Countdown to the Classic: Standout Seniors to Gather on Monday for 2022 All-Shore Gridiron Classic Media Day
The countdown to the 2022 Shore Sports Network All-Shore Gridiron Classic officially begins on Monday when participants from the Ocean County and Monmouth County teams will gather at 6 p.m. at Brick Township High School in preparation for this summer's all-star game.
All-Shore Gridiron Classic Media Day will give coaches the opportunity to meet with players and go over details for the game and the practices leading up to the Gridiron Classic, which returns after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Players will have their headshots taken, be made available for interviews, and fill out forms with their bios to be used in coverage leading up to the Gridiron Classic. Public address announcer Brian DeNovellis, a former News12 sports reporter who is currently a television production teacher at Holmdel High School, will meet with players to go over the pronunciation of their names, as well.
Cheerleaders representing each county will also be in attendance. Presenting sponsor Jersey Mike's continues to be an excellent and valued supporter of Shore Conference high school sports and will provide food for media day.
The 43rd annual Shore Sports Network Gridiron Classic will take place on Wednesday, July 13 at Brick High School and is a joint effort between SSN and the Shore Football Coaches Foundation. Middletown South's Steve Antonucci will be the head coach of Monmouth County and Central Regional's Jarrett Pidgeon will serve as the head coach for Ocean County. Antonucci was the head coach in 2004 and led Monmouth to a 28-21 victory while Pidgeon will serve as head coach for the first time.
The game was last played on July 12, 2019 at Long Branch High School and was delayed a day by thunderstorms. Monmouth County won for the third straight year, 21-6, behind Long Branch quarterback Marc Dennis and Manalapan linebacker Da’Shon Taylor, who took home game MVP honors for the winning team. Ocean’s MVPs were Brick’s Cole Groschel (offense) and Manchester’s Eric Cowan (defense).
With their 3-game winning streak, Monmouth leads the overall series 23-18-1.
Stay tuned to Shore Sports Network for complete coverage of the 43rd annual All-Shore Gridiron Classic.