Week Zero Football Preview: The Shore vs. Everybody
We did it everyone. We survived those long, lonely months without any football, and now the wait is over.
Week Zero has gone from a sprinkling of Shore teams in action to nearly the entire conference this season, with a full slate of games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The majority of the games are Shore teams against nonconference opponents, so we’ll get an early look at how we match up with squads from around New Jersey and beyond.
We’re about to find out who actually was working hard in the weight room during the offseason, which classes actually have more chemistry than last year’s, and whether all that work to improve or repeat as champions will show on the field.
Here’s what to watch for as the 2024 Shore Conference football season gets underway.
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The Battle at the Beach
Ocean City High School’s iconic Carey Stadium, complete with a Ferris wheel in the background, will once again be the site of some electric football as the annual Battle at the Beach takes place to kick off the season. Fourteen games will be played from Thursday through Saturday at Ocean City and also at Egg Harbor Township High School, where former Barnegat head man Rob Davis is the head coach.
Three Shore teams are participating – Manchester, Southern and Middletown South. The marquee game is Thursday at 7 p.m. when the No. 1 team in the state, Bergen Catholic, takes on national power IMG Academy.
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Manchester kicks off the Shore Conference season with a 10 a.m. game on Thursday and should have its hands full against West Deptford. The perennial South Jersey power has been down the last few seasons, but looks to get back to its championship pedigree with a new head coach and the addition of 1,200-yard rusher Bryce Wright, a transfer from Penns Grove.
This will be the first look at Manchester’s offense following the graduation of All-Shore running back Josh Love, who piled up nearly 1,500 yards rushing last year. Quarterback Aidan Lunn returns and should have a more prominent role in the offense for a Hawks team coming off a school-record eight wins last season.
The next step for Manchester under head coach Tommy Farrell is securing just its third playoff appearance in school history, so this would be an attention-getting statement if they can knock off West Deptford. Just scheduling a game like this is emblematic of Farrell’s approach to beefing up the schedule to help with a playoff run and trying to get the Hawks in more spotlight games.
Middletown South will make its debut in the post-Steve Antonucci era, after the legendary head coach retired following last season. Former Eagles defensive coordinator Marc Tomo steps into his considerable shoes as the new head coach, with an almost entirely new group of skill players. The Eagles, ranked No. 9 in the Shore Sports Insider preseason Top 12, now have Brendan Sliva and Liam Curley in the backfield behind a veteran offensive line.
The Eagles face a Cherokee team that beat Marlboro to win the South Jersey Group 5 title last season for its 12th sectional title. The Chiefs play in the merciless American Division in the West Jersey Football League against Winslow Township, St. Augustine, Millville and Mainland, so they are a battle-tested program. They return 1,300-yard rusher Murad Campbell but are also breaking in a bunch of new starters. This is two traditionally strong public school programs trying to see where they’re at with a large group of new faces.
Southern has an unorthodox start to the season with a 9:30 a.m. game against Highland at Egg Harbor Township on Saturday for the last of the Shore entrants in the Battle at the Beach. You’ve barely finished your bagel and it’s halftime. This is Chuck Donohue Sr.’s 51st (!) season as a head coach as he looks to get the Rams back on track after three straight losing seasons.
A lot of Southern’s senior class has started for three years, so this is an experienced team looking to juice up an offense that finished third to last in scoring in the Shore Conference last season at 13.9 points per game. Track star Cole Cramer is back to boost the explosiveness on offense, while defensive back Justin Silva and linebacker Evan Wyrsch anchor the defense. Highland has a new coach and almost an entirely new lineup due to graduation, so this is a chance for Southern to get off on the right foot.
Hitting the Road
The top two teams in the Shore Sports Insider Preseason Top 12 will be representing New Jersey as they head out of state for some high-profile matchups.
No. 2 Red Bank Catholic will head south to Delaware to face perennial state power Middletown in the Caseys’ first out-of-state road game in program history. Frankie Williams, Lorenzo Tartamella, Jamie Gutridge and Co. should get a stern test in a festive atmosphere. An all-new offensive line for the Caseys will look to control the game against a team that features a host of playmakers led by wide receiver B.J. Garrett, who has offers from UConn, Pittsburgh and more.
