Central Looks To Keep Ascending
With A Young And Talented Team

If Coach Mark Ingram has his druthers when his Central Blue Devils travel to meet Cedar Grove on Oct. 17 in the eighth game for both teams the Super Football Conference’s National Red Division title will be on the line.

And, if the Brick City team is indeed playing up to its potential, then winning a North, Group 4 opening-round game would be one of the next goals on the horizon as late October playoff action commences.

In his fourth season at the helm, Ingram definitely has a plan, while also hoping that last season’s 4-0 record out of the gates during a 6-3 campaign can be an even better start in 2025.

And why not have high expectations? This is a Central team that has to replace some key graduates from last fall’s squad, but there is definitely talent on hand as a new season beckons.

The youthful Blue Devils open the new gridiron campaign traveling to meet Bloomfield, 6 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 28, at Foley Field.

“We’re not looking past anyone and are focused on our season opener at Bloomfield, but we feel that we’re building a new standard here at Central and we definitely want to be playing for a conference championship when we meet Cedar Grove down the line,” said Ingram, the 37-year-old former Weequahic standout. “We know that we lost some key pieces from last year, but we’re excited about the talent we have coming back and we’re determined to take the next step up with this football program!”

Numbers are excellent with 55 players on the current pre-season roster including at least a dozen freshmen with that number likely to grow as the start of school quickly approaches.

The skill position players are ultra-talented and if up-and-coming sophomore quarterback Zahyir Taylor (5-11, 175) can continue to get the ball to his plethora of wide receivers, the Blue Devils could have quite the effective aerial attack.  

Central did very well in this summer’s 7-on-7’s, including winning a Zone6ix championship in Teaneck, as a very talented arsenal of skill kids took advantage of the opportunity to show some of their considerable breakaway speed.

Junior wide receiver-defensive backs Dishon Jerman (5-11, 175) and Tyshawn Bailey, Jr. (6-2, 170) are both receiving strong Football Bowl Subdivision (1-A) interest with the former already holding offers from Duke, Syracuse, Temple, Akron and James Madison, while the latter has his own offers on the table from Temple, Memphis and Woffard along with Delaware State and Howard.

“Dishon and TJ Jr. are both showing their immense talent and will continue to draw much college interest,” said Ingram. “Zahyir is showing a great ability to deliver them the ball and we have some young running backs who we are excited about running behind a strong O-Line.”

Among the other wide outs to watch in Central’s spread offense with four wide receivers are another pair of talented juniors in Jahir Grandberry (5-10, 165) and slot receiver Noah Holliday-Boone (6-1, 195).

The young running backs will include projected starters in sophomores Symeir Sorey (6-0, 170) and Ryan Desauguste (5-10, 180) with freshman Dexter Durrant (5-11, 165) and junior Ahmad Williams (5-11, 165) providing nice depth at the position.

Up front, the big O-Line will be led by a trio of seniors led by 3-year starting left tackle Andrew Wheeler (6-4 235), and returning starters Mamoudou Kamara (6-1, 230) and Louikenson Jean-Baptiste (6-0, 260), at left guard and center, respectively.

Defensively, in the 3-4, up front the Blue Devils are led by a pair of 3-year starters in Wheeler at end and Kamara at nose guard, along with another returning experienced strong man in the trenches in junior end Davion Cupitt (6-6, 235).

Among the linebackers to watch are sophomore Ryan Desauguste (5-10, 180) and junior Mari Singleton (5-11, 190) on the inside and sophomore Symeir Sorey (5-10, 175) and Holliday-Boone on the outside.

The secondary is a definite area of strength with Jerman a 3-year starter at cornerback and Bailey a returning starter at safety, plus other highly-skilled DBs to watch including senior Abdoul Troare (6-1, 165) and Mohamed Kelleh (6-2, 160) at cornerback.

“Our goal is to be consistent day in and day out, and stay healthy,” said Ingram. “Our players know the expectations as we look to continue our success and we continue to look to see who the leaders will be for this team as we practice hard in preparation for the season opener.”

NOTES- Ingram has a close friendship with Glen Ridge coach Chris Strumulo, who was one of the coaches at Weequahic on Al-Tarik White’s staff when Ingram excelled through his senior season in 2005. Central visits Glen Ridge at Hurrell Field on Sept. 13…The 2006 Weequahic team captured a Central Jersey, Group 2 playoff championship with a win over Raritan at Rutgers with a team led by then future Temple linebacker Amara Kamara who is now a member of Ingram’s coaching staff at Central…Central will visit Lakeland for a pre-season scrimmage on Monday, Aug. 18, at 10:30 a.m….One of Central’s key graduates was standout safety Jahsyn Reid, who is now competing for time in the secondary at Monmouth University…Last year’s standout RB-LB’s Nahshon Brown and Zahir Wilson are now at Kean and Monroe College, respectively…Central saw its 4-0 start in 2024 come to an end in a mistake-filled 31-20 setback to Verona in a Zone 6ix showcase contest at Hinchliffe Stadium. The two teams meet once again in their fifth game of the season on Friday night, Sept. 26, at the Hillbillies’ Sellitto Field..Central's 2024 season came to an end with a 40-6 loss at Mount Olive in the first round of the North 1, Group 4 playoffs.

Newark Central’s 2025 Regular Season Schedule:
Thursday, Aug. 28, at Bloomfield, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 4, vs. Snyder (Shabazz), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13, at Glen Ridge, 1 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 19, vs. Hudson Catholic (Shabazz), 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 26, at Verona, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 3, at Orange (Bell Stadium), 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 10, vs. Hoboken (Shabazz), 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 17: at Cedar Grove, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 24, vs. Newark Collegiate (Shabazz), 7 p.m.