February 18, 2013 Volume-V Issue-4

5 Lakewood BasketballOn A Mission

5 ELITE Sports PerformanceAsk the Experts

7-8Mustang Redemption

10 Pt. Beach Reaches SCT Semifinails

11 TRN Boys BasketballSets School Record

12 Long Branch WrestlingReaches Group II Final

15 Stumpy’s Corner

3 Open MRI of Wall2013 Senior Basketball All-Star Title Sponsor

2VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3 The f irs t thing fans, players , coaches and parentswant to know after the big game is always,

”Is this going to be on ”

All Shore Media 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.

All Shore Media Web Site Featuresn 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 missedn 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.allshoremedia.com is the most visited sports site in the shore conference during the scholastic year n Follow us on Twitter (over 4,100 followers) and Facebook, we keep fans posted on the latest scores and news

n Established leading portal for local high school coverage.

”Is this going to be on ”

Be part of a tradition at theJersey Shore that reaches alarge and enthusiasticBasketball audience fromMonmouth and Ocean countiesby having your businessfeatured in this year's 2013Open MRI of Wall ShoreBasketball Coaches SeniorAll-Star Game official gameday program. The detailed

game program put together by the AllShore Media staff not only recounts thepast season and highlights this year'sgroup of All-Stars, it also serves as akeepsake for all the players, coaches andfans involved. Not only is the program achance for your business to reach a wideand passionate audience, it is a chanceto become a permanent part of a lastingmemory for many members of the ShoreConference Basketball community.

Advertising Opportunitiesfor the

2012 All-StarGame DayProgram

Advertising Opportunitiesfor the

2012 All-StarGame DayProgram

Advertising Opportunitiesfor the

2012 All-StarGame DayProgram

S t e v eMey e rDirector/CEO/Marketings meyer @al ls hor eme dia .c om

7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0

S c o t tS t um pDirector/Managing Editors t u m p @ a l l s h o r e m e d i a . c o m

Senior Content ProvidersMattMan ley / / Mmanley21@gmai l .com

A l l S h o r e M e d i ai s pub l i shed by :A l l S h o r e M e d i a , L L C26 Oxford Drive Wayside NJ, 07712

Copyright 2013 All Shore Media LLCAll rights reserved Reproduction in wholeor in part without the permission of All Shore Media is prohibited

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3

3

The Shore ConferenceBasketball

Coaches AssociationSenior All-Star Gamehas carved out a proudtradition, and thesupport of Open MRI of Wall hashelped its continued growth. Open MRI and Diagnostic Imaging of Wallis the title sponsor of this year’s boys andgirls games, which are on March 20 at WallTownship High School. As always, the games are agreat way to send off the Shore Conference’s topseniors in their final game representing their highschool. Open MRI has become a regular sponsorinvolved in the Senior All-Star Games and aregular supporter of Shore Conference basketball.

The girls all-star game will be at6 p.m., followed by the boys game at 8 p.m.“This game continues to get bigger and better, and adding OpenMRI of Wall as a sponsor only enhances this event and allows us tosend these seniors off on a great note,’’said Steve Meyer director ofAll Shore Media who has partnered with the coaches assocation“Their support of Shore Conference basketball is certainly somethingthat is appreciated by all the coaches and players.’’

This year’s games will once again feature the Shore Conference’sbiggest names from the senior class on the girls and boys side.Players like Lakewood guard Tyrice Beverette, the Manasquantandem of Stonehill College recruit Jimmy Walsh and BrownUniversity recruit J.R. Hobbie, Harvard-bound Manalapan guard

Anthony Firkser, ColtsNeck guard BrandonFederici, Toms RiverNorth’s Damien Singletonand Solly Stansbury and

many more will be in actionin the boys game, which

follows the girlsgame.

On the girls side, 2,000-point scorerKelly Hughes of Point Boro, aBoston College recruit, highlights atalented group that also includesJackson Memorial’s HannahMissry, St. John Vianney’sLyndsay Rowe, MiddletownSouth’s Jackie Dluhi and Kiera

Gannon, Red Bank Catholic’s MaryKate Caverly and many more.

There also will be a 3-pointshootout during halftime of the boysand girls games, with players chosenfrom the all-star practices competing

for long-range supremacy.

Once again RKE Athletic is supplying the game shirts for the boysand the girls, “These games for the seniors are a great way for themto go out, and we are happy to be a part of it” siad Ted Maciejewskiowner of RKE.

The top player in each of the seniorall-star games will receive theArthur W. Harmon Jr. Most Valuable Player Award, named after thelate Art Harmon, a long-time official in the Shore Conference. Thehigh school games this season should be loaded with talent,

Check our website for more information www.allshoremedia.com

OPEN MRI OF WALL Continues itsSupport of the Shore BasketballCoaches Association Senior All-Star GameB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

34

Lakewood's boys basketball team knows what it's like toget deep into the Shore Conference Tournament only to

get its heart broken by a lower-seeded team, so the Piners weretaking nothing for granted against a Cinderella Matawan squad inthis season’s quarterfinals.

Top-seeded Lakewood avoided the slow starts that haveplagued the Piners at time this season and used its winningformula of attacking the offensive glass and forcing turnovers todispatch the 24th-seeded Huskies 57-42 at Brookdale CommunityCollege. The Piners (20-2) moved on to face Toms River North inthe semifinals in search of their first trip to the SCT final since1995.

Player of the Year candidate Tyrice Beverette led the way witha game-high 22 points, including a 10-for-12 showing at the foulline, and center Ben Watson scored 12 of his 15 points in thesecond half to go along with 14 rebounds to help close out thewin. Sophomore guard Jason Dunne led the Huskies (12-10) with17 points, burying four 3-pointers, in the loss.

This is the second time in the last three seasons the Piners havereached the SCT semifinals and a step further than they made itlast season, when they were upset in the quarterfinals byManasquan.

"We were fired up because we had to pick up the slack fromlast year,'' Beverette said. "The rankings go out the window whenyou go on the court. In previous years, we've been goodthroughout the regular season, but that doesn't count. This iswhere it counts."

"Our pregame speech was that we made it to this point last yearand we couldn't advance so let's redeem that loss,'' saidLakewood coach Randy Holmes. "We're on a mission. We trulyare taking it one game at a time. Even though they (Matawan) area so-called Cinderella, they're a good team. In order to beat thetwo teams that they beat to get here, they're a good team.''

