By Scott Stump – Senior Editor
E-mail: stump@digitalsports.com
The fans have spoken, and after Week One action, the majority of them agree with the DigitalSports Top 10 in that they have Asbury Park at No. 1 despite some objections to a Group I team being atop the Shore Conference heap.
Once you get down to No. 4 and below, the teams are packed closely and the arguments are all over the place. Below are the fan rankings for this week, followed by some comments from our readers. The number in parentheses after each team is the average of all the different votes (first place, second place, etc.) for each team. I also command you to read the “Comment of the Week from one of our readers and encourage everyone to keep writing to let your voice be heard. Every week I will print some of the best comments.
Also, if you haven’t gotten your picks in for Week Two, you can do that here.
DigitalSports Fans’ Top 10
1. Asbury Park (2.88): The Blue Bishops received 47.7% of all the first-place votes to take the top spot after beating Shore in their opener.
“The two top conference teams are too big and good overall for the
smaller schools. Smaller schools are good against their own
conferences. AP probably will win their conference and states, but may
not beat any one of the big schools listed on this page.” – AJM, Atlantic Highlands
“Asbury deserves the #1 spot unless they lose or a top 3 team beats another top 3 team.” – Anonymous
“Too early to tell, but I don’t think picking Asbury Park #1 is going out on the limb.” – Jersey from Lakewood
“Asbury Park is a Group I school but has
the firepower to hang with any of the ‘Big Boys’ in the Shore. Their
skill players could start for any team in the Shore.” – Corey from Neptune
2. Lacey (3.40): The Lions topped Lakewood last week, but will have to soldier on for at least about a month without star fullback/linebacker Justin Pandorf, who is out with a knee injury. They have a tough game against Toms River East on Friday.
3. Southern (3.88): We will find out more about the Rams when they travel to Brick Memorial for a big American Division game on Friday.
4. Freehold (5.36): The voters were obviously impressed with the Colonials’ win over Middletown South. Now they have to try and follow it up with a victory over Neptune.
5. Middletown North (6.37): Right on Freehold’s heels is another darling from Week One.
6. Neptune (6.53): The Scarlet Fliers have earned some respect from the fans and look to take more against Freehold.
7. Brick Memorial (7.17): The Mustangs earned some instant respect with a 28-14 win over Toms River East.
8. Wall (7.42): The Blaze Caponegro Express has the Crimson Knights at No. 8.
9. Red Bank Catholic (7.44): The Caseys are just a smidge below Wall with a big game looming against Long Branch.
10. Howell (7.70): The Rebels and new quarterback Jimmy Ryan impressed in a comeback win over Brick.
“Howell is going to prove a lot of people wrong this season.” – “Big Robby” from Howell.
“Teams that have lost in Week One do not
deserve to be in the Top 10. Teams that have won a state championship
last year and won in Week One deserve to be ranked 1-3 until they lose.” – Mary from Brick
“Howell deserves to be in the Top 10 simply
because of what they did last year. Just because the entire starting
team graduated doesn’t mean they should be thrown from the top 10 in the
preseason. They deserve a top 10 spot.” – Anonymous
The next five: Point Boro (8.56); Colts Neck (8.65); Rumson-FH (8.72); St. John Vianney (8.90); Jackson Memorial (9.00).
Overall comments:
“After Week Three, teams will begin
to show their true colors. We’ll see if the colors will stand or run,
so please be patient.” – Darren from Neptune
“Before the
season started I thought it was going to be a down year for the Shore.
But at second glance it looks like there are a lot of good teams , just
not dominant ones yet. But it’s early still and Asbury should
dominate Group I. Also, can anyone remember there being so many upsets
in one week?” – GV3, Colts Neck.
“I am glad I don’t do this for a living.
This is tough. Long Branch, TRN, and Middletown South could probably
beat a few of the teams I ranked but I left them out because they are
0-1. I am sure they will play their way back into the
rankings (DigitalSports and mine).” – Anonymous.
“In the words of Lee Corso: “Watch out!”
for Asbury Park – Could possibly be one of the best Group I teams to
play in a very long time. If the NJSIAA Group affiliations are current
on its website, Group III is WITHOUT A DOUBT going to have the best
playoff race in the state. Between Middletown South, Brick Twp.,
Freehold Boro, Long Branch, Ocean, Monmouth Regional, Wall, Neptune and
Point Boro, and you need to stick in Lawrence, and possible sleepers
in Lakewood and West Windsor-Plansboro, it’s just an absolutely brutal
field.
A wise man once told me: “Don’t lose something that will come back to bite you in the ****.” Let me tell you, I think that may finally be
happening in Middletown, with that loss being Joe Trezza. Can someone
tell me when it was the last time Middletown North was 1-0 and
Middletown South was 0-1? North looks IMPRESSIVE, and it looks like a
changing of the guard (and maybe the difference between a playoff berth
for one team and an early offseason for the other?) maybe coming on
Thanksgiving Day.” – Mike from South Jersey
“OK, like last year let’s talk about Long Branch. Was anyone truly surprised when the Wall and Long Branch game
went into overtime? This is the third time in the last 3-4 years since
they started playing each other that the Wall and Long Branch game went
into overtime. This is always a big game and it always come down to
the wire.
This week will be the the week to truly measure the kind of Long Branch
team we have this year. Will Randy Rodriguez and Billy George take
their team and lead them on a run like last year? Or will this team be
a repeat of 2006 and barely break .500 (which i doubt)?
