ASM 9-19-11 Volume III Issue-17

September 19, 2011 Volume-III - Issue-17 N at io na l G u ard T e a m of th e Week Pa g e 3 RBC Wins Heavyweight Battle Pa g e 4 Boy Soccer: Spanning the Shore Pa g e 6 -7 On a Mission For A Friend Pa g e 8 -9 Wall’s Band of Brothers Pa g e 1 1 Howell’s Lyon in Wait Pa g e 1 3 Lacey's Powell Survives Scare Pa g e 1 4 Stumpy's Corner Pa g e 1 5

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September 19, 2011 I Volume-III I Issue-17

A multimedia company that provides exciting and innovative coverage to high school athletics in the Shore Conference in order to highlight the achievements of local athletes in one of the premier conferences in New Jersey. Whether it’s the star of the team or the last player off the bench, everyone has a story and it is our mission to recognize as many athletes as possible and add to the memories for all of the families, coaches, friends and fans who support Shore Conference sports. Whether in print or on the Web, All Shore Media is your main source for all things exciting in the Shore Conference.

All Shore Media Web Site Features Log on to www.allshoremedia.com regularly to get video highlights of all the important games that Shore Conference fans will be talking about.

Catch up on the action you might have missed and watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the big finish as well as video interviews with various athletes. If you can’t make it to the game, we’ll bring the game to you, and if you were at the game and want to relive the excitement, www.allshoremedia.com is all you need to get inside the action.

All Shore Media Expanding into North Jersey All Shore Media is proud to announce that it has partnered with a North Jersey group to expand its type of coverage into Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, this fall.

Steven Meyer director/CEO/ Marketing smeyer@allshoremedia.com 732-233-4460

Scott Stump director/ Managing Editor stump@allshoremedia.com

Senior Content Providers Matt Manley // M m a n l e y 2 1 @ g m a i l . c o m

A l l S h o r e M e d i a is published by: Fin ish Line Media, LLC 26 Oxford Drive Wayside NJ, 07712 Copyright 2011 All Shore Media All rights reserved Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of All Shore Media is prohibited

The All Sports Media Northern Review, a newspaper in the mold of the All Shore Media biweekly paper, will make its debut in September. The free, advertisersupported paper will cover scholastic sports at all of the schools in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which consists of schools from Morris County and a handful of teams in

Sussex and Warren counties.

“We're hoping it will be as big a success as the All Shore Media Shore Conference program, and the early returns are promising,’’ said Paul Mencher, who will be the lead writer and editor of the new paper. “People seem excited about it, and advertisers are excited about it. It’s something different than what exists up here.

“There’s a lot of interest in high school sports in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, and I think that people will be interested in having a new resource.’’

The partnership also broadens the scope of All Shore Media’s coverage to include a presence in North Jersey.

“We're excited about expanding our niche in the market and the way we cover sports,’’ said All Shore Media Director/CEO Steve Meyer. “We're excited to start here with the objective that we want to expand to other parts of the state as well. This is the first step in our expansion.’’

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Volume-III

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Issue-17

9/19/11

A SM / 3

New For This Season

In conjunction with All Shore Media, The National Guard will honor one team a week that showed the character, perseverance and hard work emblematic of The National Guard during its performance that weekend. A plaque will be presented to that team during practice that week in honor of a great showing.

Week-1

Week-2

Th e in a u g u ral N at ion al Gu a rd Tea m of t h e Week f or w eek - 1 w as Ocean To w n s h ip , w h ich p u lled ou t a 20- 17 ov ert im e t h riller again s t riv al Mid d let o w n S o u t h in a n on d ivis io n a l g am e in t h e s eas on op en er.

The National Guard Team of the Week for Week Two is No. 1 Red Bank Catholic, which won a showdown of heavyweights by pulling out a 20-14, doubleovertime victory against Neptune in a Class B North clash between two of the Shore's top teams. The Caseys won it on a 12-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Chris Donald to touch off a wild celebration at a packed Count Basie Field in Red Bank.

Sgt. John Naame of the New Jersey National Guard presents the team of the Week Football to Ocean’s Head Coach Donald Klein & team (photo by Dave Thorne)

RBC had its back against the wall on multiple occasions but was able to keep fighting until securing the victory. The Caseys

came up with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the end zone with 1:31 left in the fourth quarter to keep the game tied at 14 and also weathered a missed 25-yard field goal by Neptune in the first overtime. Senior defensive tackle Joe Coscarelli led an excellent defensive effort with 16 tackles and two sacks, and senior tailback John DiStefano had 114 yards rushing and a touchdown to lead the offense.

Senior FB Chris Donald

RBC Photo by

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Volume-III

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Issue-17

9/19/11

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A SM / 5

RBC Wins Heavyweight Showdown With Neptune

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor Chris Donald's spinning, game-winning touchdown run that looked like something out of "The Matrix'' was the perfect symbol of Red Bank Catholic's electrifying, 20-14 win in double overtime over Neptune on Sept. 16 in a match-up between two of the Shore Conference's top teams.

Every time it looked like No. 5 Neptune (1-1, 0-1) had the No. 1 Caseys (2-0, 1-0) dead to rights, RBC was able to spin out of trouble and turn it into something positive to break the Scarlet Fliers' heart again. It was the second pulse-racing Class B North showdown won by RBC in two years between the two squads, and it was before a roaring crowd of 2,750 at Count Basie Field.

Both teams had major opportunities to win it up to that point, as Neptune fumbled on the goal line in a tie game with 1:31 left in regulation and missed a potentially game-winning 25-yard field goal in the first overtime, while RBC dropped two potential touchdown passes and missed a 42-yard field goal in the waning seconds of regulation. Eventually, the Caseys pulled it out on Donald's scintillating, 12-yard touchdown run on a fullback trap in which a diving Neptune tackler lunged to swipe the ankle of the 240pound senior at the six-yard line, spinning Donald sideways in the air, but he somehow kept his balance to find the end zone and set off a wild celebration.

