US Army All Shore Gridiron Classic

Preparations are well underway for Friday’s US Army All Shore Gridiron Classic at Brick Township High School. The Ocean County team is practicing at Toms River South and I caught a little of last night’s session which was interrupted by lightning. Maybe the biggest dilemma for head coach Chuck Donohue of Southern Regional and offensive coordinator Calvin Thompson is how to play all four of their quarterbacks. Thompson is running his Point Boro option attack and has his own multi-talented quarterback in Shane O’Connor and Brick Memorial’s Brian Staub and Monsignor Donovan’s Jon Curtin are also best known for their running abilities. The Ocean staff also likes the way strong-armed Kevin Gilmore of Toms River South has picked up the offense and he is clearly the best thrower of the quartet. The Monmouth County squad, under the direction of Freehold’s Mark Ciccotelli is practicing at Matawan High School.

Kickoff Friday is at 7pm and the All Star football game will be broadcast live on 105.7 The Hawk and Fox Sports 1310 through our Shore Sports Network.

The start of Glenn Carson’s college career at Penn State will be delayed a bit with the recent announcement that he will be a greyshirt. Carson a standout linebacker from Southern Regional had back surgery in the spring and is recuperating well from that injury. He is currently taking summer classes at Penn State, living with All-American linebacker Sean Lee and working out.

Being a greyshirt means Carson will attend Penn State in the fall on a part time basis and pay for his own tuition. There are some restrictions on his contact with the team but in January he will enroll at Penn State as a full time student on a full scholarship and join the football program. Glenn could then redshirt next fall and still have four more full years to play for the Nittany Lions.

Former Toms River South and Rutgers baseball standout Todd Frazier struck out in his only at-bat in last night’s Southern League All-Star Game in Birmingham, Alabama. Frazier is having a terrific season playing mostly left field for Carolina Mudcats, the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He’s batting .314 with a league-leading 31 doubles, 9 home runs and 45 RBI’s.