After Capturing First State Title Since 1976, Red Bank Catholic Looks For Encore Performance

Photo above: Dylan Murphy, Ryan Oneides, Colin Shaughnessy, Mike Wilen and Liam Smith. Photo taken at @JSNSPORTINGNEWS photo shoot.

RED BANK – Last year’s Casey team accomplished what no other Red Bank Catholic team had been able to do in 38-long years. Some might say that the monkey was finally ripped off their backs, as the Caseys brought home the programs first state championship since 1976.

However, there’s no time to rest on its laurels for this program as the Caseys prepare for the upcoming season with a bit of a chip on their shoulders and something still to prove.

For the first time since the 2010 season the Caseys were not voted the No.1 team in the Shore Conference’s final top ten rankings. Their loss to Jackson Memorial a month earlier had snapped their 40-game Shore Conference winning streak while also propelling the Jaguars to a state title of their own and the eventual No.1 spot.

“A day doesn’t go by that we don’t remember that game,” first team All-Shore offensive tackle and Duke University commit Liam Smith said. “We’re not the No.1 team in the Shore Conference and we’re not happy about that. We’re determined not to let that happen this year.”

The Caseys can take matters into their own hands with Jackson Memorial traveling to Count Basie Field for the final game of the regular season. A lot can happen between now and then, but the game has the potential for major implications not only as a revenge factor but in rankings and playoff positioning.

Senior quarterback Eddie Hahn is back behind center after a tremendous 2014 campaign. Hahn – a University of Connecticut commit - was named Shore Conference Player of the Year and first team All-State by the Star Ledger as well as first team All-Shore by the Asbury Park Press. He’s a dual threat sensation that passed for 1,485 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 531 yards 12 touchdowns. In the Caseys championship win, he was 9-of-10 for 234 yards with a 52-yard scoring strike while rushing for an additional 47 yards including a 15-yard touchdown scamper.

“Eddie had improved greatly,” head coach Jim Portella said. “His arm strenghth has always been good but it’s gotten a lot stronger. His confidence level with our offense is off the charts and it has allowed us to install a lot more. He’s going to have an excellent year.”

Unfortunately, Hahn was injured in the Caseys first scrimmage and underwent a minor procedure for a torn meniscus. He’s not expected to miss more than a couple games and should be as good as new when he does return.

To protect Hahn, the Caseys must replace three starters on the offensive line to complement their two outstanding senior returners with Smith (6-foot-5, 285 lb.) at left tackle and Ryan Oneidas (6-foot-4, 280 lb.) at left guard. At center will be Tommy Clark (6-foot-1, 255 lb.), senior Charlie Gargiulo (6-foot-3, 215 lb.) gets the nod at right tackle and junior Connor Moore (6-foot-3, 235 lb.) and sophomore’s Brendon Dente (6-foot-2, 255 lb.) and Alex Sargis (6-foot-3, 280 lb.) are in a battle for the right guard spot.

“The line is starting to jell, we’re looking better every week,” Smith said. “Everyone’s learning their assignments and doing it with the tenacity and aggressiveness we like play with.”

Senior Dylan Murphy (6-foot-0, 210 lb.) moves from fullback to tailback this season and he’ll team with senior Mike Wilen (6-foot-2, 215 lb.) who picked up 193 yards and two touchdowns last season. These are two big, strong backs that can run over you as well as around you with deceptive speed. Sophomore Zack Blair and Nick Brusca along with senior Anthony Purge will back up. Blair is a Holmdel transfer so he’ll sit out 30 days.

Wide receiver is another position where there will be a lot of new faces. However, if there’s one thing the Casey program has always been able to do successfully year-after-year is reload. Their depth has always been outstanding which allows them to plug in one player after another with positive results.

“This team had a lot of potential,” head coach Jim Portela said. “We’ve always been a deep program and this year is no different. With the schedule we play year-in-and year-out, we need to go two or three deep.”

Seniors Mike Balzofiore, Dan Lukawski, and junior Matt Hazard will be the starters at wide receiver with sophomore Matt Ansell – who’s looking good in practice – getting plenty of playing time. Sophomore Connor Smith (6-foot-4, 220 lb.) will be a big target for Hahn at tight end.

Defensively, the Caseys have the potential to be fearsome. The defensive front is big, strong and mean.

Smith and Oneidas will be at tackle with Gargiulo at one end spot and junior Nasir Darnell (6-foot-4, 235 lb.) on the opposite side at end. Senior Christian Foley at end, Strugis, Clark, Dente and sophomore Michael Griggs (6-foot-3, 250 lb.) will all be in the defensive line rotation.

Murphy returns at linebacker where he was a third team All-Shore selection after recording a whopping 110 tackles, 2 TFL, 3 sacks. Wilen also returns at linebacker where he registered 44 tackles and a sack. Senior Joey Hagan will man the middle after seeing limited time last season and senior Liam Mcardle is in the mix as well.

The secondary is solid with Hahn and senior Colin Shaughnessy both back at safety. Hahn had 2 interceptions, 32 tackles, 12 PD and 2 TFL while Shaughnessy recorded 23 tackles and 2 interceptions. Balzofiore and Lukawski will line up at the cornerback spots with plenty of experience under their belts. Lukawski had 16 tackles and an interception while Balzofiore defended 7 passes with 14 tackles.

“Heading into this season is no different just because we won last year,” Portella said. “Every season is a season in of itself. We think we have the right pieces, we just got to figure out where they go.”

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