Cannon Fodder: Cam Thomas, T.J. Valerio lead No. 1 Toms River North to blowout win over No. 8 Jackson Memorial

TOMS RIVER — How does a team ranked No. 1 in the Shore Conference and coming off back-to-back NJSIAA Group 5 state titles make a statement that resonates? By burying another top-10 team before the first quarter is even over.

Senior defensive back Nasir Jackson pulled down an interception on the first play from scrimmage, and two plays later, Toms River North was in the end zone. It was the beginning of an unrelenting barrage by the Mariners, ranked No. 1 in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12, who dismantled No. 8 Jackson Memorial, 54-10, in a Shore Conference Class A South game on Friday night at Gernerd Field.

Senior wide receiver Cam Thomas put on a show with an electric first half that saw him catch four passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns and return a punt 50 yards for a touchdown. Senior quarterback T.J. Valerio was a perfect 8-for-8 passing for 220 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for two touchdowns. Jackson caught a 20-yard touchdown pass and senior running back Mordecai Ford ran for a 19-yard touchdown. The Mariners led 21-3 after the first quarter and 48-3 at halftime.

Thomas also made a great defensive play when he chased down Jackson Memorial star junior running back Jonah Glenn at the Toms River North 4-yard line following a 76-yard run. The Mariners held the Jaguars to a field goal and their first-team defense was lights out the rest of the way. Senior linebacker Eddie Slosky had a strip-sack that was recovered by senior defensive lineman Hathem Hooranyi and Slosky and senior linebacker Blaise Boland teamed up on a strip-sack that led to a touchdown.

Jackson Memorial found the end zone in the second half versus a Toms River North defense comprised mostly of backups when senior wide receiver Eric Zebrowski took a quick screen from senior quarterback Dennis Caswell and turned it into an 81-yard touchdown reception.

Toms River North has now won 29 straight games versus public-school opponents dating back to 2021.

“It feels good because everyone thought we would have a major drop-off,” Thomas said. “But as you can see, we’re not having any drop-off. We’re going to keep our foot on the pedal every single game.”

“I think it shows the people who were doubting us that we’re the real deal,” Boland said.”

 

A Swift Uppercut

Toms River North wasted literally no time flexing its muscles. Jackson picked off Caswell on the first play of the game and returned it deep into Jaguars’ territory, but a penalty during the return brought it back to the Mariners’ 40-yard line. On their first offensive play, Valerio lofted a perfect pass into the hands of Jackson for a 41-yard gain. And on the next play, Ford got to the corner off left tackle and sprinted to the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown run and a quick 7-0 lead.

Jackson Memorial looked like it was going to punch back without hesitation when Glenn burst through the line and sprinted toward the end zone from his own 20. But Thomas, who is also a track star, ran him down at the 4-yard line to prevent the touchdown. After moving to the 1-yard line, a false-start penalty pushed the Jaguars back and eventually brought up fourth-and-goal where they settled for a 22-yard field goal by senior Joe Muzzillo. The 7-3 deficit was as close as Jackson would get the rest of the evening.

I thought that changed the tide,” Toms River North head coach Dave Oizerowitz said. “You have a kid like Glenn who’s a scholarship athlete get loose and Camryn comes from the other side of the field and hawks him down and we hold them to a field goal. I thought that took the starch out of them a bit. Instead of 7-7, it’s 7-3 and then we go down and score right away.”

Toms River North’s next offensive play was a 54-yard pass from Valerio to Thomas that appeared ticketed for six, but Thomas was pushed out of bounds at the 1-yard line. Valerio took care of that on the next play with a short touchdown run for a 14-3 Mariners lead. Jackson went three-and-out and punted the ball back to North where the Mariners took over at the Jaguars’ 45-yard line. Valerio and Ford combined to move the ball to the red zone where Valerio polished off the 8-play drive with an 8-yard touchdown run for a 21-3 lead.

“We knew what type of defense the bring and we started fast and kept it fast the whole game,” Valerio said. “That got the momentum going and it never really stopped.”

“Some of their coaches were running their mouths to our kids, they poked the bear a little bit,” Oizerowitz said. “The coaches got fired up and the team got fired up, and you saw a very motivated team in the first half.”

 

No Letting Up

The Mariners’ 8-play scoring drive to end the first quarter was by far its longest of the first half. After Jackson went three-and-out to begin the second quarter, the Jaguars’ punt was nearly blocked and rolled to midfield where Thomas corralled it up. He cut toward the home sideline, picked up a couple of blocks and scampered untouched into the end zone for a 50-yard punt return touchdown and a 27-3 lead after the extra point was blocked.

“That’s my mindset every time I see a punt come my way, that I’m going to take this to the house,” Thomas said. “That’s my mindset on every single snap.”

