VINNY MISTRETTA

ince being hired as Jackson Memorial’s head coach in 2017, Vinny Mistretta has guided the Jaguars to four winning seasons, two division titles, and a trip to a sectional final, continuing the program’s legacy as an annual championship contender and one of Ocean County’s flagship football programs.

This past season, Jackson went 7-3 and earned a share of the Shore Conference Constitution Division title with Colts Neck, delivered a ranked win over Marlboro, and defeated playoff teams Freehold Township and Manalapan. The Jags reached the South Jersey Group 4 semifinals and held a halftime lead before ultimately falling to top-seeded Millville, which went on to win the overall Group 4 state championship.

Senior quarterback Tai Mann threw for 1,002 yards and six touchdowns and ran for 873 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead an offense that averaged 21 points per game. Senior running back Aidan Sweeney ran for 746 yards and eight touchdowns and junior wide receiver Albert D'Alessandro caught 31 passes for 502 yards and four touchdowns.

Jackson had the No. 9 scoring defense in the Shore at 15.3 points per game with two shutouts. Linebacker Brandon Bigelow was sixth in the Shore with 132 tackles, Sweeney led the team with four sacks, and D'Alessandro was third in the Shore with five interceptions.

Mann was a First Team All-Shore selection for his two-way abilities, D’Alessandro was a Second Team All-Shore pick at defensive back, and junior Jaiden Hernandez was a Third Team All-Shore selection at defensive back.

Mistretta and members of the Jackson Memorial football staff will lead Ocean County in the 2023 All-Shore Gridiron Classic, which will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 9 at Monmouth University’s Kessler Stadium. The Ocean County roster includes Jackson Memorial standouts Mann Sweeney offensive lineman Ryan Fischer, and kicker Alexey Tselichtchev. In six seasons, Mistretta has a 34-26 record that includes the American Division title in 2018 and the co-Constitution Division crown last season. The Jaguars won eight games in 2019 and reached the South Jersey Group 4 title game.

Mistretta had deep roots in Jackson as a player and an assistant coach prior to becoming the Jaguars’ 10th head coach in program history. He was a wide receiver and defensive back for the Jags from 2002-2005 and was a member of the 2005 team that finished 12-0 and won the Central Jersey Group 4 championship with an epic 30-28 victory over Brick Memorial.

Mistretta graduated from Rowan University and began his coaching career at Metuchen as an assistant under his uncle, Sal, who was a longtime coach in Middlesex County, including the head coach at Sayreville in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He came back home in 2013 as a defensive assistant and was a part of Jackson’s fourth and fifth sectional championship teams, including the defensive coordinator for the 2015 team. Mistretta was the defensive backs coach at Sayreville in 2016 and helped the Bombers return to glory by winning the Central Jersey Group IV title with a 41-14 win over Middletown North.