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NJAC SoftballUpdate

Page 2NJAC Boys’Lacrosse Update

Page 4NJAC Girls’Lacrosse Update

Page 5NJAC BaseballUpdate

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A p r i l 3 0 , 2 0 1 2V o l u m e - I I / I s s u e - 4

NJAC SoftballUpdate

Page 2NJAC Boys’Lacrosse Update

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Page 5NJAC BaseballUpdate

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A p r i l 3 0 , 2 0 1 2V o l u m e - I I / I s s u e - 4

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NJAC Softball Update:Two Weeks To RememberBy Paul Mencher – ASM Northern Review Managing Editor

April 30, 2012 I Volume-II I Issue-4

In a remarkable two-week s tretch inApri l , f irs t one NJAC team and thenanother took turns rocking the NewJersey sof tbal l scene.

The first team to make a splash was Chatham, which enteredplay the week of April 9th ranked #12 in the state of New Jersey.After beating Morris Hills easily that Monday, the Cougarsvisited Pequannock for a huge game of divisional rivals.

Chatham pulled out a 1-0 win over the state’s#8-ranked team, withAmanda Fazio firing afour-hitter and McCallMoore driving in theonly run with a seventh-inning double.

After a routine winover Parsippany, theCougars hosted theChatham Invitationalthat Saturday. In thefirst game of the day,the Cougars took onperennial power St.John Vianney, ranked#2 in the state at thetime. Fazio kept theLancers at bay with athree-hit shutout, andMoore again delivered

the winning hit, an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh for a1-0 triumph.

Chatham’s prize for that win was a matchup with #13Hillsborough in the tournament final. Again the game camedown to the seventh inning, this time with the Cougars trailing 1-0. With two outs, Fazio doubled, and Kendall Davies followedwith another double to tie the game. Kelly Winans then delivereda third straight double to put Chatham ahead, and it held on for a2-1 win.

It would seem to be hard to match a 5-0 week with wins overthree state-ranked teams. But the very next week, Morris Knollsfound a way to do it, and even stole a bit of Chatham’s glory by

beating the Cougars along the way.Knolls was only 5-4 entering play on April 16, but opened the

week with a 3-0 win over Hanover Park. The Golden Eagles thentravelled to face Chatham, which had risen to #3 in the staterankings following its big week. But Morris Knolls pitcherAshley Lesch scattered six hits, while the Eagles took advantageof a key error to win 1-0 despite having only one hit in the game.

After that breakthrough win, the Knolls bats suddenly exploded

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Chatham's Amanda Fazio

Chatham's team huddle

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as they would score 45 runs intheir next three games. TheGolden Eagles easily beatParsippany Hills and WestMorris; the 14-4 win over theWolfpack put them in first placein the NJAC National Division.Then Morris Knolls travelled tothe Shore to face New Jersey’s#1-ranked team, Toms RiverEast, in a showcase event. Thebig hits kept coming, as theGolden Eagles stunned TRE,13-6. (Toms River East hadallowed just a total of nine runsin nine previous contests.)

Kiki Baldassari led the MorrisKnolls hit parade in those threegames; she had five hits againstParsippany Hills including the100th of her career on a homerun.

Along with Pequannock andWhippany Park, the Cougars and Golden Eagles make up afearsome foursome that gives Morris County a real state titlecontender in each of the four public-school groups.

BOMBS AWAY IN BOONTONThe biggest surprise of April in local softball was the

tremendous play of Boonton. The Bombers won their first elevengames before meeting up with Whippany Park this past week.That run included a county tournament victory over Morristown.

Pitcher Kylie Morgan has been impressive, striking out nearly abatter per inning, and has also been the team leader in extra-basehits and RBI. But the Bombers have received contributions fromthroughout their lineup, including Kelly Whritenour, Sara Mariniand Karena Noce.

First-year coach Jim Drury has clearly played a major role inlifting Boonton from a sub-.500 team to a title contender. TheBombers hope to go on surprising people all spring.

