September 21, 2009 I Issue-1 3

Manley's SoccerSidelineP a g e 4

Running Smoothly:B r i c k M e m o r i a l ' s

M i k e D i G u i l m i

P a g e 7

Another Dimension:Ocean's Brandon

Robinson

P a g e 8

Stuck in a Rutter:Lacey's Soccer Star

Returns

P a g e 9

Girls Tennis:Holmdel's Wojciak

Trains Overseas

P a g e 1 0

Joe McAuliffe:Use It Or Loss It

P a g e 1 2

Stumpy’s CornerP a g e 1 5

www.allshoremedia.com

All Shore Mediais a multimedia company that provides

exciting and innovative coverage to highschool athletics in the Shore Conference in

order to highlight the achievements of local athletesin one of the premier conferences in New Jersey.

Whether it’s the star of the team or the last player off thebench, everyone has a story and it is our mission to recognize

as many athletes as possible and add to the memories for all of thefamilies, coaches, friends and fans who support Shore Conference

sports. Whether in print or on the Web, All Shore Media is yourmain source for all things exciting in the Shore Conference.

All Shore Media Web Site FeaturesL o g o n t o w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m r e g u l a r l y

t o g e t v i d e o h i g h l i g h t s o f a l l t h e i m p o r t a n t g a m e s

t h a t S h o r e C o n f e r e n c e f a n s w i l l b e t a l k i n g a b o u t .

C a t c h u p o n t h e a c t i o n y o u m i g h t h a v e m i s s e d a n d

w a t c h v i d e o c l i p s o f e v e r y t h i n g f r o m t h e a c t i o n

e a r l y i n t h e e v e n t t o t h e b i g f i n i s h a s w e l l a s v i d e o

i n t e r v i e w s w i t h v a r i o u s a t h l e t e s . I f y o u c a n ’ t m a k e i t

t o t h e g a m e , w e ’ l l b r i n g t h e g a m e t o y o u , a n d i f y o u

w e r e a t t h e g a m e a n d w a n t t o r e l i v e t h e e x c i t e m e n t ,

m e m b e r s h i p a t w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m i s a l l

y o u n e e d t o g e t i n s i d e t h e a c t i o n .

Check Out the Latest Video Highlights

Want more coverage from this event? Whenever you see a

video icon next to an article you can not only read about it,

but watch the story at www.allshoremedia.com .

This means that if you are a member you will have access to

all the video highlights and see the exciting action for

yourself. Join today and don't miss out on any of the

memorable moments from around the Shore Conference!

S t e v e n M e y e rDirector/CEO/Marketingsmeyer@allshoremedia.com

7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0

S c o t t S t u m pDirector/Managing Editorstump@allshoremedia.com

TravisJohnsonDirector/COOt j o h n s o n @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

Senior Content ProviderBobBadders // Badders@allshoremedia.com

Staff Photographers

DougBostwick // www.sportshotswlb.smugmug.com

D a v e T h o r n e // www. davethornephotography.com

(click on photographers web sites for photo re-prints)

A l l S h o r e M e d i a is published by:

F i n i s h L i n e M e d i a , L L C2 6 O x f o r d D r i v e W a y s i d e N J , 0 7 7 1 2

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 0 9 A l l S h o r e M e d i aA l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e dR e p r o d u c t i o n i n w h o l e o r i n p a r t w i t h o u t t h ep e r m i s s i o n o f A l l S h o r e M e d i a i s p r o h i b i t e d

September 21, 2009 I Issue-13

C a n ' t w a i t t o g e t y o u r h a n d so n t h e l a t e s t i s s u e o f t h e

All Shore Media Sports Review?Now you can get it delivered directly

to your home al l year for onlyWith feature stories, advice from professionals, color photos & unique

design, the All Shore Media Sports Review brings you thebest of Shore Conference athletics, & now you can have it sent right to

your mailbox to enjoy at your convenience.

J u s t C o n t a c t u s a tsmeyer@al l shoremed ia . com & ge t s tar t ed TODAY!

$25.00$25.00$25.00

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 3

Photos By: Scott Stump, Bob Badders, Chris Ippolito, Doug Bostwick, Dave Thorne, Amy Stokes, Bill Normile, Nancy Thompson, Anthony Payne

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 4

I’ve never really decided what I think about

playing a brutal division schedule. There is the

school of thought that says competition breeds

excellence, which I think is the camp most people

subscribe to. When you

talk to any A North

coach, he usually thinks

his team is well-

prepared for anything

they see in the state or

Shore Conference

Tournament. Manalapan

and CBA have proved

that in the last few years

with each making runs

to their respective

Group finals two years

ago.

Then there’s the

other side of the

coin, which I’m

starting to worry

is taking effect

with some of the

teams in the

Shore

Conference. Last

year, A North

and the Shore

Conference

Tournament was

a borderline

bloodbath, and

you basically had the Group IV schools run out of gas

in the playoffs: Freehold Township lost to Howell,

Howell lost to Steinert, Manalapan lost to Marlboro,

Marlboro lost to Brick

Memorial. Howell, Freehold

Township, and Marlboro all

made deep SCT runs, exerted

themselves for 14 A North

games and just didn’t have much

left in the state tournament. You

might rather be Brick Memorial,

a talented team who plays a

little bit lighter division

schedule but still got a dose of

premium talent like Toms River

East and Freehold Township

during the season. Sometimes a

taste of competition is better

than a steady diet.

Which brings me to my first

two subjects: Toms River North and Raritan. Let’s

start with Raritan, because the Rockets recently held

off St. John Vianney in a 1-0 win. As good as I

thought they were heading into last year, the response

from opposing coaches and objective onlookers last

year paled in comparison to the reviews they are

getting this year. Simply put, people are impressed.

The Christian Brothers

Academy crowd might not be

blown away, but that team is

a different animal

altogether. I had one

A Central coach tell

me that Raritan is

going to run away

with the division,

which is very tough

this year, and

everyone else would

beat the daylights

out of one other.

The question is,

how much does A

Central challenge

Raritan and do they

get to see a big school in the SCT? Personally, I

think A Central might take a little more out of them

than it would in most years. A lot of people are

crowning them already, but let’s not forget that

Raritan started last year on a tear as well before

enduring an injury to goalkeeper Dave Gonzalez and

hitting the wall a bit. I’m sure head

coach Ron Poll is telling his team

the same thing, and in a division

with five other quality teams, the

Rockets don’t get a night off to

recuperate. I’m interested to see if

that takes anything out of them. If

not, and they’re able to use a deep

rotation and

breeze through a

tough division,

well then maybe

they are that

good.

Toms River

North looks like a

team that can do a

ton of damage in

the state

tournament for a

lot of reasons.

First of all, and

with all due

respect to the

other teams in A

North, they are going to be able to win

games without playing their best

against certain teams because they are

so talented.

