EAGLES TAKE HOME HARDWARE

Thirteen points by Tournament MVP Garret Thiel helped the Middletown South Eagles take home the Bayshore Holiday Tournament Championship for the first time since 1996. To put that in perspective, in 1996 current head coach Kevin Cullen was a freshman at Middletown South.

After a very slow first quarter, the score was just 4-2. No, that is not a typo. Taking a 14-10 lead into half, the Eagles picked up in the second half and extended their lead to 24-18 after the third quarter.

South used its experience and poise to put the game away in the fourth, eventually winning by a score of 34-26.

Kyle Cancillieri contributed 12 points of his own, while being named to the All-Tournament team along with Peter Clabby.

BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYS IN TITLE GAME

The Eagles are looking for their first Bayshore Holiday Tournament Championship since 1996. They will take on Shore Regional tonight at 7:00 PM at St. John Vianney High School.

EAGLES FLY PAST RFH TO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

With a 52-43 win over Rumson-Fair Haven, the Eagles advanced to the championship game of the Bayshore Holiday Tournament against Shore.

South and RFH played an evenly-matched 1st half, with the Eagles lead only 3 with the score 23-20.

The teams came out of half and played another tough quarter of basketball, with RFH taking the quarter 10-9 to pull within 2.

The Eagles, behind Garret Thiel's 6 points in the fourth quarter, started to pull away. South scored 20 team points and Thiel and Rob Callori knocked down clutch free throws to put the game away.

Peter Clabby's 14 points set the bar high for the Eagles. Thiel finished with 13, while Matt Callori contributed 10 and one block.

Thiel's defense was key for the Eagles as he spent the majority of the night guarding RFH star Matt Blumel, who scored 28 in the opening round against Middletown North, and held him to only 7 points.

Holiday tournaments

I hope everyone had a very Merry/Happy (insert holiday here). The Middletown South sports teams have continued playing over the holiday break in annual holiday tournaments.

The girls basketball team defeated Monroe Township in the first round of the Mustang Invitational on Saturday by a score of 66-41.

The wrestling team will host the Walter Woods Holiday Tournament starting tomorrow.

Boys Basketball:

A strong second half from Middletown South gave them a 62-34 win over Jackson Liberty and an impressive start in the Bayshore Holiday Basketball Tournament as the number 1 seed.

Jackson Liberty stayed in the game early, trailing by only 10 points at half, but in the third the Eagles came out and put the game away by outscoring the Lions 19-3. South’s defense, led by strong play by Kyle Cancillieri, did not allow a field goal in the third.

By the end of the third, the South lead had grown to 26 points, 48-22, and the Eagles went to the bench to finish off the game.

Cancillieri set the pace with a game-high 17 points, his second strong performance in a row after coming off a 23 point effort in a loss to Freehold Township. Garret Thiel contributed 14 points of his own while Rob Callori scored 11, including three 3-point shots.

Middletown South takes on Rumson-Fair Haven, the number 4 seed who beat Middletown North 53-48, at 7:00 PM tomorrow night at St. John Vianney High School in the semi-final match up.

Freehold Township squeezes out victory over South

Max Lit scored 20 and the Patriots knocked down 22 free throws as a team to give Freehold Township a win in a nail biter over Middletown South by a score of 62-59.

The game was a see-saw affair between the two teams, with the lead changing hands too many times to count.

Township led 15-10 after the first quarter, but the Eagles went on a quick 5-0 run to tie the game at the start of the second period.

South fought hard in the second, with the help of strong play by Steve Gisondi, to take a 4 point advantage, 32-28, into halftime. The teams played close in the third quarter, but the Patriots led 45-43 at the end of the period.

As the fourth quarter began, Freehold started to pull away, eventually extending their lead to 8 with three minutes left.

A 3-point shot got the Eagles back into the game with 1:45 with the score 59-52.

With less than 30 seconds on the clock, Garret Theil was fouled as he scored on a layup. After hitting the free throw, he cut Freehold's lead to two.

After knocking down one free throw, Will Low picked up the rebound when the second shot missed and passed off to Theil.

Theil was trapped at half-court and dished the ball to Rob Callori, whose, desperation 3-point shot was off, giving the Patriots their second win of the season.

Matt Devine and Corey Csakai helped Lit on the offensive end, scoring 11 and 10 each. Kyle Cancilleiri netted a game high 23 points, while Theil and Pete Clabby added 16 and 10, respectively.

The Eagles take the 2-1 record into the St. John Vianney Holiday tournament, where they were named the unanimous number one seed.

LADY EAGLES ROUT MANALAPAN

After holding the Braves to just 11 points in the first half, Middletown South went onto blowout Manalapan 61-31.

It was also the first home game for Jill Gannon since her head injury last January. Gannon again scored the first points of the game, as she did at Middletown North last Friday, this time on two free throws.

The Eagles controlled the game from beginning to end, scoring 17 points in each of the first two quarters, taking a 34-11 lead into half, and did not look back.

South's defense held Manalapan under 10 points for every quarter except the fourth, when both teams emptied the bench.

Shawn Hagen set the pace for the Eagles with 12 points. Danielle Pankey recorded 10 points, with Gannon adding 8 of her own.

Nicole Gurrieri and Amanda McBride led the way in a losing effort for the Braves 10 points each.

With their record standing at 2-0, the Eagles travel to Freehold Township to take on the Patriots.

THIEL AND CLABBY LEAD EAGLES TO A SEASON-OPENING VICTORY AGAINST MIDDLETOWN NORTH

A second half comeback and great play down the stretch from Garret Thiel and Brian Clabby helped Middletown South win over Middletown North on opening night 50-43.

A 9-0 run in the first quarter helped them take control over the first half, taking 28-24 lead into half.

“We had a long talk at halftime.” South coach Kevin Cullen said. We had our backs against the wall and fought back hard in the fourth.”

South picked up its intensity in the third, but North still led 39-38 at the end of the third.

The Eagles took their first lead since early in the first quarter with 6:50 left in the game, and never trailed again.

Kyle Cancilleiri was in foul trouble all game and was held to 8 points before fouling out at the 3:30 mark while trying to post up on the block. Already down a player because of an injury to forward Will Low, the Eagles relied heavily on other players.

“We really picked each other up tonight,” Cullen said of his team. “And that’s the sign of a good team. I can always count on 100 percent from all my guys.”

Ahead by only 1 point with less than two minutes left in the game, Clabby scored on pullback jumper from just outside the block to extend the lead to three.

Clabby was fouled in the backcourt with 30 seconds left and sank both free throws to make it a two-possession game.

Thiel scored his ended the game with 16 points and 4 rebounds on the night when he put down a free throw to put the game out of reach of Middletown North. Clabby ended with 6 points, all in the fourth quarter, and four rebounds after a foul shot with about 10 seconds left. Matt Callori added 8 points as well as showing he can defend the middle of the paint for South.

The Eagles will take their 1-0 record into Manalapan next Monday to try to get on an early winning streak in the A-North.



The hockey team lost to Saint John Vianney 3-0 in what was described to me as a closely contested matchup beween the two teams at the Wall Sports Arena.

Basketball Teams ranked in the Top 10

When Scott Stump posted his Shore Conference Basketball Top 10, both the boys and girls Middletown South basketball teams were ranked 10th on the eve of the season opener. Also, senior Garret Thiel and junior Danielle Pankey were listed as "Players on the Rise."

Basketball opening night

Well, contrary to my previous report, both basketball games are not at home tomorrow. The boys will play against North tomorrow at home. The girls will be at Middletown North. Both games tip-off at 6:30 PM.

South athletes win post-season awards

Junior Megan Porter was named to the All-Central Jersey, Section 1 Gymnastics team as one of the five gymnasts in the vault category.

Senior soccer players Mike Roura and Ahmed Ragab both secured 1st team A-North and All-State selections.

Congratulations to those three. There will sure to be plenty more Eagles honored soon. I'll update when there are more announcements.

Vote Knowshon!

CBS Sportsline is holding an online vote for the nations best freshman, former Middletown South star Knowshon Moreno is currently second in the voting. You can vote here to help Moreno win the award.