WILDCATS IN THE MIXWhippany Park

coach ToddCallaghanexpressed greatconfidenceentering thisseason despitelosing two majorcontributors tolast year’s teamthat reached thestate finals. Sofar, the Wildcatshave only backedup thatconviction.

Winning theirfirst dozengames, theWildcats are a

real threat to taketheir first MorrisCounty title infive years and tomake anotherdeep run in thestates. JuniorJenn Sanislo isthe team’s acepitcher aftersplitting time onthe mound lastseason. TheWildcats had

nine shutouts in their first 12 games andonly allowed more than two runs once.

Sanislo is also a key part of a verydeep and dangerous lineup that alsoincludes Hannah Mucerino, BriannaCetrulo and Taylor Trifiolis. Whippanymoved into the state’s Top 20 and arerated as the top Group I team in NewJersey.

WILDCATS, PATRIOTSMAKING NOISE

The best team in Sussex County thusfar this season has been High Point,which opened the season with nine winsin its first ten games, falling only toCedar Grove. Sophomore Ally Frei hasbeen the story for the Wildcats,dominating opponents on the mound.She fired a perfect game on April 16 ina 2-0 win over Kittatinny with 18strikeouts. Later that week, Frei again

struck out 18 while defeating Vernon.Chelsea Eckert has been High Point’s leading hitter, with

contributions from Frei, Meghan O’Leary and Jamie Christensenat the plate.

While High Point has impressed, another Sussex County teamis also making waves. Lenape Valley won 12 of its first 14,including victories over Morris Knolls and West Morris. ThePatriots are doing it with the bats, averaging a whopping 10 runsper game. Deanna Utter, Caitlin Zaleski and Jenna Tambascoprovide senior leadership, with contributions from others such asRachel Breuninger and Erica Gowe.

Because they play in different divisions of the NJAC, HighPoint and Lenape Valley are not scheduled to meet this season.But if the Wildcats and Patriots continue to play the way theyhave, that problem could well be solved, as a meeting in the finalof the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex tournament on May 19 is a realpossibility.

A DREAMFINAL FOUR?

While dangerousquarterfinal gamesloomed, if the highest-seeded remainingteams advance to theMorris Countysemifinals, it will bringtogether four teamsranked in the state’sTop 20.

Top seed Chatham(#5 in New Jersey) wasto meet Jefferson in thequarterfinal round; ifthe Cougars win, theycould earn a rematchwith Morris Knolls.The Golden Eagles, thefifth seed and #17 inthe state, were to hostthe remainingCinderella team in thetournament, rivalMorris Hills.

On the other side of the bracket, three-time defendingchampion Pequannock (ranked #7 statewide) was preparing tohost upstart Boonton. If the third-seeded Panthers advance, theycould face second seed Whippany Park, although the Wildcats(#16 in the state) first had to get past a dangerous Roxbury teamand its ace pitcher, Ashtin Helmer.

It should make for a thrilling night of softball at Peterson Fieldin Rockaway on May 3, with the semifinal games set for 5:00 and7:00. The winners are scheduled to return to the same site onMay 10 to contest the county final.

Whippany Park pitcher Jenn Sanislo

Whippany Park's Brianna Cetrulo

Pequannock pitcher Dana Nielsen

Pequannock Photo by: Ed Leonardwww.edleonardphoto.smugmug.com

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B o b D a n i e l s

Roxbury pitcher Ashtin Helmer

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The girls’ lacrosse teams at Montville and Pequannock plan togo all out when they play their May 5 contest but that game isgoing to mean a little more than the usual regular-seasoncompetition.

The Mustangs and Golden Panthers will be supporting a coupleof charities--one national and one local--that are close to them.Spectators are being asked to donate funds to the HEADstrongFoundation and the Michael W. Coppola Memorial Fund.

