Shore Sports Networks 2016 Rumson & Manaquan NJSIAA Matchup

May 25, 2016 Volume-VIII Issue-10

The first thing fans, players, coaches and parents want to know after the big game is always, � � Is this going to be on

Shore Sports Network has established itself as a leader in scholastic sports coverage in Monmouth and Ocean counties, providing more video highlight clips, in-depth reporting, feature stories and regular updates than ANY OTHER OUTLET in the area.

KevinWILLIAMS

Shore Sports Network Website Features n GET VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

of all the important games that Shore Conference fans will be talking about. n Catch up on the action you might have missed n Watch video clips of everything from the action early in the event to the big finish as well as video interviews with various athletes. n www.shoresportsnetwork.com is the most visited sports site in the Shore Conference during the scholastic year n Follow us on Twitter (over 18,000 followers) & Facebook, we keep fans posted on the latest scores and news n Established leading portal for local high school coverage.

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Senior Content Providers BobBadders // badders@allshoremedia.com MattManley // Mmanley21@gmail.com

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The Shore Conference Athletic Directors Honor 93 Athletes with Sportsmanship Awards

By Kevin William – Director Shore Sports Network

Sportsmanship is defined as

fair play, respect for opponents and polite behavior by someone who is competing in a sport or other competition. Most of us don’t need a dictionary to define the word although clearly it seems like sportsmanship is often lost in the “win at all costs” world we live in today.

The Shore Conference of High Schools An outstanding group of senior athletes from across the conference’s 47 schools was honored by the believes that good Shore Conference athletic directors with Sportsmanship Awards on May 15. (Photo by Steve Meyer) sportsmanship should be very much part of the game and annually identifies senior student-athletes who best combine the qualities of a true sportsman: hard work, exemplary leadership skills, respect for others and putting the needs of their teammates ahead of their own personal glory.

Shore Sports Networks Director Kevin Williams

On Sunday May 15 at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River our Shore Sports Network in partnership with the 47 schools that make up the

Shore Conference honored a male and female from each school who were chosen for what’s become a distinguished honor and I once again had the honor to serve as Master of Ceremonies.

The 93 soon-to-be high school graduates make up an impressive group as well as a diverse one. There are those who are well known for their athletic prowess in marquee sports while others competed in relative obscurity outside their own school and community. Many will be competing in athletics on the college level but for a large portion their playing days have or soon will come to an end. What they all have in common is that they’ve set a high standard for the way the game should be played.

Joe Arminio of the TR Regional school district accepts his Atheltic Director of the Year award

May 15th event drew over 300 people including family members and coaches and special thanks to the Toms River Regional Schools for hosting the event and for the efforts of Café 1144 in providing breakfast to everyone. Four very lucky honorees collected $1000 college scholarships from the Pine Belt Auto Group in a random drawing conducted by Executive Manager Rob Sickel (top left) and spokesperson Alana Hackshaw (far right). Ciara Sullivan of Middletown North, Shana Rayside of Lakewood (standing), Anthony Bassani of Manalapan and Luke Butera of Toms River North (kneeling) all came away with some unexpected help as they head to college.

Also honored Sunday as Athletic Directors of the Year by their peers were Rusty Todd of Ocean Township High School and Joe Arminio of the Toms River Regional School District.

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Marinaccio and Mullins Deliver TR North OCT Title With Win Over TR South

By Matt Manley – Senior Staff Writer

“I knew (the breaking ball) was coming, so I sat on it and I just poked it through into center,” Marinaccio said. “In the previous at bat, he got me out with the curveball so I thought he’d go back to it.

It took 16 innings, but the

potent Toms River North lineup finally figured out how to score on Toms River South senior righthander Trevor Wagner.

Senior Pat Marinaccio delivered a two-out, two-run single on a 2-2 count to break a scoreless tie in the top of the eighth and fourth-seeded Toms River North beat No. 3 Toms River South, 2-0, to win its second Ocean County Tournament championship in four years Thursday night at Toms River East High School.

