Smashing Debuts Cap a Memorable Week One

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(This is a loooooooooong entry, so I just figured I’d give you a heads up.)

Experience is supposed to be a huge factor in success on the football field, right? I don’t know if I’m so sure of that after a host of sparkling debuts on Saturday night capped one of the wildest opening weekends in recent memory.

Leading the way was Howell junior quarterback Ryan Davies, who threw for a school-record 455 yards and seven (!) touchdowns in a 48-17 win over a Toms River North team that hadn’t given up anything close to that many points in a game since losing 46-20 to Middletown South in 2006. It was the first career start for Davies, the son of Howell head coach Cory Davies, and it rewrote the record book. Where do you go from there?

Camp Report: Manasquan

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E-mail: stump@allshoremedia.com

I only hit one camp today as I am trying to knock out some more full preview stories for you to read before I hit a bunch more camps in the next two days.

I took a trip to last season’s Central Jersey Group II finalist, Manasquan, which is “a work in progress,” as head coach Pete Cahill put it. The “progress” at Manasquan usually culminates with a game on the first weekend of December, as they have won more state sectional titles (11) than any team in Shore Conference history. They won CJ II in 2008 and fell to Matawan, which is geared up for another run this year, in last season’s final.

Clearly they lost some studs. Linebacker/defensive end Dan Sullivan, and wide receiver/defensive backs Ryland McTighe and Neal Sterling were all first-team All Shore Media selections who have graduated, and they were just the headliners from a strong group of players. They also lost lineman Rob Forst, the younger brother of former Squan star and starting Rutgers offensive lineman Art Forst. The younger Forst also went on to sign with the Scarlet Knights, but he has since quit the team. The good news is that the talent well is far from dry in Warrior-land.