Shore Conference football: Colts Neck, Manasquan, Shore have memorable seasons

It’s easy to get disappointed.

But when the Colts Neck High School football team played its final game of the season, a 49-7 loss to Mainland in a semifinal in the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs, none of the Cougars were beating themselves up.

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Sure, the players wanted more, but there was no time for regret. It was more a time to reflect on the great careers the talented senior class enjoyed.

“Honestly, I’ll miss everything, all the practices and team bonding,” said Colts Neck senior Dominic Beninato, who started sophomore year at defensive back and the past two at quarterback. “We go to dinner a lot after practices, and on the weekend, we’re watching film. That was fun, especially after wins.

“I’ll remember that for a lifetime especially after the wins. If we do something stupid, we laugh, as long as it’s a win. We were just all together having fun.”

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“The best part of playing for Colts Neck was definitely the family that we created over the past four years,” said tight end and defensive end Eric Loureiro, who will play football at Carnegie Mellon University, where he will major in history. “A lot of us have been playing with each other since we were five years old and we had some additions to the family freshman year, but it's really been the best group of guys I could've asked for.”

The Cougars had a strong season after dropping their first two games of the season. Colts Neck won six of its final eight games, including a 41-0 victory over Toms River South in the first round of the playoffs.

The goal was a championship, but getting close made for a very special season for not only the team, but the community.

“Colts Neck football means everything to me, this is a group of guys who has been together through it all since we were seven years old,” said Anthony Lombardi, a senior defensive lineman. “We have added some key guys along the way but it feels like they have been along for the whole ride since the beginning. Although we fell short of the goal this year, we have to appreciate all that we have accomplished.

“As a senior class we have won two division championships, two playoff games and won 18 varsity football games. Not many people around can say they have done that for their hometown team but we can.”

Next year, Lombardi will continue football career at Franklin & Marshall College. He’s leaning toward majoring in pre-med. But he’ll never forget his days as a Cougar.

“My favorite memory would be from my junior year against Wall,” Lombardi said. “We ended up winning the game 17-0 but I ran 30 yards down field to stop their running back from scoring a touchdown off a long screen play, which led to a goal line stand to secure the shut out. This was a key play in the game and one of my best games of my high school career.”

In fact, this team was so tight, they loved seeing their teammates succeed.

According to Beninato, who hopes to play football in college while majoring in business, the highlight of his career was a big night for fellow senior Chris Scully.

“It’s a special class, most of us have played together since we were 5,” the quarterback said. “I met some of them freshmen year and they became my friends freshman year, but for most of the guys, it was 12 years with my best friends.

“My favorite thing was when Chris Scully broke the record, we all took a picture next to him with the banner. That picture will be my favorite memory I think. It shows how close we were the past four years, especially the new kids from Howell and becoming so close to them. We were a family and we had a great time together.”

Julian Walthall puts finishing touches on Manasquan career

Julian Walthall had a rough couple of years.

Last year, he had to miss games because he transferred to his home school, Manasquan, after playing at St. John Vianney.

Then, after returning for his final year, he suffered a foot and ankle injury that cost him much of the season.

“It was tough because I was coming back from last year, and unfortunately got injured in the beginning of the season,” said Walthall, who in five games accounted for just under 400 yards of offense and one touchdown. “But it felt great to come back, just to be out there with my team, especially at home.

“I was still around the team, it wasn’t about that, I showed up at every practice and every meeting, I just couldn’t be involved the way I wanted to. It was really hard watching because it was the second year in a row.”

At least he was back for the playoffs and helped his team win a playoff game. Unfortunately the run came to an end Friday after falling to Delsea 43-7 in a South Jersey Group 3 semifinal.

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“I’ll miss the people that were on this team and the coaches and all the bonds I made over the past few years,” Walthall said. “I already knew all of them because I went to elementary school with them. But the whole team was close.

“The coaches picked me up the first day and it formed there. It just became a family.”

Walthall hopes to continue his football career, though he might go to prep school for a year to get more tape.

“I definitely want to play, but I’m thinking of going to prep school,” Walthall said. “I played a limited amount of games. I want to study either business engineering. I like engineering because it involves a lot of math, and I picked business for a broad major so I have a lot of opportunities.”

Shore Regional football falls just short on the road

One team that nearly kept dancing on Friday was Shore, which fell to a good Schalick16-14 in the semifinals.

The Blue Devils took a 14-10 lead into the final quarter, but couldn't beat Schalick, which has only one loss on the season.

The loss didn't take the shine out of what this team accomplished this year, according to coach Mark Costantino.

"The seniors were a great group, many leaders," Costantino said. "Always gave 100 percent. We had a tough schedule, but went after it. I'm very proud of them.

"I think if we stayed healthy, we could have won states."

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore football: Shore, Colts Neck, Manasquan enjoy strong seasons