"It was just a reaction,'' Donald said.

"I was spinning thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm going down,' but then I landed on my feet and got in the end zone.''

"I've never seen a kid that big do something that acrobatic,'' said RBC senior quarterback Ryan Spahr. "He moves very well for a big man, but that was insane.''

Playing a large role in the victory was Red Bank Catholic's defensive line of senior Joe Coscarelli and juniors Josh Klecko, Richie Curran and Ron Robinson, which helped hold Neptune's explosive flexbone option running attack, led by senior quarterback Jaheem Woods, to 96 yards rushing. The Caseys only allowed three plays longer than 11 yards in the game and came up with three turnovers.

"We wanted to keep (Woods) in the pocket,'' said Coscarelli, who had three sacks, including one in double overtime. "It was tough doing that because he is a tremendous athlete, but we buckled down and flew to the ball.''

Neptune stopped RBC on downs in the first overtime and had a chance to win it, but a 25-yard field goal attempt by Donald Areus was wide right to send the game into a second overtime.

The Scarlet Fliers got the ball first in double overtime, and Coscarelli promptly sacked Woods for a four-yard loss to put them in a hole. Three straight incompletions, the last of which was swatted away by RBC senior cornerback Kyle Vill, put the

Caseys in position to win the game with a score. Senior tailback John DiStefano, who ran for a game-high 114 yards, ran for six yards on third-and-5 from the 20 to keep the drive going. Donald ran for two yards on first down and the polished off the win with his touchdown run on only his second carry after halftime and third of the game.

"I kick out my guy on that play, I see (Donald) getting cut, I see him flip up in the air and I'm like, 'Oh my God,' and he runs right in the end zone,'' said Coscarelli, who also plays on the offensive line. "Ridiculous.''

Neptune had tied the game with 11:23 left in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Woods to junior wideout Geoff Fairbanks, who sidestepped a defender and burst into the end zone. The Scarlet Fliers were standing on the doorstep of victory when Woods found senior Ikie Calderon for a 66-yard gain on third-and-14 to make it first-and-goal at RBC's 9-yard line with under two minutes to play.

Two plays later, Calderon appeared headed for the end zone when he took a handoff on a jet sweep to the left side, but RBC defensive backs James Taylor and James Hickey poked the ball loose for a fumble. DiStefano pounced on it at the back of the end zone for a touchback with 1:31 left in regulation.

"My eyes opened up wide, and I knew I had to jump on it,'' DiStefano said.

Calderon was nearly inconsolable in the end zone before several teammates picked up him and encouraged him to stay with the game.

"We went right back to him,'' said Neptune coach Mark Ciccotelli. "I said, 'You're my guy.' The kid is a player. He's a gamer, he's a winner. He's a tough guy, and he's a very good football player.''

The Caseys then had a chance to put it away in regulation when DiStefano ripped off a 37-yard run on the first play following the touchback, and then Spahr hit senior wideout Greg Golden for an 18-yard gain to Neptune's 25-yard line. Sophomore kicker Pat Toomey attempted a career-long 42-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining, but it was wide left to send the game into overtime. RBC also had a chance on its previous possession when two deep passes by Spahr were dropped.

"I don't think either team is thrilled about how either team played, but effort-wise, you can't fault anybody,'' said RBC head coach Jim Portela. "They played their hearts out, and we played our hearts out.''

Neptune had taken a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a 13-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Woods to Calderon, who finished with 99 yards receiving on five catches.

However, RBC was able to put the clamps on Neptune for much of the RB Chris Donald remainder of the game by not allowing Woods, an electrifying runner, to break the pocket or get to the sideline frequently.

"My job the whole game was to mirror him,'' said Donald, who is also a linebacker. "I think we did a great job of containing him because he is an outstanding quarterback.''

RBC tied the game with a seven-play, 17-yard drive in the second quarter that was kickstarted by a 49-yard punt return by junior Chris Whitlock. Spahr polished it off on a 1-yard keeper on third down with 8:38 left in the second quarter. The Caseys then made it 14-7 after a wild sequence in which Donald intercepted a pass by Woods and appeared headed for the end zone before the ball was knocked lose for a touchback that returned possession to Neptune. However, two plays later, Woods fumbled, and Vill pounced on it at Neptune's 23-yard line.

Five plays later, DiStefano went around the right side for a 4yard touchdown to give the Caseys the lead going into halftime.

That was the way it would remain until the Fairbanks's touchdown tied it to set up the furious finish. The wild fourth quarter and overtime seemed eerily similar to another game from last year for the Caseys. RBC lost 26-25 in overtime to Freehold, whose head coach, Ciccotelli, is now the head coach at Neptune.

"It honestly felt like the Freehold game all over again, even with the same coach on the other side,'' Coscarelli said. "We all said, 'This isn't happening again. Not on our home field.'''

"These kids fought their butts off right to the end,'' Ciccotelli said about his team. "They played very hard and I'm very, very proud of them. I love every one of these kids. Right now, it hurts.

If it doesn't hurt, you're not a winner. If this doesn't hurt you, guess what? Don't show up Monday.''

Photos by:

Cliff Lavelle

www.clearedge.zenfolio.com

Volume-III

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Issue-17

9/19/11

Boys Soccer: Spanning The Shore

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

Even with a host of new starters and a challenging non-divisional schedule earlier in the year, the Lacey boys soccer team is off to a fast start for the third straight season. Now, the Lions will look to carry that momentum all the way into the postseason.