Knowshon Moreno, Bulldogs have hope for title game

Right now, the "experts" are saying that Knowshon Moreno will play his first bowl game at either the Orange or Rose Bowls. The Georgia Bulldogs, ranked 4 in the latest Bowl Championship Series (BCS) poll, also have an outside shot at the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans on January 7, 2008. In order for that to happen #1 Missouri needs to lose to #9 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, where they are only a 3 point favorite. Also, #3 West Virginia would need to lose to unranked Pitt. This would be slightly less concievable because of the Panthers being a 28.5 point underdog, though in a college football season where a Division 2 team, Appalachian State, defeated a top ranked Division 1 team, Michigan, and Stanford upset USC, on the road, I'm counting nothing as impossible. Even if both those pieces fall into place, it still depends on how the polls come out, because if #5 LSU has a convincing win over Tennesse in the SEC Championship, the voters could decide that LSU is worthier than Georgia for the national championship.

Bunge's 5 TD day lifts Eagles

For the Middletown South seniors, the Thanksgiving Day matchup with cross town rival Middletown North was to be their last career game. The seniors were honored before the game and were all present at midfield for the coin flip.

From then on out, though, it was junior Chris Bunge's day on route to 5 TD's and a 35-7 Eagle victory.

The Lions were unable to convert a first down after forcing the Eagles to punt and punted the ball away.

Bunge fielded the ball near his own 20 yard line and took it all the way to the endzone basically untouched to put the Eagles up 7-0.

North put together a long drive that ate a lot of clock and then Joe Dickey threw a touchdown pass from 1 yard out to tie the game at the beginning of the second quarter.

The teams went into the locker rooms tied at 7, and it was any one's game.

On their first possession of the third quarter, however, South regained the momentum when Pat Campbell hit Bunge for an 83 yard TD pass to give the Eagles the lead, which they would not lose again.

Bunge added three more touchdown runs to bring his total to five. One was set up on an interception by Rob Cruz, and another by a crazy play on the ensuing kickoff.

Alex Romanski kicked from the left hash on his own 40, and kicked it to the opposite sideline, at about the 25. The ball came within inches of hitting touching the sideline before bouncing straight back towards the middle of the field and into an Eagles special teams player's hands.

The Eagles continue their winning streak against Middletown North, extending it to 7 straight years as winners of the Homecoming Game. South finishes with a record of 8-3, while the Lions end the season at 3-7.


It gets quiet now for a couple of weeks as far as South sports is concerned. Basketball practice starts tomorrow for both the boys and girls with opening night December 14. The first game is against Middletown North, and as I hear now, both the boys and girls will be home and they will be playing the games back to back, so the atmosphere is going to be amazing for those games. The hockey team has already hit the ice and will play its first game December 4 at the Wall Sports Arena.

Knowshon Moreno gets his first taste of the Georgia-Georgia Tech Rivalry on Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to Atlanta to take on the Yellow Jackets. The Tennesse-Kentucky game will also be of interest to Georgia fans as the Bulldogs need the Volunteers to fall if they want to play in the SEC Championship game. That game would just give Moreno a better chance to get to Herschel Walker's freshman rushing record of 1,616 yards (Moreno currently has 1228 yards).

Eagles stalled in drive for five

Middletown South fell to Moorestown High School in the Central Jersey Group 3 Semifinal 38-7. The Eagles will not be able to defend their sectional title for a fifth straight year. Their record falls to 7-3 with one game remaing on the schedule, the annual Thanksgiving Day game against cross-town rival Middletown North.

Alumni Update

Knowshon Moreno is starting to play well enough where I have to stop calling him "former Middletown South great" to "current University of Georgia star." He ran for 101 yards in the Bulldogs "Blackout" of Auburn last week. It was the fourth straight game going over the century mark, which also happen to be the first four starts of his career, and four straight Bulldog victories. Tomorrow Georgia gets Kentucky at home at 12:30. Look for Moreno to have a big game, as Kentucky is giving up 4.7 yards per game on the gound. Moreno is being considered as the top rookie in the nation by college football experts, and Mel Kiper even has him on his short list for this year's Heisman Trophy.

XC, Football play in state playoffs

Today both cross country teams ran at Holmdel Park for the NJSIAA Group 3 Championships.

The girls finished 5th in their race with 264 points and a top five average of 21:09

52 Lauren Marron SO 20:57
53 Grace Watters FR 20:57
54 Kirstin Anderson JR 20:58
64 Katie Brookes SO 21:16
81 Katie Abeltin JR 21:41
100 Annie Amitrani SR 22:12
106 Brittany Ryan JR 22:28

The boys placed 9th in a very competitive race with 245 total points and a Top 5 average of 17:36.

40 Shaun McGeever SR 17:19
51 Joseph Malejki JR 17:35
52 Ryan Ure SO 17:36
56 Dave Liepa SR 17:37
79 John Healy SR 17:57
99 Dane Couch SR 18:21
117 Jim Geant JR 18:42

The football team, the #5 seed in the CJ Group 3 tournament defeated #4 Lawrence 16-6. Touchdowns by senior Pat Campbell and junior Matt Martino, as well as a safety by the defense, helped the Eagles advance to face top-seeded Moorestown, the team that the Eagles beat 38-0 in the championship game.

Cross country runs strong at State Sectionals

Both the boys and girls cross country teams ran at the NJSIAA state sectionals at Thompson Park in Jamesburg. The girls placed second in the Central Jersey Group 3 Girls Race while the boys placed third in the CJ Group 3 Boys Race.

I now have the complete results for this afternoon's races.

They boys results can be found here; the girls results here.

Boys:
14 Shaun McGeever 17:10
15 Dave Liepa 17:11
20 Ryan Ure 17:23
21 Jay Malejki 17:28
22 Jim Geant 17:28
29 John Healy 17:32
51 Dane Couch 18:33
TOP FIVE AVERAGE 17:20


Girls
10 Grace Watters 20:27
11 Kirsten Anderson 20:28
13 Katie Brookes 20:38
16 Lauren Marron 20:50
22 Katie Abeltin 21:08
27 Annie Armitrani 21:29
37 Brittany Ryan 21:59
TOP FIVE AVERAGE 20:42


Alumni Update
Knowshon Moreno had another great game today, coming off his SEC Offensive Player of the Week performance against Florida last week. He again ran for a career high in rushing yards, 196 on 26 carries. Which puts him over 1,000 for the year. The last Georgia freshman to do that was Herschel Walker. You know, Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker. Oh, and he added three touchdowns, one of which was an 80 yard romp to the endzone on the first play of a drive.

Cross country teams make statements at Shore Conference Championships

Today both the girls and boys cross country teams ran at Holmdel Park for the Shore Conference Championships.

The girls placed ninth, with a team average 21:08. The Eagles missed eighth place by just one point. The top 6 for the team all finished the race within 12 seconds, and 8 places of each other.

The boys finished eight in the standings, with the help of a 17:31 team average. The Eagles brought their top 5 across the line within 35 seconds, which they also did at the Monmouth County Championships.

Both teams will run at Thompson Park in Jamesburg on Saturday, November 3rd for the Central Jersey Group 3 State Sectionals.

Football beats down on Ocean

The Eagles football team won a key road game at Ocean by a score of 33-0. The win secured South a berth in the Central Jersey Group 3 playoffs. The seedings and schedule for the post-season should be released in the next week.


Alumni Update

Knowshon Moreno made sure his name was heard early and often in the Bulldogs game against Florida at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. He racked up 188 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 33 carries, all career highs. Its good for Georgia that Moreno played the way he did and didn't get hurt or wear down, because Georgia didn't have a quality backup running back.

Middletown South football plays 'do-or-die' game in Ocean

Despite the rain, the Eagles football squad will travel down to Ocean to play in what Coach Antonucci called a 'do-or-die' game. South needs to win this game in order to guarantee their spot in the state playoffs.

The boys and girls cross country teams will run at Holdmel Park on Monday for the Shore Conference Championships. They had originally been scheduled for Saturday, but were pushed back due to expected bad weather. The girls go off a 3:30 PM and the boys at 4:00.

