Shore Sports Network High School Sports 1-7-14 Vol-VI Issue-1

January 7, 2014 Volume-VI Issue-1

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The first thing fans, players, coaches & parents want to know after the big game is always,

”Is this going to be on

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Featured in This Issue Director High School Division smeyer@allshoremedia.com 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0

ScottStump

Managing Editor

stump@alls ho re media .c om

Senior Content

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Manchester Wins Boys WOBM Christmas Classic

SteveMeyer

Providers

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Manasquan Wins Girls WOBM Christmas Classic Shore Boys Win Buc Classic Title McClave, Oxley Impress at Walter Woods Invitational

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Tawiah, Huskies Spoil Cox’s Milestone Night

Stumpy’s Corner Ocean County School Directions Monmouth County School Directions

Brick Memorial Shines Mustang Classic 10 at

& RUNNING 12-13 OFF

Manchester’s KaShaun Barnes Manasquan Girls Basketball

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Manchester Wins First WOBM Classic Title M anchester heard all the talk in the preseason about how it was too

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

young to be a factor this season, but the Hawks showed on December 30th at Pine Belt Arena that they are way ahead of schedule by making school history.

A team that only has two seniors and starts three sophomores went out and won the program’s first WOBM Christmas Classic title in the 30th anniversary of the tournament by taking down top-seeded Jackson Memorial 58-42 to serve notice that they will be a team to watch when the Shore Conference regular season resumes. Their guards were outstanding, burying a combined 11 3-pointers, including four by senior KaShaun Barnes, who finished with a team-high 20 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Sophomore guards Jordan Torney (13 points) and Shavar Reynolds (11) each buried three 3-pointers, and Torney earned first-team AllTournament honors from the coaches. Reynolds was named to the All-Tournament second team.

Reynolds in the final seconds for a 26-18 advantage at the half.

“We’re all good shooters, and when we hit threes, we’re a dangerous team,” Reynolds said. “Getting that lead was huge. They got a D-I-bound 6-8 guy, so to come out and get that lead and make them start forcing things, that was big.”

“They thought that we were too young to win, but we showed we’re a good team,” Torney said.

“This should send a big statement,” Reynolds said. “We’re coming.”

Seventh-seeded Manchester, which was unranked in the preseason, was also not intimidated in the least bit against the veteran Jaguars, a Shore Sports Network preseason top-five team that has become a program that routinely posts 20-plus victories.

After Barnes capped a sluggish opening quarter with a deep 3pointer from the top of the key to give Manchester a 7-6 lead, the Hawks never trailed again.

They buried five 3-pointers in the second quarter on 10 attempts to offset a seven-point quarter by Delaware-bound Jaguars star Eric Carter, a 6-foot-8 center who finished with a game-high 23 points in the loss. The Hawks were knocking down trifectas off the dribble, on kickouts, and in transition, including three by Barnes in the first half.

“My teammates trusted me and told me that if I’m open, keep shooting it, and it was the same thing for them,” Barnes said.

Jackson Memorial closed a seven-point gap to tie the game at 18 on a pair of free throws by forward Jesse Hill (12 points), but Manchester closed the half on an 8-0 run that included a 3-pointer by senior guard Darius Barlow and then another longball by

Torney’s final 3-pointer on the assist from Barnes essentially sealed the win, as Barnes went 4-for-5 from the foul line in the final 2:49 to help bring home a landmark victory for the Hawks.

“It gives us lots of confidence knowing we can beat teams like this,” Torney said.

Barnes earned tournament MVP honors after an outstanding run that included games of 21, 20, 19 and 20 points. In addition to Torney, Manchester hit four threes during the third Sophomore Shavar Reynolds the All-Tournament first team quarter while forcing five turnovers defensively consisted of Hill, Carter, and to keep the lead at 43-32 going into the final Toms River South’s Tymere period. Not only were Manchester’s guards hot Berry and Marquis Davis. Named to the All-Tournament second offensively, they stifled their counterparts, limiting Jackson’s team were Reynolds, Brick Memorial’s Aaron Scheiderman, Point guards to five total points in the game. They also made sure that Boro’s Peyton Wejnert, Lacey’s Chris Iapicco, and Freehold Hill and Carter both didn’t have big games by limiting Hill.

Township’s Jason Czajkowski.

“We couldn’t let them both go off, and I think as a team we did a good job on them,” Torney said.

Sophomore Jordan Torney (#1)

“Definitely not,” Reynolds said. “Whoever they put on the court, we’re going to play them. We’re not going to change our plan for somebody else.”

The Hawks came out in the second half and picked up right where they left off, as Torney and Reynolds buried consecutive threes to push the lead to 32-18. Consecutive threes by Barnes and Torney then pushed the lead to 41-22 with 3:23 left in the quarter.

lane for lay-ups or kickouts to open shooters. Barnes in particular did a great job of splitting double teams off the dribble or throwing over the top of two defenders.

The Jaguars got the lead down to single digits at 47-38 with 5:05 left in the game on a free throw by Carter, who struggled to a 5for-12 performance from the line in the loss. Manchester answered with, of course, another 3-pointer, this one from Torney on a kickout from Barnes.

Jackson was forced to extend its defense and run-and-jump on the perimeter to try to trap Manchester’s guards in a bid to create turnovers, but the Hawks were patient and handled the pressure well by using their speed to blow by defenders and get into the

by:

Scott Stump

www.shoresportsnetwork.com

Photos by

Cliff Lavelle

www.clearedge.zenfolio.com

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Manasquan Wins 2 nd WOBM Classic Title in 3 Years M anasquan had already shown under second-year coach Lisa

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

Kukoda that it was a team to be respected, so the next step entailed getting over the hump against a perennial Shore Conference power.

The second-seeded Warriors did just that on Dec. 30 at Pine Belt Arena, riding an outstanding defensive effort and a gamehigh 20 points by senior forward Sam Sullivan to a 50-36 victory over top-seeded Red Bank Catholic to win their second WOBM Christmas Classic title in three seasons. Sullivan was named the tournament Most Valuable Player, and junior guard Courtney Hagaman earned first-team All-Tournament honors.

“It is a big confidence-booster,” Hagaman said. “It really shows that we can do it and beat great teams like RBC.”

Manasquan did an excellent job defensively against the Caseys, who shot 10-for-49 (20 percent) from the field, including 2-for-20 from 3-point range, and had 16 turnovers.

It also marked the first win against the Caseys (4-1) in five tries under Kukoda, who played for veteran RBC coach Joe Montano in the early 2000s. RBC beat Manasquan in overtime in the season opener earlier this month.

“We’re excited to finally beat one of these big teams, especially RBC, but we can’t be content,” Kukoda said. “We have to keep our eyes moving forward.

(The win) was bittersweet a little bit.

It’s friendly beforehand, but once the game gets started, we both want our teams to do the best that they can.”

A 3-pointer by Hagaman pushed the lead to 26-9 with 5:10 left in the second quarter before the Caseys began to claw their way back into the game.

RBC forced seven turnovers in the second quarter and was relentless on the offensive glass to create second shots and free-throw opportunities.

Guard Alex Barazotti had six of her team-high 10 points in the quarter to cut Manasquan’s lead to 28-23 at the half.

didn’t do the first time around. I was really happy with the pressure we had, and I think we did a really good job of rotating.”

Manasquan particularly did a good job against Barazotti and senior Grace Fallon, a pair of standouts for the Caseys who both were named to the All-Tournament first team. Fallon did not have a field goal in finishing with seven points, and Barazotti was held to four second-half points.

“I think this time we held their best players better than last time, and we moved the ball better,” Clark said.

“Our focus was to help on them, to give a little bit of a cushion for a second to process defensively,” Kukoda said about Fallon and Barazotti.

Once Manasquan took a 4-3 lead on a bucket by Sullivan in the first quarter, the Warriors (4-1) never trailed again.