Teams that lose 15 goals and eight assists from one player, not to mention an all-division sweeper, do not generally come back stronger than the year before, but Lacey is making a bid to be the exception to that rule.

With All-Shore players Dan Ratyniak and Max Dolphin last year, the Lions went 14-6 and reached the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III semifinals, but one team Lacey could not solve was Toms River East, which pounded the Lions 4-0 at home.

Lacey played Toms River East, the No. 3 team in the All Shore Media Top 10, to a 1-1 draw on Friday to improve to 3-0-1 and outshot the Raiders 16-12 in the process, a sign that despite losing two high-caliber seniors, Lacey may be as complete as it has been in the seven-year tenure of head coach Joe Humenik.

"We're a younger team, but the sophomores got to see the field a little bit last year and they're ready to play at this level," Humenik said. "Even though we lost two studs in Ratyniak and Dolphin, the talent is a little more spread out across the

field. We look like a deeper team this year."

Seniors Joe Stapleton and Chris Thompson have stepped into more significant scoring roles and give Lacey experience and leadership on the attack, which is a far cry from the situation in the back. First-year senior goalkeeper Logan McDonald is playing in front of senior outside back Dan Moore and three sophomores in the defensive backfield. Brendan Byrne, Tyler Dickson and Eric Reitmeyer have settled right in along with Moore and the result is that the Lions have allowed three goals in four games with shutouts of Manchester and Brick. In the win over Manchester, the Lions not only pitched a shutout, but did not allow a shot.

The player who can put Lacey over the top is junior Kevin Tonkovich, who missed a significant chunk of his sophomore season with a hip injury. Tonkovich is a potentially electric scorer as evidenced by his four goals in four games, but his hip has been bothering him again. Although he did not start against Toms River East, he played more than half of the 100 minutes and got off three shots.

"His hip's been bothering him a little bit," Humenik said of Tonkovich.

"It's not like it was last year, but we're still going to try to be careful about it. We want him to be healthy for the postseason, so we're not going to push him too hard if he's having any trouble."

Wildcats Go Back to the Well For the second straight year, an impact transfer from out of state has landed at Pinelands and this time, it's from way out of state.

Pablo Rubio, a Spanish exchange student making his first trip to the United States, has injected some creativity into the Wildcats, scoring six goals to go with five assists in his first four high school games across the pond.

According to Pinelands coach Jason Asch, the 16year-old Rubio is taking classes as a junior and is still adjusting to life in a new country. Rubio is from a suburb of Madrid, and Asch believes his familiarity to city life has made the transition a little easier. His understanding of the game, meanwhile, has made his transition on the field almost seamless.

"He has really advanced vision for this level," Asch said. "He sees the game better than most players in the high school game and his skill-level is high enough to where he can get the ball where it needs to be. He sees the play, and he delivers those perfectly-weighted through balls that you don't see from most guys."

In each of Pinelands' first four games, Rubio has assisted the Wildcats' first goal of the game. He also has two multi-goal games, including a hat trick in his first high school game, a 6-1 Pinelands win over Holy Spirit on Sept. 10. With Rubio in the fold, Pinelands has started 2-2, but its 3.0 goals-per-game scoring average is tied for seventh in the Shore Conference with Holmdel and Rumson-Fair Haven. Of the teams scoring at least three goals per game so far, only Red Bank (2-2) and Pinelands do not have a winning record.

"The rest of our guys are definitely energized having Pablo around," Asch said. "If we're behind, they always feel like we're in the game, because Pablo can beat the defense, hit a shot or create a chance in a short period of time. It hasn't worked out since we're only 2-2, but that belief that you're never out of it is a big advantage to have."

Last year, Antonio Aguilar transfered in from an Illinois high school to register seven goals and eight assists while leading the Wildcats to a 9-9-1 record and a third-place finish in Class B South one year after a 216 season.

"Antonio was a true center midfielder who kind of held everything together," Asch said. "We could win the ball in the back, get the ball to Antonio, and he would get the attack moving. Pablo is more of a forward, and we have to get him the ball first, but once he gets it, he's a similar player in the opportunities he creates."

J o e Sta p l e to n ( l e ft) o f L a c e y b a ttl e s To m s R i v e r E a st's Al e x Ste r g i o u

Con tinue d o n next p ag e

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Phil-ling up the stat sheet Freehold Township goalkeeper Phil Horan has been one of the top keepers in the Shore Conference since his freshman year in 2008, when he helped the Patriots win the Shore Conference Tournament championship.

Now battling a pinky injury that inhibits his ability in goal and with the Patriots thin in scoring, the senior is showing that he could have had quite the career in the field as well.

Through five games this season, Horan has as many goals and assists (one each) as he does shutouts for 4-1 Freehold Township. He converted a penalty kick and recorded his lone shutout in a 3-0 win over Middletown South on Sept. 10 and assisted T.J. Zirkman's gamewinning goal in a 1-0 win over Manalapan on Wednesday.

According to coach Todd Briggs, Horan's pinky injury could keep him out of the goal until next week, but in the meantime, the senior can help in other ways, as he has proven already. With Horan out, freshman T.J. Shushkovsky will fill in, which he did in impressive fashion with a shutout in his first game on Wednesday.

Crimson Killers The going has been tough at Brick Memorial over the last two seasons and this season appeared to be heading in a similar direction after an 0-3 start.

Despite their overall struggles however, the Mustangs have found the formula to give Wall fits and applied that formula in a 3-2 win over the Crimson Knights on Saturday. Last year, Brick Memorial played Wall to a 11 tie, a performance that sparked the Mustangs to take Colts Neck to overtime before losing 2-1 and knock off Toms River North, all in the same week.