Secondly, they have a

good sampling of tough

games mixed in. They

play Toms River South

twice, as well as solid

Group III schools

Lacey and Brick,

along with squads

like Toms River

East and Jackson,

who are always

tough. As long as

they can make a

run through the

SCT to the point

where they get to

test themselves

against a team like

Marlboro or even Raritan, they’ll have a great frame

of reference for what it takes to beat a hig- caliber

opponent. If they get to see CBA, it likely means they

made it to the SCT final, because it would be hard to

envision a scenario in which either did not win its

respective division.

F O R A D V E R T I S I N G I N F O R M A T I O NC o n t a c t : S t e v e n M e y e r 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0 s m e y e r @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

M a t t M a n l e y c o v e r e d b o y s s o c c e r f o r t h r e e y e a r s a t t h e A s b u r y P a r k P r e s s a n d n o w j o i n s A l lS h o r e M e d i a t o f u r t h e r e x p a n d s o c c e r c o v e r a g e i n t h e S h o r e C o n f e r e n c e . H i s c o v e r a g e i n t h e p a p e r

a n d o n t h e a p p . c o m w e b s i t e e a r n e d h i m t h e M e d i a M e m b e r o f t h e Ye a r f r o m t h e N e w J e r s e yS o c c e r C o a c h e s A s s o c i a t i o n i n 2 0 0 7 . T h e n e w b o y s s o c c e r p a g e a t A l l S h o r e M e d i a . c o m w i l l

f e a t u r e a r t i c l e s , p h o t o s a n d h i g h l i g h t s , w i t h s u c h e x t r a s a s b o n u s v i d e o h i g h l i g h t s ,n o t e b o o k s , e x p a n d e d To p 2 0 l i s t s a n d p o d c a s t s . G o t o A l l S h o r e M e d i a . c o m t o s e e t h e

n e w s o c c e r p a g e , w a t c h v i d e o , a n d j o i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n o n M a t t ' s b l o g .I t ' s a m u s t s e e f o r a n y h i g h s c h o o l s o c c e r p l a y e r, c o a c h a n d f a n .

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 5

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 6

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 7

Brian Staub may have become a household name

by the time his brilliant career ended at Brick

Memorial with a state title last year, but only a season

earlier he was an anonymous junior trying to pick up

the nuances of the Mustangs’ triple option offense

under head coach Walt Currie.

That’s how quickly stardom can happen in Currie’s

system, and the next one in line is current junior Mike

DiGuilmi. Just like Staub in 2007, DiGuilmi entered

this season as a complete unknown. The difference is

that DiGuilmi is facing the challenge of replacing a

quarterback who was named the Most Valuable Player

in the Shore Conference last year by All Shore Media

after leading the Mustangs to the NJSIAA Central

Jersey Group IV t i t le .

“I didn’t real ly feel pressure atal l because coach Currie said,‘We’re not asking you to be Staub,we’re asking you to be yourself ,’’Diguilmi said.

Regardless,

DiGuilmi has

done his best Staub

impression in the

early going, as he had

over 100 yards rushing

and 100 yards passing in

his varsity debut, a 29-26 loss to Sayreville, and then

followed that with 100 yards and two touchdowns on

the ground on just nine carries in a 38-21 win over

Southern. So much for worrying about what the

Mustangs would get out of the quarterback position

this year.

“Coach just told me to be the point guard of the

offense, make my reads and get the ball to the right

people at the right time, and we’ll be fine,’’ DiGuilmi

said. “I worked out with Staub all of last year, and he

was a good mentor for me.’’

DiGuilmi still keeps in touch with Staub, who has

seen playing time as a freshman at Springfield

College. DiGuilmi has also worked closely with new

Brick Memorial assistant Rob Orrok, who was a star in

Currie’s system when Currie was the offensive

coordinator at Point Boro before coming to Brick

Memorial in 2007.

“(Orrok) has helped me out a lot,’’ DiGuilmi said.

“He teaches me one-on-one, and I think it's made me a

lot better. He goes over my reads step by step, and

shows me how to make the tough reads and get used to

every kind of defense.’’

While Staub carried much of the load last season,

two things make the Mustangs even more difficult to

attack defensively this year. The first is that the

backfield is deep and experienced with the trio of

seniors Vinnie Sabba, Jared Aksdal and Glenn

McGinnis. The second reason is that DiGuilmi is a

solid passer for a running quarterback, so teams

have to respect his ability to step back and

throw the ball.

“Having those guys back there makes

things a lot easier, and our line is great,’’

DiGuilmi said. “(Passing) is an area that I

have worked on a lot, and we have good

receivers, so we want to get them the ball.

We don’t pass much, but we want to keep

the defense on its toes.’’

Despite the season-opening loss to

Sayreville, which is the team that Brick

Memorial beat to win its state sectional title

last year, the American Division title and a

second straight state title are still in play for

the Mustangs. Despite the loss of Staub and

Monmouth University lineman Anthony

D’Elia, the Mustangs don’t plan any taking any type of

step back in search of their third state title in school

history.

“ I t ’s n o t s o m u c h p r e s s u r ef r o m t h e o u t s i d e , i t ’s m o r ef r o m o u r s e l v e s , ’’ D i G u i l m is a i d . “ We h a v e a s h o t t o w i na n o t h e r s t a t e c h a m p i o n s h i p ,a n d w e w a n t t o g e t i t d o n e . ’’

Now they have a quarterback who has excelled in his

first varsity action, quickly acclimating himself to the

difference between practicing the triple option and

executing it against a live defense. He is already picking

up the different stunts of opposing defenses, who lately

have been sending the middle linebacker to try and grab

the pitch when DiGuilmi looks to pop it outside to

McGinnis or one of the other backs.

“I think my biggest challenge was reading the defense as

fast as possible and knowing where your keys are,’’ he said.

“In time, the steps have gotten easy,

and our line is doing a good job of

picking up a lot of the stunts from

the defense.’’

If you want to do more, join your local SADD chapter. If your school doesn’t have a SADD chapter, contact your local DCH dealership for

help in starting one. And don’t forget to stop by any of the DCH Auto Group locations to get more information about Keep It Out of Cars™

and SADD. Or go to DCHAutoGroup.com to learn about upcoming events in your community.

D C H K a y H o n d a , 2 0 0 R t 3 6 E a t o n t o w n , N J 0 7 7 2 4

1-800-849-0325 www.dchkayhonda.com © 2008 DCH Auto Group. All rights reserved.

R u n n i n g S m o o t h l yB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

P h o t o s b y : B i l l N o r m i l ewww.billnormile.zenfolio.com/oceanbric

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 8

ast season, Ocean had enough of the necessary

ingredients to be one step from playing a

state championship game.

This year the Spartans may have found the missing

piece that can allow them to take that final step in the

race to unseat Freehold as the NJSIAA Central Jersey

Group III champion. With a rugged defense and a

physical running game, the one element missing from

their offense last year was an explosive player who

would make defenses pay for missing a tackle or

taking a bad angle by hitting them for an 80-yard

touchdown.

