All Shore Media 11-22-11 Volume III Issue-21

November 22, 2011 Volume-III - Issue-21 N a t i o n a l Guard T e a m o f t he Week Pa g e 3 Shore Sends 5 to State Finals Pa g e 4 Larry Alston III Feature Pa g e 8 -9 CBA Soccer Finishes Undefeated Pa g e 1 1 M e l v i n ' s Review Pa g e 1 2 Lacrosse P r e s e a s o n Training Pa g e 1 4 Stumpy’s Corner Pa g e 1 5

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November 22, 2011 I Volume-III I Issue-21

provides exciting and innovative coverage to high school athletics in the Shore Conference in order to highlight the achievements of local athletes in one of the premier conferences in New Jersey. Whether it’s the star of the team or the last player off the bench, everyone has a story and it is our mission to recognize as many athletes as possible and add to the memories for all of the families, coaches, friends and fans who support Shore Conference sports. Whether in print or on the Web, All Shore Media is your main source for all things exciting in the Shore Conference.

All Shore Media Web Site Features Log on to www.allshoremedia.com regularly to get video highlights of all the important games that Shore Conference fans will be talking about. Catch up on the action you might have missed and watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the big finish as well as video interviews with various athletes. If you can’t make it to the game, we’ll bring the game to you, and if you were at the game and want to relive the excitement, www.allshoremedia.com is all you need to get inside the action.

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Volume-III

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New For This Season

In conjunction with All Shore Media, The National Guard will honor one team a week that showed the character, perseverance and hard work emblematic of The National Guard during its performance that weekend. A plaque will be presented to that team during practice that week in honor of a great showing. advance to the Central Jersey Group II semifinals for the third straight year.

WEEk-1

Ocean Township

WEEk-3

WEEk-2

Red Bank Catholic

WEEk-4

Jackson Memorial

Central Regional

WEEk-5

WEEk-6

Southern Regional

WEEk-7 Barnegat

WEEk-9 Rumson

WEEk-10 The National Guard Team of the Week for Week 10 is Matawan, which went on the road and knocked off prevoiusly unbeaten Carteret, the No. 3 seed, to

Pt Pleasant Beach

WEEk-8 Manalapan

Senior running back/safety Larry Alston had 103 yards rushing and three touchdowns and also had a sack and an interception on defense to lead the way. Defensive back Juwaan Bellamy added a pair of interceptions, and the Huskies' defense held Carteret's Jerod Johnson, a 1,600-yard rusher, to 37 yards in the win. Sophomore quarterback Kashaun Barnes added a 1-yard touchdown run in the victory.

Matawan went on to defeat previously unbeaten Manasquan, the No. 2 seed, 24-14, to advance to a school-record third straight Central Jersey Group II final. The Huskies will now get a rematch with Rumson-Fair Haven, which stunned them 13-7 in last year's CJ II championship game, as they seek their second state title in the last three seasons.

WEEk-11 The National Guard Team of the Week for Week 11 is Neptune. The Scarlet Fliers (9-1) buried top-seeded Northern

Burlington, 60-27, to advance to their first Central Jersey Group III final since 1999. They will now face seventh-seeded Steinert on Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. at Rutgers Stadium in search of their first state title since 1998 and their fourth overall.

In the win over Northern Burlington, the offensive line paved the way for 555 yards of total offense, including 521 on the ground. The Scarlet Fliers nearly had three 100-yard rushers in the game , as senior David Gutzmore ran for a career-high 203 yards and three touchdowns, senior quarterback Jaheem Woods had 109 yards and a touchdown, and senior fullback Jazzmar Clax finished with 96 yards and three touchdowns to help Neptune win its eighth straight game. Their 60 points scored is a school record for a playoff game, eclipsing a 58-13 win over Middletown South in the 1998 CJ III championship game.

The defense also held Greyhounds' senior Tosin Adeyemo, a 1,400-yard rusher, to minus-one yard rushing on 13 carries in the win.

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Football: Shore Sends Five Teams to the State Finals

By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

Five Shore Conference football teams have punched their ticket to the NJSIAA state sectional championships, and the Shore has a chance to sweep the titles in all four Central Jersey brackets.

Senior running back Connor Riley led the way with a rushing touchdown and an 85-yard punt return for a score as Rumson blew out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back.

The c o n f e r e n c e i s guaran t e e d t o h a v e at least o n e c h a m p i o n , as Rum s o n - F a i r Haven a n d M a t a w a n will m e e t i n t h e Centra l J e r s e y G r o u p II fina l f o r t h e s e c o n d straigh t y e a r. L a s t season , R u m s o n stunne d t h e u n b e a t e n Huskie s , 1 3 - 7 , t o w i n i t s first st a t e t i t l e i n s c h o o l history. T h i s s e a s o n , t h e Bulldo g s a r e t h e u n de f e a t e d top see d , a n d f a c e a s i x t h seeded M a t a w a n t e a m t h a t h a s won si x s t r a i g h t a n d h a s g o n e throug h a p a i r o f u n d e f e a t e d t e a m s to reac h t h e c h a m p i o n s h i p g a m e f o r a scho o l - r e c o r d t h i r d s t r a i g h t y e a r.

quarterback Mike Isabella drew the Pirates offsides on the conversion try, Isabella handed the ball to Sieczkowski, who plowed up the middle for the two points to set off the celebration on Manalapan.

regular season before losing to the Bulldogs in the final. This year, Rumson beat Matawan, 21-9, in a Class A Central game in the regular season. The Bulldogs are coming off a 35-7 victory over fifth-seeded Delaware Valley that put them into their second straight final and fourth in school history.

The victory also gave head coach Shane Fallon his 99th career win in his 14th season.

In Central Jersey Group IV, secondseeded Manalapan beat third-seeded West Windsor South 21-20 in a double overtime thriller to reach its first sectional final since 2003 and the second one in school history. Thanks to a gutsy call by head coach Ed Gurrieri, the Braves will face fifth-seeded Sayreville on Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. at Rutgers Stadium in search of their first state title in program history.

