Donovan Catholic wins for injured teammate

(Photo of Donovan Catholic’s Gavin Nascimento by Greg Viscomi)

The best performance of the season by a young Donovan Catholic team came in an emotional win after a serious injury to sophomore Gavin Nascimento in the first quarter of the game.

“I’m not usually at a loss for words, but it was just a horrific-looking thing,” Griffins head coach Dan Curcione said. “I’m still upset about it.”

Nascimento underwent a third procedure on his left leg on Tuesday after suffering a compound fracture of the tibia and a fractured fibula when his cleat got stuck in the mud on a tackle during a wildcat run play in an eventual victory over host Jackson Memorial.

The son of Griffins’ offensive coordinator Jack Nascimento, Gavin initially underwent two surgeries because the bone cut through an artery and then he developed internal bleeding. He then had a third procedure at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune on Tuesday to remove a drain.

The Griffins regrouped after the injury to beat Jackson Memorial 32-7 for their highest point total of the season and their second win in three games after an 0-2 start. Nascimento was urging on his teammates, including his older brother Jayden, even as he was being taken away in serious pain by paramedics.

“He was yelling at guys while in the ambulance to go win the game,” Curcione said. “I don’t know how they did it. They were upset, Jayden in particular, but they did a really nice job of refocusing. I just said, ‘You need to dedicate this game to him and leave it all on the field because that’s what he would do for you.’ It was just hard because football doesn’t seem so important when you’re just thinking about (Nascimento).”

The sophomore has become a versatile weapon for the Griffins who plays running back, kicker, outside linebacker, tight end and lines up at quarterback in the wildcat. Now the hope is that he can make a full return by the spring, where he is a standout in lacrosse.

In the midst of a trying situation, Donovan Catholic, ranked No. 9 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12,  showed that it continues to get better with a young team despite facing one of the Shore Conference’s most challenging schedules. In the win over Jackson Memorial, sophomore Ethan Nicolas went over 100 yards rushing and had a touchdown, Jayden Nascimento added a touchdown and sophomore quarterback Kyle Dow threw a 79-yard touchdown to senior Luke Vernieri, who scored three times in the win.

“We’re pretty young, and we’re kind of learning who we are,” Curcione said. “It took a little longer than we wanted, but we’re getting a good feel of who we are and what our identity is. I think we’ve done a good job running the ball, playing ball control, and working our young quarterback into throws that he’s good at, and I think Kyle’s worked really hard.”

Jayden Nascimento, who is a junior, has also been a standout at middle linebacker for a team that has not had star Rutgers recruit Michael Thomas III for two of its games due to injuries. Thomas suffered a freak twisted ankle during a bye week and didn’t play in a loss to Point Boro, and then didn’t get cleared from a head injury in time to play against Jackson Memorial. He is expected to return this week against No. 2 Rumson-Fair Haven, according to Curcione.

While Donovan Catholic’s recent teams have been star-studded, veteran groups solidly among the top five in the Shore Conference, this has been more of a building effort. Curcione likened it to his second season as head coach at Wall, when a young team went 4-6 in 2015. One year later, the Crimson Knights went 10-2 and won the South Jersey Group 3 title.

“I’ve done this before,” he said. “My second year at Wall, we had talent, but we were a little bit youthful and needed another year to get our bodies in shape to really make a run. I’m OK with us being young and not quite ready. I enjoy the challenge. Seeing the progression of kids and coaching them hard is gratifying.”

Brosnan helps the Beach bounce back

Point Beach’s 21-14 win over Keyport in Week Six pushed the Garnet Gulls to 4-2, giving them their most wins since they went 7-3 in 2019.

A big reason has been senior running back/linebacker Liam Brosnan, who had 168 yards rushing and a touchdown in the win over the Red Raiders. Last year, Brosnan rushed for 1,081 yards to become only the third running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season in the history of Point Beach football, which is celebrating its 100th year this fall. All of them have come in the last 12 years, as he joined former stars Joe Wegryzniak (1,581 in 2013) and Danny Tighe (1,569 in 2012) in the club.

This year he has 670 yards and 5 touchdowns running behind an all-senior offensive line in Point Beach’s Wing-T offense. He is 429 yards away from becoming the school’s all-time leading rusher by passing former quarterback Luke Frauenheim (2,255).

Not bad for a player who played lacrosse at the youth level and didn’t pick up football until his freshman year because Point Beach doesn’t have a boys lacrosse team.

“He was a natural running ball,” Garnet Gulls head coach Joe Zaccone said. “He’s added 15 pounds of muscle every year after only being 130 pounds as a freshman.”

Brosnan also has a knack for making winning plays, whether it was an interception that sealed a win over Asbury Park, or a four-yard run on fourth down that iced the victory over Keyport.