Playing on the big stage for the first time, freshman guard Stella Clark gave Junior guard Courtney Hagaman them an immediate boost, scoring eight of her nine points in the first quarter to give them a 19-7 lead while the defense Manasquan all but forced RBC into 2-for-12 shooting in the period. Clark splashed home a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the final seconds of the put the game away with a stellar third-quarter period to push the lead to double digits. defensive effort in “I was a little nervous at first, but once we got a big lead going, I which it forced five felt confident that we had the game,” Clark said. “Playing them turnovers and created WOBM MVP Sam Sullivan once already was really helpful because we knew more about them offense by coming out and what they can do.” with full-court pressure and extending its Sullivan also had six first-quarter points to set the tone for a big defense in the halfcourt. The Warriors held the Caseys to four night. points in the period, and Sullivan dropped in eight points to help push the lead to 41-27 going into the fourth quarter.

“It’s awesome when our guards are on because they’re so focused on me from the start of the game that once our guards start “I think we caught them off guard with that (pressure),” hitting shots, it loosens it up for me inside,” Sullivan said.

Hagaman said.

“We’ve said that from the beginning of the season that Sam’s a great player and teams know that, so they’re going to focus on her, so we need our guards to knock down some big shots,” Kukoda said.

“We decided in that first and third quarter that we needed to control the tempo of this game,” Kukoda said. “I think our press worked well for us and gave us momentum. I think that the girls just gave a great team effort, and we did the little things that we

RBC never got closer than 12 points in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors took home their first title in a season they hope ends with multiple championships. They now will resume their schedule in Class A Central, one of New Jersey’s toughest divisions.

“It feels amazing,” Sullivan said. “We’re just excited to play bigger teams like SJV and Rumson now because we have confidence.”

Monsignor Donovan’s Dana Carbone and Wall’s Ellen Dougherty joined Fallon, Hagaman and Barazotti on the AllTournament first team. The All-Tournament second team selected by the coaches was Freehold Township’s Tori Wagner, Monsignor Donovan’s Chelsea Crowe, Point Boro’s Lindsey Havens, Jackson Memorial’s Shena Vega, and Wall’s Sydney Darby.

by:

Scott Stump

www.shoresportsnetwork.com

Photos by

Cliff Lavelle

www.clearedge.zenfolio.com

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Shore’s Team Effort Wins Buc Classic

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

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hore Regional senior point guard Dan Pillari rarely knows who he is passing the ball to when he is on the floor, but he knows if that player is wearing the same color jersey that he is, the ball will be in good hands.

opponents to score only 35 points per game and held a solid Red Bank Catholic team to 31 points on opening night.

Junior Dan Largey scored 16 points and Pillari added 13 points and five assists while taking home tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Junior Kevin Bloodgood scored 15 points and senior Matt Cosentino and junior Jack Byrne each chipped in 12 points to round out the big day for the starting five. All five Shore starters scored in double-figures on Dec. 30 and the Blue Devils routed defending Shore Conference Class A Central champion Manasquan, 76-56, to capture the school’s first ever Albert Martin Memorial Buc Classic championship.

“We all have complete faith in one another and that’s what makes us dangerous,” Pillari said.

“Everyone has the ability and the confidence to score, and we all have confidence in each other.

Sometimes I don’t know who I’m passing the ball to. Tonight, if I saw a white jersey and he was open, I was going to give him the ball, and he was probably going to make the shot.”

Junior Dan Largey

Few teams even have five players capable of scoring 12 points in a game, let alone five who can do so in one game. That balance on offense is what made Shore the favorite to win Class A Central this season, but Rumson-Fair Faven knocked off the preseason No. 4 team in the Shore Conference, according to Shore Sports Network, on opening night.

“We played selfish basketball on opening night and that’s why we lost,” Pillari said. “We’re at our best when we’re sharing the ball and that was the lesson we took from Rumson. If we’re not trusting in one another and we’re all doing our own thing, we’re not a very good team.”

“We’ve been playing together for a long time, not just during the school season, but in the summer and on travel teams,” said Bloodgood, who was named firstteam all-tournament. “If we have a bad game, it’s not going to stick with us because we know what we can do when we’re playing our best basketball together.”

Not only did Shore put on an offensive clinic Monday, but it did so against one of the Shore Conference’s best defenses during the early stage of the season. In their first three games of the season, Manasquan had allowed

build up the lead.”

“You’re talking about, year in and year out, one of the best public school program’s in the Shore Conference in Manasquan,” Shore coach Dave Emery said. “They are well-coached and even when guys graduate, the pride stays and the next guy steps up. We expected them to fight and they played us tough, but they struggled shooting the ball and that allowed us to

Kevin Bloodgood, HC Dave Emery, MVP Dan Pillari

Largey is the only one of the five starters who did not play significant minutes last year, but he again showed his scoring ability at 6-foot-5.

“At the end of last year, I wouldn’t have expected this from him, but as soon as I saw him in the summer, I knew he was ready to step in and be a big contributor,” Emery said of Largey. “He is far and away the most improved player in the program from last year, and he has improved in every single aspect of the game.”

The Blue Devils defense allowed 56 points and six 3pointers to Manasquan’s uptempo offense, but the Warriors shot just 6-for-25 from 3-point range and did not consistently get out in transition as they were able to during a 3-0 start to the season.

“When we scouted them, we saw we had to stop their transition game, and we did a nice job of containing them in that aspect of the game,” Emery said.

“They have a couple dangerous shooters who you need to challenge, but for the most part, we were comfortable getting them into the half court and packing it in a little more than usual.”

Since losing at Rumson-Fair Haven, 64-58, in its opener on Dec. 20, Shore has played state power St. Joseph of Metuchen to the wire (78-68 after trailing by two in the final 1:30), and defeated Freehold, Middletown North and Manasquan by an average margin of 17.7 points Senior guard Dan Pillari Manasquan kept it close through per game. The Blue Devils take the middle stages of the second on Red Bank Catholic Friday quarter Monday before Shore in their first Class A Central game of 2014. broke the game open with an 18-8 run to close the first half and stretch its lead to 42-27 at the break.

“We have a list of goals and the first thing on that list was ‘Win the Pillari scored the first four points of the run and Buc Classic,’” Pillari said. “We got our first goal and the fact that we Bloodgood keyed the surge with seven points. were able to beat Manasquan in the championship was a cherry on Manasquan never got closer than 13 points. top. Now we can get back and focus on the division.”

Junior Kevin Bloodgood

“I don’t want to say this game was about payback, but it was definitely a big game and a statement game for our team,” said Bloodgood, whose Blue Devils lost twice to Manasquan last season in division play.

“We were favored in the division coming into the season, but we haven’t had success against Manasquan, so one of the first things we had to do was play a good game and finally beat those guys.”

Photos by

Sport Shots WLB

www.sportshotswlb.com by:

Matt Manley www.shoresportsnetwork.com

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Walter Woods Tournament: TR South’s McClave, CBA’s Oxley Make Early-Season Statements

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By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

wen McClave had just put Nick DePierro down to the mat with a doubleleg to tie their Walter Woods Tournament 113-pound final at five in the third period, and he knew the only way he was going to close out a victory was to give the lead immediately back.

“I wrestle him all the time in the room at Shore Thing, and I haven’t been able to ride him all year,” McClave said. “I don’t know what it is. He’s explosive on the bottom. I just knew I couldn’t ride him so I thought I’d cut him and go for the win.”

The Toms River South sophomore was trailing 6-5 to Freehold Township’s DePierro when they walked back to the center of the mat off a restart with 10 seconds left. McClave shot in and was denied, but when DePierro stayed tight it gave McClave the opening he was looking for, as he hit a dump and put DePierro to his back with four seconds left for a come-from-behind 9-6 victory to claim the Walter

“I was looking forward to the competition here,” McClave said. “I knew the weight class was pretty deep, and I’d rather have a good, competitive match than pin someone in 10 seconds. I’m definitely looking to build off these first two tournament wins. I’m looking to be pretty high up on the podium (in the state tournament).”

Woods Tournament 113-pound championship on Dec. 30th at Middletown High School South.

“I knew he was on his knees the whole time so I was looking to get heavy on the head, lower my level and try to blast through him with a double like I did for the first takedown in the third period,” McClave said. “I took a bad shot and he snapped me, but he didn’t try to capitalize. He just sat there to hopefully wait it out, so I went with my go-to move, hit the dump and it pulled me through to get the win.”

