Devils beat Bishops, set school records

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr
The high school football game of the week was Friday night in West Long Branch as the 7-0 Blue Devils of Shore Regional hosted the 6-1 Blue Bishops of Asbury Park. It was a battle for the Shore Conference Class B Central divisional title. 

Diving for extra yards is Doug Goldsmith (44), a senior at Shore who had 132 rushing-yards in the win over Asbury Park.

Walter O’Neill, Jr LINK sports One of the many talented power running backs at Shore Regional is Devin McLaughlin (28), a senior who goes head first into a charging Asbury Park defense.

Shore won the game 20-7 and it was only the second time all season that the starters played a full game. All season long the Devils have had huge leads on their opponents and head coach Mark Costantino has pulled the starters after the first series in the third quarter.

With the victory Shore set a school record by winning the divisional title outright for three consecutive years. They also set a school record by having the longest winning streak; 16 games, which is also the longest in the Shore Conference right now. And for the fourth time in five years Shore will be the top seed in the NJSIAA state playoffs for Central Jersey Group 1.

Doing what they do best is pounding the ball on the ground. The offensive unit for the Devils had 282-rushing yards on 52 carries. In the air, they completed 1 of 5 passes for 31 yards.

Defensively the Blue Devils were a wrecking force. They held Asbury Park to nine total rushing yards on 24 carries. The Blue Bishops had 40 yards on 4 of 21 passes with one interception by Jack Britton of Shore Regional.

Before the game Costantino paced back and forth on the Robert E. Feeney Field rubbing his hands and looking at the Bishops. “They are a fast team. Always have been, and can break any play open. We just have to stay focused and stick to our game plan and not make any mistakes,” said Costantino.

Some of the Blue Devils must have been a slight nervous as they had a game-high five fumbles, only losing one. Weather conditions that night were perfect, so the ball was not slippery.

Two of the biggest defensively plays for Shore occurred in the third quarter. The first was a sack by Jeremy Radaelli, senior. Costantino has used Radaelli at various positions this year. “Jeremy is a great player. We make him a D-tackle (defensive tackle) and D-end (defensive end),” said Costantino. However, Friday night he lined up as nose guard. The 200 pound 5’9” Radaelli kept pressure on the Asbury quarterback all night. “That sack was huge,” added the coach.

On their next defensive series, Asbury Park’s quarterback looked as if he had an open run to the Shore end zone until Doug Goldsmith made a diving shoestring tackle.
Offensively, Shore had 13 points in the second quarter. George Notte, senior, kicked a 32-yard field goal to start the scoring. That was followed by a five-yard touchdown run by Jack Britton. The last score was a 34-yard field goal by Notte.

The third quarter had only Asbury Park scoring on a 15-yard pass play. The final touchdown of the game was a 23-yard scramble by Britton and Notte kick.

Goldsmith led all Shore runners with 132 yards on 24 carries. Britton was right behind him with 110 yards on 14 carries and one catch for 31 yards.

Shore Regional earned the top seed in the state playoffs and will host eight seed Burlington City (3-5) on Friday night. The two seed was given to the Blue Bishops, who will most likely face Shore in the finals.