“He’s a captain on and off the field,” Zaccone said.

He is part of a senior class that endured going a combined 8-22 the past three seasons. They still have regular-season games against Class C South champion Manchester and fellow Ocean County Group I squad New Egypt, but they have given themselves a good shot to reach the state playoffs. They currently sit 14th in the South Group 1 region. The top 16 teams qualify.

“We knew when they were seniors they were going to be a good group, and they’ve stuck it out through all the ups and downs,” Zaccone said. “That underdog mentality is something the kids wear like a badge of honor.”

There also are seeds for a bright future, as freshman Gage Boyle leads the Garnet Gulls with 50 tackles at middle linebacker, including five for a loss. Sophomore linebacker Danny Neal has 36 tackles, including 9 for a loss, playing alongside senior linebacker Ryan Scannell behind a defensive line led by seniors Jerry Santiago and Ronald Thorn.

Homecoming for Shore’s Don Klein

Seven games into his first season as Shore Regional’s head coach, Don Klein is heading to the field where he spent the last two decades coaching.

The unbeaten Blue Devils (6-0) travel to Ocean (1-5) for a nondivisional game on Friday night at Carelli Field. Klein was the Spartans head coach for 17 seasons before taking the job this past offseason at Shore, which is his alma mater. Klein is still a history teacher at Ocean, but he will be on the opposing sideline on Friday night.

Klein went 93-75-1 during his time at Ocean and led the Spartans to four division titles, so a win on Friday night would give him 100 for his career at the expense of his old team. He also coached stars like current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett, current Temple University quarterback Tyler Douglas, and Syracuse receiver Trebor Pena.

“Nothing but positive memories about my career at Ocean Township,” Klein said. “I had a really, really good run with a lot of great people. I think going there and being on the opposite sideline, the other locker room, it definitely feels a little weird.”

Klein has already led the Blue Devils to at least a share of the Class D North title and their best start since going undefeated in 2015. They are trying to make a push for a No. 1 seed in the state playoffs, and Klein’s old squad is in the way.

“I’ve known a couple of these (Ocean players) since they were 9, 10 years old. That was the hardest part of making the move, was the relationships and being a part of their lives,” he said. “But I’m excited about Friday night. It’s homecoming for them, and it’s kind of a homecoming for me, also.”

Vote of the Play of the Week

Make sure to vote for the top highlights from Week 6 in Shore Conference football, from a 79-yard touchdown catch by Rumson-Fair Haven’s Jordan Angstreich, to a one-handed interception while falling backward by Pinelands’ defensive back Samuel Kilasi.

Alumni Update

Casey Larkin, Jr., DB, Army

The former Wall star received honorable mention honors among the AAC Players of the Week after snatching two interceptions in a 44-10 win over UAB that improved the Black Knights to 6-0. Army is now ranked No. 23 in the nation in the Associated Press Top 25 and on a path to the AAC title game.

John Lista, Jr., LB, University of Pennsylvania

The former Rumson-Fair Haven standout was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after finishing with 11 tackles, 10 of them solo, along with 3.5 tackles for a loss and a sack in a 31-21 win over Bucknell.

News from around the Shore

• Freehold Township’s 32-20 win over Freehold for “The Duke” trophy may have been a Shore Conference first – both quarterbacks threw for more than 300 yards in the game. Freehold Township’s Nick Cardone, one of the state’s leading passers, had a career-high 331 yards and four total touchdowns, while Freehold senior Dominic Romeo threw for a career-high 305 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
• Holmdel’s Jack Cannon is believed to have set a school record with 352 yards passing in a 56-31 win over Raritan. He also ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns.
• Up in North Jersey, Scotch Plains sophomore Jaliyah Richards made state history by running for a 70-yard score to become what is believed to be the first girl to score a varsity touchdown in a boys football game in New Jersey.
• Toms River South senior Jake Henehan is averaging 12.2 yards per carry after putting up 178 yards and 4 touchdowns in a win over Toms River East that brought his season total to 962 yards on 79 carries.
• Middletown North junior defensive back Ryan Clark tied a school record with three interceptions and wide receiver Jack Viola tied a program mark with three touchdown catches in a win over Red Bank. The Lions are 6-0 for the first time since going 11-0 in 1983 under the late Vic Kubu.
• Rumson-Fair Haven senior quarterback Owen O’Toole is 25 yards away from becoming the Bulldogs’ all-time leading passer by beating the record set by Michael Roberto (5,635). The unbeaten Bulldogs host Donovan Catholic on Friday night.

Scott Stump is an award-winning reporter, newsletter writer and editor who first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point.  

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