McClave has picked up right where he left off a fantastic freshman season in which he went 39-5 with a District 24 title and a second-place finish in the Region VI Tournament at 106 pounds. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tournament but was eliminated in the third round of wrestlebacks – one win short of a top-eight finish. He won the TCNJ Pride Tournament to open the season and followed it up with Monday’s tournament victory against DePierro, who also reached the third round of wrestlebacks in Atlantic City at 113 pounds.

TRS 113-pd sophomore Owen McClave

At 195 pounds, one look at the bracket was all that was needed to see the impending collision between Christian Brothers Academy senior Mike Oxley and Jackson Memorial senior Ken Bradley. Both qualified for the state tournament

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Like McClave, Oxley is looking to get back to Atlantic City and finish the season with a state medal. He ramped up his offseason wrestling, competing at the Super 32 and the NHSCA Junior Nationals, and also wrestled in the New Jersey Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Invitational.

“I’m 100 percent better (than the last time we wrestled),” Oxley said. “I didn’t take any breaks in the offseason. I wrestled top-caliber kids like him, so this was just another match. My goal is to get down there and be on that medal stand. Everything I did in the offseason was for that. This is just another small tournament. The end of the year is what matters to me.”

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Toms River South tied a tournament-high with three champions. In addition to McClave, junior Joe Salvato won the 160-pound title with a 10-5 decision over Monroe’s Harrison Utter and junior Antrez Clagon held off Point Boro’s Kevin Kelly, 1-0, to win at 170.

Freshman Zack Martin (106) and junior James Kearney (Hwt) each placed third.

“I love wrestling tight matches, absolutely love it, and I was excited for this,” Oxley said.

“All you can do is go out there and wrestle your hardest, and that’s what I did,” Oxley said. “He’s an excellent wrestler, and he’s hard to wrestle. I was ready for this match, it was just a matter of going out there and performing.”

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Aquilina wrestled for a total of 1:52 in the entire tournament, winning his first two bouts by fall in 17 and 20 seconds, respectively.

last season at the same weight, Oxley as the Region VI champ and Bradley as the third-place medalist. Oxley beat Bradley, 4-3 in the region semifinals, on his way to the title, and anticipated a similar match this time.

In what could be a preview of this season’s Region VI final, Oxley used a takedown in the first period and another in the third, coupled with a defense that stuffed all of Bradley’s takedown attempts, to win the matchup of returning state qualifiers, 4-3, and claim the 195pound championship. He was subsequently selected as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler for the upper weights.

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CBA also had three champions as sophomore Sebastian Rivera won the 106-pound title with a 9-3 decision over Monroe’s Nicky Lombard and senior Erik Beshada won the 138-pound championship with a 4-2 victory over Manalapan’s Joe Santomarco. Sophomore Dylan Van Sickell was third at 126 pounds.

CBA 195-pd senior Mike Oxley

Oxley’s win over Bradley in the final wasn’t enough to keep Jackson Memorial from winning the team title, however. Led by 182pound champion Connor Bohringer, second-place finishers Brody Graham (220) and Bradley, and third-place finishers Fred Terranova (113) and Sean Leahey (152), the Jaguars, ranked No. 8 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10, bested No. 5 Toms River South 115.5-102 with No. 9 CBA finishing third with 99.5.

Bohringer showed off his exceptional top position skills by riding out West Orange’s Christopher Morgan for the entirety of the third period to hold on for a 1-0 win. He won by fall in his three prior matches, including a pin of Toms River South’s Quentin DeCarlo in 2:32 in the semifinals.

Graham, who is in just his second year of wrestling, used a pair of 1-0 victories and a 6-0 win over Jackson Liberty’s Mike McKenzie in the semifinals to reach the 220-pound championship bout, where he was pinned by Manalapan’s Ben Aquilina in 1:15.

Middletown South’s Matt Best was the lone champion for the host Eagles. He pinned Voorhees’s Thomas Riley in 2:42 to win the 152pound bracket and won by fall in three of his four matches.

Jackson Liberty’s Mike Russo, the fourth-place finisher in the state tournament at 106 pounds last season, won the 120-pound title with a 3-0 decision over Voorhees’s Cody Ihling.

Watchung Hills senior Mike Magaldo won his fourth Walter Woods title by majoring Jackson Liberty’s Matt Russo, 12-1, and was selected as the Outstanding Wrestler for the lower weights. Magaldo is a two-time state finalist, the 2012 120-pound state champion and is ranked No. 6 in the nation at 132 pounds. He is committed to Oklahoma State.

& Photos by:

Bob Badders www.shoresportsnetwork.com

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Home Sweet Home: Brick Memorial Impresses at Mustang Classic

A lec Donovan had a very specific set of plans for this

By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

year's Mustang Classic.

The Brick Memorial junior wanted a chance at Ocean’s two-time state medalist Zach Hertling in the 152-pound bracket.

Hertling, however, was not entered in the tournament after wrestling five matches at last weekend’s Beast of the East Tournament. So instead, Donovan set his sights on St. John Vianney’s Terrence Davis to exact some revenge.

(106), Luis Bocalman (120) and Tyler Poling (220) each placed second while Rob Ruggiero (145), Cliff Ruggiero (160) and Marcus Foster (Hwt) wrestled back for third.

with a stunning upset of top-seeded Max Rallo of Ocean. Rallo was leading 16-3 before Bocalman caught him in a near-side cradle and pinned him with 1:01 left in the third period. Bocalman was defeated in the final by High Point’s Dominick Gallo, 7-0. Poling edged High Point’s Robert McDonnell, 1-0, to reach the 220-pound final before dropping a 7-2 decision to Delsea’s Bryan Dobzanski, the defending state champion at that weight who is also ranked No. 2 in the nation by InterMat. “He’s one of the best kids in the country, and the fact that I hung with him and didn’t get pinned gives me confidence,” Poling said. “I fought to get up and earned both my points, so that’s what I

“I wanted to wrestle Davis as a rematch from the All-Star (Invitational) when he beat me (6-5),” Donovan said. “I knew If I could stop him in the first period without him taking me down I could gas him out and work for my points.”

Donovan got his wish with a semifinal meeting against Davis, and he made good on his prediction with a hard-fought 3-1 victory, which he parlayed into an 11-0 victory over High Point’s Chris Auer in the final to place first in the 152-pound bracket.

Donovan’s two best assets – endurance and relentlessness – were on display against the Lancers senior, who excels at defensive wrestling. Donovan took multiple shots through the first two periods but couldn’t get Davis to the mat.

He finally broke through late in the third period to win 3-1. In the final, he dominated Auer from start to finish to give host Brick Memorial the first of its two champions on the afternoon.

build on.”

take out of it. It’s a learning experience that I’ll look to

Tenth-ranked Wall had three finalists and one champion, as freshman Joseph McKenzie came from the No. 8 seed to win a wideopen 170-pound bracket. McKenzie won by fall over Ocean’s Viet Le in his opening bout before upending top-seeded Kenny Swartz of Riverside, 3-1, in the quarterfinals. He pinned Paulsboro’s Jim Sutton in 34 seconds to reach the final where he held off St. John Vianney’s Matt Falco, 5-2.

“I could feel him getting tired in the second period,” Brick Memorial 152-pd junior Alec Donovan Donovan said of Davis. “As the season goes on I watch to see if Ghione fell to St. Augustine sophomore Reid White, 8-6 in sudden victory, in a back-and-forth match that featured some great mat certain kids gas out or not, and I wrestling complete with five reversals. White hit a throw near the use that to my advantage. Once I boundary in overtime to claim the title. Bocalman reached the final got through Davis I thought I was going to win it all.”

“I give credit to Donovan, he is a very hard worker,” said Brick Memorial head coach Mike Denver. “He wrestled very tough and very smart.”

Crimson Knights junior Denzel Tovar, the top seed at 113 pounds, lost a 7-5 decision to Paulsboro freshman Anthony Duca in the final.

At 160, Brett Donner fell to Riverside’s Christian Stackhouse, 3-1 in sudden victory, in a matchup of state qualifiers. The match was not without controversy, though. The official signaled a takedown for Donner in overtime but quickly waved it off. Stackhouse later secured the winning takedown.