Boys soccer wins in season finale; Alumni Update

The boy's soccer team pulled out a 2-1 victory against Southern Regional. Brian Clabby and Alex Rozycki scored the two Eagles goals, sending the program into an offseason with a positive to build off of.

Alumni Update

Knowshon Moreno is looking to build off his 157 yards and SEC Freshmen of the Week performance. Moreno is obviously earning his keep, on and off the field, as he was Georgia's first freshmen to be a game captain in the modern era.

Nick Macaluso and the Stanford Cardinals look to win their third straight road game, this one against Oregon State.

Former harriers Rob George and Anthony Garrido will run at their respective conference championships this Saturday.

Football falls to Freehold 27-21

The Middletown South Football team lost their second game in a row, this time to Freehold Boro 27-21. The Eagles held a 14-7 lead in the third quarter but the Colonials scored to tie it at 14. After striking back with a touchdown, the Eagles ensuing kickoff was returned for 82 yards for a Freehold touchdown. Another score by Freehold and a failed fourth down conversion secured the Colonials win.

Tomorrow, the boys cross country team will travel to Poughkeepsie, NY to run at the Section 1 Coaches Invitational. Scott Clayton ranked the Eagles tenth in the shore in his most recent Top 10.

Girls and Boys XC Run at Monmouth County Champs while Field Hockey plays in SCT

Both the girls and boys cross country raced at the Monmouth County Championships today. The boys placed 6th with a team average of 17:42. The girls ran well and finished 10th with a team average of 22:01. Complete results of all races are available here: http://www.lfrauloracingsystems.com/. Scott Clayton will have a full story available HERE soon.

The field hockey team lost a tough road game today at number one seeded Ocean in the Shore Conference Tournament.

South Sports Saturday

Last night the Football team lost a tough overtime game to Toms River North 27-24. The Eagles now stand at 5-1. They take on Freehold Boro next week at the Swamp for what will essentially decide the Federal Division champion.

The Boys soccer team was shutout by Brick Memorial 3-0, and the girls lost to #4 Jackson, also by a score of 3-0 in their games yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon, the Field Hockey team defeated Point Boro 3-0 in the Shore Conference Preliminary Round and will take on top-seeded Ocean in the next round.

The boys cross country team ran at the Old Bridge Classic this afternoon and took 3rd place overall in the Varsity A race. The girls team finished 8th despite a strong performance.

Former Middletown South great Knowshon Moreno made his first career start at tailback for the Georgia Bulldogs and ran for a season high 157 yards, in a 20-17 win over Vanderbilt on a last second field goal.

Another Middletown South Alum, Nick Macaluso registered 3 tackles in Stanford's loss to TCU.

Big Game on Tap for Tonight

The Eagle's Football team will take on Toms River North in a battle of undefeated teams tonight on the road. TR North (4-0) comes off a game where they defeated Jackson 28-7 on the strength of four touchdown passes by quarter back Anthony Penna. The Eagles need to keep this pace as Freehold Boro continues to win and put pressure on the Eagles for the Federal Division Title.

The Field Hockey team plays in the First Round of the Shore Conference Tournament on the Turf at 3:30 against Point Boro.

Boy's Soccer takes on Brick Memorial while the girls play at Jackson Memorial this afternoon.

Both Cross Country teams will toe the line tomorrow at Thompson Park in Jamesburg for the Old Bridge Classic.

Knowshon Moreno will make his first career start this weekend for the Georgia Bulldogs, replacing injured senior RB Thomas Brown. The game will be on ESPN 2 at6:00 PM on Saturday.

Nick Macaluso made six tackles last week in Stanford's upset of #2(or #1 depending on which poll you look at) USC. He now has 11 tackles, one for a 13 yard loss, and one 12 yard quarterback sack. The 2-3 Cardinals take on TCU this weekend, looking to build off that huge win in Los Angeles.

South Soccer falls

Both the boy's and girl's soccer teams have struggled this season and yesterday they tried to right their respective ships against the Marlboro Mustangs

The girls were able to play to their 3rd tie of the season, a 0-0 contest. The boys, though, suffered another loss, 5-0.

You can check ShoreConferenceSports.com for the score of the Football game, it should be up later today.

South Sports Weekend

Well, there was a lot going on all this week so I haven't been able to post as much as I would have liked but I just watched the Yankees fall down 0-2 and want to try and not think about it.

Both the Boy's and Girl's Soccer teams played Marlboro today. I'll have full results on that sometime tomorrow.

Tomorrow the Girl's Cross Country team will run at the Shore Coaches Invitational coming off a 5th place finish last week at Warinanco Park.

The Football team will play at Lakewood tomorrow at 2:30. Coach Antonucci will be sure that his Eagles don't suffer a letdown from last weeks down-to-the-wire game against Wall.

Also, Knowshon Moreno will look to improve on his current average of 86.4 yards a game (which puts him on pace for over 1,000, by the way) when the #12 Georgia Bulldogs head into Tennessee to play the Volunteers. The game can be seen at 3:30 on CBS.

South Sports Friday

The Middletown South Boys Cross Country team placed second at the Colts Neck Cougar Invitational.

11th Jay Malejki 17:14
12th Shaun McGeever 17:19
14th Dave Liepa 17:21
15th Ryan Ure 17:21
21st John Healy 17:36
30th Dane Couch 17:48
33rd Jim Geant 17:52

For complete results from all the races at the Cougar Invitational you can go to http://www.coltsnecktrack.com/cougar%20inv/results.htm.


The Eagles Football team played in a classic game against Wall High School and pulled out a 35-34 win. Senior Pat Campbell made the game saving tackle on a two-point conversion attempt with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, capping a South win in which they came back from a 20-7 defecit at halftime. Scott Stump will most likely have a full feature story on ShoreConferenceSports.com later up by tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Roundup

Yesterday, there was a lot of action going on at Middletown South in terms of sports. First, the Field Hockey team evened their record at 3-3-1 yesterday with a big win over cross town rival Middletown North. Senior forward Jordan Hickman was assisted by senior midfielder Kathleen Pierce for a goal at 21:38. Junior goalie Katie Johnson stopped 8 shots to help the Eagles defeat the Lions, who were ranked 7th in the Shore at ShoreConferenceSports.com.

The girl's tennis team lost a close one yesterday to Middletown North, 3-2. Freshmen Christine Liu and Julie Kuhn both won their singles matches in striaght sets for the Eagles.

Both the boys and girls soccer teams lost to Manalapan High School yesterday. The boy's lost a close, 1-0 game on a goal in the 73rd minute. The girl's lost a high scoring affair 6-3. Goals were scored by Smantha Marxen, 29th minute, Megan McDermott, 56th minute, and Jackie Lockwood, in the 59th minute.

Also, junior defensive back Rob Bennedetto was awarded the Special Teams player of Week 3 for blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown in South's 34-0 win over Central. Junior quarterback Pat Campbell and sophomore linebacker Sean Campbell were both honorable mention POTW in offense and defense, respectively.

Moreno named SEC Freshmen of the week

Former Middletown South great and current Georgia University tailback Knowshon Moreno was name SEC Freshmen of the Week for his play against Alabama on Saturday night. He tied for the team high with 74 rushing yards and a touchdown. (Picture from GeorgiaDogs.com)

Boys XC Takes 1st at Garrett Mountain; Girls Third

The Boys Cross Country team took first place by a landslide, scoring 25 points with a team average of 17:46.

2 Malejki, Jay 17:31.28
3 McGeever, Shaun 17:35.97
6 Leipa, David 17:48.58
7 Ure, Ryan 17:58.07
10 Healy, John 18:00.61
22 Couch, Dane 18:38.46
31 Geant, James 18:53.25

Conner Givens also won the JV race with time of 19:17.

The Girls team also ran very good races to finish third in their division.

5 Anderson, Kirstin 22:17.04
18 Amitrani, Annie 22:33.26
19 Marron, Lauren 22:36.04
24 Brookes, Katie 22:51.77
26 Abeltin, Katie 22:53.76
28 Ambrosi, Jenna 22:56.32



In college football news, Knowshon Moreno added 74 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and 22 yards on 2 catches to his stats this season as the Georgia Bulldogs defeated Alabama in a great overtime game on the road.

