Klein and his Blue Devils continue their dominance

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Josh Moeller (9) the senior quarterback at Shore Regional threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the 21-0 first round NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 playoff game with New Egypt.

Friday was not only the first day of November; it was also the opening round of the NJSIAA state football playoffs. For the Blue Devils of Shore Regional High School, the month started off just like September and October, with a dominating performance.

Shore closed out the regular season at 8-0 and 6-0 in the Shore Conference D North division. They received the two seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 bracket and hosted seventh seed New Egypt on November 1st. The two schools had played each other on October 4, where the Devils won 32-0, and the opening round of the playoffs had Shore taking a 21-0 win on Friday night.

Many football pundits thought Shore was going to struggle this season after losing 16 players to graduation and the retirement of their former head coach, who led the program for three decades. Taking over the program this season was Don Klein, who graduated and played quarterback for the Blue Devilsin 1997.

Klein, who is a teacher at Ocean Township High School, was their head coach for 17 seasons and had the most wins of any Spartan coach. He lives in Oceanport and his oldest daughter attends Shore Regional. “When the opportunity to coach at Shore came up, I couldn’t refuse the chance. That was the only program I would have given up coaching position in Ocean for,” said Klein.

Klein hit the ground running once the Shore Regional Board of Education appointed him as new head coach. The coaching staff consisted of experts from both schools, as Klein didn’t clean house in regards to the former coaches. He also changed the 32 years of how the Blue Devils played football. The team was known as a powerhouse running school, but this year, Shore Regional has added an air attack. “Josh Moeller, our senior quarterback, threw the ball more in our preseason prep than he did in three years on varsity,” said Klein.

That shift in offense and attitudes that Klein and his staff have developed this season has resulted in a perfect 9-0 season. In the playoff win over New Egypt, Moeller completed 9 of 12 passes for 88 yards, and two touchdowns, he also ran in for another score. On the season, Moeller has completed 73 of 103 passes for 1,071 yards, 13 touchdowns and only one interception.

On the ground, the Blue Devils are still a powerhouse with several players making big contributions. Cole Torres, sophomore, had 13 touches for 90 yards. On the season he has 79 carries for 691 yards and seven touchdowns. Moeller ran the ball four times for 30 yards in the win. Another big ground gainer this season was senior Brendan O’Brien, who had 31 yards in the victory over New Egypt. On the season, O’Brien has 99 rushes for 534 yards.

The receivers this season for Shore Regional are wreaking havoc on defensive units. Charlie McQuillan, senior, had two catches for 33 yards and one touchdown on Friday night. Enzo Cagliastro, junior, caught four passes for 44 yards and one touchdown in the victory over New Egypt. On the season he has 20 receptions for 294 yards.

Let’s not forget the kicking game for the Blue Devils this season. Junior John Mazzacco is 35 of 40 extra points and four of five in field goal attempts. His longest was 32 yards.

Shore Regional’s offensive unit has put up 308 points in nine games. That is an average of just over 34 points per-game. As of November 2, only four other teams in the Shore Conference have put up more points.

One of the football mantras is that “defense wins’ championships.” Well, that might be the case in West Long Branch as the Blue Devils have only given up 54 points all season, that is six points per-game. Of those nine wins this season, five have been shutouts.

Defensive stats going into Friday night’s win, had Tommy Schroeder, senior, with 90 tackles, O’Brien had 66, Mike Marotta, junior, had 51 and Torres had 22.

Tackles for losses has Torres on top with 12, and he also has five sacks. Schroeder has nine tackles for losses and two sacks, while O’Brien has eight tackles for losses and two sacks.

Schroeder leads the team in forced fumbles with four and three fumble recoveries. O’Brien has three forced fumbles while Marotta and Dominic Sciarappa, senior, both have two.

The semifinals of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 bracket will take place on Friday, November 8. The Blue Devils will host sixth seed Woodbury at 7:00 p.m.

The other semifinal will have top seed Woodstown hosting fifth seed Pennsville.

The NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 sectional final will be held on November 15, at the higher seed school.

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