Neptune’s Royal Moore to Sit 30 Days Via NJSIAA Transfer Rule

Neptune senior Royal Moore, one of the Shore Conference's top returning two-way players as a quarterback/cornerback, will miss the first four games of Neptune's season after it was determined he had to sit 30 days via the NJSIAA transfer rule following his transfer in the offseason from Ocean, according to Scarlet Fliers coach Rodney Taylor.

Moore was a second-team All-Shore selection as a defensive back at Ocean last year, where he was also the starting quarterback. Ocean challenged his transfer on the grounds of athletic advantage, according to sources close to the situation. (The NJSIAA transfer rules can be found here.)

Moore was expected to start or see significant time as Neptune's quarterback while also starting in the secondary. His loss is a tough blow to the Scarlet Fliers, who will be without him for a rugged season-opening stretch. He is the rare Shore Conference transfer in recent years who has been forced to sit for the first month. The last ones who sat 30 days were Barnegat senior quarterback Cinjun Erskine and offensive lineman Sam Madden, a pair of Division I recruits who sat out 30 days in the 2012 season as sophomores after transferring from Holy Spirit.

Moore will not be in the lineup when Neptune faces his former team, Ocean, in the season opener on the road on Friday. The Scarlet Fliers then will have to face No. 7 Middletown South, No. 1 Red Bank Catholic, and Red Bank Regional without Moore in the lineup.

He is one of several high-profile tranfers this offseason whose eligibility for the first month of the season is in question. Matt Castronuova, an All-Shore-caliber safety who transferred from Jackson Liberty to Jackson Memorial, also has been ruled to sit 30 days, according to Jackson schools athletic director Mike Walsh. St. John Vianney also features multiple transfers whose eligibility for the beginning of the season is expected to be determined this week by the NJSIAA.