Enter much-improved seniorBrandon Robinson.

A three-year starter in the secondary on defense,

Robinson has emerged in the early going of the 2009

season as an all-purpose offensive threat with the

speed to take it the distance on any play. He came up

in the Pop Warner system as a running back and a

quarterback, switched to wide receiver during high

school, and is now playing wideout and some

running back in order to take advantage of his

play-making ability. He has gone from a bit

player offensively to the one player on the

Spartans who worries opponents the most.

“ I t h i n k I e n j o yp l a y i n g r e c e i v e r m o r e ,d e p e n d i n g o n h o w t h eg a m e i s g o i n g , ’’R o b i n s o n s a i d . “ I td o e s n ’ t m a t t e r t o m ew h e r e I h a v e t o p l a y t oh e l p t h e t e a m w i n . ’’

The Spartans are off to a 2-0 start

with solid victories over fellow Central

Jersey Group III contenders Neptune and

Brick, and Robinson flashed his ability to

alter the course of the game with one play

in a 17-7 win over the Green Dragons. He

ripped off touchdown runs of 80 and 58 yards

and also had an interception to fuel the victory,

energizing the Spartans with every touch of the ball.

“I had a feeling coach (Don Klein) was going to

call my number a lot,’’ Robinson said. “I made a

couple big plays and it changed the game.’’

Getting Robinson the ball more was a point of

emphasis for the Spartans

heading into this year, and

Robinson’s work on his speed

and his participation in

Klein’s rigorous offseason

strength and conditioning

program have turned him into

that missing element of

Ocean’s offense that forces

defenses to respect the

Spartans’ ability to make

plays deep down the field.

Wherever Robinson lines

up, he has to be accounted

for. He could take a handoff

and hurt teams or snatch a

pass from senior quarterback

Christian Bailoni and race

down the field. He also has

only scratched the surface of

what he can do.

“Learning receiver was

tough to get all the routes

down because

you have to be right on point,’’ he

said. “I still need to improve on

running routes, but I’m confident

with my hands.’’

It also helps that he

is comfortable

with Bailoni

entrenched as

the full-time

starter,

as last

year

Bailoni

often rotated

with the now-

graduated Rhett

Cowley at

quarterback.

“Chris and I have been

working together for the last

three years and he’s

comfortable with me,’’ Robinson

said. “I think he’s one of the best

quarterbacks in the Shore.’’

Robinson has received

interest from Monmouth

University and Stony

Brook, two programs that

feature several former

Ocean stars, although what

position he will play at the

collegiate level is still up in

the air. He also is adjusting

to being circled on

opposing scouting reports

when it comes to slowing

down the Spartans’ offense,

which only averaged 15

points per game in the first

two games.

“I'm just going to keep

doing what I'm doing and

watch as much film as

possible to find the

weaknesses in opposing

defenses,’’ he said. “We

need to improve on the

mistakes that we're making right now like penalties

and missed assignments. I don’t think our offense is

completely clicking yet, so we have some work left to

do.’’

With sophomore Greg Moore and bruising runner

R.J. D’Apolito also back there, the offense has

potential to have great balance with Robinson as a

home run threat. Add that to a physical defense led by

George Sofield up front, D’Apolito at linebacker and

Robinson in the secondary, and the foundation is there

to make a run at Ocean’s first state sectional title since

2005 and a Liberty Division title.

“I don’t think anyone is going to score more than

13 points on our defense, so if our offense can get to

20 points a game, we’re going to be very hard to

beat,’’ Robinson said.

Ocean displayed the versatility of its

offense in the first two weeks, leaning on

Neptune in a 14-6 win in the rain and then

hitting Brick with the big play in Week

Two.

“In a game like Neptune, we weren’t really

going to break a lot against them because they’re fast

and it was a rainy day, so we just pounded the ball,’’

Robinson said. “Against Brick, they weren’t as fast, so

we were able to break the big play a couple times.’’

As for the collegiate level, Robinson said he would

like to play cornerback, but the prospect of being a

game-breaking receiver is tantalizing. That’s a thought

that should be keep opposing defensive coordinators

up at night.

“ I f e e l t h a t o n c e I g e tt h e h a n g o f p l a y i n gr e c e i v e r, t h a t w i t h m y h a n d sI ’ l l b e o n e o f t h e b e s tr e c e i v e r s a r o u n d , ’’ h e s a i d .

A n o t h e r D i m e n s i o nBy Scott Stump – Managing Editor

P h o t o s b y :B i l l N o r m i l ewww.billnormile.zenfolio.com/oceanbric

D a v e T h o r n ewww./allshoremedia.mycapture.com

LL

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 9

ast Thursday night, in his team’s 3-0 winover Brick Memorial, Lacey senior

midfielder Craig Rutter fell to the groundmidway through the second half of a game that waswell in hand.

The trainer immediately rolled out the golf cartto middle of the field where Rutter laid in obviousdiscomfort. As he grabbed his leg, the entire Laceybench exchanged audible expressions of concernwith one another, some to the effect of, “Oh no,”and “Not Craig,” and even, “You’ve got to bekidding me. Again?”

Lacey coach Joe Humenik stood on the sidelinewith his hands folded while his team on the fieldtended to Rutter. He did not want to have to jog outto his fallen player, fearing it might mean theworst.

Then, a little more than a minute after Rutterwent down, one of his teammates screamed aprognosis from the huddle that settled the Laceydown and got the Lions back to thinking abouthaving their best season in program history, ratherthan pondering what could have been.

“He’s okay. It’s just a cramp,” the voice saidfrom inside the huddle.

With that, the Lacey bench went from on edge toback on cloud nine. The quick quips of concernturned into those of relief. “Thank God. We wouldhave been screwed,” was the most notable quotefrom the bench.

Lacey is all too familiar with life withoutRutter, the team’s center midfielder, leader and bestplayer. He was a varsity starter as a freshman in2006, the same year Humenik took over theprogram as head coach. In Rutter, Humenik saw apotential building block for not just his senior yearin 2009, but for the next three years. Lacey, aGroup III school, was trying to establish itself as aperennial winning program in a Class A Southdivision packed with Group IV schools, and playerslike Rutter would be central to that goal.

As a sophomore in 2007, Rutter ’s season was

cut short before it even got going. He tore theanterior crutiate ligament (ACL) in his left kneeearly in the schedule and could not play socceruntil the next high school season.

“ H e p l a y e d f o r m e a s af r e s h m a n a n d w e t h o u g h t h e w a sg o i n g t o b e s t a r t i n g a l l f o u ry e a r s , ” said Humenik, whose first year as head

coach coincided with Rutter ’s freshman year.