After taking an 11-8 lead in the first quarter, the Piners nevertrailed again as they forced 19 turnovers and consistently createdsecond-shot opportunities on the glass. Beverette had 12 points tostake them to a 29-15 lead at the half despite the Piners shooting11-for-29 as a team from the field. Matwan only had 13 shotattempts in the first half because of a Piners defense that forced14 turnovers with its full-court pressure. Lakewood made surethe Huskies didn't gain any early confidence after coming off a

buzzer-beating, one-point win overChristian Brothers Academy in the previousround that put them into the SCTquarterfinals for the first time since 1958.

"We knew we had to jump on thembecause we knew that they shoot a lot ofthrees, and we didn't want to let them intothe game,'' Watson said. "If we gave themmomentum, they would've been able tohang right with us.''

"When you're No. 1, everyone plays theirhardest against you, and when you give thenot-so-good teams confidence, they seem toplay harder and get themselves back intothe game,'' Beverette said. "It was importantto get after them right from the beginning."

Matawan fought its way back into thegame in the third quarter, which has usuallybeen Lakewood's most explosive quarterthis season, by holding the Piners to ninepoints and hitting open looks. Theytrimmed the lead to 38-30 going into thefourth quarter, but couldn't get any closerthan seven points in the final periodbecause of a combined 12 fourth-quarterpoints by Beverette and Watson.

A 3-pointer by Dunne cut it to 40-33early in the fourth quarter, but guard MalikMendez answered with coast-to-coast layupto push the lead back to nine points.Holmes had yelled at his team not to helpon any lobs in the post because it wasleaving Matawan's array of 3-point shooterswith open looks, and the Piners heeded thecall the rest of the way by only allowingone harmless 3-pointer. Mendez's bucket started a 6-0 burst thatmade it 46-33 after Watson dropped in a layup off a nice dish byMo Diawara with 3:12 left in the game.

"With our defense and with our big guys inside and how activethey are, we're a hard team to beat,'' Holmes said. "Ben is 6-7,315 pounds. He just puts a body on you and that wears you down.In the fourth quarter, he still has energy and the other team issapped of its energy.''

The Piners contested every3-point attempt down thestretch, expanding the lead to49-36 after a free throw byWatson with 2:14 left in thegame. By the time ErickDavis threw down a dunk ona slash to the basket, it was53-39 with under 1:30 to goand Lakewood was on itsway to the semifinals.

While it was adisappointing loss for theHuskies, they return prettymuch their entire team nextseason so the future is bright.

"I told the guys that ithurts, but it shows us thelevel we have to reach to getback here and make it a stepfurther next year,'' saidMatawan coach Tom Stead."This was a great run for ayoung team, but these guysare hungry for more.''

So is Lakewood, which isout to capture its first titlesince way back in 1991,when Holmes was a starguard for the Piners.

Senior guard Tyr ice Beveret te

Lakewood Basketball is on aMission to Finish the Job in SCTB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3

5

P h o t o b y :D a v e T h o r n e

www.davethornephotography .com

by:

S c o t t S t u m pwww.a l l shoremed ia .com

Elite Sports Performance Center inTinton Falls introduces our new

series, “Ask the Experts”. NewJersey’s #1 facility for physicaltherapy, performance training, andcollege recruiting will answer yourquestions about injuries, rehabilitation,training, nutrition and recruiting.

Patti Adorna, Recruiting Specialist with 30+ years’college experience

QUESTION: Can you give me somegeneral advice on what to say to collegecoaches?

ANSWER:Be honest. Don'tmislead or lieabout youracademics,playing abilities,profileinformation, orother schoolsthat arerecruiting you.

Represent yourself accurately....don't say or do anything that willruin your credibility. Coaches recruit character and integrity asmuch as skill - don't list your height as 6'0" if you're 5'8"; don'tsay you're a varsity player if you play JV and sit for some varsitycompetitions; don't say you run a 4.6 - 40 when it is more like a4.8; and certainly don't say you are being recruiting by College"X" if you're not {It's a small community -coaches talk to eachother}. College coaches are good detectives...they will find outthe truth. Next issue we will address the most common questionscoaches will ask you during the recruiting process. AttendESPC’s Lecture Series Workshop: “College Recruiting 101” onMarch 17th and learn how to get recruited.

Bobby Smith, Owner and Founder of Reach YourPotential Training

QUESTION: The cold and flu has beengoing around my son’s soccer team thispast month. If my son does get sick, atwhat point do I decide whether he canstill practice and train or not?ANSWER: With cold and flu season in full effect, there isonly so much you can do to protect yourself from gettingsick! If your son or daughter should happen to catch thisseason’s bug, the best rule of thumb is to assess thesymptoms. They are usually ok to workout as long as the

symptoms areabove theneck. Thesetypes ofsymptoms,usually seenwith thecommon cold,includesneezing,watery eyes,runny nose,nasalcongestion, ora minor sore

throat. If the symptoms are below the neck and include chestcongestion, nausea, or fever however, medical professionalsrecommend you don’t exercise.

Taking a day or two off will not hinder your performanceand most often rest is exactly what your body needs. You bethe judge. If you should choose to exercise while under theweather remember to stay hydrated and take a little bit longerto prepare your body for exercise. Reduce the intensity andduration of your workout, if needed

Dr. Sharon Wentworth & Dr. Stephen Bade

QUESTION: My 15-year-old daughterplays school and club soccer. She hasbeen experiencing knee pain but she didnot have a specific knee injury that sheremembers. What should I do?ANSWER: With the current trend of young athletes playing asport year round we are seeing a greater incidence of overusesyndromes such as tendonitis. There are also syndromes commonin adolescent athletes that cause knee pain such as OsgoodSchlatter and Patella Femoral Pain Syndrome. Since there wasno mechanism of injury, without performing an evaluation, we

can assume thatyour daughter's painmay fall into one ofthese diagnoses.Tendonitis is theinflammation of atendon and iscommonly thecause of pain in thefront of the knee(Patella Tendonitis).Osgood Schlatterpresents verysimilarly to PatellaTendonitis but iscaused by a growthspurt, at which timethe bones grow

faster than the muscles and tendons, resulting in pain where thePatella tendon attaches to the Tibia (shin bone). Patella FemoralPain Syndrome is a muscular imbalance around the patella (kneecap) and causes the patella to track incorrectly on the femur (thethigh bone), which causes pain. This is more common in femaleathletes. With proper stretching, sports performance training(RYPT), and adequate rest/recovery, your daughter's symptomscan be resolved without long-term issues. Either a physicaltherapist or her school athletic trainer can provide her with theproper exercise and two weeks of rest will do a world of good. Ifthe symptoms do not resolve, you may want to see a sportsorthopedic surgeon for further evaluation.