No. 7 Ocean had a pair of third-place finishers with Rallo placing third at 120 and Costa Poniros taking bronze at 126.

Paulsboro had a tournament-high five champions with Duca, Sam Morina (132), Juan Rivera (138), Ronnie Gentile (145) and Davontae Randall (Hwt) winning titles. Gentile, the second-place finisher in the state tournament at 132 pounds last season, defeated High Point’s Jason Gaccione, the state fourth-place finisher at 145, 7-5 in the championship bout. He was selected as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler. Morina pinned High Point’s Mike Derin, who was the state eighth-place finisher at 132 last season, in the final.

High Point had a pair of champions in Gallo and Kyle Stoll (195). Stoll was the sixth-place finisher at 195 pounds in last season’s state tournament.

Brick Memorial senior Nick Costa also brought home gold by winning the 182-pound bracket. Costa, the seventh-place finisher in the state tournament at 182 pounds last season, majored Wall’s Tommy Wishart 17-4 in the quarterfinals, defeated High Point’s Antonio Porraspita 6-1 in the semifinals and then won by major decision over St. Augustine’s James Bennett, 9-1, to take the title.

Brick Memorial, ranked No. 1 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10, had a total of five finalists and three third-place finishers in the tournament, although team scoring was not kept. Gianni Ghione

by: Brick Memorial 182-pd senior Nick Costa

Bob Badders www.shoresportsnetwork.com

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A Clean Slate: M a n c h e s t e r’s KaShaun Barnes

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

B

efore KaShaun Barnes had even been in high school for a week, he was already a sensation.

In the midst of the Matawan football team’s season opener on Sept. 11, 2010, a 14-year-old Barnes was inserted into the game at quarterback for star Jared Allison, who was battling leg cramps. A highly-touted Huskies team was in a one-point battle with underdog Freehold Boro when the freshman newcomer threw a pair of touchdown passes, including a 64-yard bomb on the run to wide receiver Austin Davis that drew a gasp from the crowd. Matawan went on to a 22-2 victory, and just like that, a star was seemingly born.

However, since that

auspicious debut, everything hasn’t quite gone completely according to script, and much of it has been Barnes’ own doing.

He has seen dizzying highs and lows. He was the starting quarterback on Matawan’s 2011 Central Jersey Group II championship team, making clutch plays in a playoff run that culminated with the Huskies stunning Rumson-Fair Haven in the final after losing to the Bulldogs in the regular season. A little over a year later, he was dismissed from the basketball team last winter and suspended from school for a violation of school rules, the latest in a series of infractions.

He was not part of the team when the 24th-seeded Huskies shocked Christian Brothers Academy on a last-second jumper in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament for one of their biggest wins in program history last season.

“I’ve been through it all,’’ Barnes said.

Following his disciplinary issue last winter, he transferred to Manchester before the end of the school year. He has found a new home with the Hawks, a place where he has been able to wipe the slate clean, get his life back on track, and finish his athletic career on a high note. After a successful football season with Manchester as a quarterback/wide receiver/defensive back that earned him Shore Sports Network thirdteam All-Shore honors, he is now a key cog as a guard on the Hawks’ basketball team.

“It definitely helps to have him on the floor obviously, but off the floor as well,’’ said Manchester coach Ryan Ramsay.

“He’s a born leader.”

He is one of only two seniors on a team that won its first WOBM Christmas Classic in the 30-year history of the tournament. He earned tournament MVP honors, scoring at least 19 points in all three games, including a team-high 20 in the championship victory over Jackson Memorial.

The player who was a disciplinary headache only a season ago now serves as a calming influence for a young Hawks team that includes sophomores Jordan Torney and Israel Almestica, who started as freshmen, and sophomore Shavar Reynolds, who chipped in 15 points on Saturday.

See

BARNES page 14

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Building a Foundation: Manasquan Girls Basketball

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n her initial year at the helm of Manasquan’s girls basketball team last season, Lisa Kukoda’s first order of business was making sure the Warriors’ program didn’t go off a cliff.

After winning the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions for the first time in program history in 2012, Manasquan graduated All-State guard Michaela Mabrey, who is now at Notre Dame, while two of the top players in the state, Mabrey’s sister, Marina, and guard Katelynn Flaherty, transferred to Point Beach before last season started. Meanwhile, Kukoda was the second coach to be hired for the job, as Brick Memorial coach Ken Fischer initially committed before opting out of the job two weeks later. It would have been easy to assume that the Warriors would drop off the radar with that kind of

eshmen Stella Clark

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“I don’t think people thought that was what was going to happen, especially after Marina and Katelynn left,’’ said senior forward Sam Sullivan, who started on the T of C-winning team in 2011-12.

“We always knew we had a good team, so that didn’t get our hopes down. It just made us hungrier.”

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

Everybody is going to come and battle against us, and everybody is going to come and bring their best game against us.”

With that eyeopening success right out of the gate, Kukoda and the Warriors are now out to take the next step of proving it was no fluke and establishing a solid program that can contend on a yearly basis.

Kukoda, whose husband, Matt Kukoda, is the head boys basketball coach at New Egypt, knows all about being part of a successful program. Back when she was Lisa Kuchinski, the 2004 Red Bank Catholic graduate starred as a guard for the Caseys, who are perennially one of New Jersey’s top teams. She moved on to play at Manhattan before serving as an assistant under veteran RBC coach Joe Montano until deciding to go for the Manasquan job.

“I think that they’re excited for the challenge,’’ Kukoda said about her team. “I said last year we were kind of the underdogs and nobody really knew about us, but this year we have to be ready.

talent exodus and a new coach coming in.

All Kukoda did was lead a relatively unknown team with an almost entirely new lineup to a 20-win season while playing in New Jersey’s hardest division, Shore Conference Class A Central, where powers like St. John Vianney, Red Bank Catholic and Rumson-Fair Haven lurk along with a solid Holmdel program.

The second-seeded Warriors were ready for their opponents' best in this year's WOBM Christmas Classic, as they won their second championship in three seasons. They knocked off Toms River East, Wall, and then Red Bank Catholic in the final.

Sullivan led the way as the tournament MVP and dropped in a game-high 20 points in the win over the Caseys

The two are now friendly rivals, as the Warriors battled the Caseys into overtime before dropping their season opener this year.

Ironically, Kukoda is now trying to build a consistent winner at Manasquan by keeping the homegrown talent away from teams like

Junior Courtney Hagaman

Head Coach Lisa Kukoda

See

MANASQUAN page 17

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Continued from page 13

“Being here has taught me really how to grow up and how to come to a new team and fit in and just be an adult,’’ Barnes said. “I think this is a perfect situation to show that I can be a leader because we have a bunch of young guys.”

“He’s been there,’’ said fellow senior Darius Barlow. “He tells guys about his past experiences and how to learn from them. He’s been on both sides. He understands the ups and downs.”

As far as on the court, he gives the seventh-seeded Hawks a physical 6-foot-3 athlete who rebounds well for a guard and can handle the ball, get to the rim, and defend. He also is a four-year varsity player.

“We know he can handle certain situations like this close game today,’’ Reynolds said. “He gives us another guard with size who is an all-around player.”

When Barnes came to Manchester last year, Ramsay said he met with him personally to discuss the issues he had at Matawan. Barnes has not had any disciplinary problems since arriving at his new school.

“To his credit, he’s been a model citizen,’’ Ramsay said. “Off the floor and in the classroom, he’s been fantastic.”

“He’s a senior, he’s learned from his mistakes and now he’s just moving forward,’’ Barlow said.

A stabilized home life has also contributed to Barnes working to put his problems in the past. He said he lives in Manchester with his mother and his uncle, Michael Barnes, a sergeant with the Asbury Park Police Department who works in the gang unit.

“He makes sure everything is right, and he’s just trying to teach me how to be a grown man,’’ Barnes said.

an athletic career that threatened to go off the rails last winter has been rejuvenated.

Barnes has been given a second chance, and so far he is doing his best to make the most of it.

What also has helped is that Manchester is not Matawan, a football-mad town with a proud tradition where expectations can be overwhelming once a player shows promise at an early age like Barnes did.

“This has been a fresh start for me,” he said. “The future is looking bright.”

