The Shore Conference’s Top Games: Week 7

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In this article, we preview some of the Shore Conference's top games going into Week 7 of football here in the great, Garden State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, October 18</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Paramus Catholic (3-3) at Red Bank Catholic (3-3), 7pm<br><br>North Jersey travels down the shore this weekend as Paramus Catholic heads to Red Bank to take on the Catholic Caseys. Offensively Paramus Catholic is paced by the strong play of senior rusher [player_tooltip player_id='960397' first='Xavier' last='Williams']. Williams' 140 carries leads this team by a 115-margin. Of those gives, Williams has produced 949 yards and 12 touchdowns. Also a strong contributor on defense, Williams has made 27 tackles, with 1.5 for a loss, and intercepted a pass. Joining him on defense is Maxamillion McMillian, the team's leading tackler with 53. To boot, McMillian has made 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and forced 2 fumbles. One last defender I am curious to see perform is [player_tooltip player_id='1530233' first='Donte' last='Shuler']. Shuler, just a sophomore, has made 29 tackles so far, including 2 for a loss. An opportune playmaker in his own right, Shuler has also intercepted a pass and recovered 2 fumbles - 1 of which he scored on. <br><br>Something is telling me that this game figures to be a grind-it-out matchup. Part of the reason I think this is due to the fantastic trio of linebackers the Caseys deploy on defense. [player_tooltip player_id='1022241' first='Jamie' last='Gutridge'] and [player_tooltip player_id='829417' first='Patrick' last='McGonnell'] seem to be playing a game "anything you can do, I can do better" this season. Matching each other nearly step for step, Gutridge has produced 54 tackles (28 solo), 5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles; whereas McGonnel has made 54 tackles (25 solo), 13 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks. No slouch at all, [player_tooltip player_id='1530235' first='Giorgio' last='Olmo'] has been highly productive too, making 50 tackles (23 solo) with 1 sack and 5 tackles for loss.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Brick Township (3-3) at Jackson Memorial (3-4), 6:30pm<br><br>An interesting matchup pits the Brick Township Dragons against the Jackson Memorial Jaguars, as two teams are fighting viciously for playoff positioning. Reliant on their ground game, expect a heavy dosage of [player_tooltip player_id='1530236' first='James' last='Hirtes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1021168' first='Justice' last='Morgan'] to control the clock. Morgan, the running back, has rushed 68 times for 346 yards with 3 scores; whereas Hirtes, the quarterback, leads the team with a 105/454/7 slash line. When asked to throw the ball, Hirtes has been extremely efficient in going 40-43 for 409 yards with 4 touchdowns. His three incompletions were, in fact, actually completed as they were intercepted. Defensively [player_tooltip player_id='1530237' first='Matthew' last='McGuigan'] is a junior prospect to be weary of. McGuigan has a propensity to get into the backfield, leading the Dragons in sacks with 3, and in tackles for loss, with 6. Additionally, Paul McGuigan has made 43 tackles.<br><br>For as big of a fan of running the rock the Jaguars are, senior [player_tooltip player_id='1530238' first='Eric' last='Zebrowski'] might be there best playmaker. Zebrowski, who is mostly a receiver, leads the team by a wide margin in all receiving statistics to a tune of 18/339/5; however, he is a playmaker when given carries, having gone 16/106/1 on the ground. Also a standout defender, Zebrowski has made 29 tackles on the season. Defensively [player_tooltip player_id='1530239' first='Ishmal' last='Thompson'] is another defender who has made more and more big plays as the season has worn on. Thompson now has 37 tackles (18 solo) to go along with 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 blocked kick.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Toms River North (7-0) at Southern (5-2), 7pm<br><br>The last loss Toms River North has had against a public school was way back on November 19, 2021 at the hands of Kingsway. That said, will Southern Regional be the team to snap the streak?<br><br>For the visiting Mariners, you would expect <em>at least </em>a fall off in play since graduating Micah Ford, who now gets serious run starting at Stanford. That is, however, not the case. [player_tooltip player_id='1054133' first='TJ' last='Valerio'] has filled in seamlessly as the offense's hearbeat. Valerio has called his own number 77 times on the ground for 466 yards - both team highs - while finding pay dirt 6 times. Furthermore, as a gunslinger he has had an extremely efficient season, going 70-103 for 1219 yards with 14 touchdowns to 1 interception. Toms River North's defense has been paced by two defenders, which is somewhat unexpected. Junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1530242' first='Brady' last='Cicala'] has emerged as the team leader in tackles with 55 on the season. To go along with those 55 tackles, he has made 5 tackles for loss and recovered 1 fumble. However, perhaps the biggest bright spot of a young player contributing early is the play of sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1530243' first='Jack' last='Baker']. A sophomore, Baker is having an outstanding season. To go along with his 46 stops, he has registered 8.