The hope at Brick Memorial is that the young Mustangs will improve exponentially over the next few weeks and become a factor in the Class A South race.

"We're still relatively young, but I feel better about

A SM / 7 where we are now than where we were last year," Mustangs coach Kevin Bliem said.

One vs. Two In the first 10 days of the 2011 season, Christian Brothers Academy and Howell have arguably been the two most dominant teams in the Shore

Conference and on the 12th day, the two Class A North powers will square off in an early-season showdown between the top two teams in the All Shore Media Top 10.

Anyone who follows soccer in the Shore area, and in the state for that matter, expected CBA to start the season 4-0 and do so in dominant fashion.

The Colts opened their season as the No. 15 team in the ESPN Rise Top 50 teams in the country and have since moved up to No. 10 with wins over Delbarton, Freehold Township, Middletown South CBA senior Nick Villani and Manalapan. Up until Saturday, CBA held on for one-goal wins over Delbarton and Freehold Township and labored for a 2-0 win over a 1-4 Middletown South team, prompting some questions about how sharp the Colts might be at this early stage of the season.

On Saturday against Manalapan, the Colts

vanquished any doubt about their ability by routing the Braves 8-0 with six second-half goals. Scott Thomsen and Nick Villani are off to fast starts, with Thomsen coming all the way back from a torn ACL that sidelined him for the entire 2010 season.

Before Saturday's scoring explosion, Howell had stolen some of CBA's thunder with a dominant first four games. The Rebels steamrolled through Middletown North, Middletown South, Marlboro and Manasquan by outscoring the four opponents by a combined 16-1. Howell did trail at one point early in the Marlboro win, but took the lead by halftime and pulled away with a 4-1 win and a 205 advantage in shots.

The Rebels gave CBA as much trouble as any Shore Conference team last season, during which CBA went 18-0 against teams from the Shore Conference.

The Colts beat Howell 5-1 in the first meeting, but only after a red card cost the Rebels their top scoring forward, Ozcan Onder, with CBA leading 2-1.

With a full squad on the field the second time around, CBA outlasted Howell 2-1 at Howell.

Howell senior Drew Lyon

Photos by

Cliff Lavelle

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Issue-17

9/19/11

On a Mission for a Friend

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

N

jetties where Nelson was swimming. He was being swept out to sea and was in a full panic.

eptune seniors Jaheem Woods and Ikie Calderon may be standing under a gray September sky only a few days before the start of the 2011 Shore Conference football season, but in their minds, they are still in the 100-degree heat and horrific chaos of an early day in June.

Woods, an electrifying athlete who is receiving Division I-A interest as a quarterback/defensive back for the football team and as a standout guard on the basketball team, was within swimming distance of Nelson. He began chopping through the ocean with powerful strokes until he reached his friend, grabbing ahold of Nelson as he flailed in sheer terror.

Woods tried to get Nelson to calm down in order to pull him to safety, but Nelson’s adrenaline and fear made him hard to control.

“Nas was panicking and pushing me down," Woods said. “I was losing breath, and it was hard for me to stay above water."

Staring at the ground on the Scarlet Fliers’ muddy practice field on a dreary afternoon, their eyes glass over as they remember the lifealtering day when the athletic ability that makes them some of the Shore Conference’s top athletes wasn’t enough to stop a tragedy. They think back to June 10, a sunny day at the beach that morphed into disaster in an instant.

Woods said another man appeared in the vicinity to try and help, buthe, too, was losing breath and struggling with the current. Meanwhile, Nelson continued to fight off Woods in a panic, and Woods eventually had to let him go for Woods’s own safety. Nelson soon was sucked under the water.

“It was like being caught in a nightmare,’’ Calderon said.

Nelson was not the only one caught in the powerful current, as 28-year-old Elizabeth resident Stephanie Crespo was able to escape harm by climbing on to the jetty, while 27year-old Elizabeth resident Victor Pierez was rescued by an off-duty lifeguard who was jogging nearby and another local man on a Jet Ski.

Fateful day Calderon, Woods and a host of other Scarlet Fliers had just taken a sports physical exam and decided to head over to Bradley Beach around 5 p.m. that day in June, just a regular group of teenagers trying to soak up as much of summer as they could as the 2010-11 school year trickled to an end. They were met at the beach by Neptune football teammate Naisere Nelson, a 15-yearold sophomore who had been dropped off along with his 16-year-old girlfriend, ShaynaMeggs.

Nelson, however, had disappeared under the murk of the Atlantic Ocean. Minutes after a 911 call had been made indicating that Nelson was in trouble, 75 emergency personnel members from Bradley Beach, Neptune, and Avon responded. They were not able to find Nelson. The search had to be suspended that night because of a fierce storm, but resumed in the morning.

The group decided to take a dip in the ocean to take sanctuary from the relentless heat. All good swimmers, they were regulars at the sparkling new Neptune Aquatic Center in town. No lifeguards were on duty that day because it was a Thursday and the lifeguards did not work on weekdays until school was over. The group of friends didn’t see any harm in it considering they were not going too far offshore.

At first, Meggs thought the fun-loving Nelson was simply clowning around when she saw his arms waving frantically in the surf. Meanwhile, Calderon and Neptune teammate James Clouse, a senior offensive lineman, had been swimming back to the shore against what they noticed had become a strong current.

“We were trying to get back (to the beach), but it was really hard," Calderon said. “By the time we got in to where we could touch our feet to the bottom, everyone was yelling Nas’s name and pointing. We felt the tide, but we didn’t want to panic."

Nelson was caught in a powerful rip current, which frequently occur near the

The next day, hundreds of Nelson’s family members, friends and school mates lined up ankle deep in the ocean, hands linked in a moment of silence. The Bradley Beach police chief told the Newark Star-Ledger that in his 31 years on the job, he had never seen that type of outpouring of support. Nelson’s family and friends waited for any sign of him. Calderon had even gone back that Friday night, scanning the sea, hoping for a miracle.

