Year one resembled another winning football season at Jackson Memorial High School under rookie head coach Vinny Mistretta.
“It was a positive first step,” Mistretta said. “We wanted to continue the tradition here at Jackson Memorial. This team never finished a season before the semifinals of the state playoffs. So it made my job easy because the guys knew what it took to win. It was a great group to have.”
Jackson Memorial finished its season with a 6-5 record and advanced to the semifinals of the Central Jersey, Group 4 state sectional playoffs.
Mistretta spread the credit for the winning season to his players, who helped him establish the culture that he wanted for the program.
“[Senior quarterback] AJ [Tolmachewich] was a coach on the field on both offense and defense,” the coach said. “Senior Joe Hurle wasn’t a vocal leader but was still one of the strongest leaders we had on the team. He was a three-year starter and was All-Shore three years in a row. He did everything you asked him to and just worked the hardest on the field. Senior fullback Tom Pellone had a shoulder injury all year and played through it. You never heard about it, and he never complained. He’s maybe the best fullback in the Shore.”
The Jaguars lost in the semifinals of the sectional tournament to Long Branch High School, 28-3, on Nov. 17. That season-ending defeat came a week after seventh-seeded Jackson Memorial upset the No. 2 seed in Central Jersey, Group 4, Brick Memorial High School, 22-14, on Nov. 10 in the first round.
Mistretta believes Jackson Memorial had the mental fortitude to get through the Shore Conference and upset a top seed because of the leadership and dedication his team displayed.
“I love how battle-tested we were,” he said. “We didn’t have the talent that the other teams had, but we battled every time. We won some tough games and lost some tough ones. We won our first game in the playoffs but lost our second one, unfortunately. But there wasn’t a game all year where I thought we weren’t going to give it our all. That’s what I’ll remember most about this group.”
