SSI Football Report: The Shore’s Wildest Week Zero Win, Twin Powers and the Loss of a Matawan Legend
The wildest Shore Conference game of Week Zero featured a 99-yard drive, a running back getting taken away in an ambulance, a go-ahead touchdown with 30 seconds left and a crucial play involving a player at a position he had never played before.
And that wasn’t even the craziest part of New Egypt’s 23-22 nonconference win over Buena.
That part came when New Egypt faced a fourth-and-10 from its own 39-yard line and less than 20 seconds left in the game. The playcall was for junior quarterback Thomas Marabuto to sprint to his right and find a receiver near the sideline to just secure a first down and keep the game going.
Instead, Marabuto saw senior wideout Jason Cowan open on the other side of the field and hit him with a pass that Cowan took for a 61-yard touchdown, juking two defenders at the 25-yard line and scoring to bring the Warriors within one point with 10 seconds left in the game. On top of the show-stopping play, it was the first catch of Cowan’s career.
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The Warriors then had to go for two because their junior kicker, Jake Kowalski, who also plays running back, had been carried off in an ambulance after hitting his head on the turf earlier in the game. Kowalski was discharged from the hospital on the same night of the game and is recovering, according to head coach Steve Fence.
Marabuto bought time on the two-point conversion and found senior Kaiden Grasso in the back of the end zone for the game-winning points. Grasso was inserted at tight end on the conversion attempt – a position he has never played before.
“To do what we did was just crazy,” Fence said.
New Egypt was losing 14-7 early in the fourth quarter when it got a stop on fourth down on its own 1-yard line thanks to freshman defensive tackle Jake Roveda. The Warriors then embarked on a 99-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Marabuto to Joe Snyder and then a two-point conversion for the lead. However, Buena answered with a long touchdown pass to take the lead back and set up the final, wild sequence for the Warriors.
“This gives us some nice momentum,” Fence said. “It was an hour-and-20-minute bus ride, so the kids were excited to have pulled it out like that.”
New Egypt now faces Manchester, where Fence coached for 15 years before taking the New Egypt job.
Matawan Legend Barry Rizzo Dies at 94
Barry Rizzo, one of the Shore’s legendary coaches from his 24-year tenure at Matawan, has died at 94, the school’s alumni association announced on Tuesday.
Rizzo had a career record of 147-61-9 and led the Huskies to state sectional titles in 1958, 1973 and 1975, along with eight division titles. The 1975 team went 11-0 and is considered one of the great teams in Shore Conference history. Rizzo was inducted into the Shore Football Coaches Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009.
Matawan coaching legend Barry Rizzo (center) has passed away at 94. He is shown here with Matawan’s all-time wins leader, Joe Martucci (left) and current Huskies head coach Matt Walsh. (Photo by the Matawan Football Alumni Association)
Rizzo coached some of the Shore’s most iconic players, including former Dallas Cowboys star Jim Jeffcoat, quarterback Kenny Mandeville, and fullback Gary Weber. He also was the head coach of another Matawan coaching legend, Joe Martucci, an all-state linebacker who returned to his alma mater and became the Huskies’ all-time wins leader.
Fitzmagic for St. John Vianney
While New Egypt may have had the craziest day of any team, St. John Vianney junior Noah Fitzpatrick had the most memorable opener of any Shore Conference player. It included reeling in three touchdown catches and two FBS offers in a matter of hours. Read about it all here(opens in new tab).
Purple passing attack
One of the questions coming into this season for Rumson-Fair Haven was whether the Bulldogs would be able to take a step forward with their passing game following a season in which they struggled in that area against top opponents.
Junior quarterback Brady Williams showed some very encouraging signs with a career-high 204 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 28-27 thriller over Staten Island power Tottenville.
Rumson junior quarterback Brady Williams put up a career high in passing yards and touchdown passes in the Bulldogs’ season opener. (Patrick Olivero/olivero_photography)
Williams is nearly a third of the way to his entire passing total from last season (688), where he only had one game of more than 100 yards passing. He wasn’t dinking and dunking either, as the junior with the howitzer arm unloaded a 66-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Cole Spoonire and a 58-yard touchdown strike to wideout Bodie Matchett. He averaged 14.6 yards per completion in the win.
Twinning and winning
Multiple opponents were seeing double in Week Zero as three sets of twins impacted victories in a major way.
Southern junior linebackers Niko and Lukas Iliescu may have achieved a feat no twins in Shore Conference history have ever pulled off when they each scored touchdowns on fumble returns in the Rams’ 34-14 win over Bridgeton. Niko fell on a fumble in the end zone, while Lukas scooped one up and took it 40 yards to the house. Niko also had 15 tackles, 10 of them solo, and a tackle for a loss, while Lukas finished with nine tackles, one for a loss, a forced fumble and an interception.
Brick Memorial senior quarterback Tyler Pierce was one half of multiple sets of twins to make an impact in Week Zero. (Photo by Doug Phillips/Frame Grabs LLC)
In Brick Memorial’s 28-3 win over Wall, senior quarterback Tyler Pierce threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to his twin brother, Casey Pierce, who also had a pass break-up on defense in the win.
