Blue Devils dominate Red Raider 49-0

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Breaking free of the Keyport defense is Atticus Taboada (24) a senior at Shore Regional HS.

It was the most bazar start to a high school game. Shore Regional hosted Keyport on September 20, in a D North Shore Conference divisional battle. The Red Raiders of Keyport fumbled on their first three offensive possessions on the first play from scrimmage on each drive. It resulted in Shore Regional recovering each fumble and scoring each time. “Unbelievable start to the game. I’ve never really seen that type of sequence before with the turnovers,” said Don Klein, head coach at Shore.

The Red Raiders started the game offensively, and fumbled the ball on their own 40-yard line. One play later, Shore Regional connected on a screen pass that resulted in a Blue Devil touchdown and extra point. They were up 7-0 with 11:38 of the 12 minutes remaining in the quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Keyport fumbled on their own nine-yard line. Again, one play later another touchdown for the Blue Devils who were now up 14-0 with 11:06 to play in the first quarter. Red Raiders of Keyport were flustered and nervous as Shore jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first minute of the game.

The third kickoff for the Blue Devils had Keyport starting at their own 10-yard line. And for the third consecutive time, Keyport fumbled and Shore Regional recovered. Three offensive plays and three fumbles for Keyport.

Shore had a penalty that forced them back to the Keyport 20-yard line. That’s when Josh Moeller, senior quarterback, ran right through the Red Raiders defense for the third Blue Devils touchdown of the first quarter. With 9:36 to play in the first quarter, Shore Regional was up 21-0.

And guess what happened on the next Shore Regional kickoff? Yep, Keyport fumbled the ball on their own 10-yard line, but the Red Raiders recovered the ball. They didn’t get very far as they were forced to punt from deep in their end of the field.

Shore Regional took possession of the ball on the Keyport 35-yard line. The next play resulted in a running touchdown and extra point. Shore had scored 28 unanswered points within the first four and half minutes of the game.

At the end of the first quarter, Keyport had put together their best offensive drive with a first and goal at the Shore Regional eight-yard line. The Red Raiders had a fourth and nine at the Shore 15, and the Keyport quarterback was sacked for a big loss resulting in the Devils taking over on their own 26-yard line.

One play later, the Blue Devils had run the ball to the Keyport 35, with 9:17 left in the first half. That is when Shore sophomore running back Cole Torres, took the handoff from Moeller and ran through and over just about every player wearing a Keyport uniform. The Red Raiders had him tied up, but they couldn’t stop him as he powered his way into the end zone. With 9:02 left in the first half, Shore was up 35-0.

Keyport was again deep in their end of the field when their quarterback was picked off by junior Enzo Cagliostro, who returned it 50 yards giving his team a very impressive 42-0 lead. Just before the first half ended, a Keyport player was injured and had to be transported to the hospital with a possible broken leg.

The second half had a running game clock, as NJSIAA rules say when an opponent has a 35 point or better advantage the clock will run the entire second half. Even if the team on the short end of the score closes that gap, the clock will not stop.

Klein and his staff rotated out the starting players for the second half which resulted in a very fast scoreless third quarter. The Blue Devils added one additional touchdown just before the game concluded taking the 49-0 victory and improving to 3-0 on the season.

So far this season, the Blue Devils have outscored their opponents 111-7. They are tied for first place in the D North with New Egypt. Following them are Neptune 2-0, Point Beach 2-1, Asbury Park 0-1, Keansburg 0-2, and Keyport 0-2.

“Hats off to our defensive coordinator Erik Mammano and our offensive coordinator RJ Read. We were able to make great stops, forcing turnovers and turning them into points quickly,” said Klein.

Football pundits were unsure about the Blue Devils this season. They have a new head coach, running a new offense, graduated 17 seniors and only three starters returning. However, Klein and his staff ran an amazing camp during the summer and recruited a good group of athletes.

Shore Regional has always been known as a running team and that has not changed this season with players like Torres, John Mazzacco, who is also the kicker, Tommy Schroeder, Brendan O’Brien, Michael Marotta, and Jamal Abdullah.

But they are also a throwing team this season with Moeller who has more yards in three games that Shore had all last season. Besides the running backs who can catch, he throws to Kyle Trimble, Trevor Doremus, Vincent Sasso, Reid Spallone, Charlie McQuillan, Braeden Farmer, Jack Madalone, Michael Fleming, Atticus Taboada, Enzo O’Brien, Riley Smaltini and Braden Miller.

Many of the Shore players are on offense and defense. Some of the lineman are Rory Burkhardt, Jayden Cox, Prem Patel, Brady McRae, Abe Plancher, Kelty Connors, Dominic Sciarappa, Cyrus Unangst, Jose Cruz-Rosario, Ty Brenner, Jake Banach, Parker Ottino, Xavier Moro, and Mike Russomano. Also on the defensive side are Robert Junior as a defensive back and Jonathan Maruschak playing linebacker.

Shore Regional will travel to Keansburg on Saturday, September 28, for a noon kickoff. The Titans have been outscored 88-27 so far this season.

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