Gridiron Classic All-Star Football Game Returns for 34th Season

Featuring some of the top senior talent in the Shore Conference, New Jersey’s oldest all-star high school football game is back for its 34th season.

The U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic, pitting a group of senior all-stars from Monmouth County against their counterparts from Ocean County, will be held at 7 p.m. on July 14 at Toms River North. On Thursday night, players and coaches from both sides met at Wall High School for an introductory meeting, with old rivals meeting as teammates for the first time. 

A pair of state champion coaches will be leading each squad, as Lacey’s Lou Vircillo will head up the Ocean County team, and Rumson-Fair Haven’s Shane Fallon will coach Monmouth County. Vircillo’s Lions won the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III title on their way to finishing 12-0 and No. 1 in the Shore Conference, while Fallon’s Bulldogs won the first state sectional title in school history when they upset Matawan to capture the Central Jersey Group II crown.

Vircillo has served as a head coach in the game before, most recently when Lacey went undefeated in 2006, while this is the first time Fallon has served as a head coach in the game. He was previously an assistant in three prior games.

“The All-Shore game has a lot of special meaning to anyone who grows up in the Shore Conference,’’ said Fallon, who also played quarterback at Rumson in the late 1980s. “As a former player from the Shore and coaching at my alma mater, it’s special.’’

Monmouth County leads the all-time series 18-14-1 and has won the last two meetings. Ocean County won the inaugural game in 1978 at Wall Stadium, 21-7, in front of 8,000 fans.

The game, which is run by the Shore Football Coaches Foundation, features plenty of the Shore’s big names, including Offensive Player of the Year Josh Firkser, a running back from Manalapan who is headed to Wagner. He ran for more than 2,000 yards for the Braves this season, and is one of a pair of 2,000-yard rushers who will be in the game.

“I’ve been playing against these guys all year, and now we all get to hang out together on one team, which should be fun,’’ Firkser said. “We definitely want to win, too.’’

Pinelands’ Matt McLain, who set a Shore Conference single-season record with 2,523 yards rushing in the fall, will suit up for Ocean County.

Shore Conference Defensive Player of the Year Will Wowkanyn, a defensive lineman from Brick Memorial, will man the defensive front for Ocean County. Other top players participating include the Lacey contingent of quarterback Craig Cicardo, running back/defensive back Jarrod Molzon, running back/defensive back Jake Dabal and linebacker Matt Uveges, record-breaking wide receivers Michael Clark of Howell and Mike DeTroia of Barnegat, top offensive linmen Steven Carr of Manalapan and Michael Kasten of Freehold, Manasquan running back Tariq Turner, Middletown South defensive lineman Tom Masi, Rumson linebacker Mike Huttner, Freehold defensive back Derrick Bender and quarterback Sterry Codrington, Matawan dynamo McArthur Underwood, and plenty more.

“It’s always great to get involved with all-star type kids,’’ Vircillo said. “I look forward to having fun and giving my coaches an opportunity to get involved in it.’’

Cicardo will be coached by his father, Lacey assistant Craig Cicardo Sr., one last time in addition to Vircillo.

“It’s definitely going to be a special moment,’’ Cicardo Jr. said. “We both have had great careers here as player and coach, so this is like the icing on the cake.’’

The National Guard is also sponsoring the second year of the 7-on-7 tournament, which will feature returning players competing to play in the championship game before the main event at Toms River North on July 14. Each county plays to a champion, and then the winners of each county’s 7-on-7 tournament play before the big game. Lacey won last season’s inaugural 7-on-7 title by beating Matawan in the final.

The rosters are still being finalized, and the Division I-A recruits from the Shore Conference’s senior class will be unable to participate because they will be at their respective colleges by early July.