Barnegat’s Ryan Morris Commits to Purdue

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I had this on Twitter earlier Monday night but was in the middle of doing the Verizon FiOS television broadcast of the North-South game, but Barnegat tight end Ryan Morris, a rising senior, verbally committed to Purdue on Monday, according to Bengals head coach Rob Davis.

Morris becomes the first member of the Shore Conference Class of 2012 to make a verbal commitment. He also becomes the second Bengals tight end in three seasons to move on to a FBS (Division I-A) program, as 2010 graduate Jarrett Darmstatter is now at Boston College. He also becomes the third Division I-A recruit in three years for Barnegat, as 2011 graduate Nick SanGiacomo, a quarterback, is headed to Tulane.

Morris was an All Shore Media second-team All-Conference selection at tight end this past fall. At 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, Morris finished with 29 catches for 484 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Bengals’ spread offense. He was an All-Class B South selection by the coaches.

Morris had 12 scholarship offers, including schools in the Big Ten, ACC, Big East and an SEC offer from South Carolina.

Barnegat’s Chris Nueva Recovering from Scary Moment

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Barnegat senior wide receiver defensive back Chris Nueva is at home and in good condition, according to Bengals coach Rob Davis, after a scary moment in Saturday night’s 49-14 loss to No. 1 Matawan. Nueva took a booming hit on a kickoff in the first quarter and collapsed. He was down on the field and was attended to by the athletic trainer and a team doctor. They did not need to use a defibrillator to revive him, but he was down for a while before being taken by ambulance to Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank. He has since been released from the hospital and is resting at home, according to Davis.

“He needed medical assistance for precautionary reasons, but he’s with his family at home now and is fine,” Davis said. “The doctor and trainer did a great job.”

 

Offensive Explosions Highlight Opening Night

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There was no lack of offense on opening night, as nine teams scored 34 or more points, headlined by the 62-point firebombing Neptune put on a rebuilding Bishop Ahr team in the debut of new Scarlet Fliers head coach Don Sofilkanich.

I did not have Neptune ranked in my preseason top 10, which definitely raised some eyebrows, and even our basketball man, Mr. Nep84 himself, who was at the game on Friday night, jokingly texted “It’s now 62-0. Is this enough to be in the top 10 next week?”

All of the stars took turns making plays, but I think the most encouraging sign was the performance of junior Jaheem Woods. We all know about Charles Davis and Ikie Calderon, who did their thing on Friday, including a 50-yard punt return by Davis to get the avalanche rolling. Woods, however, is an excellent athlete who has been buzzed about since his freshman year, and he had a great day offensively and also returned an interception for a touchdown defensively. If he becomes a genuine threat at quarterback, whether running or passing, Neptune will be fearsome and I will be well on my way to looking like an idiot for not ranking them (although they could be ranked by the end of this weekend. We’ll see). They face No. 5 Red Bank Catholic, which was impressive in a 34-7 win over a young Southern team on Friday night, next week, which is a huge early game in the Class B North race.

Updates on Barnegat’s Mike DeTroia, RBC’s Matt Paolillo

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Barnegat wide receiver/defensive back Mike DeTroia, one of the top returning receivers in the Shore Conference, has been offered by Bucknell and the University of Pennsylvania and is heading up to the camp at Boston College this weekend, according to his parents, which may continue to boost his stock. DeTroia is the main target for rising senior quarterback Nick SanGiacomo, who has already verbally committed to Tulane.

If DeTroia can continue to improve his speed, the offers should only pick up, as he has good size and athleticism to win jump balls in mid-air. He drew a lot of praise from opposing coaches in the National Division last season who had trouble slowing him down. Barnegat is now part of the newly formed Class B South this season.

An All Shore Media third-team selection in the fall as part of a great crop of wideouts in the Shore Conference, DeTroia had 45 catches for 686 yards and 9 touchdowns for the Bengals and also had five interceptions at safety.

Another FCS (Division I-AA) prospect is rising Red Bank Catholic senior defensive end Matt Paolillo, who has been getting interest from Stony Brook, Central Connecticut State, Towson and Delaware. Maryland and Navy also want to see him in person, so he will be taking a visit down there near the end of this month.

Paolillo is one of several Division I recruits for the Caseys this coming season. Rising senior tight end Jack Tabb boasts 18 FBS (Division I-A) offers, including the University of Florida, and rising senior running back/defensive back Andrew Casten, a 1,000-yard rusher as a junior, also has received plenty of Division I-AA interest. Rising junior linebacker Doug Whitlock, the younger brother of senior star Kevin Whitlock, has received interest from UCLA and others, according to RBC coach Jim Portela.