Sayreville beat Manalapan, 32-20, in last year ’s semifinals.

The H u s k i e s u p e n d e d M a n a s q u a n , 2 4 14, to e n d t h e Wa r r i o r s ’ 2 3 - g a m e h o m e winnin g s t r e a k a n d al s o e l i m i n a t e t h e m f r o m the pla y o ff s f o r t h e t h i r d s t r a i g h t s e a s o n .

Senior r u n n i n g b a c k L a r r y A l s t o n r a n f o r a career- h i g h 2 4 7 y a r d s a n d t w o t o u c h d o w n s , w h i l e also ca t c h i n g a t o u c h d o w n p a s s a n d r e g i s t e r i n g a n interce p t i o n a s a s a f e t y o n d e f e n s e .

The H u s k i e s a r e h o p i n g f o r a r e v e r s e o f l a s t y e ar, when t h e y b e a t R u m s o n i n t h e Rumson WR Nico Giaimo

The Braves were able to vanquish the Pirates on Friday night when Gurrieri elected to go for a gamewinning two-point conversion in the second overtime. Senior tailback John Sieczkowski, who ran for 175 yards, had just rushed for a 21-yard score to bring Manalapan within a point.

After a hard count by Manalapan junior

"We were very confident,'' Sieczkowski said about going for two and the win.

"We have a Manalapan's John Sieczkowski great fullback (Jesse McEnery), a great line, and all I had to do was follow them.''

"Izzy did a great job with the hard count, they went off, and once we got to the 1 1/2-yard line, I really felt at that point in time they were done,'' Gurrieri said. "John was just imposing his will.''

Isabella also tossed a pair of touchdown passes to junior wideout Anthony Firkser, including the gametying, 5-yard score with 57 seconds left in regulation.

In Central Jersey Group III, fifth-seeded Neptune earned its first trip to a state final since 1999 in emphatic fashion, burying top-seeded Northern Burlington, 60-27, thanks to 555 yards of total offense, including 521 on the ground. The Scarlet Fliers nearly had three 100-yard rushers in the game behind a dominant offensive line. Senior David

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Neptune QB Jaheem Woods

G u t z m o r e ran f o r a c a r e erhigh 203 yards and three t o u c h d o w ns, senior q u a r t e r b a ck Jaheem Wo o d s h a d 1 0 9 y a r d s and a t o u c h d o wn, and senior fullback J a z z m a r Clax f i n i s h e d with 9 6 y a r d s and three t o u c h d o w ns a s N e p t u ne won its

eighth s t r a i g h t g a m e .

The d e f e n s e a l s o h e l d N o r t h e r n B u r l i n g t o n 1,400-y a r d r u s h e r To s i n A d e y e m o t o m i n u s - o n e yard o n 1 3 c a r r i e s .

The S c a r l e t F l i e r s w i l l n o w s e e k t h e i r f i r s t s t a t e title si n c e 1 9 9 8 w h e n t h e y t a k e o n a s e v e n t h - s e e ded Cinder e l l a s q u a d i n S t e i n e r t , w h i c h h a d n e v e r w o n a state p l a y o ff g a m e i n i t s h i s t o r y b e f o r e t h i s s e a s on but kn o c k e d o ff s e c o n d - s e e d e d Wa l l a n d t h i r d - s e eded Woodb r i d g e i n s u c c es s i o n . T h o s e t w o t e a m s w i l l square o ff a t 4 p . m . a t R u t g e r s S t a d i u m o n D e c .

3. Nep t u n e h e a d c o a c h M a r k C i c c o t e l l i s e e k s his thi r d C J I I I c r o w n i n t h e l a s t f o u r s e a s o n s

ASM / 5 after winning two with Freehold, and Clax, a Freehold transfer, is looking for his second straight title.

sensational all-around game against Point Beach, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown, catching three passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns, throwing a 53-yard touchdown to his twin brother, Amir, and returning an interception 42 yards for a score.

Top-seeded Asbury Park routed fifthseeded Point Beach, 54-6, for its second win of the season over the Garnet Gulls and its fourth trip to the Central Jersey Group I finals in the last five years. The Blue Bishops, who have won 11 straight playoff games, will try to win their fourth title in five years when they take on third-seeded Florence on Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. at The College of New Jersey.

Red Bank Catholic fell just short of its first state final berth since 1980 despite losing 1,500-yard rusher John DiStefano to a dislocated kneecap in the first quarter. The Caseys nearly knocked off secondseeded Delbarton in a match-up of unbeaten, top 10 teams in the state in the Non-Public Group III semifinals. The Green Wave pulled out a 30-23, double-overtime when after a 5-yard touchdown run

by Jamie Smith and then an interception by Will Reynolds denied RBC a trip to its first state final since 1980.

Asbury QB Robert Barksdale

Senior Armond Conover had a

Senior quarterback Ryan Spahr threw touchdown passes to James Taylor and Greg Golden in the loss, while sophomore Louis Redaelli ran for 95 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in DiStefano’s absence.

Golden had a huge game with 8 catches for a careerhigh 153 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Photos by:

Bill Normile

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Cliff Lavelle

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Navesink Fitness

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The Atlantic Club & T3 Lacrosse to Present Seminar on ACL Injury Prevention for Teenage Girls Manasquan, New Jersey - The Atlantic Club will offer a special seminar on ACL injury prevention for teenage girls on Tuesday, November 29th from 7pm-9pm. The workshop will focus on how to prevent ACL related injuries through various training methods.

Bill Parisi, founder of The Parisi Speed Schools is an internationally recognized fitness expert and speaker and will address the group about proven training methods that can help female athletes avoid serious ACL related injuries. Bill along with The Parisi Speed School Team will also be conducting after his talk a 30 minute training session for the athletes which will demonstrate skills, conditioning exercises and running techniques for each athlete and coach to incorporate into their daily practice routines.

