Week 2 preview: Division rivals clash, led by Class A South

The theme of Week Two in Shore Conference football is teams getting an early leg up in what should be hotly contested divisional races.

A big focus will be on the rugged Class A South, where six teams team all ranked in the Shore Sports Insider Top 12 will be in action. There are three early separation games on Friday night to see who will be among Ocean County’s top teams, with Monmouth County squad Howell also trying to get its name in lights.

Also, we’re excited to welcome Colts Neck grad and digital creator Liam Abujawdeh, who you may already know as the talented zz.liam on Instagram, and his creative team at LAZ Sports as collaborators with Shore Sports Insider. They will be filming multiple games every week and bringing video highlight packages, amazing individual plays and much more to our Instagram and elsewhere, so get ready for must-see content all week, every week.

Here’s what to watch for this weekend. (Click here for the full Week 2 schedule)

Who will rise in the South?

Friday night features No. 11 Howell at No. 5 Brick Memorial, No. 6 Point Boro at No. 4 Donovan Catholic, and No. 8 Jackson Memorial at No. 1 Toms River North in Class A South. You can’t go wrong with any of those matchups.

Point Boro pushed No. 2 Rumson-Fair Haven and showed its explosive offensive potential in a 41-28 loss last week, while Donovan Catholic has had two weeks to prepare for the Panthers’ triple option after a bye in Week One. The Griffins started the season by losing 35-6 to state-ranked St. Augustine in the season opener, so this should be a more accurate gauge of how they fit in the overall Shore Conference picture. Rutgers recruit Michael Thomas III is a game-breaker at wideout and as a runner on jet sweeps out of the backfield, while Point Boro features sophomore quarterback Jake Clayton, who had 142 yards rushing against Rumson.

Point Boro’s defense is looking for a bounceback game, while Donovan Catholic’s offense is looking for a bounceback game, so something has to give. Donovan Catholic has been right there with Toms River North as Ocean County’s top team in recent seasons, so the Griffins will be looking to show that nothing has changed. St. Augustine ran for 214 yards on Donovan in the opener, so the Griffins will need to shore up their run defense against the Panthers’ prolific rushing attack.

Adding an extra wrinkle to this one is Panthers senior left tackle Lou Dibiase, who transferred to Point Boro in the offseason after being a two-year starter at Donovan Catholic.

Jackson Memorial is coming off two hard-fought wins, including a 37-34 victory over Long Branch last week, as it becomes the latest team to measure itself against top-ranked Toms River North. The Mariners have won 28 straight games against public school teams dating back to 2021. The last public school from Ocean County to beat Toms River North was Lacey, all the way back in 2020.

It will be a Jaguars offense centered around star junior tailback Jonah Glenn against a ferocious North defense led by All-Shore linebacker Blaise Boland that has not given up any points in two games this season. On the other side, Toms River North senior quarterback T.J. Valerio leads a balanced attack featuring a deep receiving corps and running back Mordecai Ford that has averaged 43 points in two games.

Jackson struggled defending Long Branch’s passing game last week, and Toms River North boasts a potent aerial attack, led by senior wideouts Nasir Jackson, Mekai Morse and Camryn Thomas. The Jaguars will try to control the clock with Glenn and the run game, while Toms River North will try to jump all over Jackson early and force the Jaguars to throw the ball much more than they want.

Finally, Howell travels to nearby Brick Memorial for a game that got a lot more juice after the Rebels upended last week’s No. 9 team, Freehold Township, with a 42-33 win in their season opener. This is two strong offenses going at it, led by Howell quarterback Vince Meehan and Mustangs junior Jason Lajara, plus Brick Memorial senior standout Kevin Andrews (37-308) at running back. Brick Memorial All-Shore linebacker Trey Tallmadge looks to be a pivotal player in this one as far as limiting Meehan’s ability to make plays running the ball after he put up 187 yards on the ground against Freehold Township.

The Battle of Holmdel

No. 9 St. John Vianney heads to Bob Roggy Memorial Field to face No. 7 Holmdel in a huge Class C North game between two old rivals from the same town.