The HEADstrong Foundation is nationally known for raisingmoney to fight blood cancer and support efforts for research andfinding a cure. It is named for Nick “Head” Colleluori, a formerHofstra lacrosse player who died in 2006 of Non-Hodgkins

Lymphona. His valiantbattle against the diseasehas inspired numerouslacrosse programs fromacross the nation,especially along theEast Coast, totake up thecharity anddonatefunds

in his honor.

“We had the opportunity to meet Nick’smother Cheryl,’’ Pequannock coachLindsay Lafferman said. “Me andMontville coach Jen Mulvaney thought itwould be a terrific cause to play for. We aregoing to be wearing special uniforms. We aregoing to be selling HEADstrong apparel.We’re going to be raffling off items as well.’’

Coppola was a Pequannock High Schoollacrosse player who died last year. His fundwill provide scholarships to Pequannockgraduating seniors and donations toLeukemia and Graft vs. Host Diseaseprograms and/or research projects.

“It’s going to be a split day for acause,’’ Laffermansaid. “We will bedonating raffle moneyand food proceeds to the Michael W. Coppola scholarship fund.We’re excited for the event and were hoping to have a greatturnout to support the causes.’’

Although there has been a lot of work done to arrange theevent, which will take place at Montville High School, the contestmight have to be moved to another day because of the upcomingMorris County Tournament.

Unlike some past years, where games took place mainly onweekends, the MCT is slated to open on May 3 with the finalscheduled for Saturday, May 12.

If they are scheduled to play county tournament games on May5, Pequannock and Montville are hoping that their opponents willbe flexible in their scheduling and compete at an earlier date. Ofcourse, the best case scenario is if the two teams turn out to betournament opponents, then they can hold it as a tournamentgame.

That is a possibility, although both have embarked onsuccessful seasons. Montville returned nearly all of last year’sstarting team and has gone off to a good start. The Mustangs havesome talented young players (Abby Haimson, Jamie Intile, CarlyDeNegris) to complement seasoned veterans (Shelby Labe,Danica Witty, Maura Johnston).

Pequannock is an emerging program with Jess Rigoglioso andMelissa Conklin among the athletes fueling the Golden Panthers’effort. Lafferman is happy with the overall team effort thisseason.

“They are really buying in this year,’’ Lafferman said. “Theyare fully committed. They are practicing hard all the time. Thegirls are really enthusiastic. They understand that this is a reallystrong group. It’s the best group that we’ve ever had. All togetherthey know that they are capable of doing some really great thingsthis season. They have to keepworking.’’

Chatham and Mendhamcontinue to be the top teamsin the county and arechallenging for best in thestate. They have helpedsharpen their games byplaying tough out-of-stateopponents. The Cougars splitwith Long Island powers St.Anthony’s and Manhassetwhile the Minutemen sweptDC standout Our Lady ofGood Counsel and upstateNew York powerhouseWest Genesee. When theymet each other on April 13it was a spirited battle.Chatham toppedMendham 10-7. TheCougars got greatperformances by Kallan Murphy, Mary Kate O’Neilland Jaclyn Leto. They also had a great defensive effortin limited Mendham’s high-scoring midfielder AlyMessinger.

The Minutemen have been steady winners since.The Russell sisters (Paige and Devon) and Maggie

Sinzer contribute to the all-around performance whileCarlie Horan and goalkeeper Abby Witczak are defensive

stalwarts.

Always dangerous MountainLakes started out at 1-3 but thencaptured five of their next sixgames. Victoria Kalamaras,Allie LaBeau, Hallie Walker andJackie Perry all chip in to helpthis steadily improving team.Lauren Smith has had someimpressive games in the net.

Although they do not play thebest teams in the state, Kinnelonhas gotten off to a fabulous 8-1start. The only loss for JimLawler’s club came against anunbeaten Northern Highlandssquad. Heidi Annaheim alreadyis over the 50-goal mark.Teammates Virginia Annaheim,Kara Compton and HaleyFemblaux have also displayedproficiency around the cage.Goalkeeper Kelly Cavagnaroand her defensive matessurrender around nine goals agame.

