Jackson Liberty searching for offensive consistency

Nearly all high school football coaches are keyed up for next weekend’s season opening games.

But Jackson Liberty High School grid coach Tim Osborn — whose Lions will open the 2010 season with a 1 p.m. Sept. 11 game at John F. Kennedy High School in the Iselin section of Woodbridge — can’t help but look ahead to midseason and a game against Lakewood, which has coaching legend Warren Wolf running the show this year. Wolf spent 51 seasons and won 361 games at Brick Township High School and coached Osborn in his high school playing days before Osborn joined Wolf as an assistant coach for 15 years.

“He’s my mentor. I’m not sure how I’ll feel, but I know he’s happy to be [back] on the sidelines,” Osborn said of Wolf, who did not coach in 2009 after announcing his retirement at Brick following the 2008 season. “He’ll coach the Delaware Wing-T [offense] there as he did all those years at Brick. It’s what he does best.”

As for his Lions, Osborn said, “It’s not going too bad, but we are still very inconsistent on offense.”

“Our defense has played well and had eight sacks in one scrimmage against Barnegat. But on offense, we would move the ball and then get a penalty,” said Osborn, who coached the team to a 5-5 record in 2009.

Dylan Wright is a returning starter at quarterback. He also will do the punting while his brother, Tyler, a junior, is the backup quarterback and the Lions’ kicker. He played on last year’s team that lost to Jackson Memorial, 9-7, on Thanksgiving when the Lions missed a field goal at the end of the game.

Jackson Liberty also lost to Wall, 10-7, and had three thrilling victories over Barnegat, Manchester and Central Regional, the latter in overtime, 36-35.

“People ask me about those two tough losses, but I tell them we also won three games that way that could have been losses,” said Osborn.

Six offensive starters graduated, including four who played on the line,

Running back Matt Filosa scored 11 touchdowns and will begin a college career at Albright. Fullback Dylan Advensky and wide receiver and defensive backfield standout Mike Patterson also graduated in June.

But seniors Greg O’Connor and Kristian Ruiz at fullback and senior Ron Brown at halfback are set to fill the void.

They are helped by the blocking of third-year starter Joe Mandola, a 6-0, 255-pound right guard.

Mike Kafton (6-0, 210), who played tight end last season, moves to center. Tyler Souza (6-0, 235) brings talent and some starting experience from last season.

“Last year we had the slogan ‘All out, all game, all the time,’ and many of our games went down to late in the fourth quarter,” said Ruiz.

“This year it’s ‘You can’t play the game if you can’t play in pain.’ It’s not serious injuries, but that you should push through it if it’s just a hurt,” he added.

Anthony Ferullo, a senior, is back at end, while junior Joe Morgan is also pushing for playing time.

Osborn said he is “happy with where the defense is right now” despite losing five starters on that side of the ball, including Filosa at linebacker, Patterson at safety and star linebacker Brendan Kahle, who is at the Naval Academy Prep School.

Jackson Liberty will stick to its threeman front that includes Remy Martin, a 6-2, 275-pound nose guard, and senior defensive ends Ari Nwobi (6-4, 225) and Kerwin Capers (6-0, 225).

Brian Huth, a 6-2, 275-pound senior, can spell a starter on the defensive line.

O’Connor and Ferullo are back at linebacker, while Nick Tiso, a junior, saw spot time last year. Josh Goodman, a senior, is the leading candidate for the fourth linebacker spot.

Brown and Ruiz are ready for another season starting at cornerback, while juniors Ahmad Shalabi and Justin Billups are the safeties. Mike Parnes, a senior, is vying for playing time in the defensive backfield.

“For me, I was afraid the defensive side might be the down side of our season, but the defense is looking good,” said Ruiz. “We’ve been stopping the run, and with the pass defense that has guys back, including me, our pass defense has done well.

“The team is coming together after losing the seniors from last season. And the offensive line is looking good after losing players there. But a lot of young guys started playing at the end of the season and filled in good, and they are doing well,” he said.