Eagles roll with help from Campbell, Martino

After a special teams miscue on the opening kickoff led to a Pinelands an early 7 point lead, Middletown South came roaring back to win their second game of the season by a score of 49-21.

The opening kickoff of the game by Kyle Gross was short and miscommunication between Rob Sarbu and Mike Farrell led to the ball dropping and eventually being secured by the Wildcats at the 14 yard line. Gross eventually punched it in on a quarterback keeper. Pinelands led 7-0 with 11:00 left in the first quarters and it was the last time they held the lead.

On the first play from scrimmage in their home opener, the Eagles scored on a 66 yard touchdown pass from Pat Campbell to Craig Sweeney. After Alex Romanski tacked on the extra point, the score was 7 all with 10:40 left in the first.

The Eagles scored again on their next possession with Campbell picking up a touchdown on the ground after he was set up by a big gain by Chris Bunge to take the lead.

Then, Scott Vigar intercepted a Gross pass that bounced off his receivers hands, and took it into the endzone for a 14 point advantage. As the final seconds of the first quarter clicked off the clock Gross completed a 65 yard touchdown pass that brought the Wildcats back to within a touchdown, at 21-14 at the end of the first.

But from there on in the Eagle defense shut down the Pinelands offense and allowed their offense to pound the ball and take control of the game.

Four minutes into the second quarter, Pat Campbell found the endzone again from 14 yards out. On their next possession, Matt Martino broke a 40 yard run down the sideline which, after a defensive pass interference penalty in the endzone, set up a 2 yard score of his own. The score remained at 35-14 as the teams headed in for the half.

In the third, a Martino 47 yard touchdown run, and Bunge's 16 yard dash put the game out of reach at 49-14. The Eagle's second team offense fumbled the ball inside the red zone, which the Wildcats picked up and ran back for an 80 yard recovery to finish off the scoring.

Middletown South improves to 2-0, with a game at Central Regional High School next Thursday. Pinelands drops its second straight, falling to 0-2 and will play against Neptune next week.

Check ShoreConferenceSports.com for Friday night football scores from around the Shore Conference.

Boys; Girl's Cross Country win and lose

Both Middletown South Cross Country teams ran a three team race against Colts Neck and Marlboro, at the Colts Neck Course. The boys took 3rd place, Jay Malejkji, 6th place, Shaun McGeever, 7th place, Ryan Ure, 8th place, Dave Liepa, 9th place, John Healy, 12th place, Jim Geant, and 13th place, Dane Couch. More detailed boys, and girls results later.

Varsity Gymnastics had their season opener today, so I'll have those results soon, but I won't be around tomorrow, so don't look for anything then.

Make sure you continue to check out ShoreConferenceSports.com for more news and results from Middletown South and the entire Shore.

Roundup

There were some other South scores besides football and boys soccer yesterday as the Field Hockey team fell to Middletown North in overtime by a score of 3-2. The tennis team was also defeated by North by the same score. The girls soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against the Lions with a goal by Megan McDermott.

Knowshon Moreno picked up the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, while being the Bulldogs leading rusher for the second week in a row in a loss to South Carolina.

Former Eagle harriers, Rob George and Anthony Garrido made their debuts on the cross country teams of Washington and Lee University and Catholic University, respectively, at the Washington and Lee Invitational. George finished 24th out of 124 with a time of 31:20 while Garriddo came in at 32:07, taking 39th place in the 8K race. They will race each other again next week in Van Cortland Park in New York City.

Eagles soccer falls to North under the lights

A Middletown North goal two minutes into the second half gave the Eagles a loss in the first game of the season by a score of 1-0.

The goal was the only blemish on senior goalie Mike Roura's performance as he played an otherwise excellent game in front of the net for the Eagles; including stopping 4 consecutive close-range shots in a row before the South defense was able to clear the ball.


Notes:

• This was new Head Coach Patrick Petretta's first game as head coach
• Chris Butler received a yellow card in the 55th minute.
• The team's next game is Monday at Manalapan
• The next home game is Wednesday against CBA
  

The Middletown South Football team began their quest for their 5th straight sectional title by defeating the Neptune Scarlet Flyers 23-7 at Neptune. Make sure to check out ShoreConferenceSports.com for scores and recaps from around the Shore Conference.

Moreno impresses in NCAA debut

Knowshon Moreno was the leading rusher for the #13 Georgia Bulldogs in their season opener on Saturday night, running for 70 yards on 20 carries in the first college football game of his career after red shirting last year. He also added 2 receptions for 51 yards, including a 35 yard catch that helped set up a Georgia touchdown. Several members of the Middletown South Football coaching staff were on hand for the game in Athens. Also, he seems to be making news in other places than his old stomping grounds

College Football Starts Tonight

I'm excited for tonight's Rutgers-Buffalo game tonight, 7 PM on MSG, and the kickoff of the college football season. Look out for former Eagle Howard Barbieri playing as an offensive lineman for the Scarlet Knights. He should see some time this season blocking for Heisman Candidate, running back Ray Rice.

Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs take the field Saturday against Oklahoma State. The game will be on ESPN 2 at 6:45 PM. Right now, on the Depth Chart, he's listed as the third string tailback, so he could see some playing time. He's also third under Kick Returner but Thomas Brown, who's coming off a knee injury, is ahead of him and they might be cautious with how they use him as a kick returner.

Gearing up for '07-'08

Well, it's now August and within a week all the fall sports teams will start up their official practices. Many of Middletown South's sports teams this year are poised to have successful seasons. The Football team will be looking for its 5th straight Sectional Title. Both the boys and girls cross country teams are looking to improve upon the successful seasons the had last year. Both basketball teams spent the summer training long and hard; the girls so they can repeat as A-North Division Champions, the boys in order to improve on their final 13-12 record last year. The Girl's softball team is set on improving on a season where they reached the state playoffs. The boys baseball team is looking to better themselves after a couple of disappointing seasons. Make sure you check back in September for the start of the Eagles' season.


Also, I'm going to follow some of the Middletown South alums who have moved on to play collegiate sports.

• Knowshon Moreno has been projected by ESPN.com to be this year's South Eastern Conference (SEC) Newcomer of the Year after running for 68 yards and 2 TDs on 11 carries in this year's Spring Game. And Head Coach Mike Right is excited about his backfield this year
  

"He's not a big back ... but he runs extremely physically and hard," (Georgia Offensive Coordinator Mike) Bobo said of Moreno. "He really likes to go out there and compete. Obviously he still has a lot to learn as far as pass protection, but we're really excited about his attitude, the way he practices and the way he runs the football."

Richt also stated that:
"We see a lot of potential and excitement in Knowshon Moreno, but now he has to prove it. He has not taken one snap in a real game at Georgia. He has to prove he can pass protect and wrap up the football in a real game. We are going to give him that chance, he is going to play, and we will see what he does when he gets the ball.”

• In Scout.com's 2007 Stanford Defensive preview, Nick Macaluso is expected to earn a lot of reps this fall.

Make sure you check back in September for the beginning of the season. The first slate of games for most fall teams is scheduled for Friday the 7th.

JV Baseball:Year in Review

By John Healy

Editor's Note: This article will appear in the June 7 Edition of The Eagle Eye.

It has been a magical run this season for the Junior Varsity Baseball team as they reached the JV Tournament Championship game on May 31.

The Eagles were not accustomed to losing many games this year, as they took a 17-3 record and a 12 game-winning streak into the championship game.

"I thought we would be a good team this year, especially with a lot of the older guys coming back," said coach Al Bigos. "They bring leadership to the team."

The championship game, however, was a different story from the rest of the season. The Eagles battled for the championship title in a close match against a strong Jackson team, but fell 10-7. The loss was tough for the team, but they did not go down without putting up a fight.

After trailing 5-1 early, the Eagles were able to tie the gamewith home runs by sophomores Tyler Cottrell and Kenny Patterson. In the final inning, the Eagles began to put up another rally, but Jackson was able to hold them off, forcing South to take second place in the tournament.

Although they were unable to win the championship game, they had a great combination of strong pitching and timely hitting, and the season was full of success.