Lori Brown, founder of T3 Lacrosse, a

program that coaches over 1,000 female Lacrosse athletes per year, will discuss the evergrowing numbers of elite athletes that have experienced ACL related injuries and the impact it has had on their lives. Lori will join Bill and the Parisi Staff in conducting the drills during the workshop.

Jimmy Smith, Director of Crest Physical Therapy and regarded as One of the Best Physical Therapists in Monmouth and Ocean County, will highlight preventative measures as well as the explain extensive treatment young female athletes experience while recovering from ACL related injuries.

Lastly, Mike Hackett, Head Athletic Trainer at Wall High School has experience managing injury care for 28 high school sports with 57 levels. Mike will provide his insight from a High School Athletic Trainer perspective.

The workshop is open to the public and is free of charge. It is requested that our Teenage Female Athletes in attendance be dressed in appropriate athletic attire with running/athletic shoes to allow them to experience and enjoy a comprehensive 30 minute ACL Injury Prevention focused workout. It is requested that parents stay for a Questions and Answer session from the speakers immediately following the workout.

Pre-registration is required. There are three easy ways to register: www.parisispeedschool.com/theatlanticclub; facebook.com/tacparisi; call The Fieldhouse at The Atlantic Club 732-292-4475.

For more information regarding this important event, please contact The Parisi Speed School Director Cat Mercurio at 732292-4354.

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Interested in joining our team and think you have what it takes to be covering sports in the Shore Conference for All Shore Media? We are looking for local writers interested in covering sports like Football, Soccer, Lacrosse, Basketball, Wrestling, Track, & more as part of our Bi-weekly newspaper and our website (www.allshoremedia.com). Grab your chance to appear regularly in The All Shore Media Biweekly issues & on www.allshoremedia.com while helping us recognize more athletes and bring more stories to Shore Conference sports fans. This is your chance to become a regular contributor to a growing business on the cutting edge of covering sports in Monmouth and Ocean County.

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hen Larry Alston III was starring in Pop Warner in Matawan in the early 2000s, one of the only people outrunning him to the end zone was his mother.

"She used to run down the sidelines with me when I was scoring,'' Alston said. "She loves football, and she loved to watch me play.''

A senior safety/running back on a Matawan team that will face Rumson-Fair Haven for the second straight year in the Central Jersey Group II final on Dec. 3, Larry is Juanicia "Cotton'' Everett's oldest of four children by 10 years. The two are so close that Everett calls her son "the blood that flows through my veins.''

That's why she cried for nearly a month straight last fall when she had to say the one thing she never wanted to say to her son: Goodbye.

"It was really tough,'' Alston said. "It still is. I think about her all the time. When you venture off by yourself, you've got to grow up and become a man earlier in life. You do what you have to.''

"I'm all for him,'' Everett said. "That's why I'm struggling with it right now.''

After growing up in Matawan, Larry moved to Old Bridge with his father and attended Carl Sandburg Middle School for two years. On the day after he finished eighth grade, he moved to Columbus, Ga., to live with his mother, who is originally from Long Branch. He spent two years playing football for Shaw High School in Columbus, but soon the financial pressure of raising four children as a single mother began to bear down on Everett.

"She was trying to take care of my sisters and me and had economic problems, so we figured I would rather leave than be a burden for her to pay for all of us,'' Alston said.

Alston was in the middle of his junior season at Shaw when the decision was made for him to leave.

"It was very sudden,'' he said. "One morning I woke up, we talked about it, and the next thing I know I got a bus ticket to go back to New Jersey.''

"I told him to pack,'' Everett said. "It wasn't even a conversation.''

Alston was going to move back to Matawan to live with his godmother, Ruth Robinson, even though it was tearing apart Everett inside.

Issue-21

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By Scott Stump – Managing Editor

"I felt like a useless mother, like I was just giving my child away, but he said he's a big boy, and he can take care of himself,'' Everett said. "He said, 'You did a great job of raising me, so you don't have to worry.

I'll be OK.' "I cried for a month straight after he left.''

Shore Roots Cotton Everett grew up in Long Branch, a girl obsessed with football in a family that revolved around it. Her brother, Sasha Everett, was a standout for the Green Wave, and Cotton nearly joined the team as well. Under head coach Bob Biasi, Long Branch had previously had a female kicker, Jasmine Rodriguez, and Everett thought about seriously trying out for the team.

However, that idea never came to fruition because she became pregnant with Larry in 1994 in her senior year.

That didn't dim her passion for football, as she became a fixture at Larry's Pop Warner games, trading in her allegiance to the green and white of Long Branch for the maroon and silver of Matawan.

"I still have the Huskies blanket from back then and a jacket with my name on it,'' Everett said. "I was definitely the football mom. I never missed a game.''

She was also a regular at games at Shaw High School, while Larry struggled to fit into a foreign place after moving down there with her.

"It was tough at first,'' Alston said. "People grow up fast down there, and you have to handle your own. You have to know your place. It's a lot of, 'Yes, sir, no, sir.' I didn't know anybody and I didn't have any friends at first, but I got used to it.''

Alston played wide receiver, and as he began to blossom into the chiseled 6-foot-3, 225-pound athlete that he has become, he started to pop up on the Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) recruiting radar. However, he disappeared from the scene just as quickly when he was handed that bus ticket, leaving some frustrated friends behind.

"They felt like I betrayed them,'' he said about his friends in Georgia. "They still talk about it

now. They were saying that we were just getting ready to take on the world, and I just up and left. It was hard for them, and for me.''

Alston transferred in late October 2010, missing the deadline by only a few days that would have at least allowed him to play in some games at Matawan as a junior.

He sat out the season under transfer rules and had zero film to send to colleges.

"Nobody knew what he could do or who he was because there was no film on him,'' said Matawan head coach Joe Martucci.

Even though he could not play, Martucci let him hang around the team to give him a glimpse of what would come a year later.