“ U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e i n j u r y w i p e do u t h i s s o p h o m o r e s e a s o n a n d h ep l a y e d i n p a i n f o r a l o t o f l a s ty e a r. H e ’s w o r k e d h a r d t o g e tb a c k a n d w e ’ r e l o o k i n g f o r h i mt o b e o n e o f o u r l e a d e r s . ”

Rutter returned in 2008 to a Lacey team that hadaspirations of surprising a talented Class A Southfield that would end up featuring a ShoreConference Tournament and NJSIAA South JerseyGroup IV semifinalist in Toms RiverEast, a Central Jersey Group IVsemifinalist in Brick Memorial,a senior-loaded Brick team, androsters from Toms River Northand Toms River South that wereloaded with talented juniors.Humenik thought his groupwas on its way to joiningthat class of teams, but onegame into the season,Rutter again went down,this time with tornligaments and tendons in hisright ankle. Rutter played in pain forthree games, then sat out four whenthe pain became too much.

Fortunately for Rutter – and Lacey –he eventually made it back and had astrong individual season, posting ninegoals and four assists in 13 games. Moreimportantly, he helped Lacey run off astring of four wins in five games to getto a record of 8-8 at the NJSIAATournament cutoff date.Rutter ’s seminalmoment, as wellas Lacey’s, cameduring a 4-3,overtime win over Brickon Oct. 16. Rutter took a pass fromteammate Steve Torre and knocked theball into the net with just 1:48 left inthe second overtime period. HadRutter not finished, Lacey wouldlikely have had to settle for a tie orworse.

Teamed with a senior, All-Division midfielder in SteveTorre, Lacey was a tough drawfor any team down the stretchand as the No. 13 seed in the statetournament, the Lions drew No. 4Hammonton in the first round. Laceyoutshot Hammonton in the game, butfell 1-0. Still, the Lions, packed withreturning talent in 2009, were encouragedby their showing and Rutter was excited atthe prospect of a healthy senior season,

even if he had to say goodbye to Torre, hislongtime friend and teammate.

“Steve and I have been playing togetherforever,” Rutter said. “I always played up an age-group in club ball, so we were always teammates.We had a great chemistry in the midfield while weplayed in high school. He’s a great player and I’mgonna miss him this year.”

Lacey had the kind of senior nucleus returningin 2009 that practically guaranteed a great season,one that could end deep in the South Jersey GroupIII playoffs and perhaps even the Shore ConferenceTournament. But once again, Rutter and the Lionswere reminded that there were no guarantees whenthe senior captain had to go under the knife againthis past March, this time for a torn meniscus in thesame left knee.

“The meniscus surgery wasn’t a big deal,”Rutter said. “I was out for a little while but it’s notsomething that bothers you that long.

“With the ACL, it takes about a year to get backto full strength, especially playing the position Iplay in the center mid. It’s a demanding position.You have to be able to change direction a lot andreact with your legs, so it takes longer to fullyrecover from the injury to play center mid than itdoes to play other positions and other sports.”

Now that Rutter has been through threemajor injuries to both of his legs, he has

developed a sense of humor about hissituation that reflects a sense ofperspective he has gained from theexperience.

“I’ve had threesurgeries on my legsbefore my 18th birthday,”Rutter joked. “I’ l lprobably have arthri t isin both knees by thet ime I’m 25.”

For now though, Rutter is healthyand enjoying a great start to his seniorseason, and as a result, so are the Lions.Lacey is off to a 3-0-1 start, its bestfour-game start since joining the ShoreConference Class A South in 2006.With a healthy, experienced nucleus,

Lacey is prepared to challenge for thedivision title.

“It’s huge having Craig back,” juniordefender Max Dolphin said. “He’s a great

player and a great teammate. If he’s healthy, he’sone of the best players in Shore Conference. Wehave a great team a r o u n d h i m , b u t h e ’s o u rg o - t o g u y. ”

LL

S t u c k i n a R u t t e r :L a c e y ’ s S t a r R e t u r n s B y M a t t M a n l e y – S t a f f W r i t e r

P h o t o s b y

M a t t M a n l e y

F O R A D V E R T I S I N G I N F O R M A T I O NC o n t a c t : S t e v e n M e y e r 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0 s m e y e r @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 1 0

Off-season t ra ining for tennis is usual ly done

on a tennis court , but for Holmdel s tar Karol ina

Wojciak, most of her t ra ining

was done on grass or a

running t rack and not even in

the United States . Karol ina

traveled to Poland over the

summer, where she spent s ix

weeks t ra ining on her tennis

game via through f i tness .

Karol ina, one of the top

tennis players in the Shore

Conference as a f reshman, led

Holmdel to the Shore and

Monmouth County

Tournament t i t les but had a

dismal season las t year as a

sophomore. After achieving

firs t - team All-Shore as a

freshman, Karol ina had a

break even season as a

sophomore and Holmdel lost

the Shore Conference t i t le as

a team for the f i rs t t ime in

years . That was when

Karol ina vowed to renew her tennis spir i t and her

game.

Karol ina real ized that for her to regain the

form she had as a f reshman she would have to

improve her mental toughness on the court .

Mental toughness on the court involves a s t rong

bel ief in yourself , that with maximum effor t

posi t ive things wil l happen for you and most

important ly, having fun doing what you are

doing.

To achieve the above, Karol ina

real ized she needed a break from hi t t ing

bal ls and most important ly f igured out that for

her to have fun and put the maximum effor t in

while on the court , she would need to improve

her f i tness t ra ining.

While in Poland,

Karol ina hardly hi t a

tennis bal l but spent

numerous hours

improving her f i tness .

She concentrated her

t ra ining on improving

court coverage in the

area of foot speed while

moving to the bal l . She

also worked on being

able to set up, t ransfer

her weight and balance

once she has hi t the

bal l .

The off- the-court

t ra ining has Karol ina

exhibi t ing a much-

improved posi t ive

at t i tude that includes

strong, confident body

language on the court ,

bel ieving in herself and, most important ly,

having fun playing tennis again. All of the above

led to Karol ina developing her confidence in a

s t ronger serve and being able to move and set up

to hi t her s t rength, which is a forehand from

almost anywhere on the court .

Ear ly in the season Karol ina’s s t ra tegy

appears to be paying off as both Holmdel and her

individual record s i t a t 4-1. Karol ina has

defeated one of the Shore’s top players in

Manasquan’s Farah Smoke and the team’s only

loss came from the rackets of the Shore’s top-

ranked team, Red Bank Cathol ic , as Karol ina lost

to another one of the Shore’s top players , Dena

Tanenbaum.

Karol ina has f igured out what most a thletes

never do - that the harder you work, the mental ly

tougher you become, and the more success you

have.

H o w T o H i t T h e M o d e r nS e m i - O p e n O r O p e nS t a n c e F o r e h a n d

In hitting the semi-open, or open stance, forehand

there are notable differences and below I list the key

to developing both while including their strengths.