"I never expected to win as many games as we did." said Bigos. "It was a pleasant surprise."
The core group of this team will go on and play varsity next year, hoping to bring this season’s success to the next level.

"It’s the expectations of the coaches for them to succeed at the next level." said Bigos. "It’s important that the younger kids are learning how to win too."

The JV team has provided high hopes for next year’s varsity team and a bright future for the South baseball program.

Eagles fall to Jackson, 10-7

South's Junior Varsity baseball team was looking for their 13th win in a row, but it fell short and lost to Jackson 10-7 in the Championship game of the JV Tournament. The Eagles fell into an early 5-1 defecit but battled back. They brought the game to 5-4 on Tyler Cottrell's homerun, and tied an inning later on Ken Paterson's. But Jackson was able to take a 6-5 lead in the next frame. The eventually held a 10-6 advantage going into the seventh inning. Chris Bunge walked to lead off the inning, then Jon Altino was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no one out. Mark Spoleti's infield single scored Bunge and moved Altino to third. Tyler Cottrell was then hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases for South. Jackson's closer, though, was brought in and was able to get out of the jam without surrendering a run. The Eagles record finishes up at 17-4 with the A-North JV Division Crown, and the second place trophy in the JV Tournament.

JV Team to play Jackson in Championship

The JV Eagles will play at 4:00 tomorrow at Saint John Vianney against Jackson in the Championship Round of the Junior Varsity Tournament. This will be the team's final game, and they hope to bring home a 1st place trophy.

JV Ealges move on to Tounrament Championship

The Eagles defeated their cross town rival Middletown North 10-4 to move on to the Championship game in the JV Tournament. The win is South's 12th straight, improving their record to 17-3. Evan Mitchell pitched six strong innings, allowing only four runs and picked up the win. Jon Altino, Darin Alcolea, Chris Bunge and all of the Eagles offense had great days at the plate. Arthur Barneck pitched the seventh to close out the victory. The Eagles will look for their 13th straight victory and the JV Championship early next week versus a yet to be determined opponent.

JV Team wins 2nd Round Tournament Game

The JV Eagles beat St. Rose 4-3 in the second round of the Junior Varsity Tournament. Ken Paterson pitched five innings and allowed only one run. Eric Hogan got out of a jam with the bases loaded, two outs and the go-ahead run on third bade with a three pitch strikeout. In the top of the seventh with two outs, Jon Altino doubled to left center field, and Mark Spoleti singled him home to give South the lead. Hogan pitched a perfect seventh to preserve the win.

JV Baseball win 12-1: Moves on in Tournament

The Eagles defeated Rumson-Fair Haven by a score of 12-1 in the first round of the Junior Varsity Monmouth County Tournament. Ken Paterson started for the Eagles and pitched four innings and allowed only one run. Kevin Slavin hit his second homerun of the year on an 0-2 pitch his first time up. Chris Bungee had a big day at the plate, witha single and two triples.

Magnotta Pitches Eagles to Win

Pat Magnotta pitched a complete game to lead the Eagles of Middletown South 8-1 over Red Bank Catholic.

The Eagles jumped out to a three run lead in the bottom of the first inning, and that was all Magnotta needed. He pitched seven innings, scattering six hits and walking no one, allowing only one earned run.

Mike Guarnieri led the Eagles offensively with a 3-3 day at the plate, with two runs batted in. Jack Provine added two hits in three at bats for South.

Middletown South wins its second straight game and improves to 5-15 on the year while the Caseys fall to 11-7.

JV
The Eagles won their 8th straight game on the junior varsity level by beating RBC 10-7. Ryan Johnston pitched three solid innings. Tim Ens had another strong relief performance, going three innings and striking out 6. Ken Paterson closed the game out in the seventh for the save. Chris Binge went three for four for South, while Kevin Slavin had a big run producing day; he went 2-4 with four runs batted in.

Offense Carries Eagles to Victory

Middletown South was able to ride its offense to a 13-7 non-divisional victory of the Brick Memorial Mustangs.

Tyler Black started for the Eagles, and gave up five runs over two and a third innings. Brian Dudzinski relieved him to get the last two outs of the third and pitched the three more after that without giving up a run. Nigel Combs closed the game after surrendering an unearned run in the seventh.

Will Schnoor broke out of a recent slide with a 3-4 day at the plate, including a homerun. Mike Guarnieri, Jack Provine, and Miles Santos all added two hits, with Provine and Santos recorded a double and triple, respectively.

The Eagles improve their record to 4-15 and the Mustangs drop to 3-14.

Junior Varsity
The JV Eagles were able win their 12th game of the season by defeating
Brick Memorial by a score of 4-2. Arthur Barnek pitched five innings and allowed only one run. Eric Hogan came on for the six out save. Jon Altino recorded a 4-4 day at the plate, also adding a RBI. Tyler Cottrell went 2-4. Ken Paterson and Jim Geant both had hits, Paterson with a RBI double.

South falls to Freehold Township on RBI Single in 7th

Ian MacLean’s RBI single off of Will Schnoor in the bottom of the seventh brought home Chris Ballester and gave Freehold Township a 8-7 A-North victory over Middletown South

Freehold jumped out to an early advantage in the bottom of the first inning, putting up four runs. Rodger Wilmot singled to set up the inning. Then Brian Cooney reaching on an error, a walk of Chase Majewski and a MacLean single all lead to the Pats four runs.

The Eagles got two of those runs back in the top of the second, when Miles Santos hit a double, Craig Sweeney hit a single and Mike Hermann got an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

After the Patriots scored a run in their half of the second inning, they held a 5-3 advantage.

Middletown South took the lead in the fifth with the help of a four run inning. The four runs came around to score and a Mike Farrell base hit knocked starter Matt Grajek out of the game. Grajek pitched four plus innings, and allowed six runs, five earned, on nine hits.

In the bottom of the fifth Ballester led off with a homerun and ended starter Chris Kamna’s day. Kamna had four plus innings of work, surrendering nine hits and six runs, four of which were earned. An error allowed MacLean to reach base and was singled home by Dave Banach.

Ballester’s double set up MacLean’s game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh, and gave the Patriots their 8th win of the year, bringing them above .500 at 8-7.

Will Schnoor took the loss, pitching two and two thirds, allowing three hits, striking out two and allowing two runs, one earned.

Austin Henderson picked up the victory coming out of the bullpen to throw three innings in which he only gave up three hits, and two runs, only one of which was earned.

Junior Varsity
The JV Eagles finished out their A-North schedule with a 16-5 win over Freehold Township. Chris Bunge started off the game for South by hitting a lead off homerun over the right center field fence. Evan Mitchell had a strong performance over five innings to earn the win. Tyler Cotrell went three for three to lead the Eagles offensively. Jon Altino and Darin Alcolea also ahd strong days at the plate. Eric Hogan hit his third pinch hit homerun of the season in the top of the seventh inning to close out the scoring for the Eagles. Hogan pitched two innings to close out the contest. With a 11-3 overall record, and 11-2 in the conference, Middletown South has won the JV division of the A-North.

Colts Neck's Jackson Pitches Gem: Holds Eagles to 3 Hits

Ethan Jackson went the distance, allowing only three hits to give Colts Neck a 7-4 victory over A-North rival Middletown South.

The Eagles scored three runs in the third inning to jump out to an early lead. The three runs were unearned because of consecutive infield errors.

The Cougars came back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to bring the score within one. The Eagles scored Jackson’s only earned run of the contest in the top of the fifth to take a 4-2 advantage.

Colts Neck scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead off of starter Pat Magnotta, who went six, and allowed five earned on eight hits.

Jackson closed off his masterful performance by shutting down the Eagles in the 7th to give the Cougars their 12th win, helping their position in the A-North Division race.

A.J. Rusbarskey and Pat Specchio led the Colts Neck offense with two and three hits, respectively, in three at bats a piece.

