A Suprising First Week

The first weekend of the high school football season produced some real surprises and a couple of eye-opening performances.

While Howell beating Toms River North was not necessarily an upset nobody could have predicted it would come so easily. The Rebels were virtually unstoppable in crushing the visiting Mariners 48-17 and it looks like Howell has found a capable replacement for graduated All-Shore quarterback Jimmy Ryan. Junior Ryan Davies, the son of head coach Cory Davies passed for 454 yards and 7 touchdowns in his first varsity start.

How’s that for a debut?

Jackson Memorial certainly pulled off an upset with a 15-8 victory over highly-regarded Manalapan and Barnegat’s 34-27 victory over Rumson would have to be considered a surprise. Tulane-bound Nick SanGiacomo
passed for 410 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Mike DeTroia.
Another outstanding individual effort was turned in by Matt McLain of Pinelands, who ran for 325 yards and four touchdowns in a come-from-behind victory over Monsignor Donovan.

The University of Maine’s win over Monmouth University Saturday made for an especially enjoyable afternoon for the families of two of the Black Bears players. Quarterback Warren Smith is a Lacey Township High School graduate while defensive tackle Ryan Nani played at Toms River North.
Their families usually have to make long trips to support their football-playing sons so Saturday’s short jaunt to West Long Branch was a real bonus.

Klee’s Bar & Grill in Seaside Heights is holding its 19th Annual Golf Outing for the benefit of Ocean of Love on Wednesday, October 6th at Gambler’s Ridge in Cream Ridge. The outing is always a great day of golf, food and fun and last year’s raised more than $28,000 for children with cancer in Ocean County. For information on playing or sponsoring you can call Glenn or Joe at Klee’s at (732) 830-1996.