"Coach Martucci was very helpful,'' Everett said. "He let him be around the team. I really appreciated that because I didn't know what trouble Larry might find if he didn't have anything to do.''

Support System Unlike his move to Georgia, Alston had existing friends and family in Matawan when he returned, but that didn't lessen his apprehension.

"I was very worried about what was going to happen,'' he said. "I knew I've got a lot of family here, so really I just took it on. I didn't have a choice.''

He joined the basketball team in the winter, and the rugged forward averaged a double-double. He became an instant leader and star player on a Huskies squad that had one of its best seasons in school history.

That's also when Martucci got an up-close look at the type of athlete who would be suiting up for him on the gridiron as a senior.

"You could see he was a person who had the ability to carry a team on his back,'' Martucci said. "He hadn't played high school basketball at all, yet he became a dominant player in the paint. You saw what type of attitude he had as far as being competitive.''

His size and athleticism were so impressive that Temple University offered him a football scholarship last spring after seeing him in person even though he had zero film from his junior year.

More importantly, while he still missed his mother, he began to settle in socially and find comfort in his extended family and friends.

"Coach Martucci has been like a father figure to me, and my

www.allshoremedia.com team has been like my brothers,'' he said. "They know my situation so they make it much easier for me.''

The Missing Ingredient

ASM / 9 "He had some bumps and bruises, which his body was not used to because he hadn't played both ways, but he's done a great job for us,'' Martucci said.

Alston's one and only football season at Matawan has been a wild ride between highs and lows that he and the Huskies hope reaches a crescendo with their second Central Jersey Group II title in the last three seasons. Alston began the season by sitting out all of the scrimmages because he had a cyst removed from his forehead that made it painful to wear a helmet.

He made his presence felt immediately once the regular season began with two touchdowns and an interception in a 21-7 victory over Freehold in the opener. Alston started the year playing receiver and occasionally lining up in the shotgun and running the ball in what Martucci dubbed the "Wild Dog'' formation.

However, his role soon increased dramatically when standout senior running back Cassius Williams, one of the most explosive runners in the Shore Conference and Alston's good friend, suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Sept. 24 in a 20-3 victory over Raritan.

Williams and Alston are old Pop Warner teammates, a tandem dubbed "Thunder and Lightning'' by Everett, so Williams's loss could have been a crippling blow to the Huskies' season.

Instead, it became an opportunity for Alston to keep Matawan's championship aspirations alive.

Martucci shifted Alston from wide receiver to the feature tailback full time in the Huskies' pro-style offense in the absence of Williams. It morphed Matawan into a smashmouth running offense based on Alston, a downhill runner who challenges the manhood of any linebacker stepping up in the hole to face him.

The main adjustments for Alston were learning the blocking schemes and maintaining his strength.

He had never played on both sides of the ball while at Shaw, but was now in on almost every play as a safety/running back. A player who was not even on the team a year ago would now be the hinge on which Matawan's entire season would turn.

semifinals. Boston College and Rutgers are now regularly in contact with Martucci in addition to the Temple offer that Alston already has in his pocket.

"We're a totally different team without him on the field, especially after we lost Cassius,'' Martucci said.

"He is the motor that is driving our team.''

The Future

"Playing running back put a lot of weight on my shoulders because you've got to build more stamina,'' Alston said. "I feel very comfortable at this point. I'm one with my line, and I thank my line every time I get big yards. It's a brother-and-brother connection.''

What also initially boosted his spirits after the loss of Williams was that his mother came to visit him when Matawan played rival Rumson-Fair Haven on Sept.

30. She witnessed one of only two losses for the Huskies this season, as the undefeated Bulldogs beat them 21-9 in a rematch of last year's Central Jersey Group II final in which Rumson shocked the previously undefeated Huskies, 13-7, to win its first state title.

Matawan has won six straight since that loss to Rumson, and Alston has rushed for 950 yards and 9 touchdowns in four games since being moved to tailback. The journey hasn't been without some turbulence, however. Only days before the Huskies' game against Holmdel on Oct. 22, a fight broke out at the high school that required the presence of the local police, and Alston was involved in the incident.

He ended up being suspended for the Huskies' 34-7 victory over the Hornets.

Martucci declined to comment on the specifics of the incident, and Alston would only say that it was "in the past.''

Multiple sources close to the situation said that Alston was actually playing the role of peacemaker, trying to break up a vicious fight between two other students, when the situation escalated. Maybe the most disappointing part for Alston was that the Holmdel game was another weekend when his mother had travelled from Georgia to visit, and he was forced to sit out.

"Larry didn't do anything wrong,'' Everett said. "He shouldn't have been suspended. I was in town when it happened and got eyewitness statements saying Larry had nothing to do with the fight. The mother of one of the other boys sent a Facebook message thanking Larry for saving her son's life because he had his jaw broken, and it could've been much worse.

"I can't change it, but I don't think he should have to carry that with him. I always taught him not to let people bully other people and do what's right. He called me very upset because he feels like every time he helps someone, it turns out bad for him. I don't need him to change who he is. In the long run, he will be a better person because of it.''

When Alston returned to the lineup, the soft-spoken 17year-old who still has a hint of a Southern accent played with fury. Opposing coaches who have either faced Matawan or scouted the Huskies' films say he put some of the hardest hits they've seen in years on opposing ballcarriers.

His transition to running back, combined with a ferocious Huskies’ defense, has put Matawan one win away from its second state championship in three years. His signature game was a 247-yard, 3-touchdown eruption in a 24-14 win over previously undefeated Manasquan in the CJ II

Much of the rematch with Rumson in the championship will revolve around Alston and whether the Bulldogs can slow him down on either side of the ball. The kid just hanging out at practice last year has become an indispensable player upon whom Matawan's fortunes rest.

"It's very strange,'' Alston said.

