Eagles ready to begin the drive for five
BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer
After four consecutive state championships (and nine overall), and 45 wins in its last 46 games, the Middletown South football team is still hungry.

ERIC SUCAR staff Middletown South lineman Steve Barbieri is blocked (and held) by a pair of Jackson Memorial players during a scrimmage Aug. 23 in Middletown.

And that's bad news for the opposition.

Home to the state's top public school football program, Middletown South returns the majority of last year's team this fall, with plenty of prognosticators expecting yet another championship run from head coach Steve Antonucci's Eagles.

South graduated just seven senior starters from the team that routed Moorestown, 38-0, in the state final at Rutgers last December, with the big chunk of the losses coming on the offensive line.

That means opposing teams will see plenty of familiar faces at the skill positions on offense, while the Eagle defense, which is always among the very best in the state, also returns plenty of experienced players.

"We've got a good mix," said Antonucci, who in nine years at South has accumulated an amazing 91-13 mark. "There's a good nucleus of returning players that should set the tone for the newer players."

Based on the Eagles' track record under Antonucci, it shouldn't take very long for the new players to become part of the machine that is Middletown South's football success.

As Jon Bon Jovi once wrote, "It's all the same, only the names will change."

Early on, the reports are good, as Antonucci was pleased with what he saw from his younger players during a scrimmage against Jackson Memorial, another of the state's top programs, last week.

"We haven't looked too bad. We're just a little young on the offensive line," the coach said. "They made some young mistakes [against Jackson], but they played tough. I was happy with the way they played overall."

While the line progresses, under the leadership of senior Steve Lang, senior quarterback Patrick Campbell will have plenty of weapons at his disposal this year. Junior Matt Martino, who emerged as a tremendous big-play threat over the course of last season, and junior running back Chris Dunge will attract the most attention from opposing defenses, while Antonucci also expects sophomore Craig Sweeney to get his share of carries as well.

Junior wideout Mike Farrell should be Campbell's top target on passing downs, though if history has taught us anything, we should know better than to look to one South player on any given down.

Should the Eagles struggle a bit early on on offense, it's fair to expect the defense to pick up the slack. This year's Eagles team features an experienced defensive unit, with as much depth as it has talent.

"The defense is definitely ahead of the offense right now," Antonucci said. "There's a lot more returning players there. And if we don't have a returning starter at a position, we have a kid that saw significant time there last year - a kid you could call a quasistarter, I suppose."

The defensive line includes several players with plenty of varsity experience, including senior linemen Chris Guderian, Josh Matthews, and Farrell, while Joe Miller is back at defensive tackle.

Dan Miller leads the linebackers, alongside Martino, while Dunge leads the defensive backfield at one of the corner spots.

Among the top newcomers who Antonucci expects to make an immediate impact are Tom Gavin at free safety and linebacker, junior Rob Benedetto at wideout, and Sean Campbell, a safety and the team's back-up QB.

The Eagles, who scrimmaged Sayreville on Monday, and will take on Brick Memorial in their final pre-season game tomorrow, will open the regular season on Sept. 7 against Neptune.

"They look like your typical athletic Neptune team," Antonucci said. "They've got a lot of guys with big-play ability, and they're just a very solid team overall."

The Eagles will then take on Pinelands and Central Regional before a highly anticipated match-up with Wall Township on Sept. 28.

Should they earn another trip to the postseason, the Eagles will be making a return to the Central Jersey Group III section, after winning a North Jersey title last year.

"Every year we seem to be right in the middle of that (reclassification)," Antonucci said. "But it doesn't affect us. You've got to play who you've got to play."

Based on recent results, the location of the Eagles' opposition doesn't appear to be much of an issue once championships are on the line.

Notes…. This weekend, several members of the Middletown South coaching staff will be making a trip south to Georgia to watch Knowshon Moreno and the 13thranked Georgia Bulldogs take on Oklahoma State in both team's season openers.

Moreno, a 2006 graduate of Middletown South, and the state's all-time leader in points scored and touchdowns, is a redshirt freshman at Georgia, who is expected to get plenty of playing time this season in the backfield.

"He's in the rotation, and should see a significant amount of time this year," said Antonucci, who maintains a close relationship with Moreno. "Those other two guys (seniors Kregg Lumpkin and Thomas Brown) are very good, but I think he brings something to the table, in terms of his elusiveness and big-play ability, that they don't."

Antonucci added that he expects Moreno to make an impact in Saturday's game, which is being aired on ESPN2 at 6:45 p.m.

"He is at about 210 pounds, is put together very well, and has done a great job with the weight training," Antonucci said. "We're going to see him, and I'm very excited."