By Rich Chrampanis
It’s been said throughout this turbulent high school football season: The biggest opponent isn’t a name on the schedule, but the COVID-19 pandemic. Three local teams have now been affected by shutdowns due to positive tests in their community and all three have battled to get back on the field.
All of the attention of the 2020 high school playoffs was on the Shore Conference’s decision to set up a four-team playoff of the top teams for a one-of-a-kind unofficial league championship. Much like in college football, the elite teams in the area built their résumés to earn one of the coveted spots. When the dust settled, four teams clearly earned their spots.
But a COVID-19-related shutdown threatened the plans for a turbulent two weeks. With three RBC students testing positive for the virus, the self-imposed two-week shutdown would have caused the Caseys to miss the first week of the playoffs and a much-anticipated showdown with Donovan Catholic. But that disappointment was short lived. In a letter to parents and students, the RBC administration allowed all of the Caseys fall sports to return to practice and competition Nov. 9.
“Since our outdoor extracurricular activities were not involved in the decision to move to remote learning, the Administration has concluded all outdoor extracurricular programs may resume on Monday, November 9th,” the statement read. This allowed the Caseys to jump back into the top pod as they will travel to Toms River to face the Griffins Friday night. A win there would have RBC face the winner of Mater Dei Prep and Wall in Week Eight for the unofficial Shore Conference title. Red Bank Catholic did not play its regular season finale against Raritan but are most grateful to have the chance to play two playoff games along with a Thanksgiving eve finale against Saint John Vianney.
RBC wasn’t the only team affected by the coronavirus. Red Bank Regional was two days away from facing Pinelands when the call came from school officials to shut down the Bucs football team Nov. 4 due to four RBR students testing positive for COVID-19. None of the four students were associated with the football program, yet coach David Schuman’s team and all other RBR fall sports are shut down through Friday. When the Shore Conference originally released its playoff pods, Red Bank Regional was not included. Parents banded together to get the administration to give their kids the chance to return this Saturday despite not having any practice. The Bucs were scrambling to find an opponent and eventually came up with Hackensack coming to Little Silver in a non-pod game. The Bucs are not allowed to practice until Friday at the earliest giving them virtually no preparation time for their North Jersey foe. Red Bank Regional will then face Monmouth Regional or Pinelands in Week Eight and then close out the season with their traditional Thanksgiving matchup with Long Branch. The Green Wave are also currently shut down due to COVID-19 and will miss the two-week playoffs and wrap up their season with the 98th meeting with RBR on Thanksgiving. When it’s all said and done, Red Bank Regional (1-4) is on track to play a total of eight games.
Shore Regional was the first area team to miss games as the Blue Devils were shut down in Weeks Four and Five. Shore returned to action this past Saturday scoring a 42-7 win at Keansburg to reach 3-1. Robbed of two regular season games, coach Mark Constantino’s team hopes to get two playoff pod games and a Thanksgiving week matchup with Matawan to get to seven total games.
The question for the next three weeks will always be if all of the teams can simply close out their schedule. The anxiety of a phone call or text shutting down athletics will always be there. In exchange, every player, coach, cheerleader and band member who get a chance to take the field will no doubt savor it.
Shore Conference
Playoff Pods
There is no official championship for the Shore Conference but “Pod 1” will crown an unofficial Shore champion. The top two pods are recognized as the top eight teams in the Shore Conference while the remaining pods are set up to create great matchups among similar sized schools. Pod winners are scheduled to face each other in Week 2 of the playoffs although things can change at the drop of a hat if schools are shut down due to COVID-19.
POD 1: Wall, Donovan Catholic, Red Bank Catholic, Mater Dei Prep
POD 2: Rumson-Fair Haven, Colts Neck, Freehold Boro, Southern Regional
POD 3: Toms River North, Jackson Memorial, Middletown South, Freehold Township
POD 4: Lacey, Raritan, Central, Brick Township
POD 5: Toms River East, Manchester, Jackson Liberty, Shore Regional
POD 6: Toms River South, Neptune
POD 7: Point Boro, Barnegat, Matawan, Asbury Park
POD 8: Middletown North, Ocean Township,
Holmdel, Manasquan
POD 9: Marlboro, Manalapan, Brick Memorial,
Saint John Vianney
POD 10: Point Pleasant Beach, Keansburg, Keyport, Lakewood
POD 11: Pinelands, Monmouth
Red Bank Regional
Friday, Nov. 13
Red Bank Catholic at Donovan Catholic, 6:30 p.m.
Mater Dei Prep at Wall, 7 p.m.
Toms River North at Middletown South, 7 p.m.
Saint John Vianney at Brick Memorial, 7 p.m.
Jackson Liberty at Shore Regional, 7 p.m.
Middletown North at Ocean Township, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14
Rumson-Fair Haven at Colts Neck, noon
Holmdel at Manasquan, 1 p.m.
Hackensack at Red Bank Regional, 2 p.m.
The article originally appeared in the November 12 – 18, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