Junior Varsity
The JV Eagles came back from behind to win their 10th game this season 7-6. After trailing 5-1, South put up a run to cut the lead to three in the fourth. Colts Neck got the run back in their half of the inning though and the score stood at 6-2. With one out in the 5th Jim Geant, Chris Bunge, Jon Altino and Mark Spoleti hit four singles in a row to score two. Kenny Paterson had an RBI groundout to cut the lead to 6-5. Tyler Cottrell walked and then Kevin Slavin hit a two run triple, scoring Spoleti and pinch runner David George. Tim Ens allowed only one run in relief of starter Ryan Johnston, and got the win.

Eagles beat Marlboro in extras, 5-2

It took extra innings but, Middletown South secured their 3rd win with a 5-2 win over Marlboro in nine innings.

Senior Pat Magnotta started on the hill for the Eagles and pitched a gem. He was out there for six and one third innings, allowed only two unearned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.

Marlboro got on the board early with one in the bottom of the first, and held that slim margin for three innings. Then, in the fourth, South tied the game on an RBI groundout by senior Will Schnoor. The Eagles got a 2-1 lead when junior Eric Mate drove a run home in the top of the sixth.

Magnotta got the first out of the seventh inning, but then walked a batter. Coach Steve Antonucci lifted Magnotta for senior Brian Dudzinski.

The tying run scored on an infield error, but Dudzinski got out of the inning with out further damage and the score tied at 2-2.

Neither teams scored in their half of the eighth inning but the Eagles were ready to take control of the game in the top of the ninth.

After the first out was recorded, junior Kevin Skirka walked and two batters later Mike Guarnieri singled to put runners on first and second with two outs. Junior Jay Levy doubled in a run, and Eric Mate followed with a two run single, expanding the lead to 5-2.

Dudzinski earned the win after he shut down the Mustangs in the bottom of the ninth. He pitched two and two thirds innings, allowed no hits, no runs and struck out four. Jack Provine also went three for four with a run scored to contribute to the win that improves the Eagles record to 3-12. Marlboro falls to 3-9.

JV
The Junior Varsity team improved to 9-3 with a 10-0 win over the Marlboro Mustangs. Ben Hammand pitched magnificently, going six shutout innings. The Eagles put up a six spot in the top of the seventh on two three run homeruns, one by Eric Hogan, his second of the year, and the other by Craig Sweeney. Sweeney had another RBI earler in the game, making his total four. Hogan drove in three, Mark Spoleti two and Jim Geant one.

CBA Sweeps Season Series Versus South

Christian Brothers Academy mercied Middletown South in six innings, 16-5, to
improve their record to 7-3.

The Eagles sped out to a 3-0 lead on the Colts. Miles Santos hit a run scoring
triple and scored on an overthrow to third.

CBA, number four in the ShoreConferenceSports.com’s Top Ten, came back and
scored five runs in the top of the second. The Colts scored two runs in the top
of the fourth, and after South got a run back in the bottom half of the inning,
the score was 7-4.

With a four run lead going into the top of the sixth, CBA put up an eight spot
to take a 16-4 lead. South scored a run before making their final out and ending
the game at 16-5.

Seniors Marc Sansevere and A.J. Szatkowski had great days at the plate for the
Colts, going 3-4 and 2-3, respectively.

The Colts got their seventh win on the strength of sixteen runs on fifteen hits.
South managed five runs and seven hits, but made six errors to drop their record
to 2-10. 

JV
The JV Eagles completed their own series sweep, beating CBA for the second time
this season, 5-3. Ken Patterson pitched six innings and allowed only one run and
struck out nine. Tim Ens pitched for the second straight game and closed out the
win. Kevin Slavin deposited a 2-0 pitch over the right field wall in the second
inning to put the Eagles on the board. Chris Bunge and Mike Hermann also had good
days at the plate.

Howell score 10 in 7th to shock Eagles

The Howell Rebels came back from a 17-8 deficit with 10 runs in the bottom of the 7th to stun A-North rival Middletown South, 18-17.

The teams were tied at 3 after each team batted in the first inning, and the Eagles scored 2 in the second and one in the third to take a three run lead.

The Rebels put up a run in the third to cut the lead to 6-4. But then the Eagles put up a 5 spot in the top of the fourth to extend the lead 7.

Howell battled back again with four in the fourth, making the score 11-8. The Eagles extended the lead to three with a run in the fifth.

South jumped out with 5 runs in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 17-8. Senior starter Brian Dudzinski came back out in the seventh, but gave up four runs. Three of them came off the bat Joe Locascio on a three run shot over the left field fence.

Junior Tyler Black then came on in relief, surrendering two hits and hitting a batter to load the bases. Sophomore Mike Farrell then came in to pitch with no one out and the bases loaded.

A walk, a single, and a run scoring ground out made the score 17-15. Howell tied the score after an infield single and a double to right field. Senior Steve Burgher then came on with runners on second and third with one out. The Eagles immediately intentionally walked Locascio, who was 3-5 with two homeruns.

South played for the double play, and got it. But an error allowed Howell’s winning run to score to end the game.

Brian Dudzinski started for the Eagles and pitched 6 plus innings, giving up 12 runs, 7 earned, with seven strikeouts throwing over 125 pitches. Junior Jay Levy had his second good game in a row, going 4-5 with three runs batted in.

Howell’s record improves to 3-6 while South’s drops to 3-9.

JV
THe JV Eagles defeated Howell 9-5. Check back later for details.

Eagles Win with Big Offensive Day

Another huge offensive outburst by the Middletown South Eagles gave them a 19-9 victory in an A-North matchup against the 7-2 Manalapan Braves.

The Eagles put up a run in the second, two more in the third, and another one in the fourth to take a four run lead.

When South came up in the top of the fifth, they were ready to try and blow the game open. They added six runs on two homeruns by sophomore Mike Farrell, and senior Mike Guarnieri. It was Farrell’s fourth homerun of the year, leading the Shore Conference.

Manalapan would not let the Eagles mercy them on their home field though, scoring five runs in the bottom of the fifth and knocking senior starter Pat Magnotta out of the game.

Magnotta pitched a solid game to pick up the win, going four and two thirds, surrendering five earned on seven hits and striking out seven.

Middletown South came back with seven more runs in the top of the sixth, but the Braves were determined not to be mercied, scoring four in the sixth.

Senior Will Schnoor, who came on to relieve Magnotta, rebounded well from a rough outing against Marlboro his last time out. Pitching two and a third, he allowed three earned runs on three hits and had three strikeouts.

The Eagles finished off their offensive explosion with two in the top of the seventh, and Schnoor shut down Manalapan in the bottom half to send the Eagles home with their second win of the year.

South got production throughout the lineup versus the Braves with junior leadoff man Jack Provine going 5-6 with four runs batted in. Junior Eric Dunn, hitting second drove in three while going 3-5 and junior Jay Levy supplied some offense from the bottom half of the lineup with a 4-5 day at the plate.
Middletown South will look to use this week to improve their 2-8 record with five games in the next five days.

Junior Varsity
The JV Eagles overcame a seven run deficit to prevent their second straight loss and improve their record to 6-3. Ryan Johnston had solid start, as South was winning when he left the game. But the Braves scored 8 runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 12-5 lead. That's when the Eagles started their comeback. The bases were loaded with no one out when Eric Hogan walked to the plate and brought South back into the game with one swing of the bat. A grand slam to left center field brought the Eagles to within 3. Down by three in the seventh, key hits by Craig Sweeney, David George, Kevin Slavin, and Tyler Cottrell contributed to South putting up a seven spot and taking a 16-12 advantage. Tim Ens picked up the win with three innings of shutout ball in relief.

Eagles fall to Manalapan despite strong outing by Dudzinski

Manalapan’s Mark Holmes out dueled Middletown South’s Brian Dudzinski in a classic pitcher’s duel. The Braves earned their 5^th win of the season by a score of 2-1.

Holmes pitched a complete game for the Braves, allowing only the 1 run.

Dudzinski also went the distance, striking out eleven while surrendering two runs, one earned.

JV
The JV Eagles won 5-0 against the Braves to extend their winning streak to 5. Ken Paterson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, where it was broken up by a single into right field. Mike Hermann, Jon Altino and Kevin Slavin all had big days at the plate.

Middletown South earned their first win, 19-0, over Keansburg in the Monmouth County Tournament because of a huge offensive outburst and 7 RBI’s by sophomore Mike Farrell.