When Mount Olive andRandolph played on April 10,who would’ve thought thatgame would provide the onlyloss for either team over the first20 days of the season. TheMarauders defeated the Rams14-8 that day and continued onto win their first seven games onthe season. Mount Oliveaverages close to 15 goals agame and has beaten Livingstonand Union Catholic among otherteams. The Marauders have sixathletes with double-digit goaltotals for the season so far.

Sabrina Mellussi and NicoleAmada have been the mostprolific around the cage.

That contest was Randolph’sonly loss. The Rams havesoundly beaten the other teamson their schedule includingLivingston, Pope John andNewark Academy. Three-sportathlete Dawn Faranetta is akey cog in Randolph’smachine.

Among Morris County’swinning teams, Villa Walshhas also been triumphant mostof the time. They haveimproved their non-conferenceschedule and are faring well with a young team. Candace Pallitocan feed as well as finish and Nicole Baiocco and Taylor Meddbenefit from her quick stick.

After getting off to an 0-2 start, Madison won six of its nextseven including an impressive victory over Columbia. Ali Jagohas developed into an important offensive player for the Dodgers.Amelia Murcott is another key athlete that has gotten better atfinding the net.

West Morris, Morris Catholic and Roxbury also show signs ofstepping up their games but they need to be more consistent astournament time looms.

Mendham goalie Abby Witczak

Pequannock’s Melissa Conklin

Girls' Lacrosse Update: Panthers,Mustangs Play For a Good CauseBy Mark Kitchin – Staff Writer

Chatham's Jaclyn Leto

P h o t o s b y :R o ber t H ar r i s

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M a rk K i t c h i n

Even for Delbarton lacrosseplayers with the highest ofexpectations – it was shocking.

The Green Wave expected avictory, of course, but noone thought Delbartonwould post a 17-7victory overMountain Lakes onApril 21 in a much-anticipated regular-season contest.

Over the last 20years, on only a very fewoccasions had either team beenable to build as much as a seven-goal victory margin in a contestbetween the two Morris Countypowerhouses.

It was the proverbial throw-the-records-out rivalry game. Delbartonwas 4-3 when it faced the 6-0 Lakers.They played as if the rankings hadbeen reversed.

“It’s amazing,’’ faceoff specialist AustinWilliams said. “We were all fired up.

“At halftime we had a big talk about how Lakesnever gives up. We came out

with that same intensity and we got the win.’’

Williams, who was new to the rivalry on the varsity level, won14 of 15 first-half face-offs, helping to stake the Green

Wave to an 11-2 lead at intermission. Establishingtransition helped the Delbarton attack getcomfortable and create scoring opportunitiesthroughout the game.

“We wanted to get that first goal -- get the first fivegoals,’’ Williams said. “That was important to us.We knew they were very good in transition so wetried hard to stop that.’’

Delbarton lost three games in the first two weeksof the season, but the Green Wave appeared to turnthe corner with a big 11-10 win over GeorgetownPrep of Maryland. With its performance againstthe Lakers, Delbarton made a clear statement thatit is a contender for county and state tournamenthonors.

Prior to playing the Green Wave, MountainLakes had been posting a great season, withkey wins over Glen Ridge and Ridgewood.

The Lakers are also talented in themidfield with much of their offense generating from the attacktrio of Rob Orazietti, Jon Broome and Eric Dircks (who had a hattrick against Delbarton). Their team’s lack of possession keptthem waiting hopelessly at the other end of the field against theGreen Wave.

The Lakers won’t take this tough loss lying down. Their besthope for a rematch comes with the Morris County Tournament,which opens play the first weekend in May.

