The Jackson Memorial High School football team will try to get off to a fast start when the 2010 season opens for the Jaguars with a 7 p.m. Sept. 11 kickoff at Manalapan.

“We have been moving the ball well on offense, and the defense has done very well,” said coach Mike Smith. “We were not moving the ball as well last year, but the defense did well.”

Jackson Memorial was 5-5 in 2009, and two of the Jaguars’ better games were losses to teams that eventually faced each other in the Central Jersey Group IV championship game — a 17-14 loss to champion East Brunswick and a 20-14 setback to Brick Memorial.

Quarterback Garrett Dorsey and running back Drew Murphy were among the seven starters who graduated from the offense. Seven defensive starters also graduated in June.

Smith expressed satisfaction with the offseason commitment of the returning players and said there are some prospects up from last season’s 6-3 junior varsity team.

Senior Fred Scheer has earned Smith’s praises at quarterback, and he will be handing the ball off to junior Brandon Winston and seniors Dave Niskanen and Jake Orehostky.

Orehostky returns at linebacker, where he performed well last season. He is also the Jaguars’ kicker.

Ian Leery, a junior, and seniors Tony

Rubbe and Ken Bagley are solid prospects at end, and junior Maurice Jackson also is developing nicely there, Smith said.

Their efforts will be enhanced by a solid offensive line that has two 300-pounders and a proven veteran in senior Demetrius Smith,

a 6-2, 280-pound guard who has narrowed his college choices to Buffalo and Albany.

Brian Busch, a 6-3 senior, will throw his weight around at 320 pounds. Senior Joe Nolan, a 6-4, 300-pound center, has been pointing toward a big senior season after winning 22 bouts, including the District 21 championship, as a heavyweight last season on the wrestling team.

Matt Jameson, a 6-1, 250-pound senior, returns to the lineup at left tackle, while the right tackle is a dogfight among seniors Todd Pettrow (6-2, 200) and Tyler Hampton (5-11, 185) and junior Chris Russo (6-2, 200).

“Our big focus is that offensively, we need to move the ball and use the clock,” said Smith. “Right now we are happy with the way the defense is working.”

Smith and Nolan are back as defensive tackles, and Jameson will play at either tackle or end on the defensive line. Pettrow and senior A.J. Iadisernia also are working toward earning playing time on the line.

Orehostky is joined at linebacker by juniors James Cowen and Dimitrie Christodoylakis. Leery and senior Brandon Wilson have excelled at cornerback, and Jackson and Niskanen have been starting at safety.