Glenn broke a 20-yard run on Jackson’s next drive to gain a first down but Toms River North’s defense produced its second turnover when Slosky forced the ball loose with a blindside hit and Hooranyi pounced on it just shy of midfield. On first down, Valerio took a big hit but hung in the pocket long enough to fire a pass to Thomas, who made a sensational leaping catch over a Jackson Memorial defender for a 51-yard touchdown to put the Mariners up 34-3.

“I saw T.J. Take a huge hit and I knew I was going to have to go up and make a contested catch,” Thomas said. “He has enough trust in me that he threw the ball up and knew I was going to be there.”

“Me and Cam have been together since eighth-grade AYF and he’s been making catches like those since middle school,” Valerio said. “That’s one of the sickest ones he’s had.”

Jackson Memorial was stopped again on three straight downs and punted it back to the Mariners. On the third play, Valerio and Thomas connected for a 26-yard touchdown pass that widened the gap to 41-3.

The final hammer strike of the first half was set up by the defense. Slosky and Boland combined on a sack that forced Jackson Memorial to punt from under its own goalposts. Toms River North ended up with great field position at the 20-yard line and Valerio needed only one play to find Jackson wide open down the middle for a 20-yard touchdown and a 48-3 cushion at the half.

“The speed at which we can score is a little different than some other teams we’ve had,” Oizerowitz said. “Probably right now, offensively, the thing that has surprised me is how fast we can strike. T.J. is able to run our offense at such a high level because there’s not a part of the field he can’t affect with his arm and his legs. And we have a lot of speed and guys who can run tight routes. Our scheme is very good and right now we’re operating on a very high level.”

 

Finishing Touches

Toms River North received the kickoff to begin the third quarter and sent out several backups. Sophomore Cole Garrison took over at quarterback and led the Mariners on a 13-play, 50-yard scoring drive. He carried the ball seven times for 34 yards and scored on a 1-yard run for a 54-3 Toms River North lead.

Jackson Memorial provided the final scoring margin when Zebrowski weaved his way through the Toms River North defense on an 81-yard catch-and-run touchdown off a screen pass from Caswell.

 

What’s next for both teams?

Toms River North heads to No. 5 Brick Memorial in Week 3 for another battle between undefeated Class A South teams. The Mustangs defeated Howell, 34-14, on Friday night to improve to 3-0.

Jackson will try to rebound against another tough division opponent when it travels to Al Saner Field to meet No. 6 Point Boro next week. The Panthers knocked off No. 4 Donovan Catholic on Friday night by scoring 23 unanswered points in the second half of a 30-14 victory.

 

 

Box Score

No. 1 Toms River North 54, No. 8 Jackson Memorial 10

	Jackson Memorial	Toms River North
First downs	4	16
Rushes-yards	20-114	27-132
Passing	2-7-1	8-8-0
Passing yards	82	220
Fumbles-lost	4-1	0-0
Penalties-yards	4-20	1-15

 

	1	2	3	4	F
Jackson (2-1, 0-1)	3	0	0	7	10
Toms River North (3-0, 2-0	21	27	6	0	54

 

Scoring Summary

TRN — Mordecai Ford 19-yard run (Yianni Papanikolas kick)

JM — Joe Muzzillo 22-yard field goal

TRN — T.J. Valerio 1-yard run (Yianni Papanikolas kick)

TRN — T.J. Valerio 8-yard run (Yianni Papanikolas kick)

TRN — Cam Thomas 50-yard punt return (kick blocked)

TRN — Cam Thomas 51-yard pass form T.J. Valerio (Yianni Papanikolas kick)

TRN — Cam Thomas 26-yard pass form T.J. Valerio (Yianni Papanikolas kick)

TRN — Nasir Jackson 20-yard pass from T.J. Valerio (Zachary Romano kick)

TRN — Cole Garrison 1-yard run (kick failed)

JM — Eric Zebrowski 81-yard pass from Dennis Caswell (Joe Muzzillo kick)

 

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — JM: Jonah Glenn 8-99, Jio Kabiri 8-29, Dennis Caswell 2-(-17), #10 2-3; TRN: Cole Garrison 7-34, Lucas Elias 7-34, Mordecai Ford 2-27, T.J. Valerio 7-22, Mekai Morse 2-10, Wesley Tanner 1-2, Logan Brill 1-3.

PASSING — JM: Dennis Caswell 2-7-1, 82; TRN: T.J. Valerio 8-8-0, 220.

RECEIVING — JM: Eric Zebrowski 1-81, Jonah Glenn 1-1; TRN: Cam Thomas 4-140, Nasir Jackson 2-61, Mordecai Ford 1-15, Cole Garrison 1-4.

INTERCEPTIONS — TRN: Nasir Jackson, 1-0.