Four days after the rip current sucked him under, Nelson’s body washed up around 5:30 p.m. on June 14 under the Ocean Avenue bridge between Avon and Belmar.

Nelson is survived by his parents, AlfredaHolsey and Nairobi Nelson, his stepfather, John Holsey, his three sisters, a stepbrother, his grandparents, and Meggs, his girlfriend of more than a year.

Senior RB Ikie Calderon

"(Woods) had no option but to come back," a choked-up Calderon said. “Or he might have drowned, too. I just can’t believe Nas is gone."

www.allshoremedia.com “It hurt me the most," Woods said as tears streamed down his face. “I had my hands on him last. I could have saved him. I was the last one to touch him who knew him before he was gone.’’

Mourning a Friend A devastated Neptune community was left to remember a young man who lit up every room he entered. The 15-year-old safety on the Neptune football team was so beloved that about 50 students at Neptune High School walked right out of class the day after his disappearance in order to attend a candlelight vigil at the beach in his honor. Their teachers did not try to stop them, and grief counselors were made available that day.

“He was a funny kid,’’ Woods said.

“He never had a frown on his face. You could never make him mad. You would get mad trying to make him mad.’’

Nelson loved football, including the Tennessee Titans and star running back Chris Johnson. Anyone who tried to challenge him on “Madden Football’’ on Xbox 360 was in for an earful.

“He never shut up on X-box,’’ Calderon said, laughing through the tears. “He would keep playing and beating you, talking trash until you finally won.’’

It was particularly devastating for Calderon because it was the second straight summer in which he had lost a close friend. On June 30, 2010, 16-year-old Jason Glisson, a former Asbury Park Pop Warner captain, was shot to death on the corner of Bangs Avenue and Ridge Avenue in Asbury Park.

Glisson had been out on $50,000 bail for two weeks on aggravated assault and weapons charges before he was shot twice in the back.

“I remember 20 people in my living room at four in the morning that night (of Glisson’s murder),’’ Calderon said. “And now Nas. That’s two in two years, and I wear the No. 2 jersey, so now it reminds me of the friends I’ve lost. I don’t know how much more I can take.’’

Calderon’s summer job involved working down at the beach in Asbury Park, and he requested a position in the parking lots because he does not want to even be close to the water.

“I go to the beach as little as possible now,’’ he said.

Senior QB Jaheem Woods

A SM / 9

On a Mission In between making people laugh, repping Chris Johnson and trash-talking on Xbox, Nelson also had another regular topic of discussion – Neptune’s quest for its first NJSIAA sectional championship since winning Central Jersey Group III in 1998.

“It’s all he talked about was ‘Ring this, ring that,’’ Woods said. “All he talked about was us winning a championship.’’

With a senior-dominated team that features top talent like Woods, Calderon, linebacker/running back David Gutzmore, Freehold transfer JazzmarClax, Toms River North transfer Eevan Sutton and Colonia transfer Geoff Fairbanks, this Neptune team has its sights set on its first division or state title in 13 years.

Neptune also has added head coach Mark Ciccotelli, who came over from Freehold after his teams won two NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III titles in three seasons at a program that had never won a sectional title up to that point. Ciccotelli has also unfortunately been through tragic situations before, as one of his former captains at Freehold, lineman Mike Dragonetti, died at 17 years old in a car crash in 2007.

“I did not get to know the young man (Nelson) personally, but you can tell that the kids are driven by his memory,’’ Ciccotelli said. “They know that the best way to honor him is to play with maximum effort and dedication.’’

Neptune’s chances at a Class B North title took a hit when it dropped a 20-14, double-overtime heartbreaker against No. 1 Red Bank Catholic on Sept. 16, only three days after Naisere Nelson would have turned 16 years old. Still, the Scarlet Fliers are very much a contender to take home the Central Jersey Group III title this year.

On Sept. 13, family and friends gathered together to celebrate what would have been Nelson’s birthday. They remembered the smiling teenager who sported a Crocodile Dundee hat, and they posted their birthday wishes on a Facebook page titled “I Love you Naisere’’ that is dedicated to his memory.

A rap song titled “Live in the Sky’’ by local artist Dash P that was recorded in Nelson’s memory has been played more than 13,000 times on YouTube.

Woods took a trip down to the beach that night to remember Nelson and renew a promise he and the Scarlet Fliers have made to their fallen friend.

“For him, he would want us to keep going,’’ Woods said. “He wouldn’t want us to break down and not do what we’re supposed to do.’’

Nelson won’t be there on the sidelines encouraging his teammates any more. He won’t be there to give Calderon a pep talk in the lay-up line before the school’s basketball games. However, the disbelief, rage, and grief over his death will be pumping through the veins of his friends all season.

“You build up all that anger, and you just want to take it out on the other team,’’ Calderon said.

Standing under the overcast sky on the Neptune practice field on a September day, Calderon and Woods snap back into focus, the tears dry on their faces and their minds returned from that 100-degree day of chaos. The mission is clear.

“All Nas wanted was that ring,’’ Woods said. “Now that he’s gone, we’re gonna go get it for him."

Photos by

Cliff Lavelle

www.clearedge.zenfoli o.c om

10 / ASM

Volume-III

Issue-17

9/19/11

www.allshoremedia.com

A SM / 11

Band of Brothers

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor When Wall senior offensive lineman Matt Pisarcik tragically lost his father in a motorcycle accident this summer, fellow lineman Matt Ford was able to offer a perspective that none of his other good friends could provide.