Across town in Brick’s 34-7 win over Allentown, senior linebacker Cian Foy had 11.5 tackles, a forced fumble and a pick-six, while his twin brother, Rowan, had a team-high 12.5 tackles, 1.5 of them for a loss.
Playing for Terry
Red Bank fought through injuries to grind out a 14-7 win over Shore Regional on an emotional night in its season opener.
The Bucs are dedicating their season to Terry Haupt, a Red Bank Regional sophomore who died at 16 in May when he was struck by a New Jersey Transit train near the Red Bank station. Haupt’s mother, Jazmin Edwards, told The Two River Times that it was an accident and Haupt had his headphones on and didn’t hear the train.
Haupt played AYF with numerous members of the Red Bank team.
“I reminded them, just for you guys to be out here, ready to play and fighting through adversity, I’m so proud of them for being able to be here right now,” Red Bank coach TK Karalewich told SSI’s Dan Yeserski after the game. “Some of them could have felt really sorry for themselves. It’s a very tough thing that they had to go through, and I’m so proud of them for coming out the other end.”
Hungry young Jaguars
Jackson returns the least amount of experience of any team in the rugged Class A South, but the Jaguars showed in a 21-0 win over Ocean that their talented sophomore class is ready to make an impact right now.
Running back/linebacker Brayden Ramos, linebacker Sha’Zir Taylor, lineman Logan Mannino and cornerback Brooklyn Mann all played a role along with quarterback Ryan Yurgel. The young signal-caller was thrown into the fire in the first quarter when junior starter Dom Bylecki suffered an injury and did not return.
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Ramos led the way with 77 yards rushing on just seven carries along with nine tackles and a sack on defense. Taylor broke the game open with a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. They complemented a strong game from senior Farrin Blake, who ran for 113 yards and a touchdown and also had 11 tackles.
“This sophomore class was super talented all throughout their careers in AYF and things like that,” head coach Vinnie Mistretta said. “First thing was keeping everybody home, which we did a really good job of doing. They all love playing Jackson football. There’s a lot of guys out there who have won their entire lives, so what’s the difference? Sure, you’re 16 years old going against some 18-year-olds, but it’s still football at the end of the day.
“And we’ve prepared them. We don’t ever practice easy. We’re going to make you battle-hardened.”
Jackson only threw for four yards on four attempts in the game, but Yurgel played mistake-free football on a rainy night. He also got the Jaguars on the board with a one-yard quarterback sneak early in the fourth quarter.
“He was ready to go,” Mistretta said. “He was game. Proud of him. You can’t be one-dimensional against some of the other teams we’re going to play, but we got away with it this week. Let’s keep getting better.”
Future Monmouth University teammates square off
A battle that may take place in future practices in West Long Branch highlighted Freehold Township’s 38-21 nondivisional win over Central.
A pair of Monmouth University commits and returning All-Shore stars, Freehold Township senior wide receiver Jake Schultzel and Central senior cornerback CJ Yates, went head to head for stretches of the game. Yates also had to step in at quarterback when starter Isiah Troiano was injured.
Schultzel, a 1,000-yard receiver as a junior, finished with three catches for 57 yards and reeled in a touchdown catch.
“We knew he was very athletic, probably one of the most athletic players we are going to play all year,” Freehold Township senior quarterback Dakhota Lasater told SSI’s David Smith(opens in new tab) about Yates. “We knew he was going to cheat toward Schultzel, so we knew that we had to keep our options open. We just proved what we can do if you take away Schultzel.”
Injury Updates on RBC, Jackson, Matawan standouts
Red Bank Catholic senior two-way lineman Lorenzo Tartamella, a Navy commit, is day-to-day with a knee injury that he suffered in a loss to DePaul, according to coach Mike Lange.
Matawan junior quarterback BlairCarter Gagneron is OK after leaving a 27-7 loss to River Dell when he took a shot in the ribs from a pass rusher. He is expected to play against Raritan in their rivalry game this week.
Jackson starting quarterback Dom Bylecki suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter of a 21-0 win over Ocean and will be out at least six to eight weeks, per coach Vinnie Mistretta.
Notes from around the Shore
—Lacey picked up its first win in the season opener in four years when it blanked Lawrence 12-0.
—The latest wave of freshmen are already making an impact. Point Boro freshman Grayson Williams had a 33-yard TD catch in a win over Sterling, Marlboro freshman Miles Block had a touchdown catch in a win over Colts Neck, and Brick Memorial freshman Zyion Weaver had an interception in the secondary in a win over Wall.
—New head coaches Matt Abbato (Southern); James Mahoney (Brick Memorial); and Chris Damian (Raritan) all picked up their first wins in Week Zero.
—All Southern’s Chris Raub and St. John Vianney’s Noah Fitzpatrick do is catch touchdowns. The two had a combined five catches in Week Zero, and all five were for scores. Shoutout to Randy Moss.
—The latest installment of one of the Shore’s oldest rivalries is coming up in Week 1 in the latest edition of the Friendship Bowl on Thursday. Neptune leads the all-time series 51-42-4 after beating Asbury Park 32-6 in last year’s game.
Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999.
Email: scottstump25@gmail.com