“We had a chance to win a championship on Monday and we came up short,” Toms River North coach Andy Pagano said, referencing a loss to Brick Memorial that cost the Mariners a share of the Shore Conference Class A South title. “You could tell the guys were disappointed and they weren’t going to let the opportunity slip away again.”

The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the top of the eighth against Wagner, who entered the game having not allowed a hit in nine scoreless innings during two regular season meetings between the teams, including a seven-inning no-hitter. Austin Feigin led off the inning by beating out a ground ball to second base that deflected off the mound and Wagner then hit senior third baseman and Shore Conference home run leader Joey Rose.

After a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Jared Bellissimo, Toms River South opted to walk senior right fielder Jeff Ciervo intentionally. Wagner responded by striking out Craig Larsen on three pitches and working his way to a 2-2 count against Marinaccio with four straight fastballs. On the fifth pitch of the at bat, Wagner went to the breaking ball and Marinaccio stayed on it long enough to punch it through the middle, chasing home both Feigin and Rose.

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“I knew coming up, I knew I had to get the run in.

We practice that situation a lot in the cages and in practice and the hard work paid off there.”

Before leading off the eighth with his infield single, Feigin made the second of two crucial outfield plays by the Mariners. With the winning run on second base in the form of pinch-runner Jared Kwicinski and one out, Indians first baseman Connor Feeney hit a sinking, humpback line drive toward left-center. Feigin charged in, made a sliding catch and threw to second to double off Conover and send the game into extra innings.

In the bottom of the sixth, Toms River South third baseman Ben Montenegro lined a single to right field with a runner on second and one out.

Courtesy runner Sam Conover attempted to score on the play, but Toms River North right fielder Alex Klalo fired the ball home in time for catcher Ian Mindas to tag out Conover for the second out of the inning after Conover slide around the plate, but could not touch it.

Klalo entered the game in the top of the inning as a pinch-runner for Ciervo and remained in the game and the ball promptly found him in a critical situation.

Sophomore right-hander Brendan Mullins earned his third win of the tournament with seven scoreless innings and took home the Most Valuable Player award of the tournament. Mullins limited the Indians to four hits and issued just one walk to go with one strikeout.

“I let the offense do their thing and I do mine,” Mullins said. “I have to

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control the game and control my tempo. I expect a lot of myself and my team picked me up big time.”

“I’m a sophomore – I’m a youngin’. To know coach has trust in me to get the ball in a game like this is a great feeling.”

“He’s a competitor,” Pagano said of Mullins. “I told him to his face that if we were naming captains, I would have named him one because he’s that kind of kid. And we’ve never had a sophomore for a captain. He just has heart and that’s what you need in a game like this.”

Fellow sophomore Anthony Sasso took over in the bottom of the eighth and pitched a one-two-three inning to close out the game. He struck out two batters, including Wagner on a 3-2 fastball for the final out.

Wagner pitched another seven scoreless innings after pitching a two-hitter in a 1-0 semifinal win over Brick on Saturday. Over eight innings, he allowed two earned runs on six hits and two walks – one intentional – with seven strikeouts.

“You have to tip your cap to Wagner,” Pagano said. “The kid’s a competitor.

He’s a kid that anybody would want starting for them.”

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Hamstring Strains

By Kevin Brown, Physician Assistant – Professional Orthopaedic Associates

The hamstring is a group of three muscles that run down the back of your thigh.

A hamstring strain or “pulled hamstring” is a common injury in basketball, football, soccer and track. All of these sports require a lot of running, jumping, starts, and stops. A strain can occur when the muscle is stretched beyond its capacity or challenged with a sudden load. This can cause a sharp pain in the back of thigh or buttocks and makes it difficult to walk or straighten the leg.

hamstring strains are rest, ice, elevation, and compression with elastic bandage.

Third degree strains may require the athlete to be nonweight bearing for a period of time.