Open Stance Forehand■ To s t a r t y o u n e e d a w i d e b a s e w i t h y o u r

f e e t , t h u s a l l o w i n g t h e g r o u n d r e a c t i o n

a n d p u s h i n g o f y o u r f e e t t o c r e a t e

r o t a t i o n a l t o r q u e s t h a t c o n t r i b u t e t o

y o u r a n g u l a r m o m e n t u m .

■ To e f f e c t i v e l y g e n e r a t e p o w e r y o u

p r i m a r i l y u s e a n g u l a r m o m e n t u m ( b o d y

m u s t r o t a t e a r o u n d i t s v e r t i c a l a x i s ) .

■ T h e o p e n s t a n c e a l l o w s y o u t o h a n d l e

a n d e f f e c t i v e l y h i t h a r d - p a c e d s h o t s .

■ U s e t h i s t y p e o f f o o t w o r k w h e n

r e t u r n i n g s e r v e o r f o r c e d w i d e a t t h e

b a s e l i n e .

■ O p e n s t a n c e a l s o a l l o w s f o r a f a s t e r

r e c o v e r y a f t e r y o u h a v e h i t y o u r s h o t .

Semi-Open Stance Forehand■ Yo u r b a s e h e r e w i l l b e n a r r o w e r a n d

y o u r w e i g h t s h i f t s l i g h t l y f o r w a r d

d u r i n g t h e s h o t .

■ Yo u w i l l n o t o n l y u s e a n g u l a r

m o m e n t u m h e r e , y o u w i l l a l s o n e e d t o

u s e l i n e a r ( f o r w a r d a n d u p w a r d m o t i o n )

m o m e n t u m w h e n h i t t i n g t h e b a l l a n d

s h i f t i n g y o u r w e i g h t .

■ T h e s e m i - o p e n s t a n c e a l l o w s m o r e

v e r s a t i l i t y i n y o u r s h o t - m a k i n g a n d a l s o

a l l o w s y o u t o h a n d l e a n d e f f e c t i v e l y h i t

h a r d - p a c e d s h o t s .

■ Yo u c a n u s e t h e s e m i - o p e n s t a n c e w h e n

h i t t i n g n e u t r a l , o f f e n s i v e l y o r o n

d e f e n s e .

■ S e m i - o p e n a l s o a l l o w s f o r a f a s t e r

r e c o v e r y a f t e r y o u h a v e h i t y o u r s h o t .

Off-Season Tennis Training:W i t h H o l m d e l S t a r K a r o l i n a W o j c i a k B y C l a y t o n Ta y l o r, D i r e c t o r o f Te n n i s a t T h e A t l a n t i c C l u b

F O R A D V E R T I S I N G I N F O R M A T I O NC o n t a c t : S t e v e n M e y e r 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0 s m e y e r @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

ELITESP O R T S PH Y S I C A L TH E R A P Y

Provides one-on-one aggress ive but sa ferehabi l i tat ion, enabl ing today 's ath letes to return tocompet i t ion quicker and hea l th ier then ever before.

El i te Sports Phys ica l Therapy i s convenient ly housedwithin the EDGE Sports Academey and Health Club.This partnershipmakes her practice truly unique and allows her to specialize in therehabilitation of ELITE athletes.

732-544-0011 sharonwentworth@optonl ine.net

7 4 9 H o p e R o a d , S u i t e B • E a t o n t o w n , N J 0 7 7 2 4Sharon Wentworth,D.P.T., M.S.P.T., A.T.C.

ACLInjury

PreventionTraining

ACLInjury

PreventionTraining

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 1 1

Eve ry

fa l l , s t uden t s

t h ro u g hou t t he Sho re

a r ea r e tu rn t o s choo l and

l eave t h e su n , s an d , an d b e a c h beh ind un t i l t h e

fo l l owi n g su mmer. Wh en t h e y r e tu rn t o s choo l

t hey w i l l sh a rp en t h e i r a c a d e mic sk i l l s i n

p repa ra t i o n fo r t h e fu t u r e t h a t l i e s ahead .

O n c e a g a i n t h i s f a l l , “ C o l l e g e N i g h t a t

t h e J e r s e y S h o r e ” w i l l t a k e p l a c e t o h e l p

m a n y S h o r e - a r e a s t u d e n t s w i t h t h e i r f u t u r e

p l a n s . C o l l e g e N i g h t a t t h e J e r s e y S h o r e ,

w h i c h w i l l t a k e p l a c e a t t h e P o l a n d S p r i n g s

A r e n a a t t h e R i t a c c o C e n t e r i n To m s R i v e r o n

S e p t . 2 4 f r o m 6 - 9 p . m . , b r i n g s i n r o u g h l y

11 5 c o l l e g e s f r o m t h e E a s t C o a s t r e g i o n a n d

p r o v i d e s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r m a n y s t u d e n t s

t o h e l p m a k e s m a r t c h o i c e s w i t h t h e c o l l e g e

a d m i s s i o n s p r o c e s s .

Th i s ev en i n g b eg an a t Oc ean Coun ty

Co l l ege o v e r 2 0 y ea r s ago w i th t he Ocean

Coun ty P ro fe s s i o n a l Gu i d a n c e Assoc i a t i on

(OCPGA ) . To d ay t h e OC P GA runs “Co l l ege

Nigh t ” a t t h e R i t a cco Cen t e r w i th a commi t t ed

t eam o f co u n se l o r s f r o m th e Sho re a r ea and

schoo l counse lo r s D onna K uch f r om Br i ck

Townsh ip H igh Schoo l and Wa t son P. H e i l a l a

f rom Lacey Tow nsh ip H igh Schoo l .

K u c h h a s b e e n a p a r t o f t h i s e v e n i n g

s i n c e 1 9 9 5 a n d h a s s e e n t h i s e v e n t e v o l v e a n d

a d a p t w i t h t h e g r o w t h o f t h e c o u n t y.

H o w e v e r , w h e n a s k e d a b o u t t h e g o a l o f t h e

e v e n i n g , D o n n a K u c h s a i d , “ T h e m i s s i o n

b e h i n d t h i s e v e n t

h a s n ’ t c h a n g e d

a n d i t p r o v i d e s a

f o r u m f o r

s t u d e n t s t o g a t h e r

i n f o r m a t i o n i n

o r d e r t o m a k e

b e t t e r c h o i c e s

t h r o u g h o u t t h e

c o l l e g e

a d m i s s i o n s

p r o c e s s . I n t h i s

e c o n o m i c

e n v i r o n m e n t ,

t h e r e i s e v e n m o r e s t r e s s p l a c e d o n f a m i l i e s

t o m a k e t h e r i g h t c h o i c e s . ”

In add i t i on t o t he co l l ege f a i r, t h e O CPG A

is a l so p rov id ing s emina r s i n t he Toms R ive r

High Schoo l N or th aud i t o r i um f r om 6 - 7 :15

p .m . on Sep t . 24 abou t co l l ege admis s ions

t r ends , f i nanc i a l s emina r s , and s t anda r d i zed

t e s t i n fo rm a t ion f r om the P r ince ton Rev i ew.