Chatham appeared to be among the MCT favorites as well, butthe Cougars have been struggling with recent losses to Westfieldand Seton Hall Prep. Prior to that, Chatham had playedconfidently and made history with a 5-4 win against Delbarton--its first such triumph on the varsity level. If the Cougars canregain their early-season form, they will be a formidable team inthe county and state tournaments.

After the big three, a number of teams have shown signs thattheir programs are poised to take a big leap forward.

Perhaps it is Mount Olive’s year to break through. TheMarauders are not in the tougher divisions of the NJILL, but theyare dominating at their level and from the moment they edgedHillsborough on opening day, their confidence has soared.

“We work together and we play hard,’’ Mount Olive midfielderTyler McEvoy said. “We are all about working hard, doubling the

ball to get it and moving itdown to the offensiveend.’’

McEvoy is having asensational year. Thedefense has a moreaggressive look about it,too. Mount Olive coachDave Gallucci has hisfather John, who coachedfor decades at Montville,helping out the past twoseasons. The moreaggressive and spiritedplay seems to suit theMarauders. Mount Olivewon its first nine games

before a loss to powerhouse Summit.

Montville is also off to a sensational start. The Mustangs havebalance and experience on their team but the ability of theirattackmen Jake Haimson, Ryan O’Lear and Brian McCormack toput the ball in the net gives them an advantage over opponents ontheir level.

“All three of them are verygood, all three of them canfinish,’’ Montville coachRick DeBonta said. “Thething that is great about themis they have a nice chemistry.They are playing for eachother. I don’t think they arelooking to score any morethan anyone else. Make theextra pass and help eachother out.’’

Morristown has struggledaround the .500 mark thisyear. It has been surprisingsince Stephen DeLargey andConor Dolan are back. TheColonials have some toughlosses but hope to get on therebound the second half ofthe year.

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S e eBoys Lax

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Delbarton’s Jack Clarke

Jon Broome of Mountain Lakes checkedby Brendan Huston of Delbarton

Boys' Lacrosse Update: GreenWave Surges After Slow StartBy Paul Mencher – ASM Northern Review Managing Editor

Montville goalie Ben Laub

Mount Olive's Tyler McEvoy

County baseball tournaments are, bytheir nature, unpredictable. The singleelimination format allows lower-seededteams a real chance to pull upsets,especially if they have a strong pitcher.And since the tournament is sandwichedbetween regular-season games, higherseeds may have to decide between usingtheir ace in a key league contest or atournament game.

But this year has the potential to be even more wide open thanusual in the Morris County Tournament. While top seedDelbarton appears to be the favorite, the Green Wave is notinvulnerable, and there are many teams that would appear to havethe potential to get hot and make a run at the title.

The same uncertainty applies to the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussextournament, where defending champion Pope John is the top seedfrom the Sussex County portion of the field. Hunterdon Central isthe top seed in the other half of the bracket and is probably thefavorite. But neither of those teams is a lock to return to the final,where they met last year.

Take the results of April 20 in the Northwest Jersey AthleticConference as an example of the local parity. Delbarton sufferedits first league loss, falling to Mendham 5-4 in nine innings; beforethat game the Minutemen had been 1-4 in NJAC play. In a similarupset, struggling Whippany Park knocked off Mountain Lakes 3-2, handing the Lakers their first divisional loss.

Besides the Green Wave and Lakers, two other teams that haddrawn high seeds in the Morris County tournament (ParsippanyHills and Roxbury) fell to lower-seeded squads that day. Andwhile Pope John won its game, High Point, Sparta and LenapeValley (who are the next highest Sussex seeds in the H/W/S event)all lost.

It should be exciting for local baseball fans to see how thetournaments develop. Morris County teams were playing theRound of 16 and quarterfinals this past weekend, with thesemifinals at Delbarton on May 5 and the final held in Randolphon May 12.

The H/W/S schedule is different, with one game scheduled foreach Saturday. The quarterfinals are slated for May 5, thesemifinals on May 12, and the final is set for May 19 at DiamondNation in Flemington.