On an offensive line unit where chemistry between members is almost as important as the physical execution, the two Crimson Knights seniors are bound by the profound loss of the men who helped shape their love of football.

On May 24, David “Tiny’’ Pisarcik, 49, was struck and killed on Route 35 in Neptune by a motorist who was subsequently charged with drunk driving. The accident snatched away a husband and father of three, a former Pop Warner coach and supporter of all Wall athletics, and a former football standout at Ocean Township in his own right.

Ford never even had the chance to have his father watch him play one down of football. His biological father, former Mater Dei and Kean University star Andy Ford, died from colon cancer when Matt was only two months old. His mother married his stepfather, Steve Zakutney, when Matt was heading into sixth grade, but Zakutney was gone by Ford’s freshman year.

Zakutney died on July 1, 2008, of a heart attack while mowing the lawn at 43 years old.

“It’s weird that it happened to me and Pisarcik,’’ Ford said. “We didn't really need any help, especially that kind of help, to bring us together because since freshman year all of the linemen have been great friends. I think me being able to tell him how it went with me helped him out. We just want him to know that we’re here for him as a team and as friends.’’

When Wall takes the field for its first home game of the season against Class C Central rival Jackson Liberty on Friday night, Pisarcik knows the void will be palpable.

Pisarcik.

“He was a fixture at our games,’’ said Wall head coach Chris Barnes. “You could find him in the stands easily. He was a man that was not only big in stature but had a big heart. He was a tremendous supporter of the program and a really pleasant person to be around.’’

“The Pisarcik family is one of those families that everyone in Wall is close to, so when it happened, it really brought the whole community and the football team together,’’ Ford said.

Football can either be a painful reminder of the one you lost or a place to go to remember in these situations. It’s clear what purpose it serves for Pisarcik.

“When I play football it’s like a memory of him,’’ he said. “Some people might not want to do it because it would remind you, but I like doing it. Running out before the game, he’s one of the top things in my head, but once I get to just playing, it’s all about football.’’

Pisarcik is surrounded by close friends on Wall’s vaunted offensive line, which paved the way for 160 yards, including a career-high 127 by senior tailback Jim Guiliano, in a season-opening, 21-14 nondivisional win over a Lacey team that was on a Shore Conference-best 13-game winning streak.

In addition to Pisarcik and Ford, who are the guards, the line includes center Matt McDonough, tackles Matt Vialonga and Mike Tomasuolo and tight end Derek Gardner, all of whom are seniors and returning starters.

“I don’t think any other offensive line has what we have, talent-wise and chemistry-wise,’’ Pisarcik said.

“They have a great friendship that has developed from middle school on,’’ said Barnes, who is now in his 12th season at the helm. “They are probably one of the better units we’ve ever had.’’

College coaches have taken notice, as Pisarcik, Ford and McDonough have received Division I-AA interest from schools in the Patriot League, Senior OL Matt Ford Ivy League, Northeast Conference and Colonial Athletic Association, according to Barnes.

They also are excellent students, led The Wall community has rallied around the Pisarcik

by Pisarcik, who has a 3.8 grade-point average. family, raising more than $30,000 for them this summer after Tiny’s death. Nearly 4,000 people attended his wake They also can lean on one another during the hard times, at the Orender Family Home in Manasquan, honoring a as Pisarcik learned this summer. man whose nickname was of the ironic sort considering he was larger than life at 6-foot-5 and more than 300 pounds.

“I remember Matt (Ford) telling me how he felt when he He also had a famous last name in these parts, as Tiny’s lost his stepfather, and his mom came up to me and said cousin is former New York Giants quarterback Joe that if I ever need anything, they will be there for me,’’ “Everyone knew him because he was at all of our games and went to games in a lot of other sports in Wall,’’ Pisarcik said. “I will look up and he won’t be there where he always was.’’

Matt Ford (#79) and Matt Pisarcik (#77)

Pisarcik said. “How everyone came together for us and how everyone is still there – it’s nice to know that because of what my father did when he was here, people want to help me because of how much he helped them.’’

“I just told him how that first week after it happens, everyone is there, but it gets harder once everyone leaves,’’ Ford said. “That’s when you really need your friends there. I only knew my stepdad for a few years, while he had his father his whole life, so I think it might be a little bit harder and a little bit different for him.’’

Wall was able to pull out a wild, 33-30 win over Jackson Liberty in its home opener on Sept. 16 to improve to 2-0 in the first home game without Tiny Pisarcik cheering from the stands.

Tiny Pisarcik, Andy Ford and Steve Zakutney are part of the fire burning inside two seniors bound by tragedy and determined to succeed and make the men who shaped them proud. The wound of the loss of Tiny Pisarcik is still fresh, but the football field is where his son can come say hello for three hours.

While the Wall community will grieve his loss and celebrate his life, there is one group that may benefit from Tiny’s absence.

“It might be a little better for the refs,’’ Matt said before laughing. “That’s usually when you heard him the most.’’

“That’s something I think everyone is going to miss,’’ Ford said while laughing. “Except for the refs.’’

Photo by:

Bill Normile

www.billnormile.zenfolio.com

1 2 / AS M

Volume-III

Issue-17

9/19/11

www.allshoremedia.com

A SM / 1 3

Lyon in Wait: Howell Soccer off to Fast Start

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer Howell senior Drew Lyon stepped up for a penalty kick in the 54th minute of his team's 4-1 win over Marlboro early in the season with a chance to give the Rebels a two-goal cushion heading into the final 25 minutes of play. For Lyon and the Rebels, this kick meant a little more than a twogoal, second-half lead in early September.