As soon as South Plainfield defeatedPhillipsburg a week before the state

tournament began, attention turned toToms River South, the only team left thatconceivably stood a chance against NewJersey's best.On paper, the matchups gave Toms River South a

fighting chance. But the margin for error was slim.There is a reason why the Tigers entered the daywith a perfect 30-0 record.

"We knew it had to be a perfect match to have achance to beat them," said Indians head coach RonLaycock.

Toms River South battled South Plainfieldadmirably, but perfection was not in the cards.Toms River South held a six-point lead with fourbouts to go. The only problem was those fourremaining wrestlers are all nationally ranked, theheart of South Plainfield's lineup known as'Murderer's Row.' Corey Stasenko, Scott

DelVecchio, Anthony Ashnault and Troy Heilmannclosed the match with four straight pins to give theTigers a 40-22 victory in the NJSIAA Group IIIfinal Sunday at Pine Belt Arena. The Tigersfinished undefeated and will conclude the season asthe No. 1 team in New Jersey for the second seasonin a row.

"We had to wrestle a perfect match and it didn'thappen," Laycock said. "And obviously they havesome horses who are going to get bonus points. Youhave to hope you have a 24-point lead and hope youcan stay off your back to have a chance headinginto that part of the lineup."

The Indians won six bouts against SouthPlainfield, including a 2-0 win by senior KevinCorrigan over standout freshman Dan Hedden at113 and Brandon Murray's 7-1 decision over RayJazikoff at 120. What was already an uphill battlebecame even more difficult when sophomore JoeSalvato re-injured his knee during Toms RiverSouth's Group III semifinal match with Brick. The160-pounder, who entered the day with a 27-2record, was an integral part of the Indians' plan of

attack against the Tigers.

"Salvato getting injured in the first matchcertainly didn't help us, but at the same time theydidn't wrestle (160-pounder Inan) Sikel so I guess itwas an even match anyhow," Laycock said.

A potential matchup that loomed at 145 poundswas Toms River South senior state champ B.J.Clagon versus South Plainfield senior and staterunner-up Troy Heilmann. Clagon weighed in at152, however. Toms River South was willing togive up a win to Heilmann at 145 if it meant Clagoncould pick up bonus points against Dylan Painton at152, starting what the Indians hoped would be anine-bout winning streak.

"Our goal with having B.J. up at 152 was to try towin every match from there to 113," Laycock said."We thought they would wrestle (Jordan)Handwerger at 160 and move Sikel up to 170, and Ithink Antres (Clagon) is wrestling tough enoughright now that he could have beat him."

Instead Painton defeated Garrett Applegate by

Toms River South Battled SouthPlainfield AdmirablyW r i t t e n b y B o b B a d d e r s - S e n i o r S t a f f W r i t e r

If you have a Question for our Expertsplease email us at info@elitespc.com

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

36

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3

7major decision, 8-0, at152 before SouthPlainfield forfeited toB.J. Clagon up at 160.Antres Clagon won bymajor decision, 14-4,over Handwerger at 170before Quentin DeCarloheld off Collin Lynch,3-2, at 182 pounds togive Toms River Southa 13-6 lead.

The toss up bouts inthe upperweights had anenormous amount ofweight on them. Theblueprint to beat SouthPlainfield is simple:pile up points againstits upperweights tocounteract the powerfrom 113 to 152.Bergen Catholicthought they couldexecute that same planearlier in the season andlost by the exact samescore. South Plainfield'swrestlers from 170 toheavyweight don't get much attention, but they havebeen the key to many of the Tigers' biggestvictories.

At 195 Luigi Gerardi held off Mike Rutter for a 2-1 win. At 220 pounds Tory Russell pinned MarvinHayden in 3:20 and at heavyweight Tyler Calderoneput James Kearney to his back late in the bout tobreak open a close matchup and win 7-1. TomsRiver South's 13-4 lead had turned into a 16-13deficit and relief was nowhere in sight. FreshmanOwen McClave defeated Ryan Walsh 7-4 at 106before Corrigan's win over Hedden at 113 andMurray's clutch win over Jazikoff at 120. Murraywas up 2-1 in the third period when he head-locked

Jazikoff to his back for a five-point move and a 7-1win. But with just a 22-16 lead left heading intothat brutal stretch from 126 to 145, the match wasessentially over.

"We were a couple bullets short," Laycock said."At heavyweight and 195 they weren't that strong,but they happened to be a point better than us. Andtheir 220-pounder was a little better than I thoughthe was. But I think everyone in the gym saw weweren't intimidated. We went out there and wrestledour butts off."

"Gerardi did a great job and Tory Russell has beendoing that all year for us," said South Plainfieldhead coach Kevin McCann. "People underestimate

him. And even a kid like Lynchbattling and not giving up bonuspoints. Those are the differences inbig matches."

The team season still technicallyextends to next weekend's districttournaments, but regardless of whathappens at District 24, Toms RiverSouth put together the best seasonthe program has had in 30 years,and possibly ever. The Indians wontheir first NJSIAA sectional title intheir fifth straight finalsappearance, advanced to the ShoreConference Tournament final forthe first time since 1978, beatSouthern and Brick Memorial inthe same season for the first timeever and claimed a share of theClass A South division title.

"Time goes by too fast, I wish itwould slow down a little bit so wecould really enjoy it," saidLaycock, referring to the two-dayturnaround between the sectionalfinals and group championships."I'm sure it will sink in and we'llhave a couple days to enjoy it

before districts."

P h o t o b y :D o u g B o s t w i c k

ww w.spo rtsho tsw lb .com

by:

B o b B a d d e r swww.a l l shoremed ia .com

TRS s e n i o r K e v i n C o r r i g a n

or 371 days, BrickMemorial's wrestlingteam had one singular,

unified goal: return to theNJSIAA Group IV final andcomplete a task leftunfinished last February."We had a thirst from the beginning," said

sophomore Alec Donovan. "Our goal was to get backhere. And this time win it all."

Another chapter in thestoried history of BrickMemorial's wrestlingprogram was writtenSunday evening at PineBelt Arena. And as it sooften has in the past, thedefining moment will betalked about for years tocome.

Donovan matched upwith Southern Regionaljunior Zach Wilhelm, astate medalist in 2011 and aBeast of the East medalistthis season, at 138 poundswith the Mustangs holdinga seven-point lead.Donovan scored a takedown in the third period toforce overtime, and in sudden victory he pinnedWilhelm out of a scramble with one second left on theclock to send Brick Memorial on its way to a 34-27victory and the 2013 NJSIAA Group IV title.