Athletes with hamstring strains may require rehabilitation with a physical therapist or athletic trainer to work on stretching, strengthening and functional rehabiliation. This will allow the athlete to safely return to play.

Risk factors for hamstring strains include inadequate warm-up before exercise, tight quadriceps muscles, and weakness in buttock muscles.

Typically, a hamstring strain can be “graded” as a 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree, also known as “mild, moderate or severe”. Treatments for

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By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

HE KINGS OF SHORE CONFERENCE LACROSSE HAVE RECLAIMED THEIR THRONE

Junior attackman Charlie Curran scored the go-ahead goal with 4:15 left in regulation and top-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven added two more late goals to defeat secondseeded Manasquan, 8-5, and win the Shore Conference Tournament championship on Monday May 16 at Long Branch High School.

The 2016 SCT title is the record sixth conference crown for Rumson, which was making its eighth straight championship game appearance in the 12-year history of the Shore Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs have now won the SCT title in five of the last six seasons.

“It feels unbelievable,” said senior attackman Robbie Garavente.

“To get this team win, we’ve been working for this all year. To win a championship with all these guys as seniors is the best feeling in the world.”

The Bulldogs had their streak of four

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Rumson’s Robbie Garavente

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consecutive SCT titles snapped last season in a loss to Southern in the championship game. They rebounded just fine with an epic state tournament run that culminated with the NJSIAA Group I title, the first state championship won by a Shore Conference boys lacrosse program.

Losing their grip on the Shore Conference was still eating at them when this season started, however.

“It was heartbreaking last year, but now it’s back where it belongs,” said junior defenseman Emmett Jennings. “Last year took the wind out of our sails stopping the streak, but we knew we had a lot of guys coming back.”

Curran’s goal came after Manasquan had scored twice in a four-minute span on goals by James Pendergist and Devan Carroll to tie the game 55. Carroll’s goal at 5:01 knotted the score, but senior Butch Clark won ensuring face-off to give Rumson possession. The Bulldogs wasted no time retaking the lead as Curran dodged to his left, rolled back to his right to free his hands and ripped a shot that found the back of the cage.

“When they tied it 5-5 me and Dan Maloney, who are juniors, went over to (defenseman) Ian (Clarke) and (goalie) Kyle (Knapp), who are seniors, and said ‘we’re not going to lose this one for you guys. You’re seniors and this is your last ride’,” Jennings said.

“We came together and came out on top.”

From there Rumson’s tenacious defense put the clamps on Manasquan to secure another conference title. Throughout

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Rumson’s Peter Luca

the season and in the Shore Conference Tournament, the Bulldogs’ defense has been outstanding. They held Christian Brothers Academy and Manasquan to a combined nine goals in two games in the semifinals and final. With Jennings and fellow junior Maloney, plus Clarke as the defensemen, Knapp in goal and senior Lachlan Hull and sophomore Peter Lucas as outstanding defensive midfielders, Rumson’s defense has been nearly impenetrable. There’s also sophomore LSM Stephen Edler and freshman defenseman Thomas Bavuso to add depth.

“It’s really impressive,” Garavente said. “As an attackman I have the privilege of watching them work from the other side of the field. Just watching Kyle do his thing and watching Ian, Emmett and Dan run that defense, it’s really the most valuable part of this team. Without them we would not be the same team.”

“We can always trust them and they’re always there making tremendous stops,” Curran said.

“Their one-on-one games in particular are very good and they talk a lot. They know where to go - two slides, three slides - and they’re really good competitors. They took us to this championship.”

Garavente led all scorers with three goals and senior attackman Griffin Schultz had one goal and one assist. Curran, juniors Colin Pavluk and Alex Werner, and sophomore Peter Lucas each scored once.

Rumson senior goalie Kyle Knapp made six saves in back of another outstanding defensive effort by the Bulldogs,

which held the high-scoring Warriors (14-4) to just five goals. Jennings had another tremendous game to lead the way.

