Shore Conference Games of the Week, Week 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With as much football action as our Great Garden State has this coming weekend within the high school ranks, here are a handful of games – and as a fan what I am looking for in each one – throughout the Shore Conference this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Be sure to follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for the latest New Jersey high school football prospect news and not miss a beat!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Be sure to follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for the latest New Jersey high school football prospect news and not miss a beat!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, September 19</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Brick Township (3-0) at Southern (3-0)<br><br>Southern has been in some close games and also a few blowouts. The one common denominator in their unbeaten 3-0 start? Their opponents do not score much. The Rams defense has allowed 8-, 7-, and 0 points across their three wins. However, they are set to take on a hostile set of Dragons - the Brick Dragons - who are averaging just over 32 points per game this season.<br><br>The very quarterback-friendly system Brick runs now has [player_tooltip player_id='1530236' first='James' last='Hirtes'] under center. The dual-threat dynamo has leads the team in all rushing categories (47/464/6) on the season, while also completing 19-25, 205 yards, 2 TD, 1 Int when dropping back. In the moments when he is asked to threat the needle, [player_tooltip player_id='1273143' first='Germaine' last='Rice'] seems to be who he looks to. Of Hirtes 19 completions, 11 have gone to Rice; who, in turn, has rendered 164 yards and 1 TD. A pair of brothers are leading the defensive assault, and are awfully disruptive - albeit in different ways. [player_tooltip player_id='1894283' first='Rowan' last='Foy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1894284' first='Cian' last='Foy'] are, respectively, first and second on the team in tackles. Rowan has made 21 stops (10 solo), while also leading the team in sacks, 3, and tackles for loss, 5. As disruptive as that is, Cian has made 19 tackles (7 solo), t tackles for loss, forced a fumble, and recovered another one for a score.<br><br>Opposing them will be quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1894285' first='Carson' last='Abbato']. Abbato has gone 22-25 for 351 yards and 3 touchdowns as a passer. Running the ball he has scored once on two carries for 27 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1514619' first='Lucas' last='Favorito'] seems to be a favorite name of Southern's PA announcer when at home due to the number of plays he has made. Favorito is the team leader in tackles with 12 and leads the Rams in sacks with 4 and fumble recoveries with 1; additionally, he has a share of the team lead in tackles for loss (2).</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Howell (1-2) at Manalapan (2-1)<br><br>After a tough, 1-point loss to open the season against Staten Island's Tottenville (NY), Manalapan has won back-to-back conference games by double digits. For Howell, things got off to a great start in a 21-0 victory at Lacey; however, they have stumbled as of late. This could be a very good "get right" game for Howell.<br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1894286' first='Cameron' last='Desfosse'] has been something of a revelation so far this season for Manalapan. The junior quarterback has gone 28-45 for 483 yards and 6 touchdowns, while also rushing 10 times for 101 yards and a score. Yes, there are certainly other prospects with more yardage and touchdowns; however, he spreads the ball around like few others do. Desfosse's top receivers only have 5 catches a piece, while a whopping 10 receivers have caught a ball. With ball distribution like this, it is hard for defenses to simply just take away one option. [player_tooltip player_id='1530256' first='Nick' last='Palmieri'] is off to an incredible start. Palmieri, one of Desfosse's targets (2/33/1) also totes the rock (39/229 with a team-leading 4 scores); however, he makes the most noise on defense as he leas the team with 25.5 tackles (12 solo) and 1 forced fumble, while recording 2 stops in the backfield and one-half sack. <br><br>Looking to match Desfosse throw-for-throw will be fellow junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1894289' first='Connor' last='Acker']. Acker has has completed 37 of his 68 passes for 493 yards with 5 scores. His favorite target, clearly, is [player_tooltip player_id='1894292' first='Josh' last='Krutyansky']. Krutyansky has an impressive 16 catches (team-best) for a team-leading 3 scores, resulting in 198 yards. When Acker looks for an explosive, big play, figure [player_tooltip player_id='1894295' first='Jack' last='Quinn'] in the mix. Quinn is second on the team in yardage and receptions with 8 for 184 on the season. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Freehold Borough (1-2) at Raritan (1-1)<br><br>After pulling ahead victorious in a week 0 bout against New Brunswick 13-8, Freehold Borough has allowed 40-or-more points in back-to-back losses. Welcoming them will be Raritan, who after a two long weeks on the road, get to host their first game of the campaign.<br><br>There might be something of a quarterback controversy going on, as Freehold appears to have played two options with a fair amount each. Despite who is in the gun, one thing remains: [player_tooltip player_id='760084' first='Damier' last='Lester'] is who they want to get the ball to. On 18 total completions so far this season, Lester accounts for 14 of them. Those receptions have led to 157 yards and 2 scores - both, as you might imagine, lead the team. On defense, junior [player_tooltip player_id='1894297' first='Jordan' last='McKenzie'] leads the pack. McKenzie leads the team in tackles by more than double-digits wiht 28 - 19 of which have been for a loss. He laso has found the ball once, recovering a fumble. <br><br>Unfortunately for Raritan has not reported any roster or statistical information available to report on.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Saturday, September 20</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Shore (2-0) at Manasquan (2-1)<br><br>To-date, Shore Regional has shown they can win games in multiple ways: lighting up the score board or shutting you out. They will get a tough test this weekend as Manasquan plays host to them, having a shut out to their ledger as well.<br><br>For Manasquan, it appears there is some healthy competition at quarterback. Through the alternating of reps between two players, the ground game of [player_tooltip player_id='1524395' first='Ace' last='Etienne'] has been a calming, consistent force all season. Etienne has gone for 401 yards on 49 carries with 4 scores - equating to 30 carries and 307 yards more than his next closest teammate. Having a breakthrough season in the trenches so far is [player_tooltip player_id='1894298' first='Nick' last='Loughrey']. The junior, Loughrey leads the team in tackles with his 16, tackles for loss with 7, and sacks with 3; furthermore, he has a share of the team lead in solo tackles (10), and forced fumbles (1).<br><br>Unfortunately for Shore has not reported any roster or statistical information available to report on.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->