Donovan, who on Friday handed Howell senior BenEsposito his first loss of the season during the CentralJersey Group IV final, etched his name into Mustangslore by effectively clinching Brick Memorial's eighthstate championship. Wilhelm was almost in on atakedown late in overtime but Donovan counteredwith a whizzer and a single on Wilhelm's right leg ashe attempted to scramble out of harm's way. Wilhelmtried to reach over the top as Donovan drove forward,but the Mustangs sophomore rolled through and sathis hips out while hooking Wilhelm's right leg. Ithappened in a flash and in the nick of time, the fallcoming at 6:59, to give Brick Memorial a 28-15 leadwith four bouts remaining.

"Actually, in the practice before this my coach(Brian Grainer) got me in that same position and Ipicked it up out ofnowhere and hit ithere," Donovan said."There's no name forthat, I just caught hisarm and turned him."

"We know (Alec) isin good shape butWilhelm is a toughcompetitor," saidBrick Memorial headcoach Dan O'Cone."We knew it was atoss-up."

"When he pinned

him we were all overwhelmed, speechless," saidsenior Connor Maliff.

The call did not sit well with Southern Regionalhead coach John Stout, who was adamant that it wasnot a pin. Donovan had not been awarded two pointsfor a takedown prior to the fall. However, a wrestlerdoesn't have to be taken down to be pinned from theneutral position.

"I've been involved with wrestling for 32 years andI know what a pin is, I've seen it a thousand times,and it wasn't even close to being a pin, especially inthat situation," Stout said. "He didn't even call two forthe takedown. And I know you don't have to be takendown to be pinned, however, it wasn't even close."

"I couldn't reallysee what it was, itwas right in front ofthem," O'Cone said."I can only go bywhat the officialssay. Of course ifthey say it's a pinI'm not going toargue with that. I dothink he had the two(points for atakedown)."

Brick Memorialwon seven of the 11contested boutsagainst the Rams,

including bonus points from Nick Costa at 195 andJoe Ghione at 120, for the second win over its Class ASouth rival this season. Mustangs senior Matt Moorewas awarded a forfeit at 220 pounds while BrickMemorial forfeited the final two weights to ChrisSerpico and GerardoJorge at 160 and 170,respectively, afterCliff Ruggiero's 8-1win over JakeCampana at 152pounds clinched thematch. The eighthtitle for BrickMemorial is also itsthird under O'Coneand third in sixseasons. It places themtied for fifth in statehistory with SouthPlainfield andKittatinny, which alsohave eight.

"Ithasbeen analmostunquenchablethirst for me,personally,"O'Cone said. "I

haven't been able to sleep, I haven't been able to eat, Ihaven't been able to dream about anything else butcoming here to wrestle and erasing the chalkboardand writing something new. It's been a weight on myshoulders that, as a professional, I couldn't wait to getback here and get rid of."

"We've been waiting forthis moment ever sincelast year," Maliff said."We took advantage of it,wrestled our toughest andcame out on top."Southern, which won the Group IV title in 2005, saw

its bid for the program's second state title thwarted againby one of its familiar foes. The Rams made four straight

Group IV finals from 2006through 2009, losing twiceeach to Jackson Memorial

andBrick

8VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3

Junior 195-pounder Nick Costa

By Bob Badders - Senior Staff Writer

Junior heavyweight Ty ler Pol ing

by:

B o b B a d d e r swww.a l l shoremed ia .com

Memorial. Despite injuries and a lineup thatseemed to be in constant flux, Southernrallied late in the season to top a solidShawnee program and capture its ninthSouth Jersey Group IV title. In thegroup semifinals, the Rams knockedoff perceived favorite HunterdonCentral, which was coming off itssecond victory over Phillipsburg thisseason and had only lost to top-rankedSouth Plainfield.

"I'm proud of how we wrestled,couldn't be more proud," Stoutsaid. "They went on a great runand had a great tournament asa team. We've got to keepour heads up going intodistricts and keepwrestling at thesame level."

Connor

CasestartedtheRamsoff withan 8-3decisionover

ConnorOwen at 182

pounds for an early 3-0 lead.The Mustangs pulledahead, 15-3, on a pinby Costa over PatrickFerraro at 195, a

forfeit toMooreat 220and

Tyler Poling's 5-0 decisionover Jesse Bauta at heavyweight.

James Knoeller topped Luke Vescovi 4-0 at 106 poundsto make it 15-6 before Brick Memorial won the next two

bouts to open up a 22-6 lead. Maliff used alate takedown to edge Chris Crane, 4-2,at 113 before Ghione won by major

decision, 13-5, over Pat Mooneyat 120, also utilizing a latetakedown to secure bonuspoints.

"We're fighters and wenever give up," saidMaliff, whose toughweight cut down to113 pounds was a keyfactor in theMustangs' title run."Overtime, firstperiod, third period,it doesn't matter.We're a tough team."

AndrewTonneson's 9-2decision over JaredStaub at 126 poundsand Nick Racanelli'spin over JoseBocalman at 132 thrustthe Rams back into thematch, however, with thescore now 22-15, setting upthe dramatic pin fromDonovan over Wilhelm at 138.

"If you see (Donovan) in theroom he's the hardest working kid in

there," Maliff said. "He'll outworkalmost anyone, and it shows out here and

with how far he's come."

At 145 pounds Rob Ruggiero used a first-periodtakedown to defeat Matt Wilhelm, 3-0, to set up his twinbrother Cliff for the match-clinching decision at 152. CliffRuggiero threw Campana to his back in the first period fora four-point move. Those were all the points he would

need as he won by decision, 8-1, to clinch the match.

"It feels awesome," said Moore,one of five senior starters for theMustangs. "We've been looking forthis moment since we lost last year.It's all we've been thinkingabout."A program that was established in 1981, Brick

Memorial has enjoyed tremendous success basically fromits inception. It won its first group title in 1986, the first offive under legendary head coach Tony Caravella. TheMustangs have enjoyed great continuity, as well, with justthree coaches in their history. Caravella retired from headcoaching after the 2003 season with 325 wins, two teamsthat finished No. 1 in New Jersey and a massive shadowcast over those who would follow him. Current assistantcoach Dean Albanese took over for three seasons before

O'Cone came over fromPoint Beach to start the2007 season. In thatspan he has guided theMustangs to threeGroup IV titles, two

Shore ConferenceTournament championshipsand piled up 147 wins.

"To look at that trophy case before Istarted, it looked like an insurmountabletask," O'Cone said. "And I don't everthink I'll fill it up as much as coachCaravella did, but to win three state titlesmakes me feel personally like I can stand

up to the standards he left."