"All I wanted was to be welcomed to the team and make everybody proud of me. You never wake up and think you'll be one of the star players on the team, and we have a lot of other stars. I just want to make the most of my one year, mostly for my teammates because they've been here all along and have been yearning for a championship since last year.''

He is hoping his mother will be able to make the trip from Georgia to Rutgers Stadium for the big game. If not, Everett will be sitting by her cell phone that Saturday night, waiting for the stream of text messages that is essentially a play-byplay from friends and relatives. It will be a day off from her job as an administrative supervisor at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute in Warm Springs, Ga., so it will be all about the big game.

Many times this year, Alston has glanced up at the visiting fan section and seen plenty of supportive family members, but not the one he misses the most.

"Sometimes I wish she was over there and she's not, but sometimes you can't get everything you want,'' Alston said.

"I think this hurts the most because I feel like I have always been there, and this one matters the most because it's his last year,'' Everett said. "His response is always, 'Don't worry about me.'''

If Larry breaks one to daylight at Rutgers, Cotton Everett will close her eyes nearly 2,000 miles away and imagine running down the sideline with him one more time. After a circuitous journey, her son is back where it all started.

Maybe that's the way the story should have ended all along.

"Matawan is where his heart is at,'' she said. "I think it's fitting that in his last season he goes out with a bang there.''

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Brotherly Love: CBA Soccer Finishes Undefeated

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer Christian Brothers Academy senior Scott Thomsen went to his head coach, Dan Keane, before the game and told him he could play through a strained left quadriceps injury, but that the injury would prevent him from shooting with his dominant left foot.

With a perfect season and a Non-Public A championship on the line against Delbarton at the College of New Jersey, Thomsen put his left foot to work.

Thomsen one-timed a well-placed cross from senior forward Zach Hicks into the net 1:12 into the first overtime period to break a scoreless tie and give CBA a 1-0 win over a stingy Delbarton squad that posed a serious threat to CBA's perfect season with each passing minute. In the end, the Colts prevailed to finish the season 21-0, the first unbeaten and untied season in the school's history and fifth state championship in 15 appearances in the final.

Thomsen managed a little fewer than 60 minutes on the sore quad and was thought by Keane to be finished after coming out of the game midway through the second half, but with the careers of everyone on the CBA roster winding down, he mustered up enough strength to play up at the top of the formation in the final minutes of regulation and then find a crease in the airtight Delbarton defense.

"Big players step up big in big games, and he's a special player and a special kid," Keane said of Thomsen, who will continue his career at the University of Virginia. "He's been such a great player in our program, and it's been really hard for him not to be

able to play with the injuries. He wasn't at 100 percent today, that was obvious, but he gave it everything he had and when he had a chance, he made the most of it.

"It's an unbelievable finish to his career. You couldn't have scripted it any better."

Chris Thorsheim started the game-winning sequence by taking the ball up the left side to the corner and leaving a pass back for Hicks, who surveyed the 18-yard box and sent a cross toward the back post. Thomsen tracked the ball, and slid in with a shot that he struck just as the ball hit the ground and just out of the reach of goalkeeper Luke Rossi for the championship-winning golden goal.

"I had time to take a look at the goal and I saw Scotty at the far post and just sent the ball over to try and give him a chance," Hicks said. "The ball got there, and he made a great effort to get to it and finish."

"Zach played a great ball to the far post, and I was able to make a run and lose my defender," Thomsen said. "I was only two yards out so it was pretty hard to miss with the ball Zach put in for me."

Like many teams this season, Delbarton played a defensive game that commonly featured five fullbacks, four midfielders and sophomore forward Mike Moshier. The Green Wave plugged up the gaps in the back and used their exceptional size and athleticism to disrupt balls in the air.

"We're one of the smallest

teams out there," said senior stopper Alex Lazzaro, who was one of CBA's most active players, particularly in the first half. "We are never going to beat anybody with our size, but our skill and our speed and our effort is what separates us. Delbarton was very tough, we were both fighting for balls all game long, but we believed the whole time that we would find a way."

The Colts midfield has been the most lauded group within the CBA team, but the defense and Donato pitched its 14th shutout of the season.

The defensive unit allowed only seven goals all season.

The win is CBA's second of the season over Delbarton, the seventh team that the Colts have defeated twice this season. The Colts went to overtime just one other time this year, a 2-1 win ove Rumson-Fair Haven in the Shore Conference Tournament in which CBA faced its only deficit of the season.

"As a senior class, this is something we've been talking about for four years now, since we first started as freshmen," Thomsen said. "Two years ago, we had a chance. Chris and I were starters and Zach came off the bench on that team too, so we definitely talked about that game and how we didn't want to wonder what could have been. I know for me, it's been a rough two years, but tonight was all that mattered, and it makes everything worth it."

In addition to Thomsen's individual place in CBA lore, the goal puts this senior class in special standing. The all-senior Colts are the second team in school history to finish unbeaten and first to do so without any draws. The 1998 team finished 20-0-2 and also capped its season with a championship win over Delbarton.

After this class completed the perfect season, Keane did not hesitate to rate the team against the other 32 teams he has coached during his tenure.

"This team is the best, without a doubt," Keane said. "They're the only team to go unbeaten, untied and win a state championship in school history and that's what we told them coming in. We said, "Guys, you have a chance to go down as the best team in CBA history, but in order to do it, you have to win a state championship tonight. We had that great team in 1998 that was certainly in that class, but I'll say this for sure - this is the best senior class we've ever had at CBA." Keane, 63, has hinted at retirement for the past few years and strongly indicated that after seeing this senior class through, he would hang up his clipboard. After winning his fifth NJSIAA championship in 14 trips to the final, Keane would not commit to a decision just yet.

"Coach Keane is a legend at CBA and in the Shore Conference," Thomsen said. "He's been here 14 times and only won four times before this year and that seems kind of unfair. We wanted to be a class that gave him a championship and if this is his last year, it's a great way to go out."

