Week Five Shore Conference Football Preview: Playoff Positioning

Week Five in Shore Conference football is a bit of a breather before the furious finish of the final three weeks of the regular season.

All of the games are nondivisional, so there’s no championship stakes involved. However, as the playoff brackets start to come into focus, these games are crucial for teams jockeying to make the postseason or land a high seed. 

There also are rivalries renewed, brand new matchups, and a clash featuring a pair of top 12 teams and two of the Shore’s top quarterbacks.

Here’s what to watch for in Week Five.

No. 7 Brick Memorial (3-2) at No. 2 Holmdel (3-1), Friday at 7 p.m.

This is the first meeting ever between these two teams, and it has big state playoff implications as far as seeding goes. 

Both teams are pushing for No. 1 seeds in their respective sections, and a win here would go a long way toward that goal. It’s also a team tied for first place in Class A South against a team tied for second place in Class A North. 

This features two of the Shore’s top quarterbacks facing off in Holmdel senior Jack Cannon and Brick Memorial senior Jason Lajara. It also pits Holmdel’s talented secondary against Brick Memorial star wideout Nyzier Matthews, who will be looking to rebound after a quiet game in a loss to Donovan Catholic. 

Both teams are coming off one-point heartbreakers against ranked opponents that came down to the final two minutes, so they are each looking to get back on track. Brick Memorial is hoping to welcome back star tight end/linebacker Trey Tallmadge, who is questionable to play after having been out since the second game of the season with a hamstring injury. 

No. 1 Red Bank Catholic (5-0) at St. John Vianney (2-3), Friday at 7 p.m.

The No. 1 Caseys are coming off a 29-28 thriller in a hyped showdown against No. 2 Holmdel, but there’s a good reason they may avoid a classic letdown spot: St. John Vianney eliminated RBC from the state playoffs last year on the Caseys’ home field. 

St. John Vianney senior quarterback Zach LaBarca is in the midst of another strong year, but the question is whether he will have the RBC pass rush hunting him all night. A Lancers defense that just gave up 38 points to Manalapan will also have to deal with one of the Shore’s best offenses, led by freshmen Rahmir Rivera and Gabe Kemp and wideouts Dan Zabora and Jason Berecsky. 

Raritan (2-2) at Matawan (3-2), Friday at 6 p.m.

This is one of those rivalry games that I feel like should be played every year. These teams used to play annually but it has been sporadic in recent years. This is their first meeting since 2022. 

The neighboring towns will face off in a game where the winner can boost its playoff seeding. 

Matawan is in 10th in South Group 3, while the Rockets are way down at No. 23 in South Group 2, so this would be big for Raritan’s hopes. The Rockets also have one less game than much of the field because they didn’t play in Week Zero, so they have chances to catch up. The top 16 qualify in each section. 

Raritan took Wall deep into the fourth quarter before coming up a touchdown short last week, while Matawan topped Colts Neck by a pair of touchdowns to continue its resurgent season. The main question here is whether Raritan can control Matawan’s sophomore playmakers and shorten the game by pounding the Huskies with their run game and breaking a few. 

Point Beach (4-1) at Shore (2-2), Friday at 7 p.m. 

The two old Group 1 rivals square off at Feeney Field in an interesting matchup between a team that has already clinched at least a tie for the Class D South title and a Blue Devils squad that has played much tougher competition in Class C North. 

Will Point Beach’s Matthew Rossi continue to light it up through the air, or will Kelty Connors and the Shore pass rush be all over him? It’s a step up in competition for the Garnet Gulls, who can make a big statement with a win. They will have to try to slow down Shore’s balanced attack led by quarterback Logan Clark and running back Cole Torres. 

Shore is down at No. 15 in South Jersey Group 1, but part of that is because it didn’t have a Week Zero game and has one less game than much of the field. A win over Point Beach would give the Blue Devils a good boost.

Others games to watch: 

Central (4-1) at Middletown North (2-2), Friday at 7 p.m. 

This is an intriguing Ocean County vs. Monmouth County matchup testing the relative strength of Class B South, where Central is in second place, against Class A North, where Middletown North just got overwhelmed by No. 1 RBC and No. 3 Rumson in succession. 

This is another game with some crucial points available to the winner as far as the state playoffs are concerned. It’s the dynamic CJ Yates on offense for Central and sophomore linebacker Gustave Copes on defense against the balanced attack of Owen Robson and Matt Belenko for Middletown North. 

No. 10 Jackson (2-3) at Middletown South (1-4), Friday at 7 p.m.

You look at Middletown South’s record and probably think Jackson should be fine, but three of the Eagles’ four losses are to No. 1 RBC, No. 2 Holmdel and No. 5 Manalapan. They have seen it all by this point. 

Jackson has been all over the map in recent weeks, dominating Donovan Catholic 28-0 and then losing 28-7 to a Point Boro team battling myriad injuries. The Jaguars are sitting at No. 16 in South Jersey Group 5, so they need this one, playoff-wise. So does Middletown South, which is at No. 13 in South Jersey Group 4. 

Is Middletown South’s record deceiving, or will the good version of Jackson take care of business? Should be a good one at “The Swamp.” 

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