After losing a regular season game to Colts Neck 13-2 early this afternoon, the Eagles came out swinging in the first inning and never looked back.

Mike Farrell hit a three run homerun to right centerfield with one out in the first to put the first runs on the board. South then put up 6 more runs on RBI singles by Steve Burgher, Mike Guarnieri, and a two run double by Craig Sweeney. Two more runs came in on an error by the third basemen and a wild pitch.

Farrell again came up with two runners on and hit another three run homerun to right field. After a RBI double by Burgher the scoring was finally complete. In the end, 18 batters came to the plate, and 13 runs were scored, six of them coming off of Farrell’s bat.

Brian Dudzinski started and pitched two hitless innings, and was relieved by Tyler Black. Black held the Titans scoreless for the final three frames.

The Eagles added six more runs in the second inning with RBI’s from Farrell, Erik Mate, and Mike Guarnieri to make the score 19-0.

At the end of the day, Farrell was 3-3 with two homeruns, and seven runs batted innings. It is the Eagles first win of the season and they advance to play Wall in the next round of the MCT.

Marlboro comes back in 7th to beat Eagles

Varsity
The Marlboro Mustangs put up a four spot in the top of the 7th inning to steal one from Middletown South, 4-1.

Senior Brian Dudzinski pitched the first six innings, shutting Marlboro down. He allowed no runs and struck out eight.

The Eagles took a 1-0 lead going into the 7th, with Will Schnoor in to close it out.

A combination of timely hits and key errors gave the Mustangs a 4-1 lead. The Eagles could not mount a comeback and fell by that score.


Junior Varsity
The JV Eagles jumped a game over .500 with their 6-1 victory over the Marlboro Mustangs. Ryan Johnston pitched four innings, allowing just the one run in the first inning, and picked up the win. Tim Ens relieved him and pitched three shutout innings. Tyler Cottrell, Kevin Slavin, Jon Altino and Darin Alcolea all contributed offensively to give the Eagles a 3-2 record, the record they will submit for their JV tournament seed.

Eagles fall to Freehold Township 2-1

Freehold Township used small ball to win a A-North game against Middletown South, squeaking out a 2-1 victory.

The Patriots scored their two runs with a sacrifice fly and a successful squeeze bunt. Girver made those two runs stand up. He pitched a complete game, allowing only one run.

That one run came on a pinch hit single by junior Jack Provine in his first at bat of the season after coming off a hand injury suffered in the preseason.

Nigel Combs pitched well for the Eagles. He threw five innings and also allowed only one earned run, but still took the loss.

Senior Mike Guarnieri and sophomore Mike Farrell added two hits each for the Eagles, who drop to 0-4. The Patriots climb over .500, with a record of 3-2.

CBA holds off Eagle Comeback in A-North Matchup

The Christian Brothers Academy Colts, number one in ShoreConferenceSports.com’s Top Ten, held off a late charge by the Eagles of Middletown South to take home their second win of the young season.

CBA scored a run in the bottom of the first, but junior Miles Santos, who transferred from CBA this off-season, smacked a homerun over the wall to lead off the top of the second. That evened the score at one apiece.

The Colts came back and scored three in the second on a homerun of their own by junior Steve McSherry. CBA added two more runs in the fourth inning off of senior Brian Dudzinski. Dudzinski gave up six runs, three earned, over five innings. He also added an impressive 11 strikeouts.

Junior Tyler Balck surrendered three more runs in the sixth inning, and CBA took a 9-1 lead into the final frame.

The Eagles did not go away quietly though. South came back to score five runs in the seventh, including a solo shot by junior Eric Dunn. CBA was able to hold on though, and improve their record to 2-0. The Eagles drop to 0-3 on the season with three conference games later this week.


Junior Varsity

The Eagles JV team defeated the Colts 11-5 to improve their record to 1-2. Freshman Evan Mitchell pitched a strong game in the first start of his high school career. Tim Ens struck out 5 in relief and Ryan Johnston came on to pick up a huge strike out, with the bases loaded and the lead only two runs. Mitchell earned the win and Johnston the save. Mike Hermann, Kevin Slavin and Jon Altino all picked up timely hits to help secure the victory.

Freshmen

The Freshmen team dropped their game to CBA by a score of 7-5. Eagles highlights include Scott Bruno's home run to deep left center field.

Lancers comback to beat Eagles

The Saint John Vianney Lancers overcame an 8-1 deficit to defeat the Middletown South Eagles by a score of 11-8 in a nondivisional game on Saturday.

Senior pitcher Paul Bacigalupi picked up the victory to improve to 2-0, despite giving up eight runs in five innings. Senior outfielder Chris Lewnes went 2-for-5 for St. John Vianney. The Lancers were trailing 8-1 going into the 5th inning, but they put up a 10 spot off of senior Pat Magnotta, junior Nigel Combs, and junior Chris Kamna.

Magnotta took the loss for South, giving up seven runs, four earned, in 4 2/3 innings. Freshman Craig Sweeney hit the first home run of his varsity career in only his second game, a three-run shot. Junior Miles Santos added a two-run homer later in the game. Junior Jay Levy went 2-for-4 out of the leadoff spot while senior Will Schnoor went 1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

The Lancers improve their early season record to 2-1, while South drops to 0-2.

South loses opening Day Match Up versus North

The 2007 baseball season in Middletown started off with a match up of cross town
rivals in Middletown South and Middletown North. North secured their first
victory of the season by a 5-1 margin.

North senior Kevin Engelbrecht sent the Eagles down in order in the top of the
first and then the Lions bats jumped on South’s senior starter Pat Magnotta for
2 runs in the bottom of the inning.

Sophomore outfielder Mike Farrell came right back to lead of the top of the
second with a homerun. To cut North’s lead in half. But from then on, it was
Engelbrecht’s day.

Engelbrecht pitched a complete game allowing only one other hit and keeping the
Eagles bats at bay.

Magnotta pitched four and two-thirds innings, scattering 6 hits. But, the 4
walks he surrendered helped the Lions score their five runs. All but one player
in the North starting lineup had a hit in the game.

Middletown South will look to even their record Saturday against St. John
Vianney, while North will take on Marlboro Wednesday to try to add to their 1-0
record. 

Girls drop NJSIAA 2nd round matchup

The Voorhees Vikings won their 20th straight game with a 53-47 win over
Middletown South, and in doing so, they knocked the Eagles out of the NJSIAA
North 2 Group 3 tournament.

Early on in the game, it looked like South had control, taking a 16-12 lead at
the end of the first quarter. But in the second, Voorhees gained momentum, as
well as the lead, and finished up the first half of a play with a 25-24 lead.

The Eagles felt the void left by Senior point guard Brittany Hoffman, who could
not play because of a knee injury, as they were plagued by turnovers all game
long, and it cost them. The Vikings improved their advantage to 5 points, with a
score of 41-36.

South held the deficit at 5 until there were six minutes left in the game, when
Voorhees started to open up an 11 point advantage that lasted until two minutes
remaining.

The Eagles made a late push, bringing the game back within 5 in the final minute
of play but Voorhees sank their free throws and held on for the victory.

Senior Guard Becky Peterman tied for a game high 14 points in the Vikings 20th straight win.
Sophomore Guard Melanie Thompson and senior forward LeShay Bernstein chipped in
13 and 9 respectively. Sophomore Danielle Pankey led the Eagles with 14, and
Senior Shealyn Taggart scored 9 points. Senior Julie Gannon netted 8 in the
losing effort.

Girls beat Holmdel in overtime affair

5th seeded Middletown South came back from a 4 point deficit in the final minute of regulation to push the game to overtime, where they beat 12th seeded Holmdel 53 to 46.

In the first half, the Eagles had the upper hand, with the score in their favor at 21-15 heading into the locker room. But, early in the third quarter, Brittany Hoffman injured her knee, leading to a Holmdel breakaway layup, and momentum immediately swung in the Hornets direction. Hoffman did not return, but was seen walking around the sideline at the end of the game.

