By chris kelly
Staff Writer
CHRIS KELLY Red Bank Regional quarterback Keyron Sheard shows off his throwing arm during a recent practice in Little Silver.
The Red Bank Regional High School football program is the talk of the Shore Conference.
When asked about the up-and-coming teams in the area, local high school coaches routinely mention the Buccaneers, pointing out the outstanding job head coach Harry Chebookjian and his coaching staff have done with the program in three years. And now, many of these coaches believe, is the time where it will really start to show.
Red Bank enters the season with some high expectations, and with good reason. The Bucs are loaded with talent, hungry for a championship and ready to take the next step.
But when the Bucs take the field this season, don’t bother looking for a "go-to" guy.
CHRIS KELLY Red Bank Regional head coach Harry Chebookjian addresses his team during a recent practice in Little Silver.
"What is so great about this team is that there isn’t one kid who you’ll see making the big plays," said Chebookjian. "Normally a coach has one or two guys who will lead the team on the field. I don’t have that. I have 12 seniors who take charge."
Jamar Lane (captain), Melvin Pierce, Jerome Roundtree (captain), Al Marcus Hanes, Bo Olsen (captain), Tom Rigby (captain), Julius Holmes, Shannon Rice (captain), Devon Davis, Jeff Mass, David Dailey and Kevin Kooistra will be the senior leaders of the team.
"The leadership I’ve gotten from the seniors is great," said Chebookjian. "When we have a bad practice, I don’t have to say anything. The kids take charge and pick things up. They constantly want to get better.
"This is by far the best preseason camp I’ve had since I took over."
Red Bank is looking to improve on last year’s 6-4 season, where they capped off their campaign by defeating longtime rivals Long Branch in their annual Thanksgiving Day clash.
Missing only three key players from the 2001 team, Red Bank returns with a large group of players with plenty of experience.
Offensively, Chebookjian is impressed with his skill-position players.
Buc fans can look forward to watching Lane, Pierce and Cliff Toddle, a junior, work the ball from the backfield, while Roundtree and Keyron Sheard, a sophomore, will be sharing the signal-calling duties.
"Roundtree is our starter, but Sheard will see playing time throughout the year," said Chebookjian. "Both Roundtree and Sheard do a lot of good things with the ball, even though they both have different styles.
"Roundtree is a big play-maker, he’s very athletic, while Sheard is more of a classic dropback quarterback.
"Offensively I think we have a very explosive group. One of the biggest things we worked on in the off season was our team speed. The kids have worked hard to become a much faster team."
Despite its relative youth, Chebookjian believes this may be his best offensive line to date.
"The guys on the front line are coming around every day. Right now they’re a little slow with some of the plays, because of the youth we have. But we have a lot of good players whom I expect good things from."
Filling in at the tackle positions are Hanes and Pete Roskowinski, while Mark Biafore and Robert Maslanek are the guards. Chris Hill is the center.
Despite his confidence in his offensive line, Chebookjian feels that his defense may be the team’s strength this year.
Anchoring a fast defense in the linebacker slots are Olsen, Rigby, Rice and Pierce, while the line will be filled out with Kayed Weston, Anthony Lawrence, Holmes, Dailey, Maslanek, Hanes and Roskowinski.
Among the new faces donning a Bucs uniform this season is Taylor Sammi, a transfer student from Pennsylvania.
Not only does Chebookjian feel his team should be a contender for the Shore Conference Federal Division title, he is confident the Bucs will make it into the state tournament.
"The kids have a done a great job bringing the team back into the victory column," he said.
"That first year when we won only two games, the kids thought that was the greatest thing in the world. Now, from the success the kids have earned over the last couple of years like going 6-4 last season, if we do anything less, the kids will be disappointed."
In addition to the hard work from the kids, Chebookjian also credits his coaching staff with helping the team come along over the past few season. The staff includes Brad Olsen (defensive coordinator), Nick Chiambrone (special teams), Steve DePolo (quarterbacks and safeties), Jeff Light (defensive ends and running backs), and Pete Grandinetti (offensive line and defensive tackles).
Red Bank opens its season on the road, facing defending state champion Middletown South on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m., in what should be an excellent season-opener for both teams. Many prognosticators expect these two teams to battle for the Federal Division championship, so a win the first week of the season may be worth a bit more than usual.