SSI Football Report: Ivan Padilla’s Sack Rampage, Free Twp’s Linebacker/QB, Center Helps Brick Mem. Play Fast

Howell junior Ivan Padilla has gone on the type of two-game sack rampage that has rarely been witnessed in Shore Conference history.

“I’ve been coaching 30 years in the Shore, and I’ve never seen it before,” Howell head coach Bill Hill said. 

The Rebels’ defensive end has racked up 9.5 sacks in the last two games, including a single-game school record 5.5 in a 17-0 win over Marlboro last week. He now has a Shore Conference-leading 13.5 sacks for the season. 

“Once you get one, you have a craving for another one,” Padilla said. “It’s also really just been that drive to help get our team back on track. We’re turning it around, and we’re trying to keep it going.” 

A significant change for Padilla is that he started the season playing both tight end and defensive end, but Hill said he was struggling in the second halves of games with cramps and having to come out. The coaching staff made the decision to just play him on defense in the last two games, and he has been all over opposing quarterbacks. 

“It definitely makes a big difference,” Padilla said. “You’re coming off running routes (at tight end) and then pass rushing on third-down situations, and you can wear down.” 

He had one sack apiece in each of the team’s first four games before his 9.5-sack eruption while only playing at defensive end in the last two games. He is able to use a bull rush or get enough bend to work around the edge. 

Padilla had four sacks in a 24-20 win over Freehold Township in a crucial game for Howell’s state playoff hopes and then 5.5 in the win over Marlboro. The Rebels (3-3) are back to .500 and currently in 11th in the South Jersey Group 5 section. The top 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. 

Another factor in Padilla’s success is that teams can’t totally focus on him. The defensive end on the other side, Aiden Mendes, has 5.5 sacks of his own. He had three sacks in the win over Marlboro, a game in which Howell recorded 12 total sacks on 47 offensive plays by the Mustangs, according to Hill. 

“Last game after probably like the third sack, they had the guard wrap over and they also also had the running back trying to chip me,” Padilla said. “But they also have to worry about Mendes on the other side. That helps a lot. When I get by my man, if the quarterback is panicking, you have Mendes right there.” 

Howell and Padilla have a tough assignment this week against St. John Vianney and senior quarterback Zach LaBarca. 

Freehold Township’s Linebacker QB Sets School Record

It’s not too often that a team’s quarterback also leads them in tackles, but that has been the case with Freehold Township senior Johnathan Kokotis. 

The senior linebacker has had to step in at quarterback in the last two games due to an illness that has sidelined junior Dakota Lasater, who had 885 yards passing and 11 touchdowns in four games. All Kokotis did last week was throw for a single-game school-record six touchdowns on 15-for-18 passing in a 302-yard performance that powered a 41-19 win over Barnegat. 

“He’s 5-foot-7 and 180 pounds, so he’s not what you might think of when you think of a quarterback, but he can really throw the football,” Patriots head coach Cory Davies said. “He was unconscious (against Barnegat).” 

Kokotis also leads the team with 43 tackles at linebacker. He played quarterback on JV last year but was third-string behind the school’s all-time leading passer, Nick Cardone, and Lasater. Plus, he was excelling so much on defense that he was mainly focused on linebacker. 

He has now thrown for 479 yards and nine touchdowns this season in Freehold Township’s spread passing attack. Kokotis will be starting again this week when the Patriots face rival Freehold. 

It also helps that one of his targets is 6-foot-4, 200-pound junior Jake Schultzel, who has 38 catches for 653 yards and nine touchdowns this season. He had five catches for 160 yards and three touchdowns in Kokotis’ record-setting game against Barnegat. Schultzel has drawn interest from Monmouth University, Villanova and Delaware, according to Davies. 

Pacheco Helps Brick Memorial Go Full Speed in Win Over Holmdel 

Brick Memorial blitzed Holmdel’s defense from the opening whistle last week by running a nonstop, high-tempo offense in which the instant the official spotted the ball, the Mustangs were snapping it for the next play. 

They had used that approach at times but never for a full game. It led to senior quarterback Jason Lajara throwing for a school-record 411 yards and four touchdowns while also running for three scores in a 55-41 takedown of the Hornets. 