Flash back to Oct. 28 of last year. Howell took a 1-0 lead into the final minutes of the Shore Conference Tournament semifinal against Toms River North, a game the Rebels dominated for the first 60 minutes of play. With one header from Toms River North's Tanner Sica, the Mariners tied the game at one and sent the Rebels season careening into a wall.

"Unfortunately, we've had some bad losses over the last five years or so and bad endings to seasons," Howell coach Rich Yuro said. "Losing to Manalapan in the sectional final and then losing to Steinert the next year after going up 3-1 in the second half. Those were bad, but last year was right up there."

Toms River North won the game in a shootout after Lyon missed a breakaway opportunity and later an attempt in the shootout. A few days later, Howell would lose in even more stunning fashion to Trenton in the first round of NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV. "The way our season ended really left a sour taste in our mouths," Lyon said. "To have a lead with two minutes to go

in the SCT final and then to lose was a pretty crushing way to lose. I don't think we were able to recover from that in the next game. Before we knew it, our season was over."

Lyon had little to do with surrendering the lead against Toms River North, and in fact, he is the reason the Rebels had the lead in the first place. His goal on a direct kick early in the second half put Howell on top 10 and his play in the midfield stood out more than that of any other player in that game.

But it wasn't his first 70 minutes of play that stuck with Lyon this offseason. It was the final 30 and that one forgettable swing of his left leg in the shootout.

"I've thought about it, but I don't let it affect what I do or how I play," Lyon said.

"If anything, it's motivated me to get even better and to come back even stronger this year."

Upon hearing the referee's whistle against Marlboro, Lyon stroked a low, easy shot to the right side of the netting to give Howell its third goal of the game and its 12th goal in the first 214 minutes of the season. With 13 goals scored - Zach Allen scored his first varsity goal to cap the scoring in the 72nd minute and only one allowed in three games to start the season, Howell has made it clear that the frustration and heartbreak that soured an otherwise successful 2010 season is behind it and that this is a hungry Rebels team.

"We've been doing all the right things so far," said University of Richmond recruit Chris Hill. "We don't have anybody out there trying to be a superstar or get all the glory. Everyone is just working hard and trying to make the right play that helps us win. Our focus is just about winning this year and so far, it's been working out."

Lyon and Hill are the only two senior starters who also started on opening day last year, and both are off to strong starts to their senior seasons. With his twogoal game against Marlboro, Lyon has three goals in six games, and Hill added an assist to go with two goals over the team's first two games.

"You can kind of tell when a kid comes into the season on a

mission," Yuro said.

"You see that in our seniors. You definitely see that in Drew, you see that in Chris Hill, and we have a lot of younger guys who take their cues from those seniors. So you'd like to have a group of hard-working guys setting the example, and I think we've had that."

On top of the seniors, which include defender Randy Stout, the younger players are off to fast starts, with sophomores Jeremy Hoops and Kevin Kappock contributing early on. Hoops scored a goal and fired three Senior Drew Lyon shots on net against Marlboro, and Kappock picked up his second assist of the season by setting up Lyon's first goal, a header off Kappock's corner kick. The sophomore defender also saved a potential goal by clearing a shot off the endline with goalkeeper Luke Weber off his line.

With six senior starters graduating, Howell needs its wave of young talent to keep up the early production around Lyon and Hill. Although the 3-0 start and dominant goal differential signify another potential Shore Conference Tournament run, those three wins came against three teams - Marlboro, Middletown North and Middletown South - that went a combined 13-33-2 last year and are currently a combined 0-8-1 this season. Their upcoming schedule included No. 1 Christian Brothers Academy and rival Manalapan, both of which put a reinvigorated Howell to the test.

"If there's something we learned from last year, it's to take things one game at a time," Lyon said. "We know CBA is a big game, but there are going to be a lot of other games this year, and we're going to have to play our best in those, too. We feel like we can go out and beat anybody, but we also know that if we don't bring our best game, anybody can beat us."

As the games become more meaningful, it's possible that the nightmare finish of last season begins to stalk the memory of the returning Howell players, but should the games continue to be meaningful, it would appear the Rebels have already learned to forget.

"That was a tough way for those seniors to go out," Hill said. "I played with all of those guys growing up, and it was tough to see them go out like that. I'm fortunate to get another shot at it this year, and we all want to make the most of it."

The penalty kick that Lyon finished on Wednesday was the first time he has taken one in a meaningful game since the Toms River North loss. It was such a small part of his contribution Wednesday, just as the failed conversion last year was only a small part of his game, but Lyon's strike to the right side of the net served as an assurance that he, Hill and the rest of the Rebels indeed want one more shot.

Photos & Video Highlights by:

Matt Manley

www.allshoremedia.com

Volume-III

1 4 / ASM

Issue-17

9/19/11

Lacey’s Powell Survives MRSA Scare

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor At first it was nothing more than a zit on his chin, something teenagers are known to have a passing familiarity with.

Powell also will have to make up for lost time. He has received interest from programs like Rutgers and Boston College as well as a host of Division I-AA programs, but has no scholarship offers as of this time. Most of the schools want to see senior film from his first three or four games, so missing a full game did not exactly come at the right time.

Lacey senior linebacker/tight end Jordan Powell thought nothing of it, practicing on Sept. 8 with a Band-Aid on his chin with some Neosporin on it. A day later, that spot started to feel hard as he got ready to partake in Lacey's scrimmage against Matawan that Friday night.

Photos by

"Halfway through the scrimmage, it got huge, and it hurt whenever I hit it,'' Powell said.

Powell went home and put a hot compress on it, but awoke at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday with a pounding headache and a swollen throat. He finally broke down and told his mother that he should go to Southern Ocean Medical Center to get checked out. When he arrived, he was diagnosed with a fever of 102.6 degrees. It turned out that he had methicillin-resistant Staphlococcus aureus, better known as MRSA, a drug-resistant bacterium that can be potentially fatal. Every six hours, another round of powerful antibiotics were administered intravenously to Powell.

