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When a Shore Conference football program is mentioned there are certain people that always come to mind. For some, it’s unanimous no matter what era you are from. For others, it’s a fun debate comparing all-time greats from different eras whether they roamed the sidelines as coaches or broke records between the lines.

That got us at the Shore Sports Network wondering: when you think of Shore Conference football, who are the most prominent figures in each program’s history? And if there was a mountain nearby and we knew a sculptor, whose faces should be carved on its side to be forever honored?

With that in mind, we came up with a football feature that will run throughout this summer, and it’s called Face of the Franchise.

We reached out to all 43 football programs in the Shore Conference and in conjunction came up with five nominees for each school. The five names and their accomplishments will be listed and fans will have a chance to cast their votes to select who they feel is the Face of the Franchise for each program. Our SSN football crew of Bob Badders, Kevin Williams, Ed Sarluca and Matt Harmon will also put their heads together to make a selection. The polls will run for one week each.

At the end of the summer when the Face of the Franchise has been determined for all 43 programs, we’ll run one final poll to see who the fans think should go on top of the mountain; five legends to represent the history of Shore Conference football.

Steve Meyer
Steve Meyer
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BARNEGAT

 

Rob Davis 

The only head coach in the history of Barnegat’s football program, Davis started the middle school football program while the high school was being built and in 2006 the Bengals hit the ground running in the high school’s inaugural season. Davis has 77 wins in 14 varsity seasons and the Bengals have won four division championships. Davis has been selected as the division coach of the year five times. The Bengals have made the playoffs seven times and have four playoff wins, including the 2014 team that went 10-2 and reached the South Jersey Group 3 sectional final. Barnegat has sent 59 players to college football programs since its inception, including six FBS players and 10 FCS players.

  

Manny Bowen 

Bowen played his junior and senior seasons (2013 and 2014) at Barnegat where he blossomed into an FBS recruit who accumulated 54 scholarship offers before committing to Penn State. Bowen was a two-way threat for the Bengals but made his biggest impact on the defensive side of the ball as a linebacker. In two years at Barnegat, Bowen recorded 136 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 25 quarterback pressures, 4 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries and one defensive touchdown. He added 1,206 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns. He was an All-State, All-Shore, All-County and All-Division selection during his career.=

At Penn State, Bowen was a three-year starter on Nittany Lions teams that were ranked inside the AP top 10 during his sophomore and junior seasons. He totaled 136 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

 

Jarrett Darmstatter

A three-year starter at tight end and linebacker for the Bengals from 2007-2009, Darmstatter was the first Barnegat player to play for an FBS program when he decided on Boston College among his 24 scholarship offers. 

As a tight end, Darmstatter hauled in 45 catches for 727 yards and 5 touchdowns. As a linebacker, he recorded 135 tackles with 14 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks. 20 quarterback pressures, 7 pass breakups, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and one interception. He was an All-State, All-Shore, All-County and All-Division selection during his career.

Darmstatter saw the field all four years at Boston College, playing mostly special teams during his first two years. He was the starting fullback and also a tight end as a junior but played in just three games due to an injury. He returned to play in all 13 games as a senior in 2014.

  

Mike DeTroia 

DeTroia finished his career (2008-2010) with 10 program records as both a wide receiver and a defensive back before playing collegiately at New Hampshire, an FCS program. DeTroia pulled down 108 receptions for 1,621 yards and 20 touchdowns at receiver and had 13 interceptions and 12 pass breakups playing in the defensive backfield. He was an All-State selection as a senior. DeTroia played wide receiver at New Hampshire where he helped the team reach the FCS playoffs.

 

Pat Moran 

A player Barnegat head coach Rob Davis called, “Pound-for-pound the best all-around Barnegat football player I’ve ever coached”, did a little bit of everything for the Bengals between 2010 and 2012 on his way to setting 14 game, season and career records for the program.

Moran caught 138 passes for 2,145 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver. As a defensive back, Moran made 207 tackles with 27 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 11 interceptions, 15 pass breakups and 3 forced fumbles. He was also Barnegat’s kicker and punter, converting nine field goals and 66 extra points. He finished his career with 191 total points. Moran played collegiately at William Paterson University where he was a defensive back and a captain.

 

 

 

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Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.

 

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