Football – Gridiron Classic: Shore Reg. Putting Stamp on Monmouth County Roster

WEST LONG BRANCH - Shore Regional seniors Jake Monteiro and Mike Moore ended their varsity football careers this past fall on the highest of notes, helping the Blue Devils capture the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I championship.

With a week of practices for the U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic underway on Shore Regional’s home field and their high school head coach running the proceedings, the two Shore standouts feel like they’ve been granted an extra year of eligibility.

“I was thinking about it a couple nights ago and it’s almost like year five for me,” Monteiro said. “I’m out here with all of my coaches, my teammate Mike Moore, and we’re on our home field. Even when I walked into the weight room, all the younger guys are there getting their work in. It’s like I never left.”

The lead-up to Thursday night’s game – which will be played at nearby Long Branch High School – has a distinct Shore Regional theme with head coach Mark Costantino leading the Monmouth County All-Stars and a couple of his players on a roster that initially included another Shore player – University of Connecticut recruit and Blue Devils linebacker James Bedell – who is at UConn preparing to compete for a job as the team’s long snapper.

If it seems as though Monteiro likes the idea of another year of high school football, it’s hard to blame him considering how well the last one ended for his team. After consecutive losses in the Central Jersey Group I final in 2012 and 2013, the Blue Devils got over the hump this past season with an 11-1 campaign that ended with a 42-12 win over South Hunterdon in the sectional final. The state title was the sixth for the program, the third under Costantino and first since 2010.

“It’s great to see those two guys out here,” Costantino said. “Jake’s loving it, Mike’s loving it and they are both great kids. We had a lot of juniors on last year’s team, but anytime you win a state championship, that’s a special bond you have with your seniors, so to see them get to enjoy this has been great for me and certainly for them.”

Both Monteiro and Moore were coaches’ selections for the Class B Central All-Division team – Monteiro as a kicker and Moore as a defensive back. Monteiro will handle the kicking duties Thursday night, while Moore has had early-week work at cornerback for the defense – coached by Red Bank head coach Nick Giglio, who is a Shore Regional graduate, and several members of Costantino’s Shore staff.

“Everything feels familiar, except for maybe the turf,” said Moore, referring to the new artificial surface on Shore’s home field that Costantino said was installed approximately a week ago. “We’re getting to practice and play with some of the best kids in the area and we’re doing a lot of the stuff that we might do at one of our high school practices, which makes it fun. I guess it’s an advantage for me because I kind of know most of what we’re doing beforehand, so hopefully I’ll be able to contribute and help us win.”

Although Monteiro could easily mistake his trips back to Shore Regional for another high school preseason camp, intermittent trips to Rutgers University for summer workouts have him thinking beyond Thursday night and toward Aug. 4, when the Scarlet Knights will officially practice for the first time leading up to their opener on Sept. 5. Monteiro is aiming to impress as a preferred walk-on after knocking 33 of his 35 extra-point attempts through as a senior while converting three field goals, with a long of 40 yards.

“It’s a different level of intensity to those practices,” said Monteiro, who also started at linebacker and served as the backup tight end during his senior year. “Everything is a competition and it’s all guys who were pretty much the best players on their teams and even in their area. Even as I’m moving to that more specialized role, it’s still really intense.”

Moore, meanwhile was a leader in the secondary on an airtight Shore defense that allowed only 61 points in 12 games (5.1 per game), the fewest of any team in the Shore Conference by 50 points. He also was one of Shore’s backfield options in the Wing-T offense, amassing 554 yards on 74 carries to go with five rushing touchdowns. Moore will continue his college career at Moravian College next year, where he is hoping to carve out a niche on special teams as a freshman and move up the defensive depth chart from there.

Bedell, meanwhile, finished second in the Shore Conference with 146 tackles and was a Shore Sports Network First-Team All-Shore selection.

Thursday will also be a special night for Costantino, who will be inducted into the Shore Football Coaches Hall of Fame during a halftime ceremony. Costantino is a native of Bloomfield, N.J. who served in the National Guard before taking on a job as an assistant at Shore Regional in 1987 and eventually becoming the head coach in 1992.

“It hasn’t hit me yet, but yeah, it’s really special,” Costantino said. “It’s one of those deals that means you’re being rewarded for the stuff you’ve been doing that coaches don’t always get rewarded for. I’m very lucky being here because this (Shore) is a special place. All of my coaches and I are best friends, so in addition to working hard and coaching the team, we have a ball together, so to do all of this over the years with them and with a lot of the guys I coached has been very rewarding.”

When the venue shifts from Shore Regional to Long Branch on Thursday night, Moore and Monteiro will say goodbye to their home field for good with a chance to make one more impression on the rest of the Shore Conference.

“It’s a great opportunity to go showcase our skills in front of the entire Shore Conference,” Monteiro said “At a school like Shore Regional, we don’t always get the notoriety of some of the bigger schools, so to see some of the Group I kids out there competing with the best in the area, it’s a great opportunity for us. That’s how I look at it.”