O'Cone's biggest problem now will be enjoying the win.He admitted he has to fight off urges to think ahead to the

District 23 tournament even in the immediate momentsafter winning a state title.

"I'm not good at this part," he said. "Right now I want tostart thinking about districts. I tried to promise myself Iwould enjoy this."

A year ago Brick Memorial left Pine Belt Arena with anempty feeling. A year later they found redemption.

"As O'Cone would say,"Maliff said. "Our thirst isfinally quenched."

Head coach Dan O'Cone holding the trophy.

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3

9

P h o t o b y :D o u g B o s t w i c k

ww w.spo rtsho tsw lb .com

Sophomore 145-pounder Rob Ruggiero

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

310

Point Beach coach Nick Catania knows his team is talentedenough to win the Shore Conference Tournament

championship, but if there is one variable that he has beenimploring his team to pay attention to, it is mental toughness. Entering the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal against

No. 10 seed Manalapan, the second-seeded Garnet Gulls had notwon a game this season in which they trailed in the second half.Early in the fourth quarter on Feb. 17, Point Beach trailed astreaky-shooting team with a future Division I guard at itsdisposal.Trailing by four points early in the fourth quarter and

struggling to contain Manalapan senior Anthony Firkser,Point Beach rediscovered its game on both ends andclosed out the Braves 52-45 at Collins Arena toadvance to the SCT semifinals for the second timein three seasons. Point Beach is looking to advanceto the SCT final for the first time since 1963while seeking its first ever title."When we started the season, we had three

goals: win our division, win Shore Conferenceand win states," junior guard Matt Farrellsaid. "We got the first one and today was astep toward getting to our second goal, butwe still have two games to go."Manalapan went on a 10-0 run over a

stretch of the third and fourth quartersto take its first lead of the game, 35-31,with seven minutes left. Point Beachregrouped, scoring on an alley-oopfrom Farrell to junior forwardDominique Uhl, who slammedhome a dunk that halted theBraves run. Farrell then hit a pull-up, midrange jumper off anoffensive rebound to tie the gameat 35. After a pair of free throwsby Uhl and two more by Farrell,the Garnet Gulls had answeredwith an 8-0 run of their own totake the lead for good."The one thing we've harped on

in practice and even going back tothe preseason was being mentally

tough," Catania said. "I feel like sometimes, in previous years, wecould have been a little bit mentally tougher, and you don't reallyknow how that's going to go until you get into situations. Thegood thing is this team has a high buy-in. Our guys have madethe commitment, putting in the hours, driving to Linden in thesummer, and the commitment is there."After Point Beach built the lead to 42-37, Manalapan guards

Joey Pisciotti and Mike Busto hit 3-pointers on consecutivepossessions to slice the Garnet Gulls lead to 44-43 with 1:25 left.Point Beach then put the game on ice by going 8-for-8 from the

free-throw line in its final four possessions, with Farrellgoing 6-for-6 in the fourth quarter. For the game, theGarnet Gulls went 18-for-20 from the charity stripe.Farrell and Firkser finished with nearly identical lines,with each tallying 16 points, four assists and three

steals. Firkser had to work hard for his 16 pointswhile matched up against Point Beach juniorNoah Yates, who has been called upon todefend the best player on the opposingteam in the Garnet Gulls' biggestgames."Noah has a really long wingspan

and he's a great athlete," Farrell said."We can put him on any player on anyteam, and we know that guy is going tohave to work a lot harder trying to getpast him. Firkser is a really good playerand he still got his points, but Noah madehim work for everything."Like the rest of his teammates, Firkser

could not find the range on his jumper in thearena setting. Firkser shot 0-for-6 from 3-point range and

as a team, Manalapan shot just 4-for-26 from behind the arc. "We were sending double-teams at him early trying to get

him to give up the ball before he could break down the defense,"Catania said. "What makes them tough and what makes Firksertough is that their guys can all shoot. You can't leave their otherguards because they can all hit the open shot, and that givesFirkser a chance to take advantage of match-ups."Uhl scored 11 points to go with 11 rebounds and three blocks,

showing no ill effects from a sprained ankle that kept him out ofaction during the week prior to theSCT. Two of his three field goals

came on alley-oop dunks, the first on a long feed from senior P.J.Kineavy just before the second-quarter buzzer and the other on alob from Farrell to end the 10-0 Manalapan run. "It's good playing with the guards we have," Uhl said. "They

can both shoot the ball and Matt, he finds me every time. Anytime I'm open, somebody is going to get me the ball where I canscore."Kineavy added 10 points and hit Point Beach's two 3-pointers,

while Yates added nine points and senior Riley Calzonetti had sixto round out Point Beach's scoring.Senior center Dennis Girolamo had 11 points and 12 rebounds

for Manalapan and Busto added eight points for the Braves.Girolamo helped neutralize Point Beach's size with his effortdown low."He really battled for us today," Manalapan coach Rick

Garretson said of Girolamo. "He is so crafty down around thebasket, whether it's on the glass or finishing around the rim.Between he and Anthony today, those guys were outstanding forus."Manalapan's run ended in the quarterfinals with the Braves

making their deepest SCT run since 1997, when they lost toChristian Brothers Academy in the semifinals after beatingNeptune and Lakewood to reach the final four."It's really tough leaving here today because this group has

worked so hard and played their hearts out today," Garretsonsaid. "I just told them how proud I was of them. Before the yearstarted, if I told them all that we would have made it this far, nota lot of guys would have believed it, but they've believed in eachother all year, and they had a great run."

Point Beach Reaches SCT Semisfor 2nd Time in 3 YearsB y M a t t M a n l e y - S t a f f W r i t e r

F i l e P h o t o b y :Cliff Lavelle

www.c learedge.zenfo l i o .com

by:

M a t t M a n l e ywww.a l l shoremed ia .com

Junior guard Matt Farrell

n Sehmonyeh Allen—Neptunen Sean Armand—Jacqueline Kennedy

Onassis HS (NY)n Delvon Arrington—St. Anthony’sn Brian Baker—Colts Neck n Mustafa Barksdale—RBRn Robert Barksdale—Asbury Parkn Billy Beggans—Ocean Townshipn Kate Beriont—St. John Viannen Steve Bridgemohan—E Brunswickn Josh Brody—RBRn Brandon Brown—Freehold Boro n Yesenia Burgos—St. John Vianneyn Rashon Bruno—St. Anthony’s n Courtney Calderon—St. John Vianneyn Isaias Calderon—Neptune n Richard Calia—Holmdeln Shilique Calhoun – Middletown Northn Quarran Calhoun—Raritann Cooper Calzonetti—Neptune n Chase Campbell—Oak Hill Academy (NC)n Cleveland Cannon—Long Branchn Raheem Carter—Long Branch n Corey Chandler—East Side 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 Paul De Salvo—CBAn Syessence Davis—Neptune n Allen Dean—Neptune n Taquan Dean—Neptune n Dana Jean DeGennaro—RBCn Chris Delaney—CBA n Pat Delaney—CBAn Jose Diaz—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Mark Donnelly—RBR n Sean Dunne—CBA n Kristian Duravcevic—Fordham Preparatory