Junior midfielder Pat Felstedt had two goals and junior attackman Jarrett Birch had one goal and one assist for Manasquan, which was seeking its first SCT title in the program’s second championship game appearance and first since 2005. Junior goalie Tom Pollock made six saves.

Roun d Two

Rumson was basking in the afterglow of winning another

Shore Conference Tournament while Manasquan was trying to shake off a championship-game defeat, but players on both teams had the presence of mind to know this was probably just the beginning.

“This was two great teams going at it,” Garavente said. “They’re

Manasquan freshman attackman Canyon Birch

See

as

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Collision

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Collision

semifinals. Both are favored, but neither game is a gimme. Rumson certainly has the edge in experience with two sectional titles and a trip to the Tournament of Champions under its belt, but will have to get past a very tough Seneca (16-3) team.

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very skilled, and there’s a really good chance we see them again.”

“Losing to Rumson in the SCT final was tough, but we had to forget about it because we knew we could see them again in the state final,” Jarrett Birch said.

Rumson’s defense has been the story for the entire season, but has really flexed its muscles over the past month. The Bulldogs allowed just four goals to a red-hot CBA team in the SCT semifinals and held a dynamic Manasquan offense to five goals in the conference title game. They have yet to allow a goal in the state tournament.

Rumson and Manasquan began the season as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams, respectively, in the Shore Sports Network Top 10, and are still in the same positions today.

They were on a collision course all season, and, as expected, met in the SCT championship game. Once the season hit its midway point and the state tournament started to make its way into the forefront, it became clear the two could also meet somewhere in the NJSIAA South Group II playoffs.

Manasquan, meanwhile, needs to beat fifth-seeded Hopewell Valley, which defeated Ocean, 16-6, in the quarterfinals. The Warriors have shrugged off their loss to Rumson nicely, and have a balanced scoring attack and a tenacious defense. The final score of the SCT championship may have been 8-5, but it was essentially a one-goal game as Rumson scored two goals in the final 20 seconds, including one just before the buzzer.

Manasquan showed it could play with Rumson, and the Warriors are confident they can come out on top if they do indeed meet again.

When the state seeds were released on May 16 just hours before the Shore C o n f e r e n c e To u r n a m e n t final it confirmed what everyone had assumed.

Rumson and Manasquan were the top two seeds with the Warriors having earned the No. 1 seed and the Bulldogs the No. 2 seed. The two powerhouses were on another collision course, and if they met for a second time it would once again decide a championship.

Manasquan reached the sectional semifinals for the first time in program history with a 16-3 win over Lawrence in the first round and a 15-7 triumph over Somerville in the quarterfinals. Rumson, which won the NJSIAA Group I title last year but, along with Manasquan, was classified in Group II this season, beat Barnegat 11-0 in the first round and blanked Ocean City by the same 11-0 score in the quarterfinals.

The stage certainly seems set for an allShore Conference battle to decide the sectional championship, but both have to first take care of business in the Manasquan’s Kyle LeBlanc

Rumson’s Kyle Knapp

“We didn’t know what we were doing at first, but once we found out how to play with them we were able to stick our goals, and we ended up tying them,” Jarrett Birch said. “If we get a second chance at them we know how they play, what they play, and I think we’ll do a lot better from the start.”

Rumson and Manasquan have been the two best teams in the Shore Conference all season, so the chance they’ll meet twice and with a state championship on the line is certainly a treat for area lacrosse fans. It will either be a veteran Rumson team taking home its third sectional title in program history or a young and promising Manasquan squad raising the trophy for the first time. No matter the outcome, it has the makings of another classic between Shore Conference blue bloods.

Photos By:

Mark Brown www.b51photography.com

Rob Samuals

Ray Richardson

www.boofacephotography.com

rayrichphotography.smugmug.com

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SAVES KING; Red Bank Regional Senior Goalie Jon Pierce

By Ella Brockway – Shore Sports Network Contributor

Quiet Leader,

the first words used by both hockey coach Mike DeCotis and lacrosse coach Kevin Main to describe Red Bank Regional senior goalie Jon Pierce.

