Football: Howell, Keyport Name Sinkhorn, Paczkowski as New Head Coaches

Former New Egypt head coach and Shore Conference product Luke Sinkhorn is returning to his old stomping grounds as he was approved by the Freehold Regional District Board of Education as Howell's new head coach on Monday night.

He is one of two recent hires in the Shore, as former assistant John Paczkowski has been hired to replace retired Hall of Famer Mike Ciccotelli as Keyport's new head coach. The two hirings, which were first reported by NJ.com and The Asbury Park Press, leave vacancies remaining at Manchester and Colts Neck.

Sinkhorn's teams went 25-26 in five seasons, including a pair of state playoff berths. He succeeds Derek Reichenbecher, a former assistant under longtime Howell coach Cory Davies whose teams went 5-15 in two seasons before Reichenbecher stepped down in May.

Sinkhorn played for Hall of Famer Vic Kubu at Manasquan, where Kubu's teams won a Shore Conference-record 10 NJSIAA sectional titles. Howell is searching for its first winning season since going 6-4 in 2010 and its first state playoff victory since 2009.

Paczkowski has one of the most daunting tasks in taking over for Ciccotelli, who won 231 games and six NJSIAA sectional titles in 36 seasons at Keyport, tied for the fifth-most of any coach in Shore Conference history. The Red Raiders are coming off a 5-5 season and graduate a senior class that includes three-year starting quarterback Alex Thomson, a Wagner recruit.