Four Local Players Gear up for the Gridiron Classic

Three of them are trying to put the exclamation point on a senior season in which their team won a state championship, while the other is looking to have a strong showing as the only representative from his program.

Collectively, a group of three recent Shore Regional graduates and one Long Branch graduate will represent the local area in Thursday’s U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic at 7 p.m. at Toms River North. The 34th edition of the oldest high school football all-star game in New Jersey pits a group of senior all-stars from Monmouth County against their counterparts from Ocean County. Shore Regional’s Evan Ruane, Shane Carroll and Matt Conte along with Long Branch’s Billy Baillie will be part of the Monmouth County squad, which leads the all-time series 18-14-1.

“It’s been a really fun time so far,’’ Ruane said. “I’m just taking things from these other players and incorporating them into my game.’’

Ruane will play defensive end and will be the long-snapper on Thursday night after having also starred at quarterback for a Blue Devils team that finished 11-1 and won its first NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I title since 1997 in the fall. On defense, he finished with 4 sacks, 3 pass blocks, 2 blocked kicks and also had an interception that helped clinch the win over Dunellen in the state final. As a quarterback, Ruane was 37-for-78 for 721 yards and 13 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions, while also rushing for 6 touchdowns.

This will be Ruane’s final time playing defense, as he is headed to Monmouth University to play tight end and long-snapper.

“I wouldn’t change a second of it,’’ Ruane said about his career at Shore. “It ended perfectly, and I made so many friends. It was a great time.’’

The three Blue Devils have also had to adjust to being coached by Rumson-Fair Haven head man Shane Fallon and his staff while practicing on the turf at Borden Stadium in Rumson. The Bulldogs are Shore’s fiercest rival in every sport, although the two state championship squads did not meet on the field in 2010.

“It’s kind of funny,’’ Ruane said. “They’re joking with us because we had to wear RFH helmets at practice because ours weren’t ready at first. They said they were going to take a cell phone picture and send it to our coach.’’

Conte will be part of a strong offensive line made up entirely of players whose teams reached at least the NJSIAA sectional semifinals last season. He was a standout lineman on a unit that paved the way for two 1,000-yard rushers in Mark Coleman and Pat Maggio. Conte will move on to Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia after playing his final high school game.

Carroll played all over the field for the Blue Devils at wide receiver, kick/punt returner, punter, placekicker and defensive back. He will play wide receiver for Monmouth County and most likely do some place-kicking along with Howell’s Ryan Handy. He is a second-generation participant in the Gridiron Classic, as his father represented Shore Regional in the second edition of what was then known as the All-Shore Classic in 1979.

“I’m looking forward to the game because it’s going to give a good preview to what college is going to be like because everyone’s good and there’s not one guy (in the secondary) you can pick on,’’ Carroll said.

The Rowan University recruit had 12 catches for 324 yards and 7 touchdowns this season in Shore’s run-heavy Wing-T offense and hopes to see some more passes coming his way on Thursday. Monmouth County is running Rumson’s shotgun spread offense, which mixes zone read option running with passing.

On the other side of the ball, Baillie will be trying to get after Ocean County’s quarterbacks as a defensive end for Monmouth County. He is Long Branch’s lone representative in a game that has featured numerous prominent Green Wave players over the years. There is also an award named after former Long Branch great Sam Mills that is given out during the game to one player on each side who shows the character, perseverance and ability to overcome adversity that was demonstrated by Mills.

“It feels good, but it feels lonely because everyone else has their own teammates out there,’’ Baillie said. “I’ll do my best to give Long Branch a good name. I already miss it a lot. I loved playing football for Long Branch.’’

This is also Baillie’s final football game, as he will not be playing in college. It has given him a chance to play alongside former enemies and at least get a taste of what the next level is like.

“You go from normal practices going against the scout team to go up against a bunch of guys going to good colleges and the game is so much faster,’’ he said. “It’s pretty wild. Talking to all the RBC kids, that was a personal rivalry, but everyone here is just making friends.’’