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, forced a fumble, and recovered 1 too. <br><br>The names at Southern Regional have been pretty well covered to this point, so we look to some new blood that could possibly impact the game when their number is called. [player_tooltip player_id='1530247' first='Keegan' last='Foote'] is a player that has been disruptive. His havoc stats include 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 safety, and 1 blocked kick. These numbers come in addition to his 18 tackles (12 solo). Further, [player_tooltip player_id='1530250' first='Luke' last='Iorio'], a sophomore, has made 2 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, and forced 1 fumble to go along with his 13 tackles (10 solo). </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Neptune (3-3) at Pinelands (3-3), 7pm<br><br>A historically strong program with flashes of dominance, the Scarlet Fliers of Neptune head to Pinelands to take on the Wildcats. Neptune is exceptionally young on offense with sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1530251' first='Caleb' last='Brown'] leading the attack. Brown has gone 30-63 for 457 yards on the season with 1 touchdown to 2 interceptions; however, he is his team's leading rusher, having rushed for 406 yards and 5 scores on 77 carries. When he does go to the air, a third of his completions have gone to fellow sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1530254' first='Daaron' last='Lynch']. Lynch has converted 10 grabs to 268 yards and 1 score. Lastly, [player_tooltip player_id='1453908' first='Jarairya' last='Jean']'s tremendous season continues. As the weeks go by, Jean has now accumulated 62 tackles to go along with 16 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, a fumble recovery, a safety, and 2 blocked kicks.<br><br>Looking keep Brown and Lynch off the field, while taming the play of Jean, the Wildcats will turn to [player_tooltip player_id='354975' first='Jaimin' last='Parkinson'], their senior rusher. Parkinson has carried the ball 123 times for 911 yards and 8 touchdowns, while also managing 11 receptions for 129 yards. Complementing Parkinson is [player_tooltip player_id='1029760' first='Eric' last='Kobilnyk']. Kobilnyk has a respectable 383 yards on 39 carries with 3 scores; however, he also makes a tremendous impact on defense. For the season Kobilnyk has made 51 tackles (26 solo) with 7 tackles for loss . All three numbers lead Pinelands in their respective categories.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Manalapan (3-4) at Freehold Township (5-2), 6:30pm<br><br>New to our coverage is Manalapan. Like so many teams, the Braves are committed to keeping the ball on the ground, controlling both the tempo and the time of possession in the process. The Braves look to [player_tooltip player_id='1530255' first='A'shere' last='Woolfolk'] to handle the bult of the carries. Woolfolk has a total of 99 carries for 5 scores. When he needs a blow, expect [player_tooltip player_id='1530256' first='Nick' last='Palmieri'] to make the most of his attempts. Still just a sophomore, Palmieri has been trusted with 39 carries for 261 yards and 5 touchdowns. Another sophomore who has been getting it in, having a productive start to his career, has been [player_tooltip player_id='1530259' first='Ethan' last='Fogelstrom']. Fogelstrom may only be third on the team in tackles with 38 (20 solo), but he is the team leader in getting home to the quarterback, as he has registered 5 sacks to go along with a respectable 2 tackles for loss.<br><br>Whereas Manalapan runs, the Patriots elect to pass. [player_tooltip player_id='1513519' first='Nick' last='Cardone'] is having a tremendous season, having passed fro 1900 yards on 135-224 attempts with 21 touchdowns and 6 interceptions; however, what is most impressive is how he spreads the ball around. With completions to 9 different targets on the season, three have 20-or-more catches thus far. The headliner is [player_tooltip player_id='1514631' first='Noah' last='Cancela'], who has slashed 52/708/7, while [player_tooltip player_id='1514633' first='Jake' last='Schultzel'], who is just a sophomore, has gone for 26/456/6, and [player_tooltip player_id='1530260' first='Nicholas' last='Schicchi'] with 20/220/3. In addition to sharing the love, Cardone has rushed 72 times for 171 yards and 4 scores. A few defenders who seem to be all over the field for Freehold Township are [player_tooltip player_id='1529765' first='Johnathan' last='Kokotis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1530261' first='Jake' last='Minniear']. Starting with Minniear, the senior linebacker has made 74 tackles (40 solo) to accompany, 3 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery. Kokotis, on the other hand, has made 77 tacles (33 solo), 13 tackles for loss, 1 sac, recovered 1 fumble, and intercepted 2 passes. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->