By Wayne Witkowski
It’s been a happy homecoming for new Keyport/Hudson Regional head football coach Jay Graham, who is a former Red Raider.
“I feel like I’m home,” said Graham, whose team is off to a 2-1 start. “I spent time at other programs, but the comfort level is high here. It’s where I grew up. I know more families there. I’m coaching the sons of some former players I played with [at Keyport]. I have a lot of connections here.”
Graham played on NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group I championship teams as an offensive guard and inside linebacker in his sophomore and junior years. He also was a team captain. He went on to The College of New Jersey and was an assistant at Keyport to Mike Ciccotelli for 12 years, including during the 11-0 state championship season 2002, and served as a defensive coordinator in the latter years. He went on to coach three years at Holmdel High School — the last year as head coach — and then was an assistant coach last year at Lakewood High School.
Keyport’s seniors are playing under the third head coach of their high school careers but have made the adjustment, including quarterback Chris Hogrefe, tight end/defensive end Zach Frick, offensive guard/defensive tackle Erik Nellis, offensive tackle David Parks, wide receiver Cody Young and cornerback/kicker Christian Smith. There also are Dejou Cochran and Skye Blanks, who alternate at one of the linebacker spots.
Smith kicked the winning 30-yard field goal in a season-opening victory, 10-7, over Point Pleasant Beach High School. The Red Raiders then beat Asbury Park High School, 14-7, on sophomore Greg Robinson’s 3-yard touchdown run in the final quarter.
Keyport lost, 35-7, Sept. 24 in a Shore Conference B Central Division game to Mater Dei Prep, which has emerged as a strong contender in recent years in Non-Public, Group II. Quarterback George Pearson, a transfer from Matawan, had two short touchdown runs for Mater Dei.
“It’s speed and size. We don’t have the same ability they have,” Graham said.
But Graham feels his team can qualify for and contend in the Central Jersey, Group I playoffs. The Red Raiders play at South River High School at 2 p.m. Sept. 30.
“We just have to go back to basics,” Graham said. “If we keep playing the way we’ve been playing, we’ll be there. We have to shut down South River’s run game and make them throw.”
Graham gives a lot of credit for his team’s development to his staff of offensive coordinator Dominick Amoroso; defensive coordinator Jason Glezman; offensive and defensive line coach Jerry Hourihan; special teams coach Steve Bower, who also coaches defensive backs and wide receivers; and quarterback and linebackers coach Pete Miller, who quarterbacked Keyport’s 2002 state championship team. Graham said his volunteer assistants as well as strength and conditioning coaches Donnie Blanks and Ghaffan Lightbourne also have a role in the success.
“Both lines have been working well,” Graham said. “They’re working well with each other. They’ve been playing together since Pop Warner and respect the coaches and respond well to them.”
The rest of the offensive line includes center Jared Hourihan, who is the son of Keyport’s line coach, freshman guard Devon Mezza and sophomore tackle Kyle Roberts.
Along with Jay Hansen, sophomore Devon Wollner also carries the ball, and junior Joey Kay-Flagg is the other wide receiver with Young.
Defensively, Keyport runs a 4-3 formation with six starters also starting on offense. Junior Brandon Tate, who is the biggest starter at 6 feet 1 inch tall and 275 pounds, joins Nellis, who is 6 feet 1 inch tall and 265 pounds, on the line at the other tackle spot, and junior Antonio Colila is the other end opposite Frick, who also punts and cuts an imposing figure at 6 feet 1 inch tall and 245 pounds.
Hansen doubles at linebacker alongside Robinson.
Junior Zach Walker is the other cornerback with Smith, while Young and Kay-Flagg are the safeties.
“We have to limit mistakes and not give up any big plays and offensively grind the ball and have our quarterback making good decisions as he has been doing,” Graham said.
Graham hopes it will help the team — a state playoff qualifier last year — to make a farther advance into the postseason.