School (NY) n Mike Faherty—Brooklyn Polytech n Matt Farrell—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Crissie Fisher—Rumson-Fair Haven n Sarah Fisher—RBR n Adam Fleischner—Holmdel n Colin Ford—Manasquan n Glen Ford—RBC n Greg Ford—Trenton Central n Avery Gardner—Long Branch

n Billy Gilligan—RBR n Tyler Glass—Mater Dei Prep n Erica Gomez—St. John Vianney n Dana Graziano—Holmdel n Kevin Grier—CBAn Paul Halas—St. Rose n Felicia Harris—RBR n Michael Harris—Randolph n Mykel Harris—Great Mills (MD)n Ashley Hart—The Peddie Schooln Eugene “Nu Nu” Harvey—St. Benedict’s Prepn Corey Haskins—RBR n Kasey Hobbie—RBC n Norman Hobbie—Manasquan n Darien Hutton—Ewing n Nolan Ivers—Holmdel n Jasmine Jackson—Old Bridge n Rosie Jackson—St. John Vianney n Tyson Johnson—St. Mary’s HS (NY) n Billy Kiss—Long Branch n Michael Kelly—St. Anthony’s (NY)n Nick La Morte—Mater Dei n Herve Lamizana—St. Patrick’s n Erin Leahy—Rumson-Fair Haven

n Carl Little—Asbury Park n Maggie Loundy—Pt. Pleasant Beach n Charles Markens—St. Patrick n Mike Mavrinac—Middletown South n Jasmine McCall—Manalapan n Billy McCue—CBAn 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 Karen Otrupchak—RBR n Kevin Owens—Neptune n Toni Panza—St. John Vianney n Anthony Perry—St. Anthony’sn Shinece Perry—RBR n Earl Pettis—Saints John Neumann & Maria

Goretti Catholic (PA) n Simon Press—Asbury Parkn Joey Raines—Asbury Park n David Reeves—RBC n Anne Richards—The Lawrenceville Sch.n Charlie Rogers—Matawan n Amanda Rosato—St. John Vianney

n Alifiya Rangwala—The Ranney Schooln Will Sanborn—RBR n Keyron Sheard—RBR n Brian Snodgrass—Holmdel n Lauren Sokol—The Peddie Schooln Stephen Spinella—Colts Neck n Matt Stahl—Middletown Southn Missy Stavola—Rumson-Fair Haven n Jenna Strich—RBC n Scott Stump—RBC n Kim Talbot—RBC n Aaron Tarver—RBR n Terrance Todd—Neptune HS n Maurice Turpin—Long Branch n John Weldon—Freehold Boro n Dawn Werner—St. John Vianney n John Werner—St John Vianney n Kade Weston—RBRn Kayshanna Wesley— Asbury Park n Eric Yarborough— Asbury Parkn Tomora Young—RBR n Terry Zinn—RBC n Lynne Zoltowski—RBC

A SAMPL ING OF CURRENT AND FORMER MAC ALL -STARS

V i s i t o u r webs i t e , www.mac tes t i ng . com

Toms River North head coach Rory Caswell knows DamienSingleton is an outstanding athlete, but the difference

between a good performance from him and the game-saving efforthe gave on Feb. 17 came down to one thing."It's all about confidence with him,'' Caswell said. "Once he hit a

bucket or two, I told him, 'You need to lead us.' He took it on hisback and just went. He's that type of athlete that can just make play.''That confidence was on full display at the most critical juncture

of the game in Sunday's Shore Conference Tournamentquarterfinals. Singleton scored 11 of his team-high 18 points in thefourth quarter and sank the game-winning free throw with 5.1seconds remaining to send the fifth-seeded Mariners to a thrilling58-57 win over fourth-seeded Colts Neck (18-4) at BrookdaleCommunity College. Toms River North (22-2) set a single-seasonschool record for wins and reached the SCT semifinals for the firsttime since 1998, according to Caswell. They moved on to face top-seeded Lakewood in a bid to reach their first SCT final since 1996and just the second one in school history.Singleton made the biggest play of the game when Toms River

North spread the floor in a 1-4 set only seconds after Colts Necksenior Brandon Federici buried a game-tying 3-point bomb fromNBA range at the top of the key with 16 seconds left to cap a 30-point effort. Toms River North did not call timeout, setting up theplay as Singleton beat his defender off the dribble and was fouledon a lay-up attempt. He hit the first shot for a 58-57 lead and thenmissed the second, but Federici's desperation heave from halfcourtwas off the mark to make the Mariners the first Class A South teamin at least a decade to reach the SCT semifinals."We didn't expect (Federici) to hit the shot, but we just wanted to

push the ball after that,'' Singleton said. "They were fouling a lot so Ijust wanted to get to the rim. I realized my opponent was smaller thanme, so I just wanted to take him off the dribble and body him up.""That was a hell of a shot by (Federici),'' Caswell said. "We work

on this in practice all the time. Shot goes down, 20 seconds left,they know to push it and if we like what we're in, we'll continue orwe'll call the timeout. Don't worry about calling the timeout. Yougo, and I'll take the timeout if we need it."The Mariners were in control of the game for 2 1/2 quarters

before foul trouble for senior center Solly Stansbury (9 points, 8rebounds, 3 blocks) gave Colts Neck an opening to seize the lead.The Mariners led 29-22 at the half, with Federici scoring 14 of theCougars' 22 points on 6-for-11 shooting, but the rest of the team

shot 3-for-13 from the floor. Singleton also gained some earlyconfidence with a team-high seven first-half points as the Marinersattacked in transition and off the dribble."I just wanted to come out and be a leader,'' said Singleton, who

was also a starting wide receiver on the football team.Toms River North was leading 33-24 with 5:42 left in the third

