Graduation

I'm not usually one for long goodbyes, so I'll make this short and sweet. Today is graduation so my time writing the Middletown South Eagles Sports Blog is over.

It was fun all the way, from when I wrote this blog for Shore Sports Rewind, to Digital Sports, to All Shore Media, and as a writer, then Editor for The Eagle Eye student newspaper. 

I'll be studying Sport Management at Syracuse University, but I'll be back to visit and cheer on the Eagles soon.

EAGLES WIN GROUP III FINAL

Senior pitcher Liza Kuhn threw 8 innings of one-hit shutout ball while sophomore Julia Kuhn knocked in the game-winning run with a single in the bottom half of the eighth to give the Eagles their first Group Championship since 2002. Photo Courtesy AllShoreMedia.com

SOFTBALL TEAM GOING FOR GROUP TITLE

Earlier this week, the girls softball team defeated Delsea by a score of 9-0 in the Group III semifinals. Senior pitcher Liza Kuhn has not yet allowed a run for the Eagles in the NJSIAA tournament. The Eagles will play on Saturday for the Group III Final.

EAGLES SOFTBALL REPEATS AS SECTIONAL CHAMPS

The Eagles defeated Wall on Saturday to win their second consecutive NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Sectional Title. Senior KD Rohlander hit a fielders choice in the bottom of the ninth inning to give South a 1-0 victory. Liza Kuhn won her 18th game of the season, this one a nine-inning shutout.
Today, the Eagles will play Toms River East in the semifinals of the Shore Conference Tournament.

MORENO MAKING NAME FOR HIMSELF

Well, Knowshon Moreno has not even played a down in the NFL, and he's already won an award. You can watch the video here. I'm not even going to tell you what award he won, just watch the video and enjoy.

WRAPUP

The Eagles softball team advanced to the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Sectional Final with a 10-0 win over Red Bank. Senior Liza Kuhn struck out 11 while throwing a one-hitter. The defending Sectional Champion Eagles will face the winner of a game between Wall and West Windsor North on Friday.

On the track, several South athletes competed at the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III State Sectional Meet on Saturday at Monmouth Regional High School. On the boys side, junior Scott Simonson placed fifth in the high jump by clearing 5' 10". Senior Andrew Valkos tied for third place by jumping 12' 6" in the pole vault and junior Stan Pastercyzk took fourth in the long jump with a jump of 19' 11".

For the girls team, senior Casie Dominach took third in the pole vault with 9 feet flat. Sophomore Annmarie Vuono took sixth in the javelin with a throw of 104'. Senior Kirsten Anderson took sixth with a time of 11:52 in the 3200 meter race.

All the athletes that qualified will compete Friday and Saturday at the Group III Championships in South Plainfield.

DANNY BOY

Junior Dan Biancaniello's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning put the Eagles over Toms River East 5-4 in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament. Freshman Howie Brey pitched seven innings before handing it off to sophomore Will Siegfried, who picked up the win in relief. South will play CBA on Saturday in the second round. Check AllShoreMedia.com later tonight for Scott Stump's story and video highlights.

UNLUCKY SEVENTH DOOMS EAGLES

Six runs in the seventh inning vaulted Ocean over Middletown South in the first round of the Monmouth County Tournament by a score of 9-6.

Trailing 5-3 in the top of the seventh, the Spartans knocked 6 hits, recorded two walks, and sent 12 batters to the plate. Senior Neil Yaffe drove in two runs to tie the game, and scored the go-ahead run on a single by junior Tim Henry.

Yaffe finished 2-3 with 3 stolen bases. Junior Chris Roskey went 2-4 with a d double and two runs scored while senior Sean Goodwin added a home run in the second inning for Ocean.

HOWIE DO IT

Freshman Howie Brey threw a complete-game shutout in his first varsity
game and junior Craig Sweeney smacked a grand slam in Middletown South's 4-0 win in Class A North that handed Christian Brothers Academy its first loss of the season.

“Today was a great win over a great team,” said first-year Eagles head coach Ryan Spillane, who was formerly an assistant at CBA. “But I’m not surprised because we can play this way every day.''

With Brey shutting down the Colts (9-1 9-1), Sweeney gave him all the run support he needed in the bottom of the first.

“It was a 3-2 pitch, so I was just trying to protect the plate,” Sweeney said. “I got a pitch I could drive and put a good swing on it.”

Brey allowed only five hits and three walks while striking out five.

“Howie pitched an absolute gem for us today,” Spillane said. “I’ve watched him pitch since the summer and I knew he was capable. He has three pitches that he can throw for strikes, and in any situation.

“Howie has confidence, composure, and a lot of heart. Some people think I may have been taking a chance throwing him, but he has the complete package.”

The Eagles (7-4, 7-4) won their second straight after dropping their previous two by large margins and were able to take down the previously undefeated Colts.