T he f i r s t 500 peop l e i n a t t endanc e w i l l a l so

r ece ive a f r e e env i r onmen ta l - f r i e nd ly shopp ing

bag . K uch s a id , “T he O CPG A i s he r e t o he lp

f ami l i e s s i f t t h r ough t h i s i n f o r m a t i on . ’’

H e i l a l a , w ho w i l l t a l k abou t c o l l ege

admis s ions t r ends , sugges t s “ f am i l i e s shou ld

c r ea t e a budge t f i r s t t hen f i nd t he be s t

educa t i on t ha t f i t s w i th in t ha t b udge t . ” He

a l so t e l l s s t uden t s t o

“no t f a l l i n l ove w i th

one s c hoo l . The re

a r e m a ny s choo l s ou t

t he r e . J u s t t a l k t o

you r s c hoo l

couns e l o r. ”

K uc h added t ha t

“ the r e i s a l o t o f

w or k i nvo lved i n t h i s

even t . Howeve r,

t he r e a r e many

ded i c a t e d , ha rd -

w or k i ng peop l e who

go above and beyond w ha t i s a s ke d o f t hem in

the s choo l s e t t i ng i n o r de r t o be t t e r he lp t he

s tuden t s i n t he Sho r e commun i t y. ”

So encou r age you r s t uden t t o s hake t he

sand f r om the i r shoes and come ou t t o “Co l l ege

N igh t a t t he J e r s ey Sho r e” i n t he R i t a cco

Cen te r on Sep t . 24 .

C o l l e g e N i g h t A t T h e J e r s e y S h o r eB y W a t s o n H e i l a l a – A l l S h o r e M e d i a C o n t r i b u t o r

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 1 2

Th i s i s t he t ime o f yea r

ev e ry fo o tba l l p l aye r works

fo r. Tw o -a -days a r e ove r and

the dog d ay s o f t h e J e r s e y S h o re summer

wea the r a r e h o p e fu l l y b e h in d u s . Now i t t ime

to buck l e u p t h e ch i n s t r a p s a nd p l ay some

ba l l .

Th i s i s a t i me w h en y o u s p end l o t s o f ene rgy

and men t a l f o cu s o n fo o tb a l l , whe the r i t ’s

p r ac t i c e , w a t ch i n g f i l m , o r g ame p r epa ra t i on .

Unfo r tu n a t e l y, mo s t h i g h s c h oo l f oo tba l l

coaches l o se s i g h t o f t h e imp or t ance o f i n -

s ea son we i g h t t r a i n i n g . T h e t e enage r s p l ay ing

in t he Sh o re C o n fe r en ce h a v e on ly a coup l e o f

yea r s o f ex p e r i en ce w i t h a g g re s s ive s t r eng th

t r a in ing an d b ecau se o f t h a t , t h ey don ’ t have a

ma tu re mu sc l e mas s . I f u n t r a ined , t hey w i l l

l o se s i z e , s t r en g t h , p o wer a n d speed qu i ck ly.

Fo r t u n a t e l y, t h e p l ay e r d o es no t need t o

t r a in ve ry ha r d du r ing f oo tba l l . T he “ Jus t D o

I t ’’ c r edo o f cons i s t en t l i f t i ng w or ks ve r y w e l l

f o r t he h igh s choo l a t h l e t e . Tw o days a w eek

fo r abou t 40 minu t e s i s a l l you need t o

ma in t a in you ga in s , w he r ea s i t t ake s abou t

fou r t o f i ve days a w eek a t 90 minu t e s pe r

s e s s ion t o make p r og r e s s du r ing t he o f f s ea son .

Dur ing t he l a s t 20 yea r s o f t r a i n ing h igh

schoo l p l aye r s , I c an s a f e ly r e commend t ha t

t he i n t ens i t y o f t r a i n ing i s abou t 60 t o 80

pe rcen t o f max imum. L ow er r epe t i t i on

workou t s a r e mor e spec i f i c t o t he demands o f a

foo tba l l p l aye r. T h r ee - t o - f i ve s e t s o f f i ve

r epe t i t i ons a r e a good gu ide l i ne t o f o l l ow f o r

powerc l eans , squa t s , bench p r e s s , dead l i f t s ,

pu l l - ups (w i th w e igh t i f pos s ib l e ) , r ow s and

sh rugs .

To r so wor k l i ke s i t - ups shou ld be done i n

the h ighe r r epe t i t i on r ange o f 15 - 25 . E x t r a

a s s i s t ance exe rc i s e s f o r shou lde r s , a r ms and

ca lve s shou ld be done w i th one o r tw o s e t s o f

8 -10 r eps . Va r y each w or kou t so you don ’ t ge t

s t a l e , and on ly 15 t o 20 s e t s max imum pe r

workou t . D on’ t l e t m ino r i n ju r i e s s i de l i ne you .

Keep exe rc i s i ng non - in ju r ed body pa r t s , a s

t hey won’ t de - t r a i n a s f a s t and ac tua l l y speed

recove ry o f t he i n ju r y.

H ope f u l l y you r coach w i l l m a ke t he we igh t

r oom an ex t ens ion o f t he p r ac t i c e f i e l d . I f no t ,

you w i l l be on you r ow n and can a l ways r each

me f o r he lp a t T he E dge . G ood l uc k and good

hea l t h t o you . Coach Mac .

P o w e r W i t h o u t S t e r o i d s :U s e i t o r L o s e i t . . .By Joe McAuliffe M.A., C.S.C.S – Head Strength & Conditioning Coach-Edge Sports Academy, Drug Free World Record Holder Squat & Bench Press

J o i n T h eA l l S h o r e M e d i a

T e a m T o d a y !

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 1 3

Interested in joining our team and think

you have what it takes to be covering sports in

the Shore Conference for All Shore Media? We

are looking for local writers interested in

covering sports like field hockey, volleyball,

gymnastics, cross country and more as part of

our newspaper and our website

(www.allshoremedia.com). Grab your chance

to appear regularly in The All Shore Media

Sports Review and on www.allshoremedia.com

while helping us recognize more athletes and

bring more stories to Shore Conference sports

fans. This is your chance to become a regular

contributor to a growing business on the

cutting edge of covering sports in Monmouth

and Ocean County.

Just contact Managing EditorScott Stump @ stump@allshoremedia.com

Red Bank Catholic graduate Ryan Kalish

may be playing in Fenway Park before long

if he keeps this up.

