The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association released its classifications this week for the upcoming high school football season, following the executive committee's approval to create a Group V designation in the four public school sections in May. "This creates a greater opportunity for schools and for student-athletes," Jack DuBois, NJSIAA assistant director who is in charge of football, said following the approval. "It increases the number of teams playing in the playoffs from 128 to 160. At the same time, it eliminates 16 consolation games that schools didn't want to play …

  We’ve got some longstanding football rivalries that play out on Thanksgiving, here in Toms River. Of course, East will play North, and South will play Lakewood. This year’s games are both at 11 a.m. Thursday. South's Indians are away at Lakewood's Piners. And the Mariners are heading to Raider Way.   Here’s a look at the games’ histories, with some key figures about the annual tradition.   The records: Toms River East vs. Toms River North - Toms River East leads series, 15-12-1. Toms River South vs. Lakewood - Toms River South leads series, 49-35-4. Source: All Shore Media   Last year’s …

Monsignor Donovan may be the only high school in Toms River headed for the playoffs, but you could never tell that was the case if you were watching the stands: the fans and school pride filled the high school football stadiums this year. Check out our photo gallery of some of the school spirit that went on during this season's games.

Toms River North tried valiantly, but in the end it could pull off the victory the Mariners so badly needed. Manalapan scored 21 fourth-quarter points to overcome Toms River North in Manalapan on Friday night. Manalapan's victory secured homefield advantage for the Braves, while ending any hope the Mariners (4-4) had of sneaking into the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV playoff picture. Toms River North was one of five teams within striking distance of the final playoff seed going into Friday night's game. And for a while it looked like the Mariners, behind a three-touchdown performance (two …

The Toms River South Indians dropped its 14th consecutive game Friday night, falling to Brick Memorial, 42-0, at Brick Memorial High School. The Indians (0-4), who used three quarterbacks in the game, turned the ball over six times, including four interceptions, and were unable to slow down the Mustangs (4-0), who scored 35 points in the first half. "We took a huge step back and I'm not quite sure why," Toms River South head coach Ron Signorino Jr. said, "I thought we fought our guts out the first three weeks and we were making some progress, but tonight we ran into a real determined football…

Fittingly enough, the game came down to defense. In a pivotal Shore Conference match-up between Toms River North and Colts Neck, both offenses stole the show, exploiting their opposing defense throughout the night. After the Mariners (4-1), took the lead for good, 35-28, their defense came up with two stops to clinch the win over Colts Neck (3-2), Thursday night, at Toms River High School North. Toms River North's defense made an initial stop on the Cougars after taking the late fourth quarter lead, forcing Colts Neck to go three-and-out, highlighted by Ryan Verdon's sack on quarterback Dylan…

His eyes have seen a million images capturing and documenting glory-filled Friday nights and Saturday afternoons of autumn, from the days of black-and-white film shown by clicking projectors to the laser-guided, life-like color of high definition. He has watched football evolve from the Wing-T, to the wishbone, to the shotgun, to the spread; from the full-house backfield to the empty set; from five down linemen to four to three, and from cover two, to cover three, to the nickel and even the dime. He will tell you that when he arrived, the part of Hooper Avenue that led south from Brick was a …

Check out our gallery of images from the Toms River East Raiders football victorious home opener Saturday, against Toms River South Indians.

Check out our gallery of images from the Toms River North Mariners football victorious home opener Saturday, against Howell.

If there was a play to be made, Scott Buxbaum or Joey Field was to make it. On a number of occasions, the dynamic duo picked up first downs -- and touchdowns -- to help the Mariners (1-0) escape opening night with a win over a dangerous Howell team, 28-21, Saturday night at Toms River North high school. Buxbaum was 6-13 passing for 86 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and had 102 yards on the ground on 11 carries, most notably a 28 yard scamper that put Toms River up for good, 28-21. Fields had five catches for 66 yards and a touchdown, along with five rushes for 46 yards, and played…

Last night it was good to be a Matt. Matt Guarnieri and Matt Gudzak — both running backs for Toms River East (1-0) — had big yardage on the ground and tallied both of the Raiders touchdown in the 13-3 win over cross-town rival Toms River South, Friday night at Toms River High School East. Both teams struggled offensively throughout the game, with a total of 13 turnovers throughout the night. The Raiders were able to capitalize off the Indians (0-1) mistakes, however, with both touchdowns coming off of Toms River South turnovers. “We knew we had to play almost a perfect game to compete with …

All three Toms River Regional high schools will open their 2011 football seasons this weekend, with Toms River East taking on South and Toms River North hosting rival Howell. Despite it being the first game of the season, both match-ups look to hold serious implications. Toms River South is coming off an 0-10 season, and after Bill Hill was fired in December, Ron Signorino, Jr. takes the helm of the Indians and looks to bring winning back to the South side. "My vision is to bring everyone, the players, fans, parents and student body, all together," he said. The Indians will look to run a …

To Indians first-year head coach Ron Signorino Jr., the solution to the Indians latest struggles on the football field are difficult to comprehend. The solution, however, is simple. "My vision for this team is to bring the program back to where the South people want it to be," he said, "I want the South community, the school, the student body, the players, the parents and the fans to be in this together." Signorino Jr. is replacing Bill Hill at the helm of the Toms River football program. Hill led the Indians to a 7-23 record over his three seasons, including a 0-10 season in 2010. “We’ve …

The Toms River East football program will look to build off of a 5-5 season in 2010, in what will be head coach Charlie Diskin's sixth season under the headset. Diskin said the team is looking forward to opening their season Friday night, at home, against Toms River South. "We play in such a tough division, and I feel like we are finally starting to come together," Diskin said. The coach also mentioned that one of the biggest goals for the team is to stay healthy if they hope to be competitive in one of the toughest conferences in the state. After opening the season against the Indians, the …

It won't take long for the Mariners football team to be tested in 2011. Hosting the Howell Rebels in Sept. 10, Toms River North is preparing for their season opener against one of the premier teams in the Shore Conference as of late. "That first week is going to be tough," Mariners head coach Chip Labarca, Jr. said, "Howell is a great program. Their quarterback [Ryan Davies] led the Shore Conference in passing last year, so we know how tough that first week is going to be." Following a 7-3 record for T.R. North in 2010, the Mariners will be looking to repeat their recent success, which has …

 The Indians Football team will have a new head coach for the 2011 season. The school district announced yesterday Bill Hill will not return for a fourth season as coach of the Toms River South Indians football team. The Indians went winless in its 2010 football season, 0-10. It was the first winless season in since the 1960s for the Indians, who in the last three seasons had a cumulative 7-23 record. Toms River Regional Interim Superintendent of Schools Frank J. Roselli announced the news in a press release yesterday, calling the 2010 season a challenging one for the team, which suffered …