Just in terms of the changing personnel at quarterback Cedar Grove appears to continue to make the right decisions, which might not be a surprise in the sense that its veteran coach Rob Gogerty was once himself a star at the position for the Panthers.
Plus, there are other players who have had to step up, whether they be previously somewhat inexperienced seniors or perhaps a sophomore like the team’s latest QB, 6-foot-2, 180-pound rising talent Daniel Lastella, who threw for 122 yards and 3 touchdowns in his team’s impressive season-opening 35-14 win over Group 2 stalwart Gloucester in this past Saturday’s ‘Battle at the Beach’ showcase event at Ocean City High School.
From Group 1 all-stater Stephen Paradiso, who starred from 2022-2024, including the first of two straight state sectional titles, to last QB standout Pierce Asfalg, who helped lead the Panthers to the North 2, Group 1 crown and a second straight appearance in the overall Group 1 state final, Gogerty and Co. simply continue to find the right pieces to the puzzle regardless of graduation, which did take several of last year’s key players from the scene last June.
It was Cedar Grove’s third trip in five years to the Battle at the Beach in the scenic setting not far from the actual beach in Ocean City. The Panthers had lost to Salem, 53-13, in the 2022 season-opening showcase at the Jersey Shore, and then blew past Schalick, 41-3, in 2024, to help ignite a sectional state championship season with Paradiso and Co.
Now the Panthers are 2-1 in the Battle at the Beach and the latest fast start very much pleases its head coach.
“Game 1 is so important for us, and one of our goals every year is to win Game No. 1 which is usually a tough game and valuable experience for our guys,” said Gogerty, who starred at QB under coach Ed Sadloch with the Panthers. “I was really happy with the way the new group executed the game plan.
“Gloucester was a big and solid opponent that is going to win a lot of games this year and I thought our guys did an outstanding job executing, tackling, and limiting big plays.
“We played well on defense and were able to gain some early success to ease some of our younger players into the game.”
Among the previously-less-familiar names to now keep an eye on this fall include senior wide receiver Jack Velonas – a star pitcher and outfielder on this past spring’s Cedar Grove state sectional championship baseball team - and junior WR Andrew Loftus, who each had TD catches vs. Gloucester. Junior running back Chris Miller had a 30-yard TD scamper, senior linebacker James Policano had a ‘Pick 6’ interception return while junior LB Dane Catanzarite, who had two of the Panthers’ 6 sacks on the day, was one of the players helping to lead a solid performance by the Panther ‘D.’
Dane’s big brother, senior Jake Catanzarite, who is one of the veterans Panther fans remember from last November’s group runner-up 10-4 squad, came through with a big play on the game’s opening kickoff when he took a handoff on a reverse and bolted to the Gloucester 23 to set up his team’s first score, a nifty running to the right and then passing back to his left Lastella’s 4-yard TD pass to Loftus on a 4th-and-goal play to jet-start Cedar Grove’s attack.
