Jackson thankful to get by tough Southern squad Castellano has another stellar day to lead Jags

Jackson thankful to get by tough Southern squad
Castellano has another stellar day to lead Jags

Led by the running of senior tailback Nick Castellano and a defense that made major adjustments in the second half, the Jackson High School football team rolled to a 24-13 victory over visiting Southern on Friday night in a Shore Conference American Division game at John J. Munley Field.

Castellano rushed for 227 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead the Jaguars, who improved to 10-0 for the season.

Jackson currently owns the state’s longest win streak at 24 games. They have also won 19 consecutive games at home.

"Since my freshman year, I have never lost a game on this field," said Castellano, who set the school single season marks for most points (126) and touchdowns (21). "This is a special place to play football."

Jackson meets Cherokee High School in the South Jersey Group IV championship game 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Rutgers University. The Jags are defending Group IV state champions.

The Jags had problems handling Southern’s offense in the first half. The Rams, who usually run a Delaware Wing-T set, switched to a shotgun formation.

It caught Jackson’s defense by surprise, and the Jags needed to make adjustments at the half.

"All week we had practiced for the Wing-T offense," Jackson second-year coach Reggie Lawrence said. "Then they turn around and use a shotgun formation. It gave us problems for a short time."

Castellano put Jackson ahead early in the game, ripping off a 48-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage. Mike Cortese converted the PAT and Jackson led 7-0. Cortese would later connect on a 37-yard field goal. It marked Cortese’s 10th field goal of the season.

Southern bounced right back. The Rams pulled within 7-6 when junior quarterback Bill Poling connected with senior wideout Clark Harris on a 76-yard scoring play.

Polling put forth a solid effort, completing 9 of 16 passes for 199 yards, while avoiding a heavy rush all game. Southern amassed nearly 360 yards of total offenses against a team many consider to have the best defense in the state.

But Jackson stretched its lead to 21-6 by the break on TD runs of 4 and 64 yards by Castellano. Senior running back Joe Serratelli carried the ball more this week. Serratelli, who has been recovering from a severe hamstring pull, rushed the ball seven times for 40 yards.

However, Serratelli had a pair of 60-yard runs called back because of penalties. Serratelli did play a full game at his linebacker position.

Lawrence feels Serratelli will be close to 100 percent for this weekend’s state final.

"His leg has been getting better each week," Lawrence said. "We’re hoping for the best. This is going to be his last high school game at Jackson. I’m sure he is going to do everything possible to make sure he plays."

Senior quarterback Nick Anzalone completed 5 of 12 passes for 93 yards. He also rushed for another 25 yards on six carries.

"We can’t afford to make mistakes on either side of the ball if we want to win a state championship," Lawrence said. "We’re going to need to be consistent."