By Scott Stump - Senior Editor
E-mail: stump@digitalsports.com

     With the season getting closer and closer, I took a trip to Jackson Memorial and Toms River East on Wednesday to check out their camps on yet another beautiful day, as our American and Constitution Division previews are scheduled to run on Sept. 7. With the previews winding down, I also will have some features coming your way in the next few days as the season looms closer.
   The trip to Jackson also resulted in a nice Surf Taco visit and three crispy beef tacos before heading to Toms River, which is never a bad thing. They've got plasma screens and everything in there with ESPN on as we get ready for the Jets to slam the Dolphins and Chad Pennington on Sunday.
     As exciting as I'm sure my eating habits are to you, let's get to the camp news.

     Jackson is going to be huge up front on the offensive line, and not just in the high school sense. Almost in the college sense. Put it this way, their left tackle, senior Justin Georgiano, is the "small'' guy at 5-9 and 235 pounds. Their left guard, senior Alex Lynch, is 6-2 and 250; their center, sophomore Dimitrius Smith, is 6-2 and 265; their right guard, junior Terrance Brown, is 6-3 and 230; and their right tackle, senior Aaron Davis, is 6-5 and 310 pounds. Oh, and by the way, another left tackle in the rotation is junior Carmine Delauro, who is 6-4 and 310 pounds. Not only that, they are also athletic in addition to being big.
      Jackson coach Mike Smith is coming off triple (!) hernia surgery two weeks ago (which, in full tough football coach code of conduct, he returned from to be at practice the next day), and I believe he got the hernias by trying to move his linemen in a drill.
     Dimitrius Smith, by the way, is the youngest brother of Denver Nuggets guard and former Lakewood hoops star J.R. Smith, so there are some good bloodlines there. I remember talking to J.R.'s father, Earl, about Dimitrius when he was still in grade school because he was so big when I would see him at J.R.'s games. Mike Smith (not related) thinks Dimitrius has a chance to be one of the elite players in the Shore by the time his career is done, and it's good for him that he can carve out a niche in a different sport. J.R. actually played football for Lakewood for two years and was a wide receiver with ridiculous size and leaping ability before focusing on basketball. This is a family that has produced an NBA athlete and a Division I athlete (Manhattan guard Chris Smith), so you'd have to think Dimitrius is on his way as well. Dimitrius does also play basketball, by the way.
      For a team that runs a multiple-I offense and makes no secret of the fact that it is going to line up and come straight at you with the running game, it can't hurt to have a line like that. Brown, the right guard, also has good bloodlines as he is the brother of current Jaguars assistant Ray Brown, an all-state level defensive lineman who played at Vanderbilt and was part of the Jackson teams that won back-to-back state titles in 2000 and 2001.
      The real question is what skill players the line will be blocking for. Senior Evan Owens and junior Garrett Dorsey are competing for the quarterback spot. Owens is 5-foot-5 and can run, while Dorsey is 6-1 and is more of a dropback passer. That line is so big that Owens might be able to hide behind it before picking a hole to burst through, a la Chazz Coursey for Manasquan back in 2006. There is also a rotation of three running backs right now - junior Drew Murphy (younger brother of last year's 1,000-yard rusher, Don Murphy); senior Tyler Wilton and returning fullback Ryan Wood. Wilton and Murphy are 5-9 and under, so they also could benefit from defenders not being able to find them among the trees before they are flying into the backfield.
       Jackson has had a 1,000-yard rusher every year for the last 12 years, but with that trio, this could be the year the streak ends unless one of them emerges as the feature back early on. However, as Smith put it, all they care about is one stat: wins.
      Their wide receivers look pretty solid and should have the ability to stretch the field. Last year's quarterback, John Cirri, had a downfield arm that had to be respected, so the hope is that whomever emerges from the competition this year can at least make teams fear more than just dump-off passes or short routes in order to loosen up the line of scrimmage.
      Jackson's defense also looks like it will be very good as always, with some of those same players from the offensive line fortifying things up front. Yet another younger brother of a former Jackson star, junior Larry Cella (younger brother of Monmouth University's Joe Cella) will be part of what should be a good linebacking group with Wood and Murphy. The secondary also returns almost entirely intact.
      Looking at this team, the game that could be ugly on the scoreboard but thrilling for fans of physical, slug-it-out football is against Southern at The Jungle (John J. Munley Field) in Jackson on Oct. 10. With Southern's ultra-physical defense led by Glenn Carson and what looks to be the top linebacking group in the Shore facing off against Jackson's big front line and its punishing running game, that is a battle royale of strength on strength. Jackson has a first-week bye this year and will have its first scrimmage on Friday against Pennsauken and former Jackson coach Reggie Lawrence, under whom Smith was the defensive coordinator on those two championship teams early in the millennium.