“Matawan is a small town,’’ Barnes said. “It was a lot on me when I was only 14 years old.”

He has now found a new home at Manchester, where

Photos by:

Bill Normile

WOBM MVP senior guard KaShaun Barnes

www.billnormile.zenfolio.com

Cliff Lavelle

www.clearedge.zenfolio.com

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A S A M P L I N G O F C U R R E N T A N D F O R M E R M A C A L L - S TA R S n Sehmonyeh Allen—Neptune

n Sean Armand—Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis HS (NY)

n Delvon Arrington—St. Anthony’s n Brian Baker—Colts Neck

n Mustafa Barksdale—RBR

n Robert Barksdale—Asbury Park

n Billy Beggans—Ocean Township n Kate Beriont—St. John Vianney

n Dana Jean DeGennaro—RBC

n Greg Ford—Trenton Central

n Karen Otrupchak—RBR

n Pat Delaney—CBA

n Billy Gilligan—RBR

n Toni Panza—St. John Vianney

n Mark Donnelly—RBR

n Erica Gomez—St. John Vianney

n Kristian Duravcevic—Fordham Preparatory School (NY)

n Kevin Grier—CBA

n Chris Delaney—CBA

n Jose Diaz—Pt. Pleasant Beach

n Sean Dunne—CBA

n Mike Faherty—Brooklyn Polytech

n Steve Bridgemohan—E Brunswick

n Matt Farrell—Pt. Pleasant Beach

n Brandon Brown—Freehold Boro

n Sarah Fisher—RBR

n Rashon Bruno—St. Anthony’s

n Colin Ford—Manasquan

n Josh Brody—RBR

n Yesenia Burgos—St. John Vianney n Courtney Calderon—St. John Vianney

n Isaias Calderon—Neptune

n Quarran Calhoun—Raritan

n Shilique Calhoun – Middletown North

n Richard Calia—Holmdel

n Cooper Calzonetti—Neptune

n Chasen Campbell—Oak Hill Academy (VA) n Cleveland Cannon— Long Branch

n Raheem Carter—Long Branch

n Corey Chandler—East Side

n Markens Charles —St. Patrick

n Robert Cheeks—St. Anthony’s n Rahmir Cottman—RBR

n Vincent Council—Lincoln (NY) n Don Coven—Long Branch

n Jared Craddox—Lakewood n Sumit Dalal—Marlboro

n Charles Davis—Neptune

n Syessence Davis—Neptune n Paul De Salvo—CBA

n Allen Dean—Neptune

n Taquan

Dean—Neptune

n Crissie Fisher—Rumson-Fair Haven n Adam Fleischner—Holmdel

n Glen Ford—RBC

n Avery Gardner—Long Branch

n Kevin Owens—Neptune

n Tyler Glass—Mater Dei Prep

n Evan Pastorelle—RBC

n Dana Graziano—Holmdel

n Anthony Perry—St. Anthony’s

n Paul Halas—St. Rose n Felicia Harris—RBR

n Michael Harris—Randolph

n Mykel Harris—Great Mills (MD)

n Ashley Hart—The Peddie School

n Eugene “Nu Nu” Harvey—St. Benedict’s Prep n Corey Haskins—RBR

n JR Hobbie—Manasquan

n Kasey Hobbie—RBC

n Darien Hutton—Ewing n Nolan Ivers—Holmdel

n Jasmine Jackson—Old Bridge

n Rosie Jackson—St. John Vianney

n Melvin Johnson—St. Benedict’s Prep n Tyson Johnson—St. Mary’s (NY)

n Michael Kelly—St. Anthony’s (NY) n Billy Kiss—Long Branch

n Shinece Perry—RBR

n Earl Pettis—Saints John Neumann & Maria Goretti Catholic (PA)

n Simon Press—Asbury Park n Joey Raines—Asbury Park

n Alifiya Rangwala— The Ranney School

n David Reeves—RBC

n Jarelle Reischel—Pt. Pleasant Beach

n Anne Richards—The Lawrenceville School

n Charlie Rogers—Matawan

n Amanda Rosato—St. John Vianney

n Will Sanborn—RBR

n Shira Schect—Hadassim HS (ISRAEL)

n Keyron Sheard—RBR

n Brian Snodgrass—Holmdel

n Lauren Sokol—The Peddie School

n Stephen Spinella—Colts Neck n Matt Stahl—Middletown South

n Missy Stavola—Rumson-Fair Haven

n Nick La Morte—Mater Dei Prep

n Jenna Strich—RBC

n Erin Leahy—Rumson-Fair Haven

n Kim Talbot—RBC

n Herve Lamizana—St. Patrick’s

n Carl Little—Asbury Park

n Maggie Loundy—Pt. Pleasant Beach

n Mike Mavrinac—Middletown South

n Jasmine McCall—Manalapan

n Billy McCue—CBA

n Roshown McLeod—St. Anthony’s

n Christian Morris—S. Kent School (CT)

n Darius Morris—Long Branch

n Valerie Morris—Freehold Boro n Michael Murphy—Howell

n Sachin Nagpal—Ranney School

n Brian O’Reilly—Middletown South

n Scott Stump—RBC

n Aaron Tarver—RBR

n Terrance Todd—Neptune

n Maurice Turpin— Long Branch

n John Weldon—Freehold Boro

n Dawn Werner—St. John Vianney

n John Werner—St John Vianney

n Kayshanna Wesley—Asbury Park n Kade Weston—RBR

n Eric Yarborough—Asbury Park

n Tomora Young—RBR n Terry Zinn—RBC

n Lynne Zoltowski—RBC

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Continued from page 14 RBC. Essentially she is out to convince the future Lisa Kukodas from Manasquan’s sending district to play for the Warriors and resist the siren call of nonpublic powers like her alma mater and St. John Vianney.

“I told them right from the beginning my vision for a team and my vision for a program, and it’s not just on the court,’’ she said.

“It’s being a part of the community, and representing yourself in the school. I’m hoping to be here for the long run, and what I want to do for that vision of the future is for them to help start that legacy, start that tradition.

that’s what I want to establish here. I think that’s what these girls have. I think the school obviously has a great athletic tradition, and I just want to continue that pride in being a Manasquan girls basketball player.”

It also helped that Kukoda had no attachment to the previous drama involving the most accomplished team in school history in 2011-12.

Flaherty’s father was fired from his position as an assistant with the Warriors during that season in controversial fashion, and head coach Felix Romero stepped down after winning the T of C. Then came the transfer of the Warriors’ two top players, which Manasquan challenged on the grounds of athletic advantage. The NJSIAA ruled in favor of allowing Flaherty and Mabrey to transfer to Point Beach without penalty.

“I came in and I

Sustained success at a public school program in the loaded Shore Conference is a challenge for any team.

Several public programs have had their runs during the last decade in the rarefied air with the nonpublic powers, but the graduation of an elite class, which usually is an AAU team that came to the program intact, often means the end of any championship dreams for most teams. To be able to produce a squad that can make a run at 20 wins every year and compete for titles is a daunting task, but Kukoda is up for the challenge.

It also helps that there is a proud tradition of girls basketball at Manasquan that dates back to its infancy as a program. Current ESPN analyst Doris Burke (formerly Sable) starred for the Warriors in the early 1980s, and Hall of Fame coach Dick Johnson had a career record of 475-179 from 19812003 that included five NJSIAA titles, a pair of Shore Conference Tournament championships and 14 division titles.

“At RBC, it’s all about the tradition,’’ Kukoda said. “It’s all about the pride in being a Casey, and

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Warriors to No. 1 in the state. The hardest step to take is the next one, which is getting back to being a championship contender and finding a way to make it out of the piranha tank in Class A Central, the Shore Conference Tournament and a Central Jersey Group II bracket featuring perennial power Rumson-Fair Haven.

Manasquan added a major piece to its championship aspirations when Mabrey transferred back to the Warriors on Jan. 2, giving them one of the top players in the state to combine with an already talented core.

“I think we can show that no matter who is on our team, we can all come together and still be great,’’ said junior guard Courtney Hagaman. “We definitely take that as a challenge to show that we can do it with the people we do have.”

This group of Warriors is in the mold of their coach, sharing the ball offensively and using smothering defense as the backbone of their attack.