DOING IT IN DIFFERENT WAYSThe top two Morris County teams have had quite different roads

to success thus far this season. While Delbarton has leaned on itspitching, West Morris has relied upon a hard-hitting lineup thathas produced some eye-popping numbers.

Green Wave pitchers Adam Schreck and John Masella have

been strong this season, with Schreck throwing the mostimpressive game. He fired a shutout against Poly Prep ofBrooklyn, as Delbarton beat one of New York state’s top teams 3-0. Masella’s best effort was a one-hit complete game in a 4-1

triumph overRoxbury.ButDelbarton’soffense hashad few bigdays, puttingpressure onthe pitchersto carry theload.

The storyis fardifferent outin LongValley,where WestMorris woneight of itsfirst ten

games. The Wolfpack pitchers have been solid for the most part,but it’s the deep and dangerous lineup that makes this team a bearto face. Tyler Amandos, Connor Young, Pat Anderson, MattMarino and Charles Savite are just some of the hitterscausing havoc for opponents, with West Morrisaveraging nearly nine runs a game.

LIONS AT THE PLATEAnother team doing it with

offense so far this season isPope John. The Lions wontheir first six NJACAmerican Division gamesand have averaged morethan eight runs per contest.Matt Tietz is leading PopeJohn at the plate, but theteam is also getting keycontributions from players likeSam Redwood, Ryan McNally andGlen Gavan.

The Lions have needed all thatoffense, because they have struggled tokeep opposing teams off the scoreboard.Foes are averaging nearly eight runs pergame, including a total of 37 runs inthree non-conference losses. PopeJohn will surely need to buckledown on the mound in order todefend itsHunterdon/Warren/Sussex titleand sectional crown.

NUTTY NATIONALThe NJAC National

Division featuresmany of the

area’s traditionalbaseball powers. This

year, it’s hard to get a read onwhere many of those teams stand.

Take Randolph, the defending league champ. The Ramsstruggled out of the gate, losing four of their first six, beforetaking on state power Seton Hall Prep. Randolph battled thePirates for five hours and 15 innings before suffering a potentiallycrushing 5-4 loss. At 2-5 and facing a pitching crunch, the Ramsdidn’t collapse; instead, they won four of their next five, includinga big upset win over previously-undefeated Hunterdon Central.

Morris Knolls, which won a sectional title last year, wasexpected to compete for the division title but has instead struggled

out of the gate. Roxbury, the defending Morris Countychampion, lost nearly its entire team but has somehowmanaged to stay competitive. Mendham, seen as a realcontender this year, lost its first four divisional games but

rebounded to win the next two, including the upset ofDelbarton. And the Minutemen also own non-league wins

over quality opponents such as Ridge andGovernor Livingston.

Delbarton andWest

Morrishave been the best

outfits so far, but one ormore of the other teamsin the league seem likelyto make a run in the

division or the countytournament. The difficult part isfiguring out who it will be.

SURPRISES ON THE DIAMONDA number of NJAC teams are off tosurprisingly strong starts this season.

Mountain Lakes won its firsteight games before dropping apair, and earned their highestseed ever in the Morris Countytournament as the #3-rankedteam. A year removed from a 4-16 campaign, the Lakers havereceived excellent pitchingfrom Pete Breslauer, whileConnor Annese and KennyPickett have helped lead theoffense. The Lakers capturedthe championship at theChatham Invitational on April14, defeating the host team andBernards.

NJAC Baseball Update:A Season Of ParityBy Paul Mencher – ASM Northern Review Managing Editor

Delbarton team huddle

Morris Knolls pitcher James Aliotta

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Delbarton pitcher Adam Schreck

Roxbury’s Tommy All iegro

One of the two teams to knock offMountain Lakes was Jefferson,which is another squad flying highafter a rough 2011 season. SteveCuccio starred for the Falcons bothon the mound and at the plate as theteam got off to a 9-3 start. Jeffersonpitchers are allowing a shade overfour runs per game, one of the bettermarks in the entire NJAC andespecially impressive in the hard-hitting American Division.