The Boston Red Sox recently the

outfielder as their Minor League Player of

the Year for all levels after his robust season

between Class A Salem and Class AA

Portland. The 21-year-old from Shrewsbury

hit a combined .329 with 18 homers, 77 RBI,

21 stolen bases and 84 runs scored after a

slow start following his promotion from

Salem to the Portland (Me.) Sea Dogs.

In 103 games with Portland, he hit .271

with 13 homers and 56 RBIs, and his 18

homers were second among Red Sox minor

leaguers. His 21 stolen bases ranked fifth

among all Boston minor-leaguers and his 77

RBIs were fourth. Next up is a stint in the

Arizona Instructional League with some of

the other top prospects in minor league

baseball.

Kalish entered the year ranked as the

13th-best prospect in the Red Sox system by

Baseball America. He signed right out of

high school in 2006 and was drafted in the

ninth round by the Red Sox, signing for a

$600,000 bonus and turning down a

scholarship to the University of Virginia in

the process.

Along with Toms River South graduates

Jeff and Todd Frazier, who were both in

Class AAA for the Tigers and Reds this year,

respectively, and Pittsburgh Pirates Class

AAA pitcher Jeff Sues, his former RBC

teammate, next year Kalish has a chance to

join Washington Nationals pitcher Jason

Bergmann (Manalapan) and Kansas City

Royals outfielder David DeJesus

(Manalapan) as former Shore Conference

players in the big leagues.

w w w . d c h k a y h o n d a . c o m

F O R A D V E R T I S I N G I N F O R M A T I O NC o n t a c t : S t e v e n M e y e r 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0 s m e y e r @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

K a l i s h N a m e d R e d S o x M i n o r L e a g u eP l a y e r o f t h e Y e a rB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

2 0 0 9 R e d S o x M i n o r L e a g u e P l a y e r o f t h eY e a r R y a n K a l i s h ( P h o t o b y D V M S p o r t s )

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 1 4

C a t c h i n g U p W i t h t h e A c t i o nC h e c k S t u m p y ’ s B l o g r e g u l a r l y o n w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m r e g u l a r l y f o r o p i n i o n s , r e c a p s

a n d i n s i d e r i n f o r m a t i o n .

I t w a s a l i t t l e b i t o f a w i l d T h u r s d a y i n

We e k Tw o a s N e p t u n e t o o k d o w n t w o - t i m e

d e f e n d i n g F e d e r a l D i v i s i o n a n d d e f e n d i n g C J

I I I c h a m p i o n F r e e h o l d i n o v e r t i m e a n d

H o l m d e l n e a r l y u p e n d e d B a r n e g a t i n t h e

N a t i o n a l D i v i s i o n , p l u s M i d d l e t o w n N o r t h

h a d a s e n s a t i o n a l c o m e b a c k t o b e a t

To m s R i v e r S o u t h b y a p o i n t .

I ’ l l s t a r t w i t h N e p t u n e - F r e e h o l d ,

w h i c h I c o v e r e d . I t w a s a f e s t i v e n i g h t

a t N e p t u n e a s i t w a s P o p Wa r n e r n i g h t ,

s o t h e f u t u r e S c a r l e t F l i e r s w e r e a l l i n

a t t e n d a n c e , a n d N e p t u n e w a s a l s o

a w a r d e d t h e p r e s t i g i o u s S h o p R i t e C u p

a t h a l f t i m e b e c a u s e o f t h e s u c c e s s o f i t s

a t h l e t i c p r o g r a m s a c r o s s t h e b o a r d i n

2 0 0 8 - 0 9 .

B o t h t e a m s l e f t t h e i r h e a r t s o n t h e

f i e l d a n d t h e d e f e n s e s m a d e p l e n t y o f

b i g p l a y s w h i l e b o t h o f f e n s e s w e r e a

t o t a l m e s s a t t i m e s . C l e a r l y, s o p h o m o r e

I k e C a l d e r o n w a s t h e b i g s t o r y f o r

N e p t u n e w i t h h i s f a n t a s t i c f i n i s h , b u t

t h e r e w e r e a f e w m o r e p l a y e r s w h o

d e s e r v e m e n t i o n .

I t h i n k s e v e r a l d e f e n s i v e p l a y e r s d e s e r v e

a q u i c k p l u g , i n c l u d i n g a p l a y e r w h o I t h i n k

s h o u l d d e f i n i t e l y b e i n e a r l y c o n v e r s a t i o n f o r

t h e F e d e r a l D i v i s i o n D e f e n s i v e P l a y e r o f t h e

Ye a r – s e n i o r d e f e n s i v e e n d Ry a n S o l l e y. H e

h a d a s a c k , t w o o t h e r h i t s f o r a l o s s a n d a

f u m b l e r e c o v e r y i n t h e 2 6 - 2 0 d e f e a t a n d h a s

b e e n o u t s t a n d i n g i n F r e e h o l d ’s f i r s t t w o

g a m e s . H e i s a l w a y s a r o u n d t h e b a l l . A l s o ,

l i n e b a c k e r R i c h a r d S c h w a r t z a l s o h a d a

s t r o n g g a m e i n d e f e a t f o r t h e C o l o n i a l s w i t h

a s a c k a n d t w o h i t s f o r a l o s s , a n d f e l l o w

l i n e b a c k e r J a z z m a r C l a x a l s o w a s g o o d a n d

h a d a b i g f u m b l e r e c o v e r y a t t h e e n d o f

r e g u l a t i o n . D e f e n s i v e l i n e m a n B r a n d o n We i s s

a l s o h a d a s t r o n g g a m e .

F o r N e p t u n e , a p l a y e r w h o w e n t a l i t t l e

u n d e r a p p r e c i a t e d w a s s o p h o m o r e l i n e b a c k e r

D a v i d G u t z m o r e , w h o h a d t w o h i t s f o r a l o s s .

H e w a s p a r t o f a n a g g r e s s i v e N e p t u n e

d e f e n s e l e d b y o n e o f t h e y o u n g a n d u p - a n d -

c o m i n g c o o r d i n a t o r s i n t h e S h o r e , d e f e n s i v e

c o o r d i n a t o r J e r e m y B a l i n a . Wi t h J a m a a l

H u b b a r d , D a v i d N e w b e y, G u t z m o r e a n d J a s o n

Wo o d s a b l e t o g e t i n t o o p p o s i n g

b a c k f i e l d s a n d Wa r r e n M e l l o a b l e t o

b l a n k e t t h e o t h e r t e a m ’s t o p r e c e i v e r ,

t h e y a r e a t o u g h u n i t .