Eight different players scored in the win over Toms River East, led by 14 points from Hagaman, 13 from Sullivan and 10 from guard Eva Hart. The future also looks bright considering freshmen Stella Clark, Addie Masonius and Victoria Galvan are all part of the rotation. The Warriors play together and they play with enthusiasm, which was evident in the big grin Sullivan gave forward Bridget Ford after the two executed a high-low play for a layup in the second half.

“We love playing the

Senior Bridget Ford

“We want girls who look at Manasquan and say, ‘Hey, I want to go there, and I want to play there.’ I think that these girls have done a good job of making these young girls in our sending district want to come play for us, wanting to be a Manasquan Warrior. Being (a teacher) in the elementary school, I want to create that relationship with these younger girls in all of our sending districts of letting them know that this is a program, and we want you to come and play for us.”

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was like, I could care less what happened previously,’’ Kukoda said. “I could care less who was involved, and what anyone has to say about it. I tell the girls all the time, I’m only worried about what the people in this locker room have to say. We’re the ones who are going to make this happen.”

Kukoda has shown that Manasquan can keep the wins coming despite a challenging schedule without having the megawatt talent that lifted the

game,’’ Sullivan said. “We know our coach loves us.

When we have a good play that she specifically drew up and we execute it, we’re excited because we know she’s going to be happy.”

“Right from the very beginning I told the girls that I’m excited to be here, but I need everyone to buy into what I’m asking you to do,’’ Kukoda said. “Everybody has really accepted that and understands that we can go pretty far if everybody wants to be a part of it and buy into it.”

A program that threatened to go into the abyss has quickly regained its footing with a determined coach and a solid group of players eager to prove last season was no aberration.

Senior Sam Sullivan

“We are known now, so people do expect a lot more from us,’’ Hagaman said. “That just makes us want to play harder.”

Photos by:

Bill Normile

www.billnormile.zenfolio.com

Cliff Lavelle

www.clearedge.zenfolio.com

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Tawiah, Huskies Spoil Cox’s Milestone Night M atawan senior Chris Tawiah came into this season wanting to

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

exhibit more confidence as Matawan’s third scoring option alongside two breakout sophomores from a year ago, juniors Jason Dunne and Joe Piscopo.

Tawiah led Matawan in scoring for the fourth time in six games Monday with a career-high, 26-point performance to help lead the Huskies – the No. 6 team in the Shore Sports Network Top 10 – to a 60-48 win over No. 4 Long Branch.

“I wasn’t as confident as I needed to be last year,” said Tawiah, who hit five 3-pointers on Monday. “I made some shots here and there, but I only took about four or five a game, and I was sometimes hesitant to take a shot or make a pass because we had Joe and Jason out there. I’ve been playing with those guys since middle school and I always felt comfortable playing with them, but I needed to be more confident in myself to help this team like I know I can.”

Dunne added 15 points and Piscopo chipped in 10 for Matawan, which won its fourth straight and took over sole possession of first place in the Shore Conference Class B North division during the early part of the season.

The Huskies overcame a 20-point game by Green Wave senior Terrel Cox, who scored the 1,000th point of his career early in the second quarter.

Tawiah scored eight points in each of the first two quarters to pace Matawan to a 30-22 halftime lead. The Huskies started the third quarter on a 7-1 run before Long Branch battled back to within eight points heading into the third quarter, 42-34.

The Huskies put the game away during the middle-to-late stages of the fourth quarter with a 6-1 run that stretched a 49-40 lead to 55-41. Tawiah capped the spurt with a putback and two free throws to end his scoring.

“Most people who talk about us are going to look at Jason and Joe as the guys to stop and I told (Tawiah) coming into the year that he was going to have a chance to do damage,” Matawan coach Tom Stead said. “He’s got such a quick release, so when you get him running off those double screens, it doesn’t take much for him to be able to get off his shot.”

Cox helped keep Long Branch in the game during the second quarter, when he scored nine of his team-high 20 points and also joined his father, Timmy Cox, and cousin, Darryl Daniels, in Long Branch’s 1,000-point club. Cox stole the ball near midcourt and finished a lay-up as he was fouled to put him at 1,001 career points. After Monday, Cox now has 1,012 career points.

“I grew up with Terrel’s father in the same neighborhood

Senior Chris Tawiah

and there’s a lot of pride in this program, especially when you’re talking about an accomplishment like this,” Long Branch coach Stan Mooney said. “Terrel has had family come before him and I know it means a lot to be able to follow in their footsteps.”

Matawan won the game despite shooting 16-for-29 (55 percent) from the free-throw line because Long Branch was even worse. The Green Wave shot just 7-for-21 (33 percent) and after taking away Cox’s contribution (4-for6), Long Branch shot only 3-for-15 (20 percent).

“We got lucky tonight because under different circumstances, we really could have cost ourselves at the free-throw line,” Stead said. “We were really fortunate that they had trouble too and going forward, that’s something we’re going to have to get better at because there are going to be games that come down to making foul shots.”

Piscopo and Dunne each added four assists and Piscopo had three steals to cap a solid all-around game for the Huskies’ trio of guards, which combined for 51 of the 60 Matawan points.

“Those guys combined to make over 150 threes last year, so we knew coming in we had that scoring,” Stead said. “We get in trouble when we rely on that too much, and I’d like to see us work the ball inside and then kick it out rather than just settling. These guys are all capable players and they come ready to work so it’s something I think we’ll get better at and if we do, I think we can be a pretty dangerous team.”

by:

Matt Manley www.shoresportsnetwork.com

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Join The

Shore Sports Network Team Today!

Interested in joining our team and think you have what it takes to be covering sports in the Shore Conference for Shore Sports Network? We are looking for local writers interested in covering sports like Lacrosse, Baseball, Football, Basketball, Soccer, Swimming, Track, Ice Hockey and more as part of our

newspaper and our website (www.shoresportsnetwork.com). Grab your chance to appear regularly in The Shore Sports Network by-weekly publication and posted on www.shoresportsnetwork.com while helping us recognize more athletes and bring more stories to Shore Conference sports fans. This is your

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Just contact Managing Editor Scott Stump @ stump@allshoremedia.com

VOLUME-VI through. Plus, it’s often difficult to produce concrete proof that an athlete transferred for athletic advantage even though it’s plainly obvious. Schools used to routinely challenge transfers on the grounds of athletic advantage when players bolted out the door, but it so rarely ever results in ineligibility that they pretty much have just given up and let the athletes go.

ith W each pas s in g year, it gets wor s e an d wor s e.

There practically needs to be a “transactions” section on sites covering New Jersey high school sports to keep up with all of the players bouncing from school to school as transfers. The latest high-profile athletes from the Shore Conference to switch schools are the tandem of girls basketball stars Marina Mabrey and Katelynn Flaherty. Both starred on the Point Beach team that won its first NJSIAA Group I title last year, and less than a year later, both are gone.

Mabrey, a junior, went back to Manasquan, where she played as a freshman on a team that won the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions.

Flaherty, a senior, has moved on to play at Metuchen, her third high school in three years, as she also played on that Manasquan championship team. Meanwhile, Point Beach, a small Group I school, goes from title contender to trying to find enough players to field a team.

It’s the latest in the free agency that has become rampant, particularly in basketball. Teams that win championships one year might have a completely different roster by the next year. The quest for scholarships means that parents will do anything necessary if they feel they have a chance to improve the situation. If they can get more spotlight on their son or daughter by playing on a better team, they will change addresses in the drop of a hat.

The case of Mabrey and Flaherty is a little different because they don’t need exposure or scholarships. Flaherty is already committed to Michigan, and Mabrey has numerous Division I offers, so changing programs was not going to affect their status in that regard.