quarter when Stansbury picked up his third foul and went to thebench. Without one of the Shore Conference's top shot blockerspatrolling the middle, Colts Neck attacked the paint relentlessly, andforward James Sobieski (7 points) began creating points withoffensive rebounds. The Cougars went on a 19-7 run to end thequarter, with Federici rattling off 11 points during the run andassisting on two other buckets. The burst gave Colts Neck a 44-40lead heading into the fourth quarter and left open the question ofwhether Caswell let Stansbury sit too long on the bench to allow theCougars to get back into the game."We did (consider putting Stansbury back in), but we knew it was

still the third quarter,'' Caswell said. "It didn't get too far out ofhand, so we kind of just stuck with it.''"Teams always make runs when he's on the bench, so we he can

back in, I knew we were going to answer with a run,'' Singletonsaid.An 8-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters gave Colts Neck

a 48-40 lead with 6:51 left in the game, but the Class A Southchampions would not back down. They came right back with a 6-0run of their own to cut the lead to 48-46 with 5:21 left in the gameafter a bucket by junior guard Kyle Carrington (10 points)."We were actually dominating for most of the game,'' Caswell

said. "We had some foul trouble and went down, and in years pastand games past where kids might have given up a little bit, they justfight back. Damien Singleton was unreal."After Colts Neck ran a minute off the clock and scored on a dish

from senior point guard Luke LaLima to Federici for a layup,Singleton made a huge play to keep the Mariners breathing downthe Cougars' neck. The 5-foot-9 guard snatched an offensiverebound in the middle of the paint, scored and was fouled for athree-point play that cut it to 52-51 with two minutes to go."I'm a football player, so when I see it, I'm going to go get the

ball,'' Singleton said.After the teams traded baskets, Singleton again finished at the rim

and was fouled for a three-point play that gave the Mariners a 56-55lead with 57.7 seconds left in the game. After a miss by Federici,

Stansbury snatchedthe rebound and wasfouled. He made oneof two free throwswith 35.9 secondsleft for a 57-54advantage. Federicithen buried hisgame-tying 3-pointerto set the stage forSingleton's ultimateheroics.While Federici

finished with 30points, the Marinerswere content to lethim get his points aslong as they shutdown everyone else.Senior forward TimVangelas had 10points, but no oneelse on Colts Neckmanaged more thanseven. Outside of Federici, the Cougars shot 11-for-30 from thefield."That was our scouting report,'' Caswell said.Several Toms River North seniors were part of a group that set

the single-season record for wins at Toms River-IntermediateNorth when they were in eighth grade.Now they look to dosomething the highschool has neveraccomplished -win an SCTtitle.

Senior guard Damien Singleton

P h o t o b y :D a v e T h o r n e

www.davethornephotography .com

by:

S c o t t S t u m pwww.a l l shoremed ia .com

TRN Boys Basketball SetsSchool Record for WinsB y S c o t t S t u m p – M a n a g i n g E d i t o r

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3

1 1

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

312

While many teams would have beenbeyond proud to have made the

run Long Branch did in reachingSunday's NJSIAA Group II wrestlingfinal, it didn't make the disappointmentany less devastating when the GreenWave came up just short against HighPoint.Long Branch won eight of 14 bouts, but could not

contain the bonus points by the Wildcats, whose fivepins helped them pull out a thrilling 33-30 win in frontof a capacity crowd at Pine Belt Arena to win theGroup II title. The Green Wave pulled out animpressive 26-22 win over state-ranked Voorhees inthe semifinals earlier in the day just to get a shot attheir nemesis, and they built a 27-12 lead on HighPoint through nine bouts but could not hold on. HighPoint won its 15th Group title while denying LongBranch its fourth Group championship in programhistory by beating the Green Wave for the second timethis season. The crucial bout came when High Point'sChris Auer scored a 9-2 decision over Nick Menkin at138 to give High Point a 33-27 advantage going intothe final bout.

"We wrestled our butt off to get here to the finals andthat's going to be forgotten by a lot of people, but wecompeted and we wrestled tough,'' said Long Branch

head coach Dan George."That's why you see myguys crying because thebar here is set atwinning a Group title.''

High Point, whichbeat Long Branch 36-25on Jan. 5 despitemissing two starters,won the toss andshuffled its lineupamong the upperweights, which gave anopening to the GreenWave. Long Branchjumped out to a 15-0lead after Jake Georgeand Luke Balina startedthe match withdecisions at 152 and160, respectively, andthen the Pappayliou brothers came up with two keywins. Nick Pappayliou, who lost a one-point decisionwhile wrestling at 160 in the first meeting with HighPoint, secured a pin at 170 after High Point decided tobump Antonio Porraspita up to 182.

Pappayliou was leading Brien Alvino 4-0 in thesecond period when he turned and pinned him at 2:48

for a 12-0 lead. His twin brother Chris Pappayliou thenfollowed with a 3-0 win over Porraspita in which heescaped to start the second period and then scored atakedown with 45 seconds left in the second for a 15-0advantage. High Point got on the board when KyleStoll pinned Vin Roselli in 1:41 at 195, but LongBranch came back with another win that seemed tosignal maybe things would be different the secondtime around.

Long Branch Comes up Just Short inImpressive Run to Group II FinalBy Scott Stump – Managing Editor

Long Branch sophomore 112-pounder Tommy Flannigan

High Point decided to bump Rob McDonnellfrom 220 to heavyweight after McDonnell hadpinned Long Branch's Joe Guidetti in the firstmeeting. Guidetti came up with a 5-2 win overGunther Wassong, getting a third-periodtakedown for a 5-1 lead and holding on for adecision that made it 18-6. Long Branchheavyweight Gianni Augustin then had theGreen Wave faithful roaring when hedecisioned McDonnell 4-1 for a 21-6advantage. Augustin had a takedown on theedge for a 2-1 lead with nine seconds left in thesecond period, and then when McDonnell tooka weak shot out of desperation late in thematch, Augustin took him down with eightseconds left in the third period to seal thedecision.

"Gianni was in my doghouse a little bit, buthe finally wrestled like he's capable of, and Ithought we were in a good spot after that,''George said.

After a pin in 52 seconds by High Point'sDominick Gallo over Mike Jones at 106, LongBranch's Tommy Flannigan responded with a pin in3:24 of Leo Haines at 112. Flannigan, who was pinnedin Long Branch's regular-season loss to High Point,built a 5-0 lead before putting Haines to his back for a27-12 advantage with five bouts remaining.

"I felt good at that point, but I knew they had a lot ofbullets left in the gun,'' George said. "We were lookingfor eight (wins) and managing the bonus points. I don'tthink you can expect to beat High Point in nine bouts."

