Donovan Catholic High School has been on a roll this football season.
An undefeated roll, too.
Donovam Catholic improved to 3-0 on the season when it pitched a 24-0 shutout over Asbury Park High School on Sept. 28 in Toms River.
In the victory, Donovan Catholic passed for 166 yards and rushed for a total of 133 yards.
Asbury Park, in five of the team’s eight drives, turned the ball over on fourth down against the sturdy Donovan Catholic defense, which was anchored by Dominick Nocero, Nick Kenmure and Jared Helstowski.
Donovan Catholic scored on the first series of the game when junior quarterback Ryan Clark competed a 44-yard touchdown pass to Nocero, a sophomore running back.
At halftime Donovan Catholic was up 10-0 on the strength of a 32-yard field goal from Keaon Torres.
The host team increased the lead to 17-0 when Nasir Calhoun plowed into the end zone from a yard out and Torres connected on the second of his three conversion kicks.
Donovan Catholic iced the victory when Calhoun took off on a 39-yard run to the end zone in the fourth period.
Coach Dan Curcione, who is in his second year at the helm of Donovan Catholic’s football program, was pleased with his squad’s effort.
“It was a good battle. A good test tonight. Asbury Park hit us hard. The game was a hard-hitting game. The team needed to clean some things up execution wise. In the end, we made some plays on defense. The team is believing in what we are doing. The team came out on top,” Curcione said.
Curcione said that Holmdel High School, which pays a visit for a 6:30 game on Oct. 5 in Toms River will provide a tough challenge.
“The offense started out great because of our offensive line. Every single day this week the team put in the work to beat Asbury Park. Asbury Park definitely has a good defense and good athletes. The offense needed to just pick and choose where the team would pass and run,” said Clark, who finished with 10 completions in 13 attempts for 166 yards and a TD. said
Calhoun, who carried four times for 72 yards and two touchdowns, is optimistic.
“The defense helped us out big time. The game was not a pretty one for us. The team just has to keep grinding in practice. The team will be fine,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun said Holmdel will be the team’s first tough matchup of the season when these two Shore Conference National Division foes meet