Coaching Carousel: 2018 Shore Conference football coaching changes

There is coaching turnover every year in the Shore Conference, and this season there will be five faces - some old and some new - in new places. Meet the new head coaches for the 2018 season.

Brian Staub, Point Boro

Staub was elevated from offensive coordinator to head coach following the resignation of Matt Cilento, who was the 2017 Shore Sports Network Coach of the Year. Last season, Staub helped guide Point Boro's triple-option offense to an average of 32.5 points per game, which was No. 7 in the Shore Conference, as the Panthers went 11-1, reached the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 2 championship game and also captured its third straight Class B South division. Prior to coming to Point Boro, Staub was an assistant at his alma mater, Brick Memorial. During high school, Staub led the Mustangs to the 2008 NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 state championship. He played collegiately at Springfield College.

Frank Papalia, Point Beach

Papalia takes over for Hall of Fame coach John Wagner, who stepped down after seven seasons of unprecedented success at Point Beach. Papalia had been an assistant at Rumson-Fair Haven for the past four seasons where he was part of a staff that guided the Bulldogs to three NJSIAA sectional titles and four trips to the championship game. Papalia played high school football at Central Regional under Dan Duddy and got his first coaching job at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md. under current Keyport head coach Andy Carlstrom. Papalia then came back to New Jersey and was an assistant under Duddy at Central for three seasons. He then moved on to Holmdel where he was the defensive coordinator under Carlstrom for three seasons, including the 2007 season when the Hornets went 10-1 to set the program record for wins in a season. Papalia succeeded Carlstrom in 2009 and was Holmdel’s head coach for five seasons before going to Rumson.

Joe Martucci, St. John Vianney

A Shore Football Coaches Foundation Hall of Famer, Martucci is back in the high school ranks after coaching at Kean University since 2012. He takes over for Derek Sininsky, who resigned after three seasons. Martucci was Matawan’s head coach for 28 years from 1984-2011 and led the Huskies to five NJSIAA sectional titles with a 197-91-1 record. He began his 40-year high school coaching career as an assistant at St. John Vianney for one season before serving as an assistant and then the head coach at Matawan for the remainder of his tenure. He is the all-time wins leader at Matawan and his teams were 5-1 overall in NJSIAA championship games and reached the state playoffs in 18 of his 27 seasons. He also coached several Shore Conference greats, including former NFL players Jay Bellamy and Charlie Rogers.

Martucci is a 1968 Matawan graduate who was an all-state linebacker under Rizzo and went on to play linebacker at the University of Connecticut, where he graduated in 1972. He then served as an assistant under Rizzo for 11 seasons before taking over as head coach in 1984. He also is a member of the New Jersey Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

Andy Carlstrom, Keyport

Carlstrom is Keyport’s third head coach in five years and takes over for Jay Graham, who resigned after two seasons. Carlstrom owns a 31-30 career record in seven seasons at Holmdel and St. John Vianney. He resigned from St. John Vianney following the 2013 season to pursue a master’s degree in school administration. In 2007 Holmdel set the program single-season record for wins by going 10-1 while also capturing the Shore Conference National Division title for its first division title since 1999. Carlstrom resigned from Holmdel following the 2008 season with a 16-15 record. He was hired as St. John Vianney’s head coach for the 2011 season and went 15-15 in four seasons with the Lancers.

Coming to Keyport is a quasi-homecoming for Carlstrom, who graduated from Henry Hudson High School in 1987. Henry Hudson and Keyport have cooperative athletic programs in several sports, including football.

Matt Ahearn, Colts Neck

After nearly two decades as an assistant at Red Bank Catholic, Ahearn has his first head coaching job in leading the Cougars. He takes over for Darian Barnes, who resigned after three seasons. Ahearn was hired as a freshman coach at Red Bank Catholic in 2001 and had been on staff since, most recently as the Caseys' defensive coordinator. Coaching under Frank Edgerly and Jim Portela, Ahearn helped the Caseys become one of the Shore Conference's elite programs. Since 2005, RBC is 107-29 with nine Shore Conference division championships, and in 2014 the Caseys won the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 3 title by defeating St. Joseph (Montvale), 44-14, in the semifinals and Delbarton, 45-20, in the championship game at MetLife Stadium. Ahearn played at Red Bank Catholic and collegiately at Siena.

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