Photos & Game Video Highlights by:

Matt Manley

www.allshoremedia.com

Volume-III

1 2 / ASM

Issue-21

11/22/11

A Pleasant Return for Asbury Park’s Big Man

By Christopher Melvin – Eliterecruits.Com/All Shore Media tackle,’’ said Howard, who moved to South Jersey from Asbury Park between his seventh and eighth-grade years.

I

f you’ve had the pleasure of attending any of the Asbury Park football games this season, then you’ve heard it over and over again, blaring out of the loudspeaker.

“That was the BIG FELLA, No. 57, Ra’Zahn Howard!”

Whether on the offensive side of the ball opening holes for senior ballcarriers Armond Conover or Islam Joshua, or pass-blocking so that sophomore quarterback Robert Barksdale (over 1,000 yards passing this season) can unleash a pass to senior receivers Amir Conover, Tajier Hammary or Thomond Hammary – you can always count on stellar play from Howard.

“Winslow is a Group III school and Asbury Park is a Group I school,’’ he said. “I feel that the way that I am now, I would be the same way at Winslow if I had the conditioning and preparation that I received here.

Asbury has really ignited my fire and conditioned me to be the player I am now and it doesn’t matter that we are a Group I school – we have a Group IV approach at Asbury when we work out and take the field.”

Upon leaving Winslow, a school that has produced the likes of New York Jets running back Shonn Greene, Howard made a list of goals.

“I wanted to become a better person first and then a better player on the field,” said Howard. “I had a lot of things on my mind that I had to deal with and still do, but I’m more focused now and working on getting my grades on track. When I transferred things became a bit tangled (gradeswise) so I’ve been dealing with that. I love Asbury Park’s academic program. If you need help – there is always some there to assist you.’’

“I feel that I could have made some better decisions. I wish that I would have taken my academics a bit more serious. If I did, I would have scholarship offers on the table right now.

Howard also had one goal as far as his performance on the field.

With two games remaining on the season, Howard has accounted for 70 tackles, 10 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures, 3 forcedfumbles and 7 pancakes blocks on the offensive side of the ball.

“My main goal as a player was to dominate every play, and be more physical than I was in the past,” said Howard. “I wanted to become every offensive coordinator’s nightmare!”

“Ra’Zahn has come a long way for us and has become a complete player and leader for our team,’’ Asbury Park head coach Matt Ardizzone said. “He never gives up and plays with a high motor until the whistle blows. He has never given myself or any of our coaches any problems and always seems to want to better himself.

I didn’t get to see him play at his past school (Winslow Township), but he is a great addition for us, and I’m so glad that he is a Blue Bishop.’’

“Nightmare’’ has been a suitable noun to describe Howard for the relentless style of play as a defensive tackle that has drawn looks from colleges such as Rutgers and Minnesota, among others.

The Shore Conference has a The 6-foot-3, 315-pound Howard played host of impressive offensive Asbury Park OL/DL Ra'Zahn Howard the past few years at Winslow Township in linemen this season, but the South Jersey, where he was an imposing defensive linemen may be just as figure on the defensive front for the Eagles, but wasn’t near as dominating good with players like Howard, Jack Eisenstadt (Rumson Fair Haven), of a player as he currently is.

Joe Coscarelli (Red Bank Catholic), junior Garrett Sickels (Red Bank “I actually started playing football when I was 11 years old for an unlimited weight league and played offensive guard and defensive-

Regional), Mike Alonzo (Rumson Fair Haven), Remy Martin (Jackson Liberty) and junior Josh Klecko (Red Bank Catholic).

“There are some pretty good players around here. The toughest player I’ve faced so far was Lacey’s Tyrell Smith,” said Howard. “When I faced him last season in the states he was so dominating - a big, strong offensive lineman. Last year he outweighed me by like 50 pounds, but we are around the same weight now. I spoke to him on the computer before the season and told him that I would manhandle him now. He came back and told me the same thing.”

Howard feels that he has a few different sides when it comes to figuring him out.

“As far as me being a player I can come at you with so many different moves,’’ he said. My favorite move on defense is the head fake and swim move, and on offense I just love to pancake people.’’

Off the field Howard sees himself as a different person than what he shows on the field.

“I’m aggressive on the field because I’m a very sensitive person off of it,’’ he said. “When I’m on the field I transform my sensitivity into aggression.

“All of the people don’t know or have any idea of the adversity that I had to deal with and had to overcome. I just want to be able to say that I defeated the odds. Yes, there are many young men who have dealt with things I dealt with and have to deal with – but many of them have succumbed to the negativity that surrounded them. My goal is to make it.’’

One of the main reasons for Howard’s success is due to the efforts of Ardizzone, who has coached players such as former USC All-American receiver and former Carolina Panther Dwayne Jarrett.

“This is a great place to coach, but you have to be more than just a coach on the field at some places because some young men need that,” added Ardizzone, who was once an assistant at New Brunswick High School in Middlesex County.

“Ra’Zahn is a great kid and I would do anything for him. There aren’t too many coaches around who can coach here and relate.”

“He has been a great influence on me,’’ Howard said about Ardizzone.

“He is more like a father to me than a coach. He understood me from Day One and has been by my side ever since.

“It goes way beyond the X’s and O’s with coach Ardizzone. He has continued to urge me to reach my maximum potential and full capabilities and once again, I’m determined to do just that.”

Photos by:

Bill Normile www.billnormile.zenfolio.com

FoR AdVeRtISIng InFoRMAtIon

Contact: Steven Meyer 732-233-4460

smeyer@allshoremedia.com

www.allshoremedia.com

ASM / 13

2 nd Annual NJ South Lacrosse Chapter’s Coaches Clinic & Fund Raiser for Team USA Scores Big

Bridgewater-Raritan’s Tyler Barbarich, who is at Delaware, and St.Augustine Prep’s Steven Pontrillo, who is a senior this year.

The New Jersey South Chapter of US Lacrosse recently held their second annual coaches clinic for all youth and high school boys lacrosse coaches at GoodSports in Wall.

