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In overtime, facing third-and-5 from the opponent's 9-yard line with a sectional final berth at stake, the Pinelands High School football team found itself in the wrong formation. Head coach John Tierney quickly called timeout and designed a back-side counter for quarterback J.J. Jenkins. The 5-foot-9 senior was confident it would work, not because Pinelands had superior talent, but because Tierney had spent years mentally preparing him for such moments. The formation mistake didn't faze Jenkins.
"It feels good to have a coach who believes in you, believes in everything you do," Jenkins said. "He allows me to be human out there – I can make mistakes. He'll tell me, 'Wipe it off, that's life. Next play.'" The next play was a touchdown run that gave Pinelands a 13-7 victory at Oakcrest and a spot in Friday's South Group 3 championship game at Seneca. The Wildcats are 11-0, a stunning rise for a program that had previously won just one playoff game in its history. This mid-sized public school in a remote part of Ocean County might be the best high school football story in the state.
The gregarious Tierney took over in 2022, and his leadership is a reminder that great coaches do far more than design plays. They mentor, teach, guide, and genuinely care. "Everybody sees the big personality on the sidelines," said Pinelands defensive coordinator Joe Adelizzi. "What they don't see: I've watched him stay after practice with a kid for two hours in the coaches' office while the kid is crying about personal issues, and John is counseling him." This isn't special treatment for a star player. "That kid isn't even a starter and might never be, but John gives everything he has to every single kid in the program," Adelizzi said. "When kids see that, he can be demanding because they know he's doing it because he cares deeply. Kids are perceptive. They always know when you're not being truthful, and he's as authentic as they come."
Building a Culture of Belonging
Tierney was a standout lineman at Mater Dei High School in Middletown and played collegiately at Towson State. After graduating, he worked at his parents' liquor store in Middletown with plans to take over the family business when he got an offer to coach the offensive line at Pinelands. He seized the opportunity, commuting 65 miles each way on the Garden State Parkway, and was hooked. He has been a special education teacher at Pinelands since 2003, but his coaching journey has taken him throughout the Shore Conference. He had a formative stint as an assistant with the Ranney boys basketball program that won the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions in 2019. "One thing he does better than anyone I know is make everybody feel like they belong," said Ranney head coach Tahj Holden. "When you do that with young people, you get incredible results." In the Tournament of Champions final, during a tight game against Bergen Catholic, a key player received a technical foul for losing his cool. Holden called on Tierney to calm the player. "He calmed the kid down and got him back in," Holden said. "To spend a minute and a half with the kid and get him back in the right frame of mind—that's hard to do."
When Tierney took over at Pinelands, he retained Adelizzi as defensive coordinator. They knew each other as teachers at the school. The partnership has paid off; Adelizzi's defense has allowed just 37 points this season. "Joe has my back no matter what," Tierney said. "When I was with Tahj, I had Tahj's back no matter what. That trust is an amazing thing to have." As the Wildcats started winning, poachers began circling. One of Tierney's biggest challenges—keeping his players from transferring—was unthinkable during his playing days. It's not just private schools knocking; Tierney said a public school in Atlantic County has been trying to lure his players away. "You have to recruit your kids nonstop," he said. "I had a kid who wanted to go somewhere else this past offseason, and I asked his parents: 'Is he going to be loved and cared for more at another school than he is here?' They said no. So what are we talking about? And he stayed."
Tierney is deeply invested in Pinelands High. The 47-year-old is a rare three-sport head coach, leading girls basketball in the winter and girls flag football in the spring. His wife Kathy also teaches at the school and coaches cross country, wrestling, and track. The list of people he credits for the Wildcats' success is long—assistants, current and former players, family members, and the community support that has reached a fever pitch this fall. "Twice this year we've been brought into games by fire trucks—not one or two, but 30 fire trucks," Tierney said. "It's been electric. They're repainting the town green and gold this week. On the road in the sectional semifinal, we outnumbered Oakcrest's fans 3-1. There's something special when it's a small town, you're playing for your hometown school, and you're doing well." Adelizzi said a Pinelands alum living in Ohio drove eight hours to watch the semifinal, then turned around and drove home. "The outpouring has been surreal," he said. "It's humbling to know you're part of something that can bring that out in people."
That concept is familiar to Adelizzi. His father, Joe Adelizzi, was a beloved sports editor and columnist at the Asbury Park Press for many years. "My dad always used to talk about how high school football brings an entire community together—current students, future players, alumni, cheerleaders, band, school staff, families—all come together for a unified cause," the younger Adelizzi said. "Show me where else in America a community comes together like that week after week more than high school football." The Pinelands community will come together for at least one more week with a sectional title in sight. It would be storybook stuff, but no matter what happens at Seneca, Tierney has done the job right, and his approach is worth sharing. "Every kid is important—you just have to show them that you care," he said. "Sometimes you're going to get on them because you care. When a kid sees that you care, that's the most important thing, more important than Xs and Os. A kid will run through a wall for you if they know you care."
Originally reported by yahoo.