N e p t u n e g u t t e d o u t a h u g e w i n f o r

i t s p r o g r a m a f t e r f i g h t i n g t o g e t r e s p e c t

b y b e a t i n g a f e l l o w G r o u p I I I p o w e r. I

k n o w a n o t h e r g r o u p t h a t w a s s m i l i n g

w h e n i t s a w t h a t r e s u l t l a s t n i g h t , a n d

t h a t w a s O c e a n . T h a t w i n o v e r N e p t u n e

i n t h e o p e n e r l o o k s e v e n b e t t e r n o w a n d

t h e p o w e r p o i n t s t h a t c o m e w i t h i t

s h o u l d b e n i c e a s w e l l . N e p t u n e c o a c h

J o h n F i o r e e v e n j o k i n g l y p a n t o m i m e d

t a k i n g t h e m o n k e y o f f h i s b a c k t o a

w e l l - w i s h e r a f t e r t h e g a m e , a n d h e h a d

e v e r y r i g h t t o f e e l t h a t w a y. I ’ m s u r e

t h e r e w i l l s t i l l b e p e o p l e s a y i n g t h a t

F r e e h o l d c o u l d n ’ t h a v e p l a y e d w o r s e

a n d p u t t h e g a m e o n a p l a t t e r f o r t h e m t o

t a k e i t , b u t N e p t u n e w a s n o t a t t h e t o p o f i t s

g a m e e i t h e r a n d s t i l l c a m e o u t w i t h t h e

v i c t o r y. H o p e f u l l y w e c a n d o i t a l l a g a i n i n

l a t e N o v e m b e r.

There's nothing that local football fans love more than a good debateover which teams should be in the Top 10 in the Shore Conference.

We want to know your opinion, so make sure to go towww.allshoremedia.com and vote today in the weekly

Surf Taco Fans' Top 10 poll!

Not only can you let your voicebe heard, but one lucky

participant per week will win a$25.00 Surf Taco gift card!

Get your votes in TODAY!

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 1 5

Watching

Howell outscore

its first two

opponents 63-21 and defeat defending state champion

Piscataway, it begged an obvious question.

“ W h y d o n ’ t m o r e t e a m s i nt h e S h o r e C o n f e r e n c e r u nt h e s p r e a d ? ”

I’m talking mainly about the spread offense that is

run at Howell, not the more run-oriented zone read

option out of the shotgun that more teams are starting

to employ. I’m talking about the no-huddle, four- and

five-wide, pass-heavy spread like they run at Howell.

The reason I’m wondering is because that offense

has transformed Howell’s entire program from one

that mainly struggled to just get to .500 and

occasionally had a good year to a team that is capable

of winning division and state titles

regularly. Since Howell’s rise, no other

team has really tried to copy that

type of offense and stuck with it.

You would think someone would

take a look at that and say,

“Well, if it worked for

them…”

I would figure that some

program out there that has

been struggling would give it

a shot. Opponents seem to

have a hard time defending it

around here because nobody

runs it and defenses don’t

see it regularly, even at elite

programs.

For instance, I would love

to see Howell take on an

attacking defense like Middletown

South, which has one of the most

respected defensive coordinators in the

state in Al Bigos. It would be a

race to see if South’s blitzers

could get to Howell

quarterback Jimmy Ryan

before he could get the ball to a

receiver who had one-on-one

coverage with a corner out on an island. Most teams

don’t have that many defensive backs and linebackers

who can cover good athletes one-on-one for an

entire game.

Before we go completely crazy

after two games (although it’s easy

to do so considering Ryan has

512 yards passing in two

weeks), don’t forget that Ryan

had a big game against Brick

last year in the season opener, but

once the film began to circulate and

opposing coordinators had something to

work with, Howell ended up averaging

17 points per game for the season. You

certainly can’t pin that completely on

the offense or on one player, but it

shows that it gets harder to execute the

more teams have seen it. The bad news

is that by all accounts, Ryan has

definitely improved with a year of

experience and hard work in the

offseason and so have the rest of the

skill players, so it’s a better team than

last year.

Talking recently to a veteran reporter who has been

covering South Jersey football for a

long time, the spread is the most

popular offense down there. Almost

everyone other than maybe the

smaller schools runs some type of

variation on it, so it’s definitely an

offense that has taken hold in other parts

of the state.

I asked a few opposing coaches why

more teams in the Shore Conference

aren’t doing it, as many are employing

offenses like the run-based flexbone,

which has been run for eons but has proved

successful to many teams in this area, like

Middletown South and Freehold.

One reason is that Howell is a Group IV school

whose participation numbers are booming. It’s a

little easier to find a quarterback and four or five

capable wideouts among 100 players than among 40 or

even 25-30 at some of the really small Group I

programs. The offense revolves around the

quarterback, and Howell has had three good

ones in a row in Sean O’Reilly, Tim

Lamirande and now Ryan. Some of the

smaller schools might simply not have a

quarterback of that caliber to really make

the offense work. If the quarterback is

mediocre, the offense is mediocre.

I think another reason Howell has been

successful is because head coach Cory Davies

has really remained committed to the

offense and committed to refining it. He

has borrowed from what Mike Leach

has done down at Texas Tech and

their explosive offense as

well as other top college

programs and continues to study it. He didn’t just

install it for that one stretch, win a state title and then

scrap it when he had all new personnel last year. It

wasn’t just a gimmick to him. He stayed with it, the

new players continued to absorb the system, and now

the Rebels are a threat once again after winning the

Central Jersey Group IV title in 2007.

Davies knows it inside and out, which is another

reason why it works. I think a reason teams may not

be adopting it is because coaches may not want to take

the time to really learn the offense inside and out if

they are going to change what they are doing. You

can’t just go to one clinic or buy an Urban Meyer

video and think that it’s going to work to perfection. I

wouldn’t call it laziness, but I think there’s some fear

and hesitation from coaches about installing it because

of the time commitment it takes to really learn it

completely.

Another reason, of course, is weather. If you look at

all these high-octane offenses among the nationally-

ranked powers littered with Division I-A prospects in

Texas, California, Florida and elsewhere, they all run

the spread. The weather can get a little more iffy up

here, so some coaches might be hesitant to have an

offense based around the passing game if there’s a

downpour or snowstorm. However, I’ve seen Howell

run it in difficult conditions and still move the chains

because a lot of the throws are short or intermediate

routes.

Still, I am surprised that more teams that are

struggling have not tried this offense. If you’re going

3-7 anyway, you might as well try it. After all, that

offense is fun, and could lead to more kids coming out

for the team. You can’t tell me that younger kids don’t

see Jimmy Ryan slinging it to all those Howell

receivers running all over the field and running back

Will Hayes causing trouble all over the place and not

think they it looks awfully fun, like backyard football

in a real game. Plus, it’s been proven that it can be

successful. Just ask the West Windsor South team that

the Rebels beat 46-13 in the CJ IV final in 2007.

Senior WR Rob Handy

F O R A D V E R T I S I N G I N F O R M A T I O NC o n t a c t : S t e v e n M e y e r 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0 s m e y e r @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

S e n i o r q u a r t e r b a c k J i m m y R y a n

A l l S h o r e M e d i a S p o r t s R e v i e w w w w . a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m I s s u e - 1 3 1 0 / 2 1 / 0 9 P a g e 1 6