In addition to a stellar lineup of session presenters such as Jim Davidson, Head Coach at Summit High School and NJ Hall of Fame inductee, Tom Carr, also a NJ HOF member as an official, Matt Danowski from Warrior/Brine, a former four-time All-American at Duke and current Major League Lacrosse professional and frequent lacrosse commentator on ESPN, the clinic highlighted Tim Flynn in the last session of the day.

While Tim is the head coach at Mountain Lakes High School, one of the perennial powers in New Jersey lacrosse along with Summit, last year he was named the head coach of the US Lacrosse National Men's U19 team that will compete in Tuurku, Finland, next summer at the world championships. Coach Flynn was

"We were thrilled to be able to have such a terrific lineup of Tom Carr with two BCC players talks to the presenters for this year's coaches during one of the clinics sessions,'' said Dale Oehler, President of the NJ South Chapter. "These guys are some of the most respected voices in the game of lacrosse today, not only in our state but nationally as well. This allows our attending coaches to hear and take notes on a lot of the finer points of the game they can't get anywhere else in a great facility and a fun atmosphere. Not only does it improve their ability as coaches, but they get a chance to make some new friends within the coaching fraternity, too."

Emcee Bob Sheridan, himself a New Jersey lacrosse legend, presided over the sessions and gave out raffles and prizes throughout the morning from the many sponsors that participated in addition to Warrior/Brine such as Universal Lacrosse, Power Tek, Boathouse, B & B Trophy and ArtbyArlene among others.

Duke 4x All American & MLL professional Matt Danowski

introduced by New Jersey Lacrosse's own Reid Jackson, a member of the 1998 U.S. team that defeated Canada for the championship. Reid is a former St Joseph-Metuchen standout, a threetime All-American at Rutgers and currently is the newly-named head coach at perennial Shore Conference power Rumson-Fair Haven.

The presenters worked with the Brookdale Community College's men's team for on-field demonstrations throughout the morning.

Left, President Dale Ochler & MC Bob Sheridan

Also in attendance were the three players from New Jersey on the U.S. National team--Immaculata’s Ralph D’Agostino, currently playing for Syracuse,

The clinic was the second in a series of events that present various aspects of the game by widely recognized experts and was attended by some 75 coaches from around the state. A portion of the proceeds from this year's clinic will be donated to the national team. For more information on the activities of the NJ South Chapter, which is part of US Lacrosse, the governing body of the game, contact Dale Oehler at dale_oehler@njsouthlax.org Matt Danowski demonstrates some shooting techniques

Photo by

David Thorne

www.davethorne.smugmug.com

Volume-III

1 4 / ASM

Issue-21

11/22/11

Steve Heller was named the first head coach in Brookdale men’s lacrosse history in 2008. In the program’s inaugural year, Heller guided the team to an 8-14 record. Prior to coming to Brookdale, Steve was the assistant coach at West Point Prep School from 1996-2007. He was also a three-time men’s lacrosse all-American at Army, and is a graduate of West Point.

In a 4-part series Steve will highlight key elements that will help with a successful preseason training program for any level of lacrosse.

P ar t 2 of 4

Pre-Season Training: S h ooti n g & F eedin g

By Steve Heller – Brookdale Community College lacrosse head coach, Region 19 champions 2010 and 2011 Co-director of Lax Team Six with Reid Jackson, individual and small group lacrosse training. (www.laxteamsix.com).

There is an old saying that “the best defense is a good offense.”

This holds true for lacrosse. You must score goals to win games.

Scoring (and feeding) is part art form and part technique. There is no doubt that some players have a knack for scoring (those that don’t, play defense!!). Let’s go over some of the mechanics of shooting and feeding.

Shooting: Proper technique is the first critical step to being a good scorer. It all starts with the hands.

Start by placing your lower hand (depending on whether you are shooting righty or lefty) at the lowest point of the shaft – do not choke up!

Your top hand should be no more than 12 – 16 inches above your lower hand.

If it’s too low, you’ll lose accuracy, and if too high, you’ll lose velocity.

arm. His power comes from using his legs to push off, his torso to rotate into the pitch, and then his arm follows. The shooting motion is lacrosse in essentially the same.

Real velocity comes from using your legs and torso to generate power and the arms follow. So when shooting, do not stand there and shoot. You need to step into your shots. Lastly, keep your hands and arm out and away from your body.

Do not shot with your hands in “tight.”

This will cause you to lose velocity and accuracy.

Using the baseball analogy again, think of a power hitter. He likes the pitch to be out and over the plate so he can extend his arms into the pitch. He also uses his entire body to generate additional power (just like the pitcher).

This is the same in lacrosse – get your hands and arms out and away from your body when shooting, and you’ll see your power/velocity begin to increase (and don’t forget to use your entire body!).

Hold the stick in your fingertips, not the palms (I see way too many players who “palm” the stick). This will tighten your arms and not allow you to release your wrists - two critical parts of shooting.

When shooting remember this: your arms have the least amount of impact on the velocity of your shot. Velocity comes from using your entire body. Think of a power pitcher in baseball. He does not just stand there and throw only with his

Feeding: Feeding is much simpler. You only need to follow a few basic principles, and you can be a very effective feeder. The first is your eyes.

You must always be looking up and in when dodging or carrying the ball. I see many players miss open teammates because they

are looking down or at their defenseman. You must be able to see the open player or you can’t be a feeder!

Your hand position is no different than when passing the ball to your teammate. The only difference here is you need to put a little more velocity on your feeds so your teammate can catch and shoot before the defense can react – do not “float” the feed in there, “jam” it in there! A harder pass/feed is easier to catch/shoot.

Lastly, only feed when your hands are “free” (away from defensive pressure). Too many players try to make a feed (or pass) when a defenseman is actively checking their hands. You need to step away to create some space between you and your defenseman. The space you create will allow you to better feed and also help prevent a turnover from a good check.