A study by the Texas State Department of Health found that football players are infected

by MRSA at a rate that is 16 times higher than the national average, often contracting it in locker rooms or when bacteria gets into an open abrasion. While many players contract it on their legs and arms, the fact that it was on Powell's chin was even more dangerous. An inchlong incision had to be made in his throat to drain the bacteria.

"I didn't realize how bad it was, and the doctors told me that if I hadn't said anything about it for another two days, I could've been dead,'' Powell said. "The infection could've gone right to my brain and killed me.''

As a result of that scary incident, Powell had to sit out Lacey's 21-14 loss to Wall in the season opener. The star linebacker/tight end, one of the Shore's top returning two-way players, was standing on the sidelines with a large Band-Aid under his chin and watching as the young Lions, who only returned four players with significant experience from last year's 12-0 team, battled a Wall team ranked No. 3 in the All Shore Media Top 10. Wall's running game ended up producing 160 yards rushing, including 127 by senior tailback Jim Guiliano, with Powell out of the lineup for a team that did not allow a 100-yard rusher all of last season. The good news is that made his return on Sept. 17, but the bad news is that the Lions were upset, 16-7,

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A SM / 15 that it’s almost impossible. Plus, the family structure simply isn’t what is once was 20 years ago.

Many of these players now come from families where the parents are separated and live in separate towns, giving them the freedom to technically bounce back and forth to any school because they can legitimately establish residency.

B

ef o r e this Shore Conference football season even entered its first week of action, one of the main headlines had nothing to do with anything that was transpiring on the field.

Plus, even if the players aren’t staying at the house they are claiming to live at, the NJSIAA does not have the resources to have an army of private investigators set up across the state who are going to follow these kids around to make sure they are living where they say they are living. That makes it awfully difficult to enforce even if a kid is flouting the rules.

Neptune, Asbury Park, Long Branch, Lakewood or Matawan, those same school s have watched other talent walk out the door and go to another school because their parents, or a single parent, moved to another town for a better opportunity.

In addition, many of these players have difficult home situations. People railing against them transferring to another school and living with another parent may have no idea that it’s simply not in the teenager’s best interest to live in that former town with that parent any more. A player should not have to publicly air his family’s dirty laundry just to placate the people who are angry over him changing schools.

Clax’s status created a spirited debate among the Shore Conference community. One side was happy that someone was finally trying to do something about transfers that appeared to be completely for athletics, while the other side felt that Clax has the right to attend a school if he lives in the district and that this was unnecessary meddling and sour grapes by Freehold.

One side wonders why you even have rules at all if nothing is ever going to get enforced, while the other believes that this is America, and parents and their children should have the freedom to change schools if they legitimately establish residency in a town.

I’ve spoken to several coaches who are exasperated by the player Neptune's Jazzmar Clax movement or disillusioned with the way things have become and my main response is that they better learn to live with it because it’s an issue that is not going away. Parents who may not have the Clax grew up in Neptune and his mother is a Neptune resident, means to pay for their children to go to college will go to great so the residency issue was not at stake. Neptune also happens to lengths to secure a scholarship, and if that means renting an be Clax’s third high school, as he attended St. John Vianney as a apartment in another town, transferring to a loaded team so that freshman before transferring to Freehold after Lancers head their son can get more media coverage, or going to a team with coach John Amabile, a legendary former head coach at Neptune, Division I prospects on it so that their son can get on that same stepped down. radar, parents will unapologetically do it. And while everyone Essentially, high school sports has become almost like will know why it was done, it will be hard to produce concrete unfettered free agency. Players who have parents who live in evidence of why it was done, and parents know that. multiple towns, plus grandparents who might live in another While I am depressed by the situation, I’m not naïve about it, town, can pick and choose where they want to go that will give either. High-profile players changing high schools has been them the best chance to succeed and grab some of the spotlight. going on for a long time. There’s just more media coverage now Coaches complain to me all the time about losing players and along with online message boards that feed the 24-hour appetite how certain kids should not be at certain schools, but my of football fans. The system is rigged in favor of players response, for better or worse, is, “Deal with it.’’ flaunting the rules at this point because it’s so hard to prove that That’s just the way the system works right now, and it’s so they are bending regulations and the resources of the watchdogs, beyond repair that simply slapping an athlete on the wrist, like from the NJSIAA to cash-strapped school districts, are not Clax missing one game, is about as far as things are going to go enough to keep up with all of the behind-the-scenes action. right now. The NJSIAA only has so many resources, so it has to keep an eye on the big parochial fish up in North Jersey and the parochial basketball juggernauts. Player movement is going to continue fairly unfettered unless more schools challenge students leaving, which I don’t foresee happening.

To me, this is just how the landscape works now. It’s so difficult to prove that a transfer was done for athletic advantage

Many of these players are also from communities with transient populations. For every player who has transferred to

Neptune senior linebacker/fullback Jazzmar Clax had to sit out the Scarlet Fliers’ season-opening, 28-7 win over Bishop Ahr because his eligibility was under question. Clax had transferred to Neptune from Freehold during the offseason, and his former school was challenging his transfer on the grounds that it was done for athletic advantage because Clax was following head coach Mark Ciccotelli, who also left Freehold for Neptune.

Clax was eventually cleared to play during the following week when the NJSIAA Eligibility Appeals Committee decided by a 5-1 vote that he did not have to sit out 30 days or longer because it determined he did not switch schools for athletic advantage.

Photos by

Cliff Lavelle

www.clearedge.zenfoli o.c om

www.allshoremedia.com

Volume-III

Issue-17

9/19/11

A SM / 16