Best Wide Receiver
The nominees:

Chance Carrick, Howell: The senior has been one of the best wideouts in the Shore the last two years, and led the conference in catches this season while getting up close to the rare 1,000-yard mark with 858 yards. Also, he was clutch in big games, with eight catches for 95 yards against Lacey, a combined two touchdown catches in two games against Colts Neck, and two catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the Central Jersey Group IV final against West Windsor South. He was a big part of Howell's surge to the top of the Shore these past few years. While I know everybody thinks of Carrick when they think of Howell, how about Jason Amato as well? He had 709 yards receiving and eight touchdowns.

Derrell Bell, Asbury Park: The junior joined the team in Week Two and was seemingly a household name only a few weeks later. A great athlete with good leaping ability, he is the master of winning a jumpball in a crowd. He had four catches for 125 yards and three touchdowns against Keansburg in the Central Jersey Group I final, and had six TDs combined in two games against the Titans this year. He averaged over 22 yards per catch and also was dangerous running the ball on reverses and jet sweeps. He is every defensive coordinator's nightmare if they don't have a Donte Gilliard-type to match up with him in the secondary. As the ball is in the air, you can almost hear the assistants up in the booth yelling, "OK, Timmy and Joey are in position on Bell, just go up and knock it down......Oh $%$#,'' as Bell is streaking down the field or in the end zone. He still needs to work on going over the middle and running precise routes, but he is as dangerous as they come.

Ryan Kirchner, Rumson-FH: The senior is one of the best wideouts in school history, a productive, precise route-runner with a near-telepathic connection with senior quarterback Matt Wassel. He also is a touchdown machine, as he had a Shore-best 10 as a junior and another eight this season. He also made them at crucial times, like catching the game-winning TD against previously unbeaten Holmdel in the Central Jersey Group II semifinals. He also had 100-yard receiving games against Manasquan in a must-win game needed for the power points to get into the playoffs, and against North Plainfield in the first round of the playoffs.

Kurt Loftus, Brick: Had 45 catches for 644 yards and three touchdowns on a .500 team, but played well against quality opponents. He had nine catches for 120 yards against Lacey and five catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Colts Neck that put the Green Dragons into the state playoffs. Just a steady player with good hands.

Scott Pillar, Keansburg: Quietly put up 524 yards and 11 touchdown catches this season for the Titans, including five touchdown catches in their last two playoff games. Good hands, athletic and able to make acrobatic catches, he emerged as the Titans' top wideout over Josh Bakala this season.

Brandon Brown, Freehold: Known mainly as an electric special teams player, the junior also was one of the Shore's most dangerous wideouts. He had eight touchdown catches and nearly 650 yards receiving on 30 catches, which shows his big-play ability. He caught a touchdown in a playoff loss to Monroe and in a huge win over Middletown South that gave the Colonials the Federal Division title.

Dan Cintron, Barnegat: A speedster who had opposing fans holding their breath every time quarterback Brandon Clarke lofted a fade pass down the sideline, the junior had 562 yards receiving and eight touchdowns on an average of 17.6 yards per catch. He will return as one of the Shore's best next season.

Jimmy Gillburn, Manalapan: Another underrated receiver, Gillburn had 27 catches for 670 yards and 5 TDs, and showed the ability to break the 10- or 15-yard pass into a 70-yard touchdown. He had a pair of 100-yard receiving games and two other games of over 80 yards after starting the season slowly.

Also deserving mention: Tim Wright (Wall); John Lembeck (Rumson-FH); Josh Bakala (Keansburg); Brian Battaglia (Howell); Jason Amato (Howell); Bob Stowe (Point Boro); Adam Carey (TR North); Mark Bergery (Jackson); Brian Stepney (Neptune); Will Sanborn (Red Bank).

And the Stumpy goes to....This one is brutal. This is spectacular vs. steady. Do you want the pyrotechnics of a Brandon Brown or Derrell Bell or the move-the-chains approach of a Chance Carrick or Ryan Kirchner. I'll take Carrick, who showed the ability to haul in the long bomb or make the tough catch in traffic in big games. Put it this way, if Carrick was matched up against a stud cornerback like Long Branch's Donte Gilliard, I still think he could get some catches because of precise route running and good hands. If Bell was matched up on Gilliard, he wouldn't just be able to jump over him for catches. Still, Bell has the most potential of anyone short of Tim Wright, a Rutgers recruit who was blanketed in the second half of the season.