An underrated component was junior center Jaxon Pacheco. The Mustangs operate out of the shotgun, and they ran an eye-opening 80 plays in the win by hustling to the line of scrimmage even after gaining big chunks of yardage. Every single snap by Pacheco was on the money, and that was with Pacheco also playing defensive tackle, where he had a sack. 

“I feel like we’re pretty well-conditioned,” Pacheco said. “Obviously at times I’m going to get a little tired, but I knew the other team was more tired than me.” 

The sped-up tempo also had practical value.

“One of the reasons we did it is because Holmdel has wristbands (on defense),” he said. “They  don’t do play calls. We would be in our cadence calling ‘hike,’ and they wouldn’t even be in a three-point stance because they were looking at their wristbands. We were able to catch them standing and just go.” 

Brick Memorial used one-word play calls for the position players. For the offensive line, a signaler on their sideline would designate a color for each play, which symbolized the blocking scheme. The offensive line of Pacheco, left tackle Logan Perry, left guard Jaxon Ellis, right guard JJ Singh and right tackle Colin Barron would quickly repeat the color to each other while rushing to the line of scrimmage, and then run the next play. 

Pacheco’s performance was also impressive because he wasn’t Brick Memorial’s original center this season. He had to step in after the projected starter suffered a season-ending knee injury two weeks before the season opener. Pacheco credits Mustangs offensive line coach Bill Brunner with helping him. 

“I was struggling a lot with my snaps,” Pacheco said. “He helped me change my grip on the ball, and then I did 80 snaps (cleanly) against Holmdel.” 

Middletown South Starts Its Playoff Push

After facing one of the Shore Conference’s toughest schedules to start the season, Middletown South knew that time was running out on its postseason hopes when it faced Jackson last week. 

“Honestly, we were in must-win mode,” Eagles coach Marc Tomo said. “We felt the Jackson game was really going to make or break our season. We threw everything into this game.” 

The Eagles beat the previously 10th-ranked Jaguars 21-3 for their second straight win after an 0-4 start. They viewed the stretch of Marlboro, Jackson and now No. 11 Red Bank on Oct. 17 as the defining portion of their season if they are going to get into the state playoffs. Middletown South is currently in 13th in the United Power Rankings in South Group 4. 

Senior defensive lineman Dylan Lynch led the defensive effort against Jackson with 1.5 sacks and two tackles for a loss. Sophomore middle linebacker Connor Leon had 4 tackles, one for a loss, and junior safety Justin Rosato continued his strong season with 4 tackles, one for a loss, and an interception. 

“I think our defense finally bought into everything we were talking about to them and playing team defense,” Tomo said. “We’ve struggled against the run, but we made a committed effort to contain (Jackson’s Jonah Glenn and Jio Kabiri) and not let Glenn bounce outside or let Kabiri run inside.” 

Middletown South is as battle-tested as any team in the Shore after having faced No. 1 Red Bank Catholic, No. 3 Manalapan, No. 4 Holmdel and a solid Cherokee program from South Jersey. 

“Nothing we see now is going to scare us,” Tomo said. “We had a lot of guys hurt that we are getting back as well, so now we just need to keep playing well.” 

Notes From Around the Shore 

—New Egypt senior running back Eddie Novatkowski has rolled up 327 yards and three touchdowns rushing in the last two games after rushing for 151 and a score through the first three games. The Warriors have won two straight. 

—Shore Regional’s defense held Point Beach quarterback Matthew Rossi to 96 yards on 8-for-18 passing in a 63-7 win. Rossi had been averaging 249 yards passing per game and had not been held under 232 all season. 

—Neptune is on its first five-game winning streak since 2014 after a 46-20 win over Keansburg. The Scarlet Fliers take on Ocean (3-3) this week. 

—Pinelands has won four in a row for the second time in three seasons. A win over Barnegat this week would give the Wildcats their first five-game winning streak since winning six straight in 2022. 

—Red Bank has won four straight for the first time since 2022. A win over Manasquan would give the Bucs their first five-game winning streak since 2018. 

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