With High Point's big guns coming up, Long Branchwas just trying to minimize the damage enough to getto the last two bouts with a chance to win it. Twodifferent times Long Branch 120-pounder Danny Riosfought off his back against Jared Kobis and looked likehe might save a point by limiting Kobis to a technicalfall. However, Kobis stuck him with 30 seconds left in

the third period to cut the lead to 27-18.

"I felt bad for our 120-pounder, who wrestled so wellright to the end, and then he stopped wrestling andstarted defending,'' George said.

Connor McHugh then made short work of LongBranch's Andy Fernandez, pinning him in 1:32 at 126to keep the momentum going for the Wildcats. TheHigh Point crowd was roaring by the time Mike Derinpinned Danny Mullan in 1:20 at 132 to help HighPoint surge ahead 30-27.

"I just think until you're in this environment, it's hardwhen the momentum switches a little bit,'' Georgesaid. "I felt confident if we were still close the last twobouts, we could pull it off, and we almost did.''

After a scoreless first period at 138,Auer chose defense and then reversedMenkin for a 2-0 advantage going intothe final period. Another takedownfrom the neutral position gave Auer a4-0 lead in the third before Menkinfought back with a reversal to make it4-2. However, Auken then hit a five-point move, nearly pinning Menkininside the final minute for a 9-2decision and a six-point lead. It was atough loss for Menkin, who was a hugereason the Green Wave even reachedthe championship match because of a5-4 decision at 138 in the final bout ofthe win over Voorhees.

The win by Auken was crucialbecause it was a lot to ask LongBranch's Nick George, the son of thehead coach, to pin Joe Gaccione at 145in a match-up of two state contenders.

George escaped to start the second period and tookGaccione down with 26 seconds left in the periodbefore riding him out for the whole third period for abittersweet 3-0 decision over a highly-regardedopponent that left Long Branch just short. V

OLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3

13

Long Branch heavyweight Gianni August in

P h o t o b y :D o u g B o s t w i c k

ww w.spo rtsho tsw lb .com

by:

S c o t t S t u m pwww.a l l shoremed ia .com

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

314

F O R A D V E R T I S I N G I N F O RMA T I O NCon t a c t : S t e v e n Me y e r 7 3 2 - 2 3 3 - 4 4 6 0 sme y e r@a l l s h o r emed i a . c om

Red BankCathol ic’s Mike Corcione had put in thework al l summer, exci ted for his one andonly shot to be the Caseys’ s tart ingquarterback this fal l in addi t ion toreturning as a s tarter in the secondary.

In a scrimmageagainst Toms RiverNorth, he ran a bootlegplay that he had run athousand times, onlyfor his cleat to getstuck in the turf. Hefelt a pain in his rightknee, but still was ableto jog around on thesidelines. However,one day later, he gotthe news from thedoctor – torn ACL andmeniscus. Goodbye,senior season, andpossibly, goodbyecollege football.

“It was very devastating at first,’’ Corcione said.“For about a week, I was just thinking about what Iwas going to do now. What was the next step?”

Every fall, this seems to happen to a handful ofseniors. For many of them, it not only derails theircareers, but their life. They never considered thepossibility of what life would be like withoutfootball, and once it’s gone, they are lost.Academics often suffer and a bright future dims,leaving them wondering what might have been.

“I took it the opposite way,’’ Corcione said. “Ithink right after the weekend, it hit me that I’m notgoing to let this bring me down. It gives me anopportunity to focus on academics and life at homeand all that stuff. I used it for good.”

Corcione said he had interest from MonmouthUniversity, Yale and others going into the season,but “the contact with those coaches went away.” Hehad to find out what kind of person he was beyondathletics because there was the chance that hiscareer in organized sports was done. That day isgoing to come for a majority of football players,and Corcione received a taste of it in high school.

“I think it’s prepared me hopefully not futuredisappointments, but if something bad were tohappen, I think it would be able to handle itbetter,’’ he said. “It’s not the end of the world, andyou have to get right back up.”

“Unfortunately , you see a lot of kids getting theirself-worth tied up in what they do on the footballfield,’’ said RBC coach Jim Portela. “When youlose that, you start to wonder, ‘What’s myidentity?’ In 20 years, people aren’t going toremember that Michael scored X amount oftouchdowns or made X amount of tackles. Theywill remember whether he was a good guy or notand how hard he worked. It’s about what kind ofperson you are at the end of the day.”

Rather than let his schoolwork slide, he improved

on a solid academic resume.

“If most colleges are going totake a chance on somebody, it’son somebody with goodgrades,’’ Portela said. “Mostschools are not going to waste

their time on a kid whocan’t cut it academically.’’

His film from his junior yearalso was still floatingout there andreceiving someinterest. In themeantime, he spent

the season helping juniorquarterback Pat Toomey

and sophomore safety Mike Cordova, who tookover his positions after he was injured. The

Caseys finished as the Shore Conference’s No. 1team for the second straight season in going 10-1.

When you are a junior and you tear up your knee,there is always the incentive to stick with the teamand gear up for a big comeback senior year. When

you’re a senior andyour season gets wipedout, it would be easy towonder why botherputting in the workwhen there is noconcrete payoff on thefield.

“Standing on thesidelines in that firstgame was very hard, butmy dad told me to use itas an opportunity topossibly get intocoaching one day,’’Corcione said. “I wentto almost every practiceand games and helpedthem where I could. It

helped me take my mind off not being able to playin the games.’’

Marist had remained interested in Corcionedespite his injury, and his strong academic standingalso helped him because it allowed the program toget him some academic money as part of ascholarship package. The player who did not playone down in a game his senior year ended upcommitting to the Red Foxes on Feb. 9.

“It was great,’’ he said. “My family was in tearsthat day. I was holding back tears myself. It wasjust such a relief that all my hard work eventuallypaid off with the difficulties that I faced.”

Statistically, it’s almost certain that it will happenin some team’s camp next summer or early in theseason. Some seniors will have the year they havedreamed about wiped out by a knee injury.Corcione has some advice for those guys.

“The best advice I had was that you’re not only afootball player, you’re an individual,’’ he said. “Ifyou’re out for the season, don’t let it bring youdown. Let it open your mind to other things. Iexplored it, and found a bunch of things I wasinterested in to possibly major in for college.Football is just a precursor to what life is going tobe like.’’ RBC's Mike Corcione (#13)

(from left) RBC's James Taylor, head coach Jim Portela, Mike Corcione

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

3

15

P h o t o b y :D o u g B o s t w i c k

ww w.spo rtsho tsw lb .com

VOLUM

E-V

/ ISSUE-4

/ 2/1

8/1

316