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.