The truth in those descriptions was evident at the 11:36 mark of the fourth quarter during the Bucs’ final game of the 2016 lacrosse season, a first round NJSIAA South Group II tournament matchup at Hopewell Valley on May 18 when Pierce collected his 1,000th career save on a shot from Hopewell’s Jack Boyer.

Knees down, stick from low to high to scoop the ball, a quick cradle and then a simple outlet pass to midfield.

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Like it was just another save.

“I didn’t think I was going to get 1,000 saves [this season],” Pierce said. “To get 1,003 overall when I was finally done was amazing, and in the moment I didn’t have much emotion for it, but then when I got home, I realized that, wow, that was pretty amazing.”

That save solidified his place at the top of the list of career saves in New Jersey, per LaxRecords, with 1,003. Glen Ridge’s Jack Davis held the previous record at 957 when the season began, and Pierce passed him by making 18 saves in a win over Middletown South on May 11. He joins only ten others in the country who have hit the 1,000-saves mark during their high school careers.

Pierce will also go down as one of the top goalies in both state and Shore Conference history for his accomplishments on the ice. In four years with the Bucs and as the starter in his junior and senior years, Pierce collected 1,048 saves on 1,235 shots against.

He reached 1,000 career saves in hockey on February 10 in a 9-2 win over Manasquan.

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“I was surprised there, because I really didn’t start [in hockey] until my junior year,” Pierce said. “It was kind of funny because everyone was always saying how I face more than 500 shots in a season, and I was shocked when I hit 1,000.”

only reason he had such high saves and shots against totals was because of the “weak defenses” of his teams, whose records did not always reflect the performance Pierce saw on the field.

“I like the pressure,” he said. “I like knowing that the game could come down to one final save in the end, and that every save counts and I could potentially win games for our team.”

For someone who doesn’t crave the spotlight, it may surprise some that Pierce’s favorite part of being a goalie is the pressure. But he says that the pressure and excitement of the position is something that he’s been drawn to ever since he started playing goalie as a kid.

And as he took more and more shots, he became better and more reliable when it came to saving his team from them.

“My brother needed somebody to shoot on in the driveway, and I kind of just offered to jump in,” Pierce said. “I threw these huge pads on me that went up to my chest, and they didn’t fit at all.

He would just rifle shots at me. I actually liked it, and then I found out I was pretty good at it once I grew up.”

And ever since he put on the pads for the first time at a young age, Pierce hasn’t stopped facing shots.

During the 2015-16 hockey season he averaged about 38 shots against per game. This past lacrosse season he faced a whopping 503 shots on goal. At the same time he fought different kinds of shots on both the ice and the field - from critics who said the

and how he does it.”

“Jon leads by example,” said DeCotis, an assistant coach for the ice hockey team at Red Bank. “He doesn’t say a lot, but he doesn’t need to say a lot because he is looked up to and well respected by all of his teammates because of his work ethic and what he does

Main, the head lacrosse coach for the Bucs, agreed when he spoke with Shore Sports Network after the Bucs’ 9-7 win over Middletown South on May 11, when Pierce officially broke the state record and finished the game with 967 career stops.

“It’s my first year with him and my only year with him, and he’s such a quiet leader and it’s amazing how he can take control just by his presence,” Main said. “I think the most impressive thing (is) his field awareness of what’s going on in front of him, not just where the ball is but where his defenders are and where their offensive players are and being able to anticipate when the ball is going to be thrown...and he can step over and be in the right position to stop that.”

Pierce finished his senior season with 555 saves in hockey and 306 in lacrosse. He’ll be continuing his career as a goalie at Division III Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania next spring, and joining the long list of Shore Conference alumni who have matriculated on to success on a college lacrosse field.

It wasn’t too long ago that playing college lacrosse seemed more like a dream and less like a reality for Pierce. But now he calls himself a lacrosse goalie who also plays ice hockey, who has already achieved more things than he ever thought were possible.

