Sports
South Jersey Sports
CAL's past, present and future collide at All-Star Saturday
Written by Bill LeConey Sunday, March 29, 2015 12:38 pm
OCEAN CITY – Alexis Harris ended her high school basketball career with a bang - and took it to the bank with one memorable buzzer-beating three-point shot - to lead Team Baruffi to a 65-46 win over Team Douglass in the Just 4 Wheels Girls Classic at Prime Events All Star Saturday.
Harris, a senior from Atlantic City High School, scored a game-high 20 points, including four field goals from well beyond the arc, and flashed the kind of play-making and ball-handling skills that should serve her well as she continues her basketball career at Palm Beach State, a Division I junior college in South Florida.
"This is really just the beginning for me," said Harris. "It's sad (that her high school career is over), but I'm just glad that I got to be known as one of the best in the area through high school. I just love everything about the game."
Read more: CAL's past, present and future collide at All-Star Saturday
Parity the theme in So. CMC softball
Written by Brian Cunniff Friday, March 27, 2015 01:17 pm
There figures to be a lot of parity in area high school softball this season.
The two best teams in the area – Middle Township and Wildwood Catholic – will both still be competitive but have some holes to fill due to graduation losses. Meanwhile, Cape May Tech, Lower Cape May and Wildwood all seem to have a chance to be better than they were last season.
The following is a look at each of the area’s high school softball teams:
Southern Cape May County baseball preview
Written by Brian Cunniff Friday, March 27, 2015 12:58 pm
It may seem hard to believe, the way the weather has been around here, but most of the area high school baseball teams are scheduled to begin their regular seasons next week.
Middle Township and Wildwood figure to be the area’s best teams, as both teams bring back some excellent players from last year and feature deep pitching staffs. Cape May Tech, Lower Cape May and Wildwood Catholic will be rebuilding, the latter two under new head coaches.
The following is a look at each of the area’s teams:
Baby steps with a purpose for new AC lacrosse program
Written by Bill LeConey Thursday, March 26, 2015 01:12 pm
ATLANTIC CITY – There are surely better days ahead - and hopefully soon - for the fledgling Atlantic City High School boys lacrosse team, which lost to Lower Cape May Regional 16-0 Wednesday in the program's first ever varsity game.
The Vikings, also playing their first Cape-Atlantic League game on their artificial turf field, couldn't get anything going against a very good Lower team.
Pete Tomlin scored four goals while Cole Blackley and Matt Leonard added two each for Lower, which is coming off its first ever South Jersey Group I playoff appearance.
Read more: Baby steps with a purpose for new AC lacrosse program
LCM, Middle excited for lacrosse season
Written by Brian Cunniff Thursday, March 26, 2015 09:40 am
The four area high school boys and girls lacrosse programs each posted winning seasons last spring. The Middle Township girls were the best of the lot, enjoying an undefeated league season and a Cape-Atlantic League championship. The Middle boys won 16 games, the Lower Cape May boys were over .500 and qualified for the state playoffs for the first time and the Lower girls had a more-than-respectable 12-win season.
All four teams have a good chance for more success this spring.
In fact, Lower Cape May’s teams have already experienced some success. Both posted victories over Atlantic City in their season openers on Wednesday, the boys winning 16-0 behind four goals from Pete Tomlin and the girls victorious by 14-1 behind six goals from Ashley Hunt.
What NJSIAA football proposal would mean to the CAL
Written by Tom Williams Tuesday, March 24, 2015 10:31 pm
There is a proposal that should come before the general membership of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association that would change the way high school football is structured in the state.
If it is approved, here is what the CAL might look like in 2016.
Read more: What NJSIAA football proposal would mean to the CAL
Wildwood senior selected for state all-star game
Written by Brian Cunniff Tuesday, March 24, 2015 08:07 pm
The Wildwood High School football team won just one football game last fall. That didn’t stop standout two-way starter Mikal Poteat from getting some major recognition, however.
Poteat, a 6-2, 265-pound senior offensive lineman and linebacker, has been selected to play in the prestigious Phil Simms New Jersey North-South All-Star Football Game on June 29.
“I was surprised to get picked,” Poteat admitted. “I didn’t expect that a lot of people were watching our games or seeing my stats.”
Childhood gift pays dividends for Tech grad
Written by Brian Cunniff Tuesday, March 24, 2015 08:05 pm
A little more than 15 years ago, Brian Ferrante was a wide-eyed 8-year-old on Christmas morning eagerly waiting to open the last of his gifts in his family’s Dennis Township home.
