FIGHTIN' TO THE END: EAGLES TAKE THIRD PLACE IN TRIPLE OT

In a triple-overtime thriller, Middletown South took down St. John Vianney in the third-place game of the Bayshore Holiday Tournament 81-77.

The Lancers were able to control the first half, taking a 28-23 lead into the locker room, but the Eagles battled back in the second half. With the game tied in the final seconds, Kyle Cancilleiri had a chance to end it, but a jump shot hit off the rim and the teams went to overtime. Last second drives by St. John Vianney in the first two overtime periods tied the game up again, leading to the third overtime, where the Eagles finally pulled away on free throws by Matt Calliori, Rob Callori, and Will Low.

Cancilleiri finished with 26 point despite early foul trouble and Jake Brodsky made his first start of the season and put in 18 points for the Eagles (3-2).

EAGLES FALL IN HOLIDAY TOURNEY SEMIS

The Eagles lost to Curtis High School (NY) in the semi-finals of the Bayshore Holiday Tournament by a score of 56-50. South got off to a quick start, taking an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. But 24 points by the Warriors in the second quarter pushed Curtis ahead, and they never looked back. After being held to only 2 points in the third quarter, the Eagles rallied in the fourth, but fell short.

Matt Callori continued to show his range from behind the arc, knocking down three 3-pointers on his way to 19 points. Kyle Cancilleiri added 14 of his own. The Eagles (2-2) face St. John Vianney in the third-place game tomorrow at 5:30 at St. John Vianney High School.

MOVING ON: EAGLES WIN FIRST-ROUND GAME

Middletown South took down St. Joseph’s By-The-Sea High School (NY) with a 72-60 win in the first round of the Bayshore Holiday Tournament at Saint John Vianney.

The teams played a close first half, with the Eagles holding a slight 3-point advantage, 28-25, but came out firing in the third quarter. South outscored the Vikings 19-6 in the quarter to take a 16-point lead heading into the final quarter.

St. Joseph’s put up 29 points in a fourth quarter comeback attempt, but it was not enough, as Matt and Rob Callori knocked down a combined 14 free throws to ice the game.

Matt Callori finished with a double-double, 25 points and 10 rebounds. Rob Callori scored 16, while Kyle Cancilleiri dropped in 15 of his own.

The Eagles (2-1, 1-1) move on to face Curtis High School (NY) in the second round of the tournament on Monday night at 7:00 PM.

EAGLES UPSET BY COUGARS

Colts Neck upset the Eagles with a 59-49 win on the road at Middletown South. The Cougars led the entire game after getting out to a quick 5-0 lead.

Kyle Mobbs led Colts Neck with 19 points, but was not alone with his offensive efforts, with Hunter Wysocki, Sean O’Reily and Cassidy each added 10 points.

Mobbs help put the game away by going 8 for 12 from the free throw line. The Cougars forced 24 Eagle turnovers on their way to a huge opening night upset.

Matt Callori led South in the losing effort, with 15 points. Kyle Cancilleiri added 14 of his own while Will Low chipped in 10.

The 1-0 Cougars take on Marlboro while South (0-1) heads across town to take on rival Middletown North.

WINTER SEASON STARTING UP, WRAPPING UP THE FALL SEASON

There were some post season awards handed out to Middletown South athletes this past week.

In football, seniors Matt Martino and Chris Bunge were named to the First team All-Conference on the defensive side. Martino was also the runner up Most Valuable Player by All-Shore Media.

Sophomore Christie Wong was named first-team All-Shore in gymnastics while senior teammate Megan Porter was named to the third team.

Senior Katie Bruno was named third-team All-Shore in field hockey.

The following athletes were named to the All-Divisional teams in their respective sports.

Field Hockey: Katie Bruno, Megan Pierce, Audrey Lowenstein, Katelyn Johnson, and Kelly Scheurer.

Girls Soccer: Megan McDermott

Football: Travis Soden, Steve Coluccio, Mike Farrell, Nick Bricker, Matt Martino, Sean Campbell, Chris Bunge, and Brian Benedetto.

Now that the fall season is taken care of, the winter season begins in earnest tomorrow with both the boys and girls basketball teams opening up their seasons.

The boys will host Colts Neck at 6:30 while the girls travel to take on the Cougars at the same time.

In the Asbury Park Press, the boys were ranked fifth in the Shore in the preseason polls and the girls were ranked tenth. Look for All-Shore Media's rankings and rankings to come out withing the next day or so. Until then, take a look at Scott Stump's Preseason Burning Questions.

The hockey team skated to a 4-4 tie on December 7 as they begin another season

EAGLES GROUNDED IN STATE TITLE GAME

Despite a valiant second half comeback, South's quest to return to championship glory fell short as they lost to Freehold Boro by a score of 21-14. Senior Ryan Mullan threw two touchdown passes, one to sophomore Andrew Suarez, and the other to junior Sean Campbell. The Eagles finish with a record of 10-2 on the season, with both losses coming to Freehold Boro.

UPDATE

Ok, it's been a while, but here's a quick update:

The football team will take on Freehold Boro in the championship game on Saturday at Rutgers Stadium at 4:00 PM. Boro is coming off their first loss of the season to Colts Neck on Thanksgiving. The Eagles's only loss of the season came against Freehold in the opening week of the season. South is the three seed, taking on top-seeded Freehold.

Also, Knowshon Moreno finishes up the regular season with 1338 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had 27 receptions for 329 yards and a touchdown. Moreno was recently named a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, given to the best running back in college football. The award winner will be announced on December 11. He is also eligible to declare for the NFL Draft, but it remains to be seen whether he will go or stay at Georgia for another season. A decision by the NFL owners in May about the Collective Bargaining Agreement may affect Moreno's decision.