Ground and Pound

The list of great games by running backs this year has been off the charts. 

Each week someone runs for 200-plus yards and this week two players ran for over 300 yards, leading their teams to victories.  Leading the list of great players is Long Branch's Dahmiere Willis who ran for 370 yards and scored four touchdowns while leading the Green Wave to a 40-28 win over Matawan.

The Wave currently sit at 6-1 and lead their state section in Central Jersey Group 3, where defending champ Hopewell Valley also plays. The Wave have won two State Titles and Willis would like to lead them to No. 3 this year. Willis has run for 1,800 yards in seven games. That's 257 yards per game.The Shore record for a season is 2,544 yards, set by Matt McLain of Pinelands in 2010.

Assuming Willis plays 12 games (finals of state tournament), he would need 745 yards, or 148 yards per game in his remaining five games. Considering he has run for over 200 yards in six consecutive games, that is very doable. If Willis plays only 4 games, he would need 186 yards per game, also very doable. Should be interesting to watch Willis assault the record books down the stretch of 2014.

Another player to watch is Rumson's Charlie Volker.  All he did was run for 326 yards, breaking his single game rushing mark, and three touchdowns in Rumson's 33-12 win over Lakewood. Volker, who was injured and missed two games earlier in year, both Rumson losses, seems to be back to 100 percent.  He has run for close to 600 yards in the last two weeks.  Volker ran for a school-record 2,108 yards last year. Some solid games can get him over 2,000 again.  Remember Rumson is the defending champ in Central Jersey Group II and the favorite to repeat.

You cannot talk running backs and not mention Josh Dixon from Freehold. He is having a career year in leading the 7-0 Colonials. Dixon will have to be at his best in the next two weeks, as they play Manalapan and Middletown South in the race for the A North title. Freehold also is in excellent shape in the Central Jersey Group IV playoff race.  It's a very tough group with Brick, Jackson Memorial and Middletown South all in their bracket.

Those are just three of the top running backs in the Shore. I know I will leave some out, but let me list some others in the elite category.

Asante Moorer-TR North-Junior
Imamu Mayfield- Manalapan-Senior
Vinnie Lee-Jackson Memorial-Junior
Cole Rogers-Middletown South-Junior
Chad Freshnock-Middletown North-Junior
Tyler Thompson-Ocean-Junior
Khaleel Greene- TR South-Senior
Ray Fattaruso- Brick-Senior
Mike Bickford-Central-Sophomore
Derek Ernst-Raritan-Junior

As you see, seven of these backs return next year.  That's amazing when you think of returning players.  Throw in some great underclassmen at the quarterback position (St. John Vianney's Anthony Brown, Red Bank Catholic's Eddie Hahn, Toms River North's Mike Husni, Brick Memorial's Tim Santiago, Wall's Matt Cluley, Middletown South's Matt Mosquera, Rumson's Mike O'Connor), and you are set up for a great 2015 season.

But first let's take it down the stretch of 2014, where we are two weeks from the playoff cut-off date (Nov. 7).  Playoffs start Nov. 14.

The Investors Bank HS Football Show is live at the Water Street Grille in Toms River on Thursday night from 7-8:30 p.m. on NewsTalk Radio WOBM 1160 and 1310 AM or ShoreSportsNetwork.com.  You can watch a live video stream of the program.

This week our Jersey Mike's Game of the Week  is Brick at Toms River North, when Brick looks to clinch at least a tie for A-South Championship.