Middletown South Hopes To End Championship Drought

Photo above: James McCarthy, Max Imsho, Matt Mosquera and Kevin Higgins. Photo taken at @JSNSPORTINGNEWS photo shoot.

MIDDLETOWN – Middletown South has won nine state titles – second in the Shore Conference history.

They’ve been to the state playoffs 25 times in program history, making an amazing 19 trips the finals. They are considered one of the elite football programs in the state year-in-and-year-out and are consistently ranked in the top ten of the Shore Conference - which coincidently swept all five NJSIAA Central Jersey groups in last year’s state playoffs.

However, the Eagles have hit a little bit of a bump in the road since their last state title in 2006 – their third-of-three consecutive championships. And although they’ve been to the playoffs every year since 2006 and have made the finals in five of those years, they just haven’t been able to “finish the job” as head coach Steve Antonucci likes to describe it.

Of those five losses in the finals, four have come by seven points or less but none have been more agonizing than last season’s last second loss to Jackson Memorial when they came all the way back from a 18-point deficit and had the ball with a chance to win it.

“To be honest, we haven’t brought it up,” Antonucci said. “We’re focused on what’s in front of us and ready to take the next step.”

Returning eight starters both on offense and defense should go a long way in taking the next step. That, and a group of talented young players waiting in the wings as the “next man up” to fill some holes should help their chances of getting over the hump.

Depth has never been an issue for the Eagles, who year-after-year possess the uncanny ability to replace graduated seniors from a stockpile of underclassmen that never seem to miss a beat. A sophomore class that went undefeated and unscored upon last season as freshman is a prime example and many from that class will see extended playing time at the varsity level this season.

The Eagles offense will again feature All-Shore running back Cole Rogers who ran over-and-around opposing defenses last season when he picked up a 1,867 yards on the ground (7.8 yds./carry) while scoring 27 touchdowns – good for second in the Shore Conference. He’ll be joined in the backfield again this season by junior James McCarthy who rushed for 351 yards (5.5 yds./carry) and five touchdowns. Senior Eddie Pinto and junior Joe Pignataro will get some work spelling the starters after seeing limited time in the backfield last season. Junior Kevin Higgins gets the nod as starting fullback.

Matt Mosquera returns as starting quarterback after a solid junior campaign where he effectively managed the game and became a more productive passer as the season wore on. He did throw for 1,240 yards on 100-of-186 passing but his touchdowns-to-interception ratio needs to improve after throwing for five touchdowns while tossing seven interceptions. Mosquera, who also handled the kicking duties last season, was named first team All-Shore is considered one of the top kicking specialist in the state.

“I feel we’re further along this year than last year at this time because we’ve got so many guys back,” Mosquera said. “We already have knowledge of the playbook and we’re looking real good so far. We had a young receiving corp last year and their all back and are good receiving threats so we plan on passing more this year.”

Junior quarterback Brendan Donlon has looked good in preseason and will back-up Mosquera.

Back at wide receiver are seniors Tom Coffey, Spencer Peerless and Tom Marron. Coffey led the trio with 21 catches for 389 yards and three touchdowns while Peerless had 18 receptions for 185 yards and Marron chipped in with 213 receiving yards on 13 catches. Juniors Maxx Imsho and Jeff Lewandowski will be the first two off the bench with juniors Brian Higgins and Danny Diodato pressing for playing time.

Unfortunately, Pereless injured his clavicle in a scrimmage Friday and could be lost for six to eight weeks but the Eagles are deep enough at the position where they should be fine until Pereless returns.

The offensive line brings back three starters from last year’s stellar line that paved the way for Rogers breakout year. Senior center Joe Rutkowski (6-foot-3, 270 lbs.), junior Mike Wilson (6-foot-4, 285 lbs.) and senior tackle Tom Lopez (6-foot-5, 280 lbs.) will anchor a line that will also start junior Will Gulick (6-foot-1, 230 lbs.) and senior Drew Chatfield (6-foot-4, 250 lbs.) at guard.

Junior Mike Walsh (6-foot-1, 245 lbs.) and sophomore’s Frankie Settembrino (5-foot-10, 235 lbs.) and Adam Markman (6-foot-0, 220 lbs.) are all expected to see ample playing time.

Defensively, the linebackers are the heart-and-soul of a defensive unit that broke a school record last season by shutting out six different opponents while giving up only an average of 8.3 points a game. Back are second team All-Shore linebackers Dylan Rogers in the middle and James McCarthy on the outside as a rover. Rogers was seventh in the Shore Conference with 122 tackles, including 23 tackles in the championship game when he played like a man possessed. McCarthy checked in with 66 tackles and four sacks.

Junior Kevin Higgins also returns as a starter with experienced senior Rob Hulse, junior Dylan Tobacco and sophomore Jake Krellin pushing for playing time.

The defensive line must replace two All-Division players in Pat Crowe and Dan Servidio but they do return All-Division pick Will Gulick at tackle. Juniors Bobby Burke (6-foot-1, 240 lbs.) and Ethan D’Arcy (6-foot-4, 195 lbs.), seniors Donald jack Urhig (5-foot-10, 200 lbs.) and Kyle Cuccia (5-foot-11, 220 lbs.) and sophomores Joe Raim (6-foot-2, 195 lbs.) and Markmann are fighting for starting spots in the defensive line rotation.

Pereless will be missed in the defensive secondary as well but Cole Rogers will be back at one cornerback spot with Coffey at the other. Imsho gets the start at safety and it now looks like juniors Samson Dube and Lewandowski will battle for Pereless’ spot. Pignataro, Higgins, Marron and Matt Salico are in the mix as well.

On paper Middletown South is one of the top three teams – if not the top team - in the Shore Conference and a top 25 team in the state. Now it’s time to prove it.

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