Transfers can always use the argument that they didn’t like the school, they wanted a better academic situation, blah, blah, blah, because no one can concretely prove that’s not true. The new one is star athletes saying they were bullied, and that’s why they left. Sure, because star athletes at high schools get bullied all the

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If it’s not the quest for scholarships, it’s often because of the AAU mentality of all the stars teaming up together. Why work hard to raise a program up when you can just get a dummy address, join an all-star team and Manasquan's Marina Mabrey ride that to glory? I take secret delight in players The main tactic by families has and their parents been getting a cheap apartment so that they have a proof overestimating their talent, transferring to a big-time of an address in the new sending district and the athlete program and then getting buried on the bench or having to can be eligible right away. I have heard stories of families take a backseat when an even more talented transfer that live in luxury homes in one town just renting an shows up. Players and parents pay lip service to the apartment for $700 in another town that they have no concept of adversity making kids better and tougher, but intention of ever using just to get that address. Either that, whenever any of it strikes, people just bail out now and go or there is always conveniently an aunt, uncle or to another school. grandmother that lives in the new town.

Making the transfers of Mabrey and Flaherty especially The NJSIAA does not have the resources to police all eye-opening is that they are eligible immediately and the activity and investigate every claim that comes

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Metuchen started 1-3 but has a 1,000-point scorer in Cassie Smith, so you add Flaherty, who averaged 30.3 points per game last year, and Metuchen could be like Point Beach was last season, with a high-scoring tandem that is hard for any team to match at the Group I level. It’s to the point that even after the season starts, you don’t truly know the championship contenders because the roster made change in-season. Coaches who complain about all the player movement have learned to tone it down, because they might be the beneficiaries of a high-profile transfer in the future.

I just imagine what in-season transfers would be like in a really high-profile sport like football. We already know the effects in general – Brick won its first state title since 1994 this fall by adding first-team AllShore quarterback Carmen Sclafani from Toms River North in the offseason. Imagine some 1,500-yard rusher transferred on Sept. 10 and was eligible by Week Two on a loaded team that was only missing a running back in its arsenal. People would be going nuts, and I’m sure it will happen in the not-too-distant future at the rate we’re going.

I can’t remember a time when there were more joyless title runs by teams than in these last few seasons. A school will win a championship, and most people just shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh, the mercenary squad from (insert school name here).” That is the world we live in now, and I don’t see how it is going to change.

Any time the NJSIAA makes a stab at changing the rules, parents just find a new way around it.

If anything, it just says more about what we have become as an athletic community. College is more expensive than ever, so if parents have to cut corners to get around paying it, they will. Being part of an all-star team is more preferable than having to elevate a lessertalented program. If you don’t like kids on your team, if you’re not getting the stats you want, then you hit the road and just add another $700 to the family budget for your fake apartment address.

So if your team features a group of young talent and wins a championship or two this year, don’t start dreaming of a dynasty just yet. You might barely make it out of the season before it all comes apart.

Photos by:

Bill Normile

www.billnormile.zenfolio.com

Cliff Lavelle

www.clearedge.zenfolio.com

FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION Contact: Steven Meyer 732-233-4460

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don’t have to sit out the 30 days because they have established addresses in their respective sending districts.

Mabrey joins a talented Manasquan team that won the WOBM Christmas Classic and now looks to make a run at Shore Conference and state titles by adding one of the best players in the state.

Metuchen's Katelynn Flaherty

time. Give me a break.

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Pinelands Regional

Barnegat

School Address: 180 Bengal Boulevard, Barnegat Directions: From the north - Parkway to exit 67 (Barnegat). Make a left at the end of the exit ramp onto Bay Avenue. At second light make a left onto Barnegat Boulevard North. Go approximately one mile and make a left onto Bengal Boulevard. School is on the left. From the South-Parkway to Exit 63. Follow route 72 east to route 9 north. Make a left onto Bay Avenue. Make a right onto Barnegat Boulevard North and follow above direction.

Brick

School Address: 346 Chambers Bridge Road, Brick Directions: From north - Parkway exit 91. Stay right off exit. Go straight at light, follow to Route 88. Cross Route 88, go under Parkway overpass and school is just ahead on right. From south- Parkway exit 90. School is short distance on right from off-ramp.

Brick Memorial

School Address: 2001 Lanes Mill Road, Brick Directions: From South - Parkway exit 90. Ramp will put you on Chambers Bridge Road. Take first jughandle Uturn and go west on Chambers Bridge Road. Cross Route 88 and follow to second light, where there is a convenience store on the left and a gas station on the right.

The right and go over the Parkway. Pass the 7-Eleven and take the jughandle left turn for Lanes Mill Road. Go straight across, bear right just pass Lanes Mill Elementary School. High school is on right. From north - Parkway exit 91. Bear left after the toll. Follow jughandle around, turn right at light at gas station. Follow directions above after going over the Parkway.

Central Regional

School Address: Forest Hills Parkway, Berkeley Directions: From north - Parkway exit 77. Turn left off exit onto Double Trouble Road, follow it to traffic light. Turn left on Forest Hills Parkway. School is just ahead on right.

Parking entrance is at far end of school or at middle school lot. From south - Parkway exit 77. Turn right on Forest Hills Parkway. School is just ahead on right. Parking entrance is at far end of school or at middle school lot.

Jackson Liberty

School Address: 125 North Hope Chapel Road, Jackson Directions: From south- Route 9 north to Cox Cro Road Road in Toms River. Make a left onto Cox Cro and follow about two miles to 527 (Whitesville Road). Make a right onto 527 and follow for about 4-5 miles. Make a right onto

South Hope Chapel Road/CR-547. School is just ahead on the left. From north - Parkway exit 98. Take I-195 west to Exit 21. Bear left and turn onto Route 527 South. Follow for 6-7 miles and turn left onto South Hope Chapel Road (just after 527 becomes 528 at Whitesville Road). School is about a half mile on the right.

Jackson Memorial

School Address: Don Connor Boulevard, Jackson Directions: From south - Route 9 north to Route 571. Go about 10-12 miles west to Route 528 intersection. Turn right on Route 528. Continue on Don Connor Boulevard and make a right. School is a quarter mile on the left. From north - Parkway exit 98. Take I-195 west to exit 21. Bear left and turn onto Route 527 South. At second light turn right onto Route 528. Continue to Don Connor Boulevard and make a left. Follow directions above.

Lacey

School Address: Haines Street, Lacey Directions: Parkway Exit 74. Turn right on Lacey Road.

Follow less than two miles, take jughandle left turn for Manchester Avenue. Go to the first light, turn right on Haines Street. School is on the right.

Lakewood

School Address: 855 Somerset Ave, Lakewood Directions: From south - Parkway exit 90. Take immediate jughandle U-turn to go west on Chambers Bridge Road. Turn left onto Route 88, follow to New Hampshire Avenue and turn right. Take New Hampshire to end, turn left onto Ridge. Go about 1 ½ miles to school on right. From north - Parkway exit 91. Stay right off exit. Go straight at light, follow road to Route 88 intersection. Turn right on Route 88 and follow rest of directions above.

Manchester

School Address: 101 Colonial Drive, Manchester Directions: Parkway to Exit 82A. Take Route 37 west about five miles to jughandle for Colonial Drive. Cross 37 and follow back to school parking lot.

Monsignor Donovan

School Address: 711 Hooper Avenue, Toms River Directions: Parkway to Exit 82. Take Route 37 east and turn right on Hooper Avenue. Go south on Hooper about a half mile and turn left at the first light. School is on the right.

School Address: Nugentown Road, Little Egg Harbor Directions: Parkway Exit 58. Take Route 539 east about three miles. Turn right on Nugentown Road. School is three miles on the right.

Point Pleasant Beach

School Address: St. Louis and Chicago Avenues, Pt. Pleasant Beach Directions: From north - Route 35 south. After crossing Manasquan River, follow signs for Broadway/Beach and make U-turn onto route 35 North. Make a quick right onto Broadway. Make a right onto St. Louis Avenue and follow until you see the field. From south - Route 35 north. Make a right onto Broadway and continue with above listed directions.

Point Pleasant Boro

School Address: Laura Herbert Drive, Point Pleasant Directions: From north - Parkway Exit 91. Stay left off exit and take jughandle around to light at gas station. Turn right and follow Burnt Tavern Road to Route 70. Turn left on Route 70 and at next intersection turn right onto Herbertsville Road. Stay on Herbertsville Road to intersection with Route 88. Go straight through light to school less than a mile on the right. From south - Route 88 east to Beaver Dam Road and make a right. School entrance is ahead on right.

