By Jeff Appelblatt
Many of the student-athletes from Manalapan High School’s football team got their start from the township’s youth league. And year by year, no matter who’s moved on, the young teams have continued to charge strong.
While the high school team was flirting with perfection until a loss in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group V championship game Dec. 3, the Manalapan Jr. Midgets and the Manalapan Cadets each took care of business taking home state titles.
The Jr. Midgets, who have won 43 games in a row against state competition, has proven to be the best in New Jersey for the last four years. During this year’s perfect season (13-0), Chris Marzo threw for 13 touchdowns on 900 yards. One of the most important figures in front of him each drop back was offensive lineman Joey Fratacci.
But much of the time, Manalapan was keeping the ball on the ground. Marshawn Ferguson, Anthony Matrone and Francesco Barone have combined for more than 1,800 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns on the season.
The team’s defense has also consistently done its best to help the Jr. Midgets win. Ray Vender has kept the opposing offense quiet, tackling 65 on the year. Damien Henderson chipped in on defense with 25 tackles. There’s Tommy Guidice and Gavin Claro, who have made it their job to rush the other teams’ offenses. The two have combined for 18 sacks on the season.
In the state championship game at Tom River High School East, things were decided by a late field goal. With the score tied at 24-24 and with 51 seconds remaining, Vincenzo Rea sent a 32-yard kick through the goal posts to win the game, 27-24. Howell thought it had enough time to move the ball down the field, but Manalapan’s defense didn’t allow it. Instead, Mike DeMayo intercepted a pass thrown by Howell, locking up the Manalapan victory and the shot to move on to play in the American Youth Football Nationals in Florida.
The 13U team from Manalapan made the most of that opportunity. It played its first game of the tournament Dec. 7 against the Kernersville Raiders from North Carolina after receiving the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. In the semifinal matchup, Manalapan defeated the Southern Regional champions, 32-18, to advance to the title game.
Marzo was 5-of-5 passing for 120 yards, and touchdowns were scored on the ground by Marzo, Ferguson and DeMayo. Ferguson and Matrone had 100 rushing yards each.
In the national championship game, the Jr. Midgets met Watkins Dec. 10 and shut out the Atlantic Regional Champion out of Washington, D.C, 36-0.
Marzo and Ferguson connected on a touchdown pass, while Ferguson also picked up 90 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Matrone found the end zone twice with two rushing touchdowns on 100 yards on the ground. DeMayo also had a rushing touchdown.
Coach Pat Marzo has six state championships and three national titles, which are both AYF records.
Meanwhile, Manalapan’s 10U team (12-0) was also in Florida representing New Jersey. The Cadets made the trip after they beat Asbury Park, 26-20. On the season, Mark Augello rushed for 1,270 yards and 25 touchdowns. He took care of all the scoring for Manalapan against Absury Park, running for 269 yards and four touchdowns.
Chris Marzo and Barone from the 13U squad ran the offense and the defense for the Cadets, bringing their playing experience to help the younger players. They looked to Augello, Mateo Barone, Monte Krkuti, Christian Zdziarski and Joe Palmer to continue to lead the offense, and they also looked for Colton Schuler, Cameron Sandowsky, Ashere Woolfolk and Adam Vender to lead the defense.
The high school team rooted for the youth squads. Many players from the roster played in the youth league before their talents got them on the high school roster.
“I’ve been putting in work ever since then,” Braves quarterback Luke Corcione said about his youth league days. “Since then, I knew I wanted to be a big quarterback in high school. Playing back then, when I was younger, helped.”
Cody Wiener, also from the high school team, was only able to boast about his experience in the youth leagues.
“I played Manalapan football since I was 6 years old,” he said. “The young guys are going to learn from us. The guys before us laid the footprints. It has to keep on going. [The youth players] are going to grind day in and day out, just like we did. The youth program is great. The high school is great.”
The coaches in Manalapan can only hope that the programs in town continue running as smoothly as they have over the years for many more.