Line in the Sand: Shore Conference’s Top Returning D-lineman
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Defensive line is a unique position. They get glory for making sacks, but do not often get shown love unless the QB is running for his life. They keep bodies off of their LBs and often force plays to make…
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Continue ReadingDefensive line is a unique position. They get glory for making sacks, but do not often get shown love unless the QB is running for his life. They keep bodies off of their LBs and often force plays to make their teammates look like world-beaters. Today we honor some of the big bodies in the trenches that do the knitty-gritty work necessary to complete for championships. These d-linemen all play for teams within Jersey’s Shore Conference.
Rumson-Fair Haven has an outstanding offense led by Jack Mauthe Jack Mauthe 6’0″ | 210 lbs | OL Rumson-Fair Haven | 2025 NJ and Owen O’Toole Owen O’Toole 6’1″ | 190 lbs | QB Rumson Fair Haven | 2024 NJ . Defensively, we have identified one standout (so far) who sets the tone along the defensive line named Cooper Bunnell Cooper Bunnell 6’1″ | 260 lbs | DL Rumson Fair Haven | 2024 NJ . This Bulldog measures 6’1″ 250lb and made 105 tackles with 15 for a loss and 2 FR. He also rushed 9 times for 51 yards.
Bunnell does a great job of getting his hands on someone each play. From there, he bench presses them, locks out, and sheds in pursuit of the ball. His biggest asset might be his quickness. On several occasions we have seen him rally in pursuit of short passes toward the boundary. Bunnell only has a chance to make these plays because of the great angles he takes to the ball. Bunnell plays half-man gap leverage extremely well and often spits double teams with his quickness off the ball. When beating linemen one-on-one, Bunnell goes to the swim move. Although he may have picked the wrong side when pulling off that move, he is fast and quick enough to recover and get back in position to make a play. Bunnell may eventually end up playing DE in college. This said, I would love to see more clips of him working his hips and generating a straight pass rush.
Bunnell leads a Bulldog defensive front that is chomping at the bit to claim what they felt was theirs last season – a state championship.
Highlights
With offensive standouts Najee Calhoun Najee Calhoun 5’11” | 180 lbs | RB Bergen Catholic | 2026 State NJ and Emanuel Gerena Emanuel Gerena 5’10” | 160 lbs | ATH Donovan Catholic | 2026 State NJ leading the way, did you not think Donovan Catholic has standout defenders too? The first Griffin on defense we identified as a stud is Louis DiBiase Louis DiBiase 6’1″ | 270 lbs | OL Donovan Catholic | 2025 State NJ . DiBiase made 42 tackles (2 for a loss), and 1 sack last fall. He is listed at 6’2″ 270lbs.
For a big-bodied DT, DiBiase has a motor. When o-linemen give up on a play he keeps working and, by sheer effort alone, gets in the mix on plays he probably should not have. He uses his strength to muscle through and slip double teams. Needless to say, with his propensity to split double teams DiBiase consistently wins one-on-one blocks. DiBiase reads his o-line keys well, fighting pressure, and can defend two gaps. I appreciated the pass rush he generates from the DT position, which seems like a rarity given the amount of film I watch. Given his size and strength, I would love to see DiBiase work to jack o-linemen backwards more consistently. This makes a new LOS in the backfield and is now an obstacle in the backfield RBs need to first run around.
DiBiase is the type of tone-setting interior d-lineman that any team who has hopes of contending for a championship needs. Luckily for Donovan Catholic, they get to play with DiBiase and not against him.
Freshman teammate Miguel Maldanado may be the next standout D-lineman the Long Branch Green Wave are ready to roll out; however, he must first contend and surpass 6’1″ 240lb
Joseph Corley
Joseph
Corley
6’1″ | 235 lbs | LB
Long Branch | 2025
NJ
. Corley, who also plays basketball and track, made at least 10 tackles with 2.5 for a loss. I suspect these stats are underreported.
In limited game clips we see that Corley can generate power and force from his hips. This allows him to either toss opponents to the side or simply bury them. When unblocked, he knows to squeeze and seek out contact before looking to make a play. Needless to say, we must have more film on Corley to get a better sense of what he brings to the table as a prospect.
Long Branch is an interesting team. They had a successful season and playoff run, but not a lot of information is out there on their players. Perhaps the mystery behind this team is what is creating the allure. We hope to get answers in 2023.
Middletown North QB Luke Sheehan Luke Sheehan 6’3″ | 190 lbs | QB Middletown North | 2024 State NJ is only going to sharpen his craft every day as he has 6’4″ 225lb teammate Michael Dwyer Michael Dwyer 6’4″ | 225 lbs | DL Middletown North | 2025 NJ breathing down his neck each and every practice. Dwyer made 39 stops (3 for a loss), 1 FR, 1 FF, and 5 hurries for the Lions last fall.
Dwyer is focused on blowing up his matchup each and every down he plays. He does a nice job getting into the body of the o-lineman and driving his feet. This establishes a new LOS in the backfield and a roadblock the offense must now work around. You can see that Dwyer fights and claws every single snap, delivering maximum effort every single play. He likes the arm-over to get into position to make plays. An area for Dwyer to improve is to strain-and-separate from the o-lineman. We see him kind of barrel into the offense – yes, driving them back – but he is not in the best position to make an immediate stop.
Dwyer is a big, physical, nasty specimen in the middle of the defense. The tone he sets, smacking whistle to whistle, is one that the Lion seem to rally behind and respond to.
Joining fellow lineman Louis DiBiase Louis DiBiase 6’1″ | 270 lbs | OL Donovan Catholic | 2025 State NJ in the trenches for Donovan Catholic is 6’3″ 250lb teammate Za’eir Day Za’eir Day 6’3″ | 250 lbs | DL Donovan Catholic | 2024 NJ . Day, who also plays basketball for the Griffins, made 101 tackles on the season, 12 of which were for a loss, 3 sacks, 3 FR, and 3 FF on defense. On offense he caught 14 passes for 131 yards and 2 TDs while also rushing 7 times for 43 yards. Day has played both with his hand on the ground and standing up.
Day’s game begins and ends with his quick-twitch ability. We see him beat slow lineman to their inside gap all the time en route to tackles. Much of his production comes from this. Day is the beneficiary of being so quick off the snap that nobody stands a chance. His quickness comes into play against the option. He has discipline to play the keep-man, but has shown the quickness to chase down the pitch-man for a minimal gain, if any. He can maintain half-man gap responsibility and squeezes to elude blockers en route to making a play. Day will solidify himself as an edge college prospect should he add more clips of him winning with an outside pass rush and taking on blockers to his film.
Practice at Donovan Catholic sounds like a doozy. On one side of the ball you have Najee Calhoun Najee Calhoun 5’11” | 180 lbs | RB Bergen Catholic | 2026 State NJ and Emanuel Gerena Emanuel Gerena 5’10” | 160 lbs | ATH Donovan Catholic | 2026 State NJ practicing against Louis DiBiase Louis DiBiase 6’1″ | 270 lbs | OL Donovan Catholic | 2025 State NJ and Za’eir Day Za’eir Day 6’3″ | 250 lbs | DL Donovan Catholic | 2024 NJ . As the old saying goes, “iron sharpens iron.” Donovan Catholic seems to live by those words.