Southern Regional

School Address: 600 North Main St. (Route 9), Stafford Directions: Parkway exit 63. Take Route 72 east about two miles and bear right onto Route 9 north. Take Route 9 about three miles and school is on the left.

Toms River East

School Address: Raider Way, Toms River Directions: Parkway Exit 82, Take Route 37 east to Coolidge Avenue jughandle. Go north on Coolidge one mile to Raider Way. Turn left, school entrance is on the left.

Toms River North

School Address: Old Freehold Road, Toms River Directions: Parkway Exit 82. Take Route 37 East. At first light take a jughandle left onto Route 166 north. Bear right at next traffic light onto Old Freehold Road. School is about three miles ahead on right.

Toms River South

School Address: 101 Hyers Street, Toms River Directions: Parkway exit 82. Take Route 37 east. Turn right onto Hooper Avenue. The field is a half mile down on the right behind the Ocean County Courthouse.

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Neptune

School Address: 55 Neptune Boulevard, Neptune.

Directions: From north: Parkway Exit 102. Make a right

Asbury Park

Manalapan

66 east to traffic circle. Follow Route 35 north to Sunset Avenue. Turn right; school is about two miles on left.

From north - Parkway exit 102 to Asbury Avenue east.

Asbury Avenue runs into Route 66 and then same as above.

Tennent Road, then left on Church lane. School is a half mile on right.

School Address: 1003 Sunset Avenue, Asbury Park Directions: From south - Parkway exit 100A. Take Route

Colts Neck

School Address: 59 Five Points Road, Colts Neck Directions: Route 34 to Route 537 west toward

Freehold. School is two to three miles ahead on the left.

Freehold Boro

School Address: 2 Robertsville Road, Freehold Directions: Take Route 18 to Route 79 south. Turn left

onto Robertsville Road. Filed is one block ahead on left.

Freehold Township

School Address: 281 Elton-Adelphia Road, Freehold

Township

Directions: Take Route 9 to Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524). Go west on Route 524. School is one mile ahead on left.

Howell

School Address: 405 Squankum-Yellowbrook Road,

Howell

Directions: Route I-195 west to Lakewood-Farmingdale exit for Route 547 west (toward Farmingdale). Go about 200 yards to Squankum-Yellowbrook Road, turn left.

School is about two miles on left.

Holmdel

School Address: 36 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel Directions: Parkway exit 114. Go west on Red Hill

Raod. At first intersection, turn right onto Crawfords Corner Road. School is one and a half miles ahead on the right.

Keansburg

School Address: 140 Port Monmouth Road, Keansburg Directions: Parkway exit 114. Turn right off ramp onto

Red Hill Road. At first light, turn left onto VanShoik Road. VanSchoik becomes Laurel Avenue. Take Laurel across Route 35 to Route 36. Turn right on Route 36 and take to jughandle left turn for Main Street. At first light, turn right onto Port Monmouth Road. School is down on the right.

Keyport

School Address: 351 Broad Street, Keyport Directions: Parkway exit 117. Take G.S. Parkway Exit

117. Bear left on to Route 36 south. Take jughandle left onto Atlantic Street. School is on the left.

Long Branch

School Address: Indiana Avenue, Long Branch Directions: Parkway exit 105. Take Route 36 east, bear

onto route 71 past Monmouth University and turn left on Westwood Avenue. Make a right onto Bath Avenue and then a right onto Indiana Avenue. School is ahead on right.

School Address: 30 Church Lane, Manalapan Directions: Route 9 to Route 522 west. Turn right on

Manasquan

School Address: 159 Broad Street, Manasquan Directions: From north - Parkway exit 98. Take Route 34

south two miles to Manasquan/Sea Girt Exit. Go under Route 34 and follow Atlantic Avenue through circle.

School is about one mile ahead on left. From south Parkway exit 98. Take route 138 west to route 34 south, follow rest of above directions.

Marlboro

School Address: 95 Route 79, Marlboro Directions: Route 18 north to Route 79 north. School is a

few miles ahead on left.

Matawan

School Address: 450 Atlantic Avenue, Aberdeen Directions: Parkway exit 117. Bear left off exit (passing

northbound tollbooths) and get in left lane of Route 35 south. Turn left onto Route 35 north and follow sign back to the Parkway. Before toll booth, turn right on Clark Street. At light, turn left on Lloyd Road. At next light, turn right on Church Street. At next light, turn right on Atlantic. School is just ahead on the right.

Mater Dei

School Address: 538 Church Street, Middletown Directions: Parkway exit 114. Turn right on Red Hill

Road, follow to end. Turn left onto Kings Highway, and right on Harmony Road, Take Harmony Road across Route 35 and turn right on Cherry Tree Farm Road.

School is one and a half miles ahead on left.

Middletown North

School Address: 63 Tindall Road, Middletown Directions: Parkway exit 114. Turn right onto Red Hill

Road and follow to end. Turn right onto Kings Highway.

Make a right and follow to Route 35 south to the jughandle for Tindall Road. Take the jughandle and then make a right to Tindall Road. The school will be a half mile on right.

Middletown South

School Address: 501 Nutswamp Road, Middletown Directions: Parkway exit 114. Go east on Red Hill Road

to light for Dwight Road. Turn right on Dwight Road to Middletown-Lincroft Road. Cross Middletown-Lincroft Road to Nutswamp. School is a half mile on the right.

Monmouth Regional

School Address: 1 Normal J. Field Way, Tinton Falls Directions: Parkway to exit 105. Take jughandle at first

traffic light to Hope Road and go north to Tinton Avenue.

Turn left on Tinton Avenue and go about half a mile to school entrance on the right, just before Parkway overpass.

on Asbury Avenue after the exit and take that until it intersects with Rt. 66 east. Bear right on to Neptune Boulevard and stay to the right at the exit. Go straight at the stop sign and go through the next traffic light. School is down on the right. From south: Take Parkway Exit 100 A (Rt. 66 East/Asbury Park) and follow directions above from Rt. 66.

Ocean Township

School Address: 550 West Park Avenue, Ocean

Township

Directions: Route 35 to West Park Avenue. Go east on

West Park Avenue, school is a half mile on the right.

Raritan

School Address: 419 Middle Road, Hazlet Directions: From north - Parkway exit 114. Make a left

off the exit onto Red Hill Road, which turns into Laurel Avenue. Follow Laurel north across Route 35 to Middle Road. Turn left, school is on the right. From south Parkway Exit 114. Turn right onto Red Hill Road, which turns into Laurel Avenue. Follow Laurel north across Route 35 to Middle Road. Turn left, school is on the right.

Red Bank Regional

School Address: 101 Ridge Road, Little Silver Directions: Parkway exit 109. Take Newman Springs

Road east to end to Route 35 (Broad Street), turn left. At the second light, turn right on Harding Road. School is one and a half miles on right.

Red Bank Catholic

School Address: 112 Broad Street, Red Bank Directions: Parkway exit 105. Take Rt. 520 (Newman

Springs Road) east for about 4 miles and make a left at the traffic light on to Rt. 35 north/Broad Street. School is about 1 1/2 miles down on the left.

Rumson-Fair Haven

School Address: 74 Ridge Road, Rumson Directions: Parkway exit 109. Take Newman Springs

Road east to Route 35 (Broad Street), turn left. At the second light, turn right on Harding Road. After about three miles, Harding becomes Ridge Road. Pass Red Bank Regional High School and go about three more miles.

Rumson-Fair Haven will be on the left.

St. John Vianney

School Address: 540 Road, Holmdel Directions: Parkway exit 117. Bear left off exit (passing

northbound tollbooths) and get in left lane of Route 35 south. Turn left onto Route 35 north and follow sign back to the parkway. Before tollbooth, turn right onto Clark Street. At light, turn left on Lloyd Road. At first light, turn left onto Church Street. At next light, turn right onto Line road. School is on left.

Shore Regional

School Address: Route 36 east, West long Branch Directions: Parkway exit 105. Take route 36 a few miles,

cross route 71. School is just ahead on the right.

Wall

School Address: 18th Avenue & New Bedford Rd, Wall Directions: Parkway exit 98. Take Route 138 east about

two miles to second light, turn right onto New Bedford Road. Follow to school entrance on left.

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