LIONS ROMP EAGLES

A nine-run sixth inning by Middletown North gave the Lions a 14-1 win over the Eagles.
Junior Ryan Rodriguez went 3-4 with three runs scored and senior Connor Delepine helped cap off the rally in the sixth with a three-run triple. Delepine finished 1-4. South pitching allowed six walks, and combined with poor defense with two errors and many missed opportunities, the Lions ran away with the game.

EAGLES TO HOST LIONS UNDER THE LIGHTS

Tonight at 7 p.m., South will take on cross-town rival North. Sophomore Will Siegfried will take the ball for the Eagles, looking for win number four on the season.

The NFL Draft is tomorrow and Knowshon Moreno will finally know what team he will start his NFL career with. He spent some time at the Modell's in Holmdel yesterday and Scott Stump's story details the stories of Moreno and UCONN/RBC star Donnald Brown. The NFL Draft will be televised tomorrow on ESPN starting at 4 p.m.

EAGLES BOUNCE BACK WITH WIN OVER MARLBORO

The Eagles bounced back from a one-run loss at CBA to pound Marlboro 12-4. South put up four runs in the 1st inning and then five more in the 3rd to give junior starter Evan Mitchell a nine run cushion to work with. Mitchell pitched into the fifth inning, allowing one run on three hits and striking out two. Junior Scott Bruno hit three doubles, knocked in two runs, and scored two while junior Craig Sweeney went 2-2 with a triple, a home run, and four runs batted in.

THE SUN WILL COME OUT...

Well it seems that the sun is finally fighting through the clouds and the relentless rain from the past two weeks is stopping. The rain has played around with all the spring team's schedules because of all the postponements.

The baseball team will play take their 2-1 record to Howell this afternoon before hosting CBA tomorrow afternoon. The rescheduling has created a stretch where the Eagles will play six games in the next nine days, so the depth of their pitching will be tested.

The currently undefeated softball team will play four road games in the next week, starting with a game today at Howell and at Marlboro on Saturday. After the road trip, the Eagles will face cross-town rival North in a game that may very well decide the A-North division.


With a little over a week until the NFL Draft, ESPN.com's Todd McShay has Knowshon Moreno going to the Philadelphia Eagles at the 21st pick in the first round, much to the chagrin of Giants fans like myself. One article had Moreno as the most-complete running back in te draft.

SIEGFRIED TAMES LIONS

Sophomore pitcher Will Siegfried picked up his second win of the season by holding cross-town Middletown North down after a rocky start.

The Eagles got to senior Connor Delepine early, putting three runs up in the first inning on an RBI groundout by junior Matt Salmanson, and a two-run single by junior Scott Bruno. North, however, quickly erased the lead with a three-run homer by Delepine in their half of the inning.

From then on Siegfried and senior Tim Ens were able to hold the Lions to only one run over six innings.

Salmanson finished 3-4 with 2 RBI’s while seniors Kevin Slavin and Tyler Cotterell contributed to the win by going 3-4 and 2-4 at the plate.

COUGARS CAPITALIZE

Four Eagles errors led to a four-run third inning and a 5-3 Colts Neck win.

Senior Chris Baghsarian put the Cougars ahead early with a solo homer in the first inning off of junior pitcher Evan Mitchell.

Colts Neck took advantage off South’s miscues in the third inning to put the Eagles in a 5-0 hole.

Chris Leroy made the lead stick by pitching in to the sixth inning and surrendering only three runs while striking out seven. Mitchell picked up the loss, giving up five runs, only one earned.

FARRELL'S SLAM PACES EAGLES

The Spillane Era at Middletown South started off with a bang. The bang came off the bat of senior Mike Farrell on a first inning grand slam as the Eagles went on to beat Manalapan 9-5.

Sophomore Will Siegfried took the ball for South and went four innings, allowing four runs while striking out three. Junior Steve Macri gave up one run in relief before junior Greg Tognan pitched two scoreless innings for the save.

Farrell finished 1-3 with 5 RBI's while junior Craig Sweeney went 2-3 at the plate to get new head coach Ryan Spillane his first victory.

CALLORI, PANKEY SET FOR SENIOR ALL-STAR GAME

On Tuesday night, senior Matt Callori and Danielle Pankey will represent South at the Senior All-Star game at Freehold Township High School. The girls game tips off at 6:00 PM while the boys game is immediately following that, at 8:00 PM.

The Shore Conference Coaches also handed out their awards, and the Eagles were again represented on both the boys and girls side. Pankey was named First Team All-Shore and All A-North, while sophomore Meghan McGuinness was named Second Team All A-North. Head coach Tom Brennan was named Coach of the Year in the A-North Division.

On the boys side Kyle Cancilleiri was named to First Team All A-North while Callori was named to the Second Team.

NEPTUNE TOPS EAGLES IN CJ3 FINAL

Despite a great effort by the Eagles, a relentless three-point attack by the undefeated Scarlet Fliers propelled Neptune to a 63-54 win.

Senior Danielle Pankey led the Eagles in her final game with 21 points. Meghan McGuinness added 19 for the Lady Eagles. It was also the final game for senior guard Taylor McFarland.