Hopatcong had a solid season lastyear, but the Chiefs’ prospects forthis year were unclear after losing anumber of key players. ButHopatcong hasn’t fallen back;instead, the Chiefs jumped out to a 9-3 start and sat in first place in theNJAC Freedom Division. HunterGuard and Ray Annett are leadingthe Chiefs on offense, whileHopatcong has done well on themound for a team that plays at ahitter-friendly field known as the“Homerdome”.

Madison moved out to a sizeable lead in the Independence Division by winning its first fiveleague games. First baseman Joe Grato, a transfer from Seton Hall Prep, has pounded the ball sofar this spring, including hitting for the cycle in a win over Chatham. Cameron Dias has also beensolid at the plate, while Mike Wallace is the definite ace for the Dodgers, winning his first fourstarts and going the distance each time.

While they can’t quite be deemed a surprise after winning the Liberty Division last year,Kinnelon has proven it is for real again in 2012 by getting off to an 8-2 start. The Colts drew a byein the county tournament and with ace pitcher R.J. Giannetti, are a team to watch in the MCT. BenVanPut and Chris Villante lead theKinnelon hitting attack.

Randolph’s Kevin Mancuso

P h o t o s b y : P a u l S w e n s o nwww.photosbyswens.zenfol io.com

The most erratic team locally has beenKinnelon. The Colts have scored some bigwins, with victories over Bergen Catholic,Morristown and Bernards. But they alsosuffered upset losses to Ramapo andMontclair. This is still a young Kinnelon teamthat could be a dangerous opponent cometournament time.

Teams like Mendham, Jefferson andPequannock have alsomade inroads. TheMinutemen got off to agood start but took atough loss against MountOlive and have fallenback. Sophomorestandout Will Robinsonand Syracuse-boundgoalkeeper TylerAvallone are two reasonsto watch them.

The Falcons and theGolden Panthers hoverabout the .500 mark.Give Jefferson somecredit for overcomingsome early seasoninjuries. When they getrolling, attackmen DylanJohnson and DylanPickard can be fun towatch. Shane Lilenthaland Tyler Macejkatrigger Pequannockwhich has had somegood wins and toughlosses. Morris Knolls and Morris Hills havealso achieved a modicum of success and havewon as many contests as they’ve lost.

The growth of several Sussex Countylacrosse programs should also be noted, too.Sparta, Pope John and Vernon have builtestablished programs that have achieved somemeasure of success. In recent years newprograms have been founded at Kittatinny,

Newton, Lenape Valley, Wallkill Valley andHigh Point. They are becoming competitiveand a few are starting to post some triumphsagainst more established programs.

Kittatinny is off to an exceptional start. TheCougars won seven of their first eight,prevailing over Morris Catholic, Boonton andMorris Hills, among others. George Morville’sgroup has mastered many of the teams at their

level. Kevin Knissel is askillful passer andscorer and goalie JakeDrelich has been knownto come up big whennecessary.

Newton is also a teamthat has gottencompetitive quickly. TheBraves had lacrossebriefly in the late 70sbut then lost theprogram for a fewdecades before bringingit back. Kevin Jenningsis a talented scorer andKyle Morel has beenwell tested in goal. TheBraves won six of theirfirst ten games and were5-1 within the PooleyDivision.

Kyle Shannon, MikeCirone and several othertalented athletes havehelped to elevate thequality of lacrosse at

Lenape Valley. Like Kittatinny and Newton,the Patriots had only one loss within thePooley Division and had a chance to put theinaugural lacrosse championship banner ontheir gym wall.

Mendham GoalieTyler Avellone

Boys LaxCon t i n u e d f r om p a g e 5

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