Holmdel outscored South 15 to 7 in the third, to take a 30-28 lead at the end of the quarter. Holmdel held the lead for most of the fourth, with South making runs to try and overtake them, but the score stayed within a 1 to 5 point lead for Holmdel throughout the quarter.

With 45 seconds left in regulation Holmdel held a 4 point advantage over the Eagles, but a layup brought it within 2. There was a foul on the layup, but the shot was missed. Luckily for the Eagles, Shawna Hagen stepped in to get the rebound and put it back in to tie it at 44 all.

Holmdel coach Debbie Emery called a timeout with 11 seconds remaining to draw up a play. The Hornets shot was off the mark and rebounded by South. The Eagles pushed it up the floor to Julie Gannon, who took an off balance shot that banked off the backboard, but then hit the front of the rim and rolled out.

Middletown South came out fired up in the overtime period, getting a quick two score advantage. Holmdel whittled the lead to 49-46 with 40 seconds to go in the game, but the Eagles executed their free throws and walked away with the 53-46 win.

Danielle Pankey, despite fouling out with a couple of minutes left in the fourth, led the way for South, with a game high 16 points. Christina Longo chipped in tremendously with 14 on the night. Shawna Hagen scored 9, including the two crucial points at the end of regulation to tie the game.

Dana Graziano had a team high 15 points, while teammate Melissa Martorelli chipped in 10 in the losing effort.

Middletown South moves onto play fourth seeded Voorhees at Vorhees Thursday night at 7 PM. Students have until the end of 1st period on Thursday to sign up, and the school needs at least 30 students or they will cancel the bus.

Girls win nail biter against Monmouth

The Middletown South girl's team held off a late push by Tia Curtis and the Monmouth Regional Falcons to win 59-55.

After South led 26-19 at the half, the Eagles came out flying in the third quarter, extending the lead to 42-31 headed into the final period.

But Monmouth would not go down without a fight. In the fourth, South led by as much as 12, but Monmouth fought back to bring that within 4 points with a minute and thirty seconds left on the game clock. At the one minute mark, South held a slim lead of 53-51. Monmouth took the ball down the scored again, which tied the game with 40 seconds left in regulation.

Brittany Hoffman took the ball down the court and dribbled her way through the Falcon defenders. She scored on a layup and was fouled. She missed the foul shot, but Danielle Pankey was there to get the rebound and lay it in for two, which brought the game to the final of 59-55.

Pankey was the leading scorer for the Eagles, with 17. Shealyn Taggart scored 13 and teammate Courtney Herring chipped in 10.

Tia Curtis had a game-high 21 points for Monmouth in the loss. Brittany Powell netted 15 and Caitlin Shaw scored 11 for the Falcons.

The Eagles secured the 5th seed and will play the 12th ranked team, Holmdel, at home next Tuesday the 27th. Monmouth has a bye in the first round after earning the 4th seed in the Central Group 3 Bracket.

Boys knock off Keansburg

Middletown South defeated Keansburg 44-29 in a game where neither team seemed to find a rhythm offensively.

Turnovers and passes sailing out of bounds highlighted the 1st quarter, resulting in an 8-6 South lead.

Things picked up slightly in the second quarter, as South took a 18-16 into the locker room at halftime.

After extending its lead to 29-21 to start the fourth quarter, Middletown South finally pulled away. The Ealges outscored Keansburg 15-8 in the final quarter to give secure a win in their final home game of the season.

Garret Thiel once again led the way for the Eagles, netting 14 points, bringin down 7 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. Brian Dudzinski played well in the final home game of his career, scoring 10 and securing 7 rebounds. James Haley chipped in 8 points. Kyle Cancilleri came off the bench and had what was easily his best defensive game of the season. He did a great job of blocking shots, making steals, and securing rebounds today.

Andrew Carusotto and Lauren Banks tied for a team high 7 points for Keansburg, with teammate Tom Sheehan and Al Moscatello both scoring 6 in the losing effort.

Middletown South, now 13-11, plays in the NJSIAA North 2 Group 3 tournament next Tuesday at 8th seeded Scotch Plains, the Eagles are the 9 seed. 12th seeded Keansburg plays the number 5 seed South Amboy in the Central Group 1 Bracket on the same day.

South Basketball goes 1 for 2 in playoff double-header

There was a lot of basketball being played tonight at Middletown South and the South fans were treated to two Shore Conference Tournament games.

The boys team lost to Toms River East by a score of 68-42 because of a strong scoring effort by Senior Tyler Fox.

Fox knocked down 4 three pointers in the first quarter to help the Raiders on a 15-2 run to start the game. TR East led 22-6 at the end of the first, as the Eagles only scored one field goal and four free throws.

Middletown South gained some momentum in the second quarter, outscoring the Raiders 19-13 to go into the half by a score of only 35-25.

Toms River East took all of that momentum back when they scored 19 points to South's 10 to take a 54-34 advantage going into the final period.

The Raiders held South to only 7 points in the fourth to ice the game.

Fox led TR East with a game-high 22 points, knocking down threes all game long. Fellow senior Rob Urie netted 16. Junior Garret Thiel had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, also adding 4 assists. Junior Peter Clabby and Freshman Kyle Cancilleri both scored 7 and Brian Dudzinski scored 6 in what may have been the final home game of his career.


The girls team won a seesaw battle against Southern Regional in a game that did not look like it would come down to the final minutes.

Southern looked in control as it ended the first quarter with a 13-6 lead, but Middletown South cam roaring back with a 14-4 run to start the second quarter, which would lead to a 23-19 Eagle halftime advantage.

In the third quarter, Middletown fought for some breathing room, extending the lead to 10 points.

In the final quarter, things started to get interesting. With 1:40 left on the clock Southern had closed the gap to 43-39 Eagles. But Middletown South would not go down that easily. Jenna McFarland knocked down two free throws and Brittany Hoffman stole the ensuing inbounds pass and hit both free throws after she was fouled to give South an eight point cushion.

But with 30 seconds left, Southern had cut into the lead once again to make the score 49-46. Courtney Herring and Hoffman were both able to hit two free throws each to finish off the game with a 53-46 Eagle win.

Hoffman, who left the game for a short while in the third after being knocked down by an elbow to the face, led South with 14 points. Herring, Christina Longo and Danielle Pankey contributed with 11, 10 and 9 points, respectively. April Smith scored a game-high 17 points while teammate Olivia Tromm chipped in 14.

Busy Night At Middletown South

I just want to warn everyone that tonight the school is going to be a zoo, and parking probably a nightmare. In addition to the two basketball games (boys at 5:30 PM, girls at 7:00 PM) the District Wrestling tournament will also be held in the large gym. I'm not 100% sure on the wrestling start time, but I doubt they'll be done by the time the boys game starts so you may want to get there early to get a parking spot. Also, if you plan on attending either basketball game, they are both in the smaller gym, which has much less seating than the gym the wrestling is in.

Boys Game Postponed...Again

Once again, because of the weather and school being closed, tonight's boys first round playoff game has been pushed back until tomorrow.

There will be a double-header on tap at Middletown South tomorrow as the Boys play versus Toms River East tomorrow at 5:30 in the smaller gym, immediately followed by the girls 2nd round matchup against the winner of Southern and Shore.

Boys Basketball Game Postponed

Because of the snow, and school being canceled, the Boys 1st round Shore Conference Tournament has been moved from today at 7 PM to tomorrow, Thursday the 15th, at the same time.

Basketball Games Canceled for Tonight

Both the Boys and Girls basketball teams were scheduled to play Rumson-Fair Haven tonight but both games were canceled.

The Shore Conference Tournament begins on Wednesday with a boys game at home versus Toms River East.

Shore Conference Basketball Tournament Seedings Announced

Today, the Shore Conference announced the seedings and schedules for the Basketball Tournament.

The Boys team earned a 16th seed with a 12-10 record because of big wins over Colts Neck and Raritan. They will play a home game in the first round against Toms River East at 7 PM on Wednesday night.

The Girls locked up the 5th seed in the tournament on the strength of a 16-2 record, including impressive wins over Colts Neck, Mater Dei, and Southern Regional. Being the fifth seed gets them a first round bye, and will play either #21 Shore or #12 Southern on Friday night at home.