Donovan Catholic football rolls over Southern in matchup of unbeatens

TOMS RIVER – Donovan Catholic head football coach Dan Curcione understands how difficult it would be for an opposing team's defense to prepare for his team's offense.

"We do it every day in practice all summer long. It's a pain in the neck. It's what do you (an opposing defense) want to take away,'' Curcione said Friday night after Donovan Catholic, ranked No. 2 in the Asbury Park Press Top 20 and No. 9 in the New Jersey Super 25, defeated previously-unbeaten Southern 35-6 in a Shore Conference Class A South game.

Curcione, before he became a head coach at Wall High School in 2014, was a defensive coach at Toms River North. He is regarded by many as one of the best defensive minds in the Shore. So, he is not just saying his team's offensive is difficult to prepare for because it is his team. He is also looking at it from the perspective of a defensive coach.

The Griffins (5-0, 3-0) ran for 232 yards and threw for 113 yards for 345 yards of total offense on 41 snaps for an average of 8.4 yards a play. They averaged 8.6 yards a rush on 27 attempts with senior Alex Staten running for 181 yards with a 30-yard touchdown run on 20 carries. Staten averaged 9.1 yards a carry.

"We didn't love how we ran the ball last week (a 35-0 win over Jackson Township on Sept. 18),'' Curcione said. "We made a concerted effort to run the ball, get a little bit of attitude back with the offense. Jack Nascimento, our offensive coordinator, did a wonderful job with it this week. ''

Donovan Catholic's offensive line is impressive to watch

It ws a career-high in yards for the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Staten, who is in his second season at Donovan Catholic after he played at Ocean as a sophomore.

Donovan Catholic's big and powerful offensive line dominated up front.

"We've got a bunch of big dudes. There's no guy under 6-foot, probably,'' Staten said. "I can't ask for a better front than the one I have right now.''

Leading the Griffins' offensive line is 6-foot-4, 330-pound sophomore tackle Xavier Fowlkes, who is already attracting the attention of collegiate recruiters. Fowlkes' prowess was shown on a fourth-and-1 from the Donovan Catholic 40 early in the third quarter when Staten ran left behind Fowlkes and raced for 30 yards.

"What a blessing to have that guy (Fowlkes),'' Staten said. "He is huge and he mauls every guy that I run by. I would credit everything to him, if I could.''

Three plays later, senior quarterback Kahden Davis connected with senior sophomore Torrence Turner on a 22-yard TD pass on a fade that made it 21-0 with 6:50 left in the third quarter and capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive off the second half kickoff.

Davis also threw TD passes of 5 yards to senior Jason Madden, 35 yards to senior Aidan Kelly on a middle screen and went 9-for-14 for 113 yards with the three TDs.

"They're a really well-balanced team that stresses you in a lot of ways,'' Southern's first-year head coach Matt Abbato said. "If you load the box, they can hit you with the receivers and the quarterback is a big play guy. They do a lot to stress the defense.''

Davis also made a key throw into the howling wind late in the third quarter after Southern had pulled within 21-6 on a Carson Abbato to Chris Raub 5-yard TD pass. Facing a third-and-6 from the Griffins' 24, Davis hit senior Nyron Snerling on a line drive slant for a 25-yard gain.

"That was one of the biggest plays of the game,'' Curcione said. "He's (Davis) got a big arm. The wind didn't affect it all that much.''

Donovan Catholic's defense had a big night.

Southern (4-1, 2-1), ranked No. 5 in the APP Top 20, moved the ball at times. However, the Griffins came up with either a turnover or stop when they had to.''

A fumble recovery by Fowlkes, who plays on the line on defense, set up Donovan Catholic's first TD – the Davis' 5-yard pass to Madden that concluded a six-play, 49-yard drive.

A three-and-out led to a short Southern punt into the wind and set Donovan Catholic up at the Rams' 39. Four plays later, on a fourth-and-6, Davis and Kelly teamed up for the TD on the middle screen.

Southern then had a 17-play, 68-yard drive that took 10:25 and began with 1:02 left in the first quarter and concluded with 2:37 left in the first half.

However, that drive resulted in no points when Madden, who is a linebacker on defense, and fellow linebacker Henry Byrnes teamed up to stuff a fourth-and-3 counter play for no gain.

After Southern's TD, senior defensive back Jael Hester blocked the extra point.

The defense's final big contribution came early in the fourth quarter when Snerling, a defensive back, returned an interception 32 yards for a TD that made it 28-6 with 10:50 remaining.

Donovan Catholic 35, Southern 6

Southern 0 0 6 0 – 6

Donovan Catholic 14 0 7 14 – 35

First Quarter

DC: Jason Madden 5 pass from Kahden Davis (Sal Reynosa kick).

DC: Aidan Kelly 35 pass from Davis (Reynosa kick).

Third Quarter

DC: Torrence Turner 22 pass from Davis (Reynosa kick).

S: Chris Raub 5 pass from Carson Abbato (kick blocked).

Fourth Quarter

DC: Nyron Snerling 32 interception return (Reynosa kick).

DC: Staten 30 run (Reynosa kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: S: Levi Foote 11-93, Lukas Illescu 4-20, Chris Raub 3-9, Niko Illescu 3-5, Carson Abbato 5-5, Team 1-(-1), Jack Ramsay 2-(-2). DC: Alex Staten 20-181, Ethan Nicolas 3-32, Kahden Davis 1-9, Aidan Kelly 2-8, Carmelo Foendoe 1-2.

Passing: S: Abbato 10-21-1-68. DC: Davis 9-14-0-113.

Receiving: S: Raub 4-22, Luke Iorio 3-18, Niko Illescu 1-15, Cole Celeste 1-7, Lukas Illescu 1-6, DC: Kelly 3-38, Torrence Turner 2-28, Snerling 1-25, Josh Blum 1-10, Staten 1-7, Madden 1-5.

Interceptions: DC: Snerling.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Donovan Catholic football rolls over Southern in matchup of unbeatens