If there’s one thing Mark Poore knows, it’s how deeply-rooted football is in Sayreville.

Like the sign says, it is Bomber Country.

Not every town in Middlesex County is like that. Sure, they may have long histories, and successful pasts, but football beats through the heart of Sayreville like few other places. You could see it when football helped heal the town after Superstorm Sandy, and a couple of years later when a hazing scandal practically ripped out the town’s heart.

Poore was there well before all of it, and has been ever since. As a quarterback, he was All-Area in 2003, then went on to Montclair State to play in college. Not long after graduation, he was back on the Sayreville sidelines, coaching – and learning how to coach – with George Najjar, Chris Beagan, and finally Don Sofilkanich last season.

Poore was approved last last month by the Board of Education, and already has three assistants. Mike Novak – who recently retired as the Bombers’ baseball coach – will remain on staff, while Poore has already hired Gary Andrewshetsko – with whom he played and coached at Sayreville and in college – and James DiPaolo, who’s been an outstanding ballplayer and coach at North Plainfield.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mark Poore talk about his formative experiences at Sayreville, and his plans for the future of the Bomber program:

Sayreville assistant and alum Mark Poore has been promoted and named the Bombers’ new football coach.

The former quarterback – who later played at Montclair State – was approved by the Sayreville Board of Education at its February meeting – per the meeting minutes – along with two assistants, Gary Andrewshetsko and James DiPaolo.

DiPaolo was previously head coach at his alma mater, North Plainfield, from 2017 through 2021 following two seasons as defensive coordinator.

Poore passed for nearly 1,000 yards and ran for more than 500 while running the option during his senior season at Sayreville in 2003, in which the Bombers went 10-1, their lone loss coming to Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the North 2, Group 3 semifinals. He was named All-Area first-team by the Home News Tribune. Poore also played defensive back.

He later came back as an assistant under his former coach, George Najjar, then returned under Chris Beagan following the 2014 hazing scandal, and has remained on staff ever since.

Poore replaces his most recent boss, Don Sofilkanich, who coached just one season for the Bombers after Beagan retired following the 2022 season. Beagan revived the program after the hazing scandal, going 51-31 in eight seasons, winning state titles in 2016 and 2018.

The Bombers went 8-3 in Sofilkanich’s only season, falling to Mount Olive in the second round of the state playoffs.