The new-look Lancers have been impressive so far in outscoring their first two opponents 69-7 under new coach Bob Acosta and junior quarterback Zach LaBarca, a Donovan Catholic transfer. Sophomore Abdul Turay (249 yds, 5 TDs) is a budding star at tailback, and wideout Dante Campagna (15-186) has been one of the Shore’s best in the early going. St. John Vianney is trying to start 3-0 for the first time since the days of superstar quarterback Anthony Brown during its 10-1 season in 2017.

Holmdel is also 2-0 and has faced the sterner test so far in holding off Long Branch’s explosive attack in a 38-32 win in the opener. The Hornets enter having won 12 straight games against Shore Conference competition.

They are led by junior quarterback Jack Cannon, who has accounted for 578 total yards and eight touchdowns in two games. It will be a matchup of two of the top Shore quarterbacks in the Class of 2026 with LaBarca (445 total yards, 3 TDs) on the other side. Both of them are also coaches’ sons, as Cannon’s father is Holmdel defensive coordinator Scott Cannon, while LaBarca’s father is former Toms River North head coach and Brick and Donovan Catholic offensive coordinator Chip LaBarca Jr.

Continuing the theme of transfers facing their former teams, St. John Vianney senior linebacker Evan Sagahfi transferred during the offseason from Holmdel. He is part of a defense led by junior linebacker Daniel Breen, who has 17 tackles in two games.

This game is not only a crucial division game but essentially a marketing brochure for each squad in its quest to attract players to one team or the other.

Backs against the wall

Five teams that entered the season with high expectations will try to avoid 0-3 starts by grinding out wins in Week Two.

Manalapan is coming off an overtime heartbreaker against Middletown South and has to face No. 12 Manasquan (2-0) in a Class C North game at Vic Kubu Warrior Field on Saturday. The Braves will need to find a way to slow down Manasquan junior tailback Ace Etienne, who has seven touchdowns in two games.

Matawan takes on Middletown North (1-0) in a Class B North game Friday night and will try to bottle up a Lions offense that put up 37 points in its opener behind junior quarterback Owen Robson.

No. 3 Red Bank Catholic travels (0-2) to Long Branch (0-2) for a pivotal Class A North tilt on Saturday. It’s a little bit of a different situation for the Caseys, who are 0-2 for the first time since 2009 because they played Delaware power Middletown and perennial North Jersey titan Don Bosco Prep in the first two games.

Still, RBC will need to get an offense on track that has only scored 14 total points in two games and struggled mightily in the run game, which is usually a strength for the Caseys. Offense has not been a problem for Long Branch, which has scored 66 points in two games but given up 75 against a pair of quality opponents. Green Wave junior quarterback Quinton Fisher and senior wideout Aulander Daniels have been one of the Shore’s best duos.

Either way, one team will be 0-3 after this one and in desperation mode early in the season.

Finally, a Keyport team that entered the season off two straight division titles and returned standout running back Mekai Henderson and senior wideout Andrei Matthews aims to break into the win column. The Red Raiders face Paterson-Kennedy (1-1) in a nonconference game in a bid to get new head coach Charlie Marsh his first career win.

Other games to watch:

• Ocean (1-1) welcomes Freehold Township (1-1) in a key Class B North game between teams looking to bounce back from losses.
• Southern is looking to start 3-0 to tie its win total from last season when it heads to Toms River South (1-1) to face an Indians team that just got a career-high 284 yards rushing from Jake Henehan in a win over Raritan.
• Brick (0-1) heads to Lacey (0-1) in a Class B South game where one team will get its first win. New Brick coach Jay Graber will look to pick up his first victory for the Green Dragons by facing the longest-tenured coach in the Shore, Lacey Hall of Famer Lou Vircillo.
• Lakewood heads to Monmouth (0-2) in Class C South in a bid to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2016. Senior quarterback Rahmel Anderson leads the Shore with 606 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns in two games.
• New Egypt will try to start 2-0 for the first time in three years when it heads to Asbury Park (0-1) in Class D North.
• Neptune (1-1) can tie its win total from last season with a victory at Keansburg (0-1) in Class D North on Saturday.

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.  

Email: [email protected].