“We kind of had a little tradition in our family where we’d save the best gift for last,” he recalled.
After tearing the wrapping and ripping open a box that was too big for its contents, however, Ferrante was a bit disappointed to see a new set of Spaulding golf clubs.
“I was absolutely upset at the time because I had no idea what golf was then,” he said with a laugh. “But being an 8-year-old kid, I never knew it would be the best gift ever.”
Award-winning cheer career winds down for Middle grad
Written by Jacob Schaad Jr. Tuesday, March 24, 2015 08:01 pm
It is not inevitable, despite the nature of their athleticism, that all cheerleaders will suffer the wounds of their accomplishments.
One of the cheerleaders who has not been so fortunate is 21-year-old award-winning Gabby Mattera of Middle Township who, in her 15 years as cheerleader, acrobat and tumbler has broken her foot twice and suffered a multitude of muscle pull injuries in her legs.
Not too many years in the future, however, Mattera may be going the opposite route as an emergency care doctor giving medical help to cheerleaders whose bodies have rebelled against the stresses forced by the field of athletics. This September she will begin her education and training to become an emergency care doctor.
Read more: Award-winning cheer career winds down for Middle grad
NJSIAA proposal would create parochial-only football league
Written by Bill LeConey Tuesday, March 24, 2015 03:47 pm
A series of very interesting proposals came out of Tuesday's meeting of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletics Association public/non-public committee in Atlantic City.
The most interesting - some would say most necessary - change would create a parochial-only football league to start in 2016.
If approved, St. Joseph, St. Augustine Prep and Holy Spirit would leave the Cape-Atlantic League for football. Public schools could still play parochial schools in non-league games, but public schools would no longer have to keep getting hammered in league play by non-public schools that can recruit and draw players from throughout the region. Holy Spirit, St. Joe and St. Augustine are a combined 59-10 against CAL public schools the past three seasons.
Read more: NJSIAA proposal would create parochial-only football league
Nineteen players from area to play in All Star Saturday
Written by Tom Williams Tuesday, March 24, 2015 02:25 pm
OCEAN CITY - Nineteen players from area high schools will put on their basketball uniforms one last time on Saturday March 28 to play in The 14th Annual All Star Saturday at the Dixie Howell Memorial Gymnasium.
Prime Events All Star Saturday will be held at Ocean City High School on Saturday with the best seniors from the Cape-Atlantic League facing off in the final two basketball games of four that celebrate the present and future of the CAL.
The two high school games, starting at 4:30 p.m., will match the best CAL seniors. Because the CAL is aligned into three conferences, the all star teams were drafted based on the all star voting of the league’s coaches.
Read more: Nineteen players from area to play in All Star Saturday
Successful CAL basketball season wraps up
Written by Tom Williams Tuesday, March 24, 2015 02:00 pm
A Tournament of Champions doubleheader Monday night in Trenton wrapped up the high school basketball season except for a few all-star games.
The Lower Cape May girls won the South Jersey Group II title. It’s the fifth straight year a Cape Atlantic League team has won either a boys or girls state title and the 44th time in the past 45 years.
On the boys side, St. Augustine won its first CAL title since 2011 and its eighth CAL title overall. The Prep also reached the Non-Public A South Jersey final before running into an unusually hot-shooting Christian Brothers Academy.
Mainland girls, Prep boys win varsity eight races at Lenape Sprints
Written by Bill LeConey Tuesday, March 24, 2015 11:38 am
It was a brisk early-spring day on the waters of Lake Lenape in Hamilton Township, where several area high schools competed in the opening event of the local crew season, the Lake Lenape Sprints I, on Saturday, March 21.
The St. Augustine Prep boys and the Mainland Regional girls were the biggest winners of the day, capturing their respective varsity eight races. But several other schools - Atlantic City, Cedar Creek, Absegami - also had their moments in the (not-so-bright or warm) sun.
Read more: Mainland girls, Prep boys win varsity eight races at Lenape Sprints
McGann to play at D II Flagler
Written by Brian Cunniff Friday, March 20, 2015 06:29 am
Wildwood Catholic High School senior Pat McGann is set to continue his soccer career at Flagler College, a Division II school located in St. Augustine, Fla., near Jacksonville.
McGann said he is not initially receiving athletic scholarship money but added that he has earned some academic scholarship money to Flagler, at which he plans to major in sports management.
“I just wanted to get away from this weather and play soccer year round in a comfortable setting and go to the best team I could possibly get myself on,” McGann said. “But I also wanted to be sure I wanted to go to that school, so I chose Flagler first. And then it went from there with the soccer.”
Page 1 of 57