      Heading over to Toms River East, I found a team that has been banged up all preseason, which is especially not good when you are trying to work in such a new group of linemen and skill players after graduating a talented senior class that had five three-year starters. The Raiders haven't been able to get a lot of reps with the team that they want to put on the field for the opener, although it also means that some of the back-ups will be ready if they have to go.
      Speed is always a an attribute you think of when assessing the Raiders, and they look like they will have plenty of it again this year. Junior Nico Steriti could be a breakout player this year as a halfback in East's multiple wing offense after being part of a deep rotation among the likes of Ryan Dolan, Chris Miller, Tyler Groves, etc., last year. The Raiders only have one returning starter on the offensive line, so that is the unit that they are really trying to get up to speed in the preseason because their run-heavy offense will need a strong performance to get results.
       The Raiders were very one-dimensional last year offensively, and head coach Charlie Diskin is striving for more balance by making plays in the passing game early on this season. Last year, they ran over their first few opponents, routing them so quickly that they didn't really work on their passing game. Then they ran into Southern and its rugged run defense and the offense stalled, so this year the plan is to get more balanced early on.
        There are two quarterbacks competing for the starting spot - senior Ryan Leonard and junior Charlie Diskin, the latter of whom is the son of the head coach. The good news is that they have a talented wideout returning in senior Ray Cochran and some others as well, so the potential is there.
      They once again should have plenty of speed in the backfield with Steriti and seniors Jude Baldaccini and Brett Yajcaji (it's pronounced YATE-SEE in case you were wondering). The newcomer to watch is the last of the four Steritis off the assembly line, Mario Steriti, who will start as a freshman at safety and will get carries as a fullback. He runs a 4.46 40, and to give you an idea of East's speed, that is only the third-fastest time on the team.
       The play of the new offensive line and the passing game will go a long way toward how this team performs because the defense is always solid and flies to the football. They were vulnerable to the deep pass last year, but with both starting corners (Nico Steriti and Cochran) returning they should be better in that area. Yajcaji has also moved from strong safety to middle linebacker, as the linebackers have to replace one of the best units in the Shore featuring Dolan and Groves.

      Finally, a few quick things.
     After writing the Freehold preview and being reminded of Darrell Reid, whose team was the last Colonials team to reach the playoffs before last year's group, I couldn't forget about this hit from last year by Reid on a kickoff by the Indianapolis Colts.

       That actually reminded me of a kickoff when Reid was still at Freehold. I'm pretty sure it was against Rumson, and Reid came down and hit a Rumson kid so hard that he bent his facemask, and the kid started wandering to the Freehold sideline after getting up because he was so dazed. Reid played with a cast on one of his forearms that year and was just scary. He was one of the most high-motor players I have seen during my time covering the Shore, but he also is very articulate. He would be out there ripping people apart and be smiling and talking after the game. He was a communications major at Minnesota, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him popping up on the TV screen after his playing days are done.

      Also, as everyone knows by now, Rutgers had a rough opener in a 24-7 loss to No. 25 Fresno State in its season opener on Monday. In case you missed the box score as far as the Shore alumni are concerned, senior linebacker Kevin Malast (Manchester), who was second on the team in tackles last year, had a team-high nine tackles, and junior offensive lineman Howard Barbieri (Middletown South) saw some action when starter Anthony Davis left the game with an injury. Rutgers roster also features junior tight end Tim Finnegan (Monsignor Donovan), freshman offensive lineman Art Forst (Manasquan), sophomore offensive lineman Matt Hardison (Freehold Twp.) and freshman wideout Tim Wright (Wall).
     Highly recruited Southern linebacker Glenn Carson, who missed the Rams' last scrimmage with illness, was sick and didn't make it to the Rutgers-Fresno game on a scheduled trip. Rutgers and Penn State are considered his top two and Notre Dame is creeping in there as well. With opening day for the Rams against Pinelands coming on Sept. 12, Carson is headed to Penn State this weekend for an unofficial visit to check out the Nittany Lions against Oregon State. I will have plenty more on Carson and other top stars in the Shore as part of the season preview coming next week.