No. 1 Toms River North begins the post-Micah Ford era by traveling to Pennsylvania to face Downington East. Senior quarterback T.J. Valerio is ready to air it out to a group of speedy wideouts, while Mordecai Ford is ready for his star turn at tailback running behind mammoth 330-pound Rutgers recruit Jaelyne Matthews.
The two-time defending Group 5 champs face a Downington East team that went 11-1 last season but dropped its season opener to North Penn (Pa.) in a 28-25 loss on Aug. 24. They are a run-heavy team, so it will be an early test for a Mariners defense led by linebackers Blaise Boland and Eddie Slosky.
Only two divisional games
Ocean at Red Bank on Thursday in Class B North, and Colts Neck at Marlboro on Saturday in Class A North are the only divisional games of Week Zero.
This will be the first look at Ocean and its new flexbone offense under new head coach Chad King, while Red Bank is looking to get back on track after a losing season. Freshman Alex Staten is ready for a bigger role in the backfield for Ocean, while the Bucs have an army of wideouts that include three receivers 6-foot-2 or taller as targets for new quarterback Quinn Niecz.
Colts Neck and Marlboro are both division champions from last season that were hit very hard by graduation. This is a glimpse at who will be the new faces of both programs as they try to keep the wins coming.
What else to watch for
—It’s hard to imagine Brick Memorial being a more high-octane team than the unit that averaged 34.8 points per game last year, but the Mustangs have that potential with talented junior Jason Lajara stepping in at quarterback for graduated All-Shore star Connor Dietz. They open at Allentown on Thursday.
—Long Branch heads to Holmdel in a nondivisional matchup of two teams that made strong playoff runs last year. Both return plenty of talent, and both have new head coaches. Either Long Branch’s Ben Woolley or Holmdel’s Noel Kavanagh will get his first career win on Friday night. Can both programs sustain success after the coaching turnover? It starts here.
—Wall is finally out of the gauntlet of the old American Division and ready to reclaim its place as a top 10 team in the Shore behind running back Mason Adam. Matawan entered last season with high expectations and struggled, but the Huskies return all their big names and are ready to seize the spotlight. This is the season Matawan has been building toward for three years, and the Huskies look to realize their potential under new head coach Matt Walsh when they welcome the Crimson Knights on Friday.
—Freehold Township returns the Shore’s leading passer, Nick Cardone, and looks to build on last year’s playoff success. Toms River South is coming off its first division title in 21 years, but the competition has ratcheted up with this year’s schedule. They square off at Detwiler Stadium in Toms River on Friday night.
—Two non-public squads that had some transfers coming and going this offseason will be in action. Donovan Catholic, ranked No. 4 in the Top 12, lost some talented transfers but returns Rutgers recruit Michael Thomas, high-level FBS prospect Kai Pritchard and more solid talent. They have one of the tougher games of anyone when they face a physical St. Augustine squad led by 1,200-yard rusher Julian Turney that will be looking for some payback after the Griffins beat them twice last year. The Hermits are ranked No. 17 in the state by NJ.com to start the season, while Donovan is unranked.
St. John Vianney has a new head coach in Bob Acosta, a new quarterback in former Donovan Catholic signal-caller Zach LaBarca, and talented returners led by sophomore RB Abdul Turay and LB Donny Rocco Sosa. How good will they be? We’ll get our first look when they take on a solid Carteret program at home on Friday.
Coaching debuts
There are a whopping 10 new head coaches in the Shore this year, and seven of them will make their debuts in Week Zero.
Ocean’s Chad King, Long Branch’s Ben Woolley, Holmdel’s Noel Kavanagh, Middletown South’s Marc Tomo, Keyport’s Charlie Marsh, Freehold’s Derek Reichenbecher, and St. John Vianney’s Bob Acosta will all be putting their stamp on the season openers.
Shore Regional’s Don Klein, Asbury Park’s Will Johnson and Brick’s Jay Graber will debut with their teams next week.