Coach George has his hands full this week with RBC, a powerhouse team
who always gives Long Branch a tough game. Long Branch should be fired
up with their first home game in five years. The stands will be full,
the crowd will be loud and they will finally be home. Lets play some
ball!” – Former LB football player
“Freehold’s talent-laden/sound coaching
combo has potential to reach the summit. Lacey plays fundamentally sound and
is top notch competition for any team. If the ball bounces the right
way they too can reach the top. Midd. North, with 28 seniors and good coaching, is another
possibility.” – Mike D. from Bayville
“There should not be preseason Polls to
begin with. This is high school football – there is no recruiting involved,
and the changes both players and programs go through from year to year are tremendous. Let all teams do battle for a week or two, and then let
the on-field play determine the Top 10. Based on what the papers and
online prognosticators provided in Week One, it only seems fair to drop
those who lost, and allow the others to either prove themselves or not.
It really does not matter where you are in September, but it does in
December.” – Anonymous
And finally, our Comment/Treatise of the week, from Michen in Matawan, who may put me out of a job:
This is the what you would call a “Show-and-Prove” Top 10. All of these teams have the talent to be top tier,
but they all have to show that they have what it takes to be a top tier
team and prove that they belong there. As with any polls, this is
subject to change.
**** all you want, but Asbury Park deserves to be the No. 1 team in the
Shore this week. I think it’s safe to say we found the WMDs (Editor’s note: weapons of mass destruction) whenever
this offense is on the field. Really, they’re that good! By the way,
this wasn’t their best outing against a solid Shore team. Watch out
when these boys put it all together. You have the chance now, poll
pundits; the Blue Bishop No.1 train is pulling out of the station.
Either get on or get out of the way (PLEASE prove me right, Bishops!).
But, remember, James Brown said it best “Pays the cost to be the
boss!” You have the top spot, now earn it. What’s that thing on your
back, guys? Oh, yeah, that’s a target!
Southern is solid and they better make me look good when putting them No. 2. But again, it is early and this poll will be “subject to
change.” As I said at the top, “show and prove.”
Freehold sent a nice little message to the Shore Conference this
weekend with their complete victory over Midd. South. They aren’t the
“Ice, Ice, Baby” of the Shore Conference. They are no one-hit wonder
and beating the vaunted Eagles two years in a row is one step in the
right direction towards solidifying that sentiment. Great story here
too with Nick Tyson coming back from a very scary neck injury last year
to orchestrate this offense with that kid who wears #4 (who is he?) (Editor’s note: Brandon Brown).
Tough kid, solid team. Neptune’s calling. Beat them and slowly yet
surely that “Under Pressure” sample will start to fade away more and
more (for those not in the know, “Under Pressure” by Queen is the
sample Vanilla Ice used for his one hit).
Tom “The Anvil” Rickmers
(anyone else think Hart Foundation and Jim Neidhart with that beard?)
carried Lacey to a victory. But someone else needs to step up if they
want to move up in this poll. The three teams ahead of them have other
weapons in the case of someone not showing up. Who will step up when
“The Anvil” can’t shoulder the load.
East Carol….I mean Midd. North pulled off the upset of the year (yes,
it’s early, but it is the upset of the year) by beating the defending
SJ IV champs and not letting up an offensive TD. Here come the
questions, Lions. Was it your desire and talent that won it or was it
an off day for TR North? East Carolina had their Tulane, you have to
show the rest of the Shore that this was no fluke and you have what it
takes to get to the next level. It’s not worth going 5-5 and saying “we
beat TRN” to make yourself feel better. Build off of this. This could
be the proverbial “turning of the corner.”
RBC had the week off. They shouldn’t get penalized for doing nothing.
But Long Branch, with their first home game in 5 years and coming off
of a heartbreaker at the hands of Wall (Game of the Year candidate!)?
Yikes! Beward RBC, I picked you to win but H-E double hockey sticks hath no
fury like a hungry football team scorned!
Point Boro shut out “Da ‘Burg.” Defense wins championships, but
Manasquan is not going to be a walk in the park and they’re going to
have to get that offense up to speed if they want to ensure a victory
against a traditionally strong program in ‘Squan.
Those Scarlet Fliers from Neptune didn’t look overly impressive against the Falcons of
Monmouth Regional, but you cannot sell short the weapons that they
possess either. Michael Peavy looked awesome and if they want that
respect they’re looking for, they need to keep it going. This road game
against Freehold is the perfect opportunity.
Wall showed some grit in the rain against a very tenacious Long Branch.
Blaze Caponegro pulled an Al Bundy by scoring four touchdowns in one
game, but once again, who else can be “that guy” if the “Blaze of
Glory” cannot shoulder the load like “The Anvil” and Lacey (by the way,
Blaze, awesome name! Thank your parents!…almost as cool a name as
Usain Bolt and World B. Free!)
I had to figure out whether Colts Neck or Howell would find their way
into the top 10 up to the moment I started writing this last paragraph
(literally switched my pick two seconds ago). It all comes down to
this, the power of the ring. Howell has that and a very talented QB in
Ryan who went Graham Harrell on Brick by throwing for 363 yards and 3
TDs. Coach Leach….whoops I mean, Coach Davies, has really fine-tuned
this spread offense and it could be a problem for teams because it’s
very hard to defend once it gets rolling. And defending CJ IV champs
helped a bit too.
This is subject to change, but for now this is my Top 10. Now it’s time
to show and prove!
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