Practicing: Lastly, when you practice both shooting and feeding, practice based on what you do during the game. If you are a middie, shoot on the run or at distances of 12-15 yards, spots you’ll shot from during a game. If you are an attackman, shoot inside 12-15 yards, from the wings, and from the crease. I see many players before and after practice taking shots that they’ll never see in a game – this is not effective and won’t make you a better player. The great players practice what they’ll see in a game so when they do, they will be ready!

Remember This: Practice does NOT make you perfect (when you practice wrong), only PERFECT practice makes you PERFECT!!

Next Issue: Defense, individual and team principles.

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Contact: Steven Meyer 732-233-4460

smeyer@allshoremedia.com

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ASM / 15 Point Beach's 34-12 playoff win on the road over fourthseeded New Egypt in the quarterfinals marked the first time since the elder Struncius was playing that Point Beach won a playoff game, and marked just the second playoff win in school history while also tying the school record for wins with seven.

P

o i nt Beach s o p h omore Sean Struncius has seen the s c r a pbooks, watched the old films, look e d a t t h e painted fo otball in the glass case i n t h e h allway of the high school and hear d t h e o ld stories.

Now he feels it's time to fill a blank scrapbook, create some other films to watch and have some new stories to tell.

"Everyone always would say great stuff about my dad, but he doesn't brag about it to me,'' Struncius said. "It does drive me crazy to always hear about his success sometimes because I have to try to live up to it.''

First-year head football coach John Wagner may not know all the history of the Garnet Gulls' program, but the veteran coach who built multiple state championship teams at Roselle Park does know one thing when it comes to coaching at Point Beach.

"It seems to definitely be a good thing to have a Struncius around when it comes to the playoffs,'' Wagner said before laughing.

While Point Beach’s state playoff run came to an abrupt end with a 54-6 loss to top-seeded Asbury Park in the semifinals, the Garnet Gulls’ inspiring turnaround season has illustrated a bond that has cut across two winning eras of Point Beach football. The last, and only, time the Garnet Gulls made a trip to the state championship game was when Sean's father, Paul Struncius, was slinging it as a quarterback for Point Beach in 1982.

While the elder Struncius is remembered more for the aerial attack he directed as a senior while running the then-cutting edge West Coast offense, it was actually his junior year on a star-studded, senior-laden team 29 years ago when the Garnet Gulls made their only state final. They lost 25-14 to Middlesex in the Central Jersey Group I championship game after a 29-22 win over Green Brook in the semifinals, back when the playoff brackets only included four teams.

Just like that, playoff victories have become a Struncius family tradition and the one common thread linking two rare occurrences at Ocean County's smallest public school.

"I'm really excited for Sean,'' said Paul, who is the school's all-time leading passer and played collegiately at Lafayette. "I try not to overwhelm him in any way with historical football because what teenage kid wants to hear about that? He's seen the scrapbook. I'm just happy for him and his friends because it's a real solid group of kids.''

week later to move to 3-1. Senior quarterback Christian Martino threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Mark Jurkowski with 1:56 left in the game to vanquish a team that had bludgeoned Point Beach by a combined score of 139-25 in the past three years, including a 55-0 wipeout last year.

That's when the echoes of 1982 started to stir.

After leading Middlesex 14-12 at halftime in the state championship game 29 years ago, the injuries began to pile up for a Garnet Gulls team that only had 24 players against a two-platoon Middlesex team that had nearly 60. By the end of the 25-14 loss, there were less than 11 on the field for the visitors. Despite losing what proved to be the only shot at a state championship in the school's history thus far, Paul Struncius can still remember the aftermath.

"As we walked off the Middlesex field, their fans and our fans both lined the field and gave a standing ovation to us for fighting so hard,'' Paul said.

Sean Struncius was indoctrinated into Point Beach from the beginning, serving as #58 Center Sean Struncius That roar dimmed over the a ball boy while the Garnet years, but was rekindled in Gulls were coached by Joe similar fashion nearly 30 years later after that last-minute win Fitzsimmons, who led them to their last division title in 1997, over Keyport. and then Nick Giglio, who is now the head coach at Red Bank Regional. Paul has been a volunteer assistant for the “The craziest thing was after the Keyport win,'' Sean said. last 11 years, so football and Point Beach have been a shared "Hearing our crowd just letting out roars and cheers, that passion between the two. whole atmosphere was crazy. The whole team was real proud we could bring them back.''

Coming up through the Pop Warner ranks, Sean and his friends witnessed a bleak stretch of Garnet Gulls' football.

"I knew the town was excited, but holy smokes, there were Between 1983 and 2001, Point Beach made only four playoff hundreds of people applauding after that game,'' Wagner said. appearances, and then had a 10-year drought up until this "That reminded me of Roselle Park years ago.'' season. From 2006-10, Point Beach went a combined 10-40, including a pair of 1-9 seasons, to become an afterthought in With a group of teammates raised on winning and a coach the Shore Conference football scene. Meanwhile, Struncius who has experienced plenty of it in his career, the hope is that and his Pop Warner teammates were churning out one "Struncius" may soon be one of many names synonymous winning season after another at the youth levels, dreaming of with generations of winning Point Beach football. the day they could restore the Garnet Gulls to glory.

"Seeing them struggle was tough,'' Sean said. "I always wanted to get to high school and show that my generation, the team that I was on, could turn it around for us. I've been playing with a lot of these guys since Pop Warner, and we all had that same goal.''

Following a 20-point win over Keansburg on Oct. 1, the Garnet Gulls beat Keyport, 12-7, under the new lights on their home field at the G. Harold Antrim Elementary School a

"I always wanted to be on the team that would change it all,'' Sean said. "That would allow me to have the same success my dad did, so that one day I could look back and tell my son about it.''

Photo by:

Bill Normile

www.billnormile.zenfolio.com

www.allshoremedia.com

Volume-III

Issue-21

11/22/11

ASM / 16