That wraps up the winter sports season. The practice for the spring teams is underway and games will begin around the beginning of April.

EAGLES GO FOR CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST NEPTUNE

The Lady Eagles will play for the Central Jersey Group III crown tonight when they take on Neptune at West-Windsor High School North at 8 PM. I will be making the trek over there and will have a story later tonight. Good luck to the girls.

CROCE CAPTURES CENTRAL CROWN

This afternoon at the Ritacco Center, senior wrestler Charlie Croce took home the Region VI Central Championship by defeating Point Boro's Matt Nobbs. He will move on to the state tournament in Atlantic City. More info will be available here later tonight and tomorrow.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE

With a goal by sophomore Jason Zimmel with 3:18 remaining in the game, the incredible run by Middletown South ended with a Handchen Cup Championship after a 4-3 win over Brick Memorial at the Red Bank Armory.

Playing in front of a packed house dominated by South fans, the Eagles jumped out to a quick lead on a goal by senior Joe Demaio, assisted by senior Pat O’Donnell, four minutes in to the game. Later in the period, junior Matt Johnson broke away from the defenders and scored to put the Eagles up by two. Tyler Ralph then ended the period on a high note for South by putting a goal in with 57 seconds left in the period.

Sophomore Chris Marsillo was tested in the second period, facing 14 shots on goal. A power-play goal 4 minutes into the period brought the Mustangs to within two with the score at 3-1.

At the beginning of the third period, Brick Memorial showed that they would not go quietly into the night. Eleven seconds in, the Mustangs closed the lead to one with a slap shot off the faceoff. Six minutes later, they scored again to tie the game.

With the Mustangs holding all the momentum, Eagles head coach Stan Gutt called his timeout right before the ensuing faceoff, to calm his team down.

After Zimmel’s (pictured above) goal, Marsillo and the South defense held off the Mustangs, even with the extra defender. The fans counted the seconds off the clock, and the Eagles mobbed Marsillo in the crease in celebration of the first “A” Division championship for the program since its inception in 2000.

(PHOTO COURTESY HOCKEY IN MIDDLETOWN)

HOCKEY TEAM GOES FOR HANDCHEN CUP

The Eagles look to become the Shore Conference version of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team tomorrow when they take on Brick Memorial in the Handchen Cup Championship. The game will take place at the Red Bank Armory at 6:00 PM. I'm expecting there to be a pretty big crowd because of the magnitude of the game and what a great story this is, so get there early.

EAGLES HOCKEY CONTINUES CINDERALL RUN, BEATS SJV TO MOVE ON TO FINAL

The improbable run by the ice hockey team of Middletown South continued tonight by pulling off another upset with a 3-1 win over Saint John Vianney. The Eagles will play Friday night at the Red Bank Armory for the Handchen Cup Championship. I will have more information before the next game.

BROOKDALE BOUND

The Eagles held off Freehold Township 77-75 in overtime in the Round of 16 of the Shore Conference Tournament to move on to the Elite 8 at Brookdale Community College.

Senior Matt Callori led the way with a team-high 20 points, while juniors Jake Brodsky and Kyle Cancilleiri added 14 each. Junior Pat O'Connell had 12 points, while senior Will Low played a huge game on the boards while scoring 11 points.

The game on Sunday is 12:45, and South takes on fourth-seeded Freehold Boro, who the Eagles defeated 58-45 on February 5.

The girls basketball team, after beating RBC last night, will play Neptune at Brookdale in the Elite 8 at Brookdale at 2:30.

EAGLES HOLD OFF MANCHESTER, MOVE ON IN SCT

With a 65-53 win over Manchester, the boys basketball team moved on to the second round of the Shore Conference Tournament, where they will face divisional rival Freehold Township. The Eagles defeated the Patriots twice during the regular season. The game will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night at South.

Tomorrow the girls host RBC in the second round of the SCT after earning a bye in the first round of the tournament. The game will start at 6:30 p.m.

MIRACLE ON ICE

Click here for All-Shore Media Correspondent Chris Ippolito's story about Middletown South's improbable 4-3 win over top-seeded Red Bank Catholic last night, complete with video highlights. The Eagles move on to the semi-finals on February 23 against the winner of St. John Vianney and Brick Memorial.




You may have seen this in the news already but since professional athletes have not given anyone a chance to feel good over the past couple of weeks, this is just a great story.

SOUTH HOCKEY UPENDS RBC IN SCT

The Middletown South hockey team defeated RBC in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament by a score of 4-3. After being down 2-0, the Eagles scored four unanswered goals to take the lead and the game. More info to come.

Tomorrow the boys basketball team plays Manchester in the preliminary round of the Shore Conference tournament. Scott Stump of All-Shore Media named junior Kyle Cancilleiri his Overall Shore Conference Boys Basketball Player of the Week for the week of February 8-14. Senior Danielle Pankey was also named Girls Basketball Player of the Week for the A-North Division.

EAGLES BASKETBALL TEAