Middletown High School South

Awards, recognition and rankings

In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 497th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 51st among all high schools in New Jersey and 34th among the state's non-magnet schools.

The school was the 92nd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 105th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 95th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 92nd in 2008 out of 316 schools. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 57th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 17 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (91.5%) and language arts literacy (96.7%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

Athletics

The Middletown High School South Eagles compete in the Shore Conference, an athletic conference made up of private and public high schools centered at the Northern Jersey Shore. All schools in this conference are located within Monmouth County and Ocean County, which operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,054 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as Central Jersey, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 822 to 1,068 students in that grade range.

In 2015, to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of football in Middletown, alumni of both schools played each other; The Middletown North Lion football alumni defeated the Middletown South alumni 6-3 at The Swamp, to claim the victory in what was the first-ever game of its kind in Middletown. Each year, students, parents, teachers, alumni, and administrators gather for the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between Middletown North and Middletown South. Through the 2015 season, South leads the series with a 27-11-1 record, including 14 straight victories in the Thanksgiving matchup.

The football team won the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional title in 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1995, and won in Central Jersey Group III in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006. Middletown South's football program holds ten state sectional championships, 17 Shore Conference Division Championships, 9 undefeated seasons and 29 state playoff berths. The football program holds the Shore Conference record for longest winning streak with 43 straight wins from 2003 to 2006, which was broken with a 19-14 loss in October 2006 to Ocean Township High School. In 2004, The Eagles were ranked #1 in the state of New Jersey unanimously by Gannett New Jersey, The Star-Ledger, and News 12 New Jersey polls. The team was selected again in 2005 and in 2015 as the winner of the Star-Ledger Trophy, recognizing the best team in the state. Middletown South's head coach is Steve Antonucci who had a career record of 149-34 as of November 2013. Middletown South was the high school of Knowshon Moreno, who was the 12th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft and is currently a member of the Miami Dolphins.

The field hockey team won the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional title in 1980, 1982 and 1995.

The Middletown South baseball program has also been recognized for their success in the 1990s. During Head Coach Steve Antonucci's tenure which started in 1996, the Eagles won two Central Jersey State Titles (1996 and 1999) and completed the first undefeated season in Shore Conference A-North history with a 14-0 record. The Eagles were led by Darren Fenster to a 25-3 record. The baseball team won the Group IV state championship in 1996, defeating Bloomfield High School in the tournament final. In 1999, the Eagles won the A-North, Monmouth County and Central Jersey state championships. The 1999 squad featured many talented players including Asbury Park Press Player of the Year Jarrett Sues, who set a school record with 21 home runs and earned ten victories on the hill. The Eagles offense was the most potent in the state including the single season home run record as a team. The Eagles were also led by All-State pitcher John Scala (10-1), and All-Shore selections Jon Klopacs (C) and Mark Fitzgerald (SS). Antonucci would continue to lead the Eagles until the conclusion of the 2008 season. The 2011 baseball team won the Monmouth County Tournament and the Central Jersey, Group III title, the program's first since 1999. In 2012, the Eagles clinched the A-North division title.

The girls' track team won the Group III state indoor relay championships in 1997 and 1998.

The girls' cross country team won the New Jersey All Group Meet of Champions in 1998. They won state sectionals for three consecutive years, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The girls' soccer team was Group III co-champion with Cranford High School.

The boys' basketball team did not win a single game in the 2004-05 season. Three years later, during the 2007-08 season, second-year head coach Kevin Cullen led the team to the Central Jersey Group III Sectional Championship with a win over Neptune High School 45-33.

The girls' basketball team won the Group III Central Jersey state championship in 2014 with a 38-35 win against Neptune High School in the tournament final.

South's softball team won the Group III state championship in 2015, defeating Sparta High School by a score of 8-1 at Kean University, to win the program's fifth overall group championship. Softball coach Tom Erbig retired at the end of the 2016 season having led the team to 16 sectional championships and five group titles; his career record of 743-231-1 made him the winningest softball coach in the state, a title he earned in 2015 with his 722nd win, surpassing Pete Fick of Hunterdon Central Regional High School.

Teacher strike

Middletown South and the Middletown School District received national attention in the fall of 2001 when its teachers, members of the Middletown Township Education Association, went on strike for the second time in three years. The strike disrupted classes for several days, and hundreds of teachers were jailed. 228 teachers and other school workers were sent to jail in December 2001, marking that largest such action against school staff in over two decades, though they were released after agreeing to submit their differences with the school district to non-binding arbitration. After the strike, many members of the union leadership stepped down. There has not been a strike since 2001.

Drug testing

In October 2006, the Board of Education of the Middletown Township Public School District voted on a random drug testing procedure that would require all students in extracurricular activities or with a parking space at the high school to submit their name to a pool for random selection.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration include:

Notable alumni