“I never even thought I’d be playing lacrosse. Freshman year was my first year playing,” Pierce said. “I was a hockey goalie, and I just picked up lacrosse pretty fast. For two sports, I never thought that this ‘-the four years, the 160 combined games, the ups, the downs and the 2,051 combined saves -‘ would be possible.”

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Photos By: M a r k

Brown b51photography.com

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Jim Portela Resigns as Red Bank Catholic Head Coach

By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

Portela is also a teacher at RBC where he taught accounting, financial literacy, economics and leadership.

He is also the athletic coordinator.

Jim Portella has resigned after seven

“There’s not one part of the job I don’t love,” Portela said. “I love being around the kids and in the weight room, I love being a teacher in the school. I certainly love Friday nights. I’m going to miss it terribly.”

seasons as Red Bank Catholic head coach, he told Shore Sports Network on Thursday May 19.

Portela said he will remain on as interim head coach until his contract expires on June 15 as athletic director Joe Montano goes through the process of hiring a new head coach.

“I got an opportunity in my professional life and I have decided to pursue it,” Portela said. “I was in finance before I started coaching football full time but I was still doing some consulting work. I had to make a decision. I did both for a long time but at my age I don’t feel like I can do both anymore. I felt an opportunity like this might not come up again.”

“It was certainly not me or one guy that led to the success,” Portela said. “It all starts at the top with Joe Montano and all the assistant coaches. Joe wants all the assistant coaches to stay put.”

“We want to make sure the kids continue to have the great experiences they’ve had. Winning and losing is secondary to the things we feel are important. We want the kids learning life lessons and leaving here prepared to succeed at the next level and in life.”

Portela went 63-13 from 2009 through 2015 as the Caseys emerged as one of the top programs in the Shore Conference. RBC won five division titles during his tenure, including a banner 2014 season that saw the Caseys end a 38-year title drought by capturing the NJSIAA Non-Public Group III title, the first state title for a Shore Conference parochial school since 1980.

Among Portela’s fondest memories were being able to coach his sons, John and Jim, at Red Bank Catholic.

When Frank (Edgerly) resigned in 2009 my son Jim was a rising sophomore,” Portela said. “He just graduated from Ohio State, so it’s crazy how time flies. I loved coaching my kids, but every player is someone’s son. I tried to treat them all the way I would want mine to be treated.”

Justin Fumando Named Head Coach at Central Regional

By Bob Badders – Senior Staff Writer

The Central Regional Board of

Education has approved Justin Fumando as its new head football coach.

Fumando succeeds Willie Jacobs, who resigned last month after three seasons.

Fumando was most recently the defensive coordinator for Manalapan and was an assistant coach for the Braves for seven seasons, helping them become one of the top programs in the Shore Conference. Fumando was Manalapan’s defensive coordinator when the Braves captured the 2014 NJSIAA Group V title.

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Fumando is a 2000 graduate of Middletown North and played collegiately at Kean University, where upon graduation became the defensive line coach while also serving as Kean’s head Strength and Conditioning Coach for all the athletic programs.

Fumando’s connection to Central stems from his time at Manalapan. Tom Gallahue, who was Manalapan’s head coach from 2007-2009 and also an assistant under current head coach Ed Gurrieri, is now the Central Regional School District’s Chief Academic Officer. Gallahue was previously the principal at Central and also an assistant coach for the Golden Eagles during the 2014 season.

Central is coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in over a

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decade. The Golden Eagles went 6-4 last season and finished 8-3 in 2014 when they claimed a share of the Class B South division title and won the program’s first state playoff game since 1994.

Central moves from B South to Class A South for the 2016 season to play in a division that includes defending sectional champions Jackson Memorial (Central Jersey Group IV) and Toms River North (South Jersey Group V), as well as sectional finalist Brick Memorial. The Golden Eagles return one of the Shore Conference’s top running backs, Mike Bickford, for his senior season. Bickford ran for a school-record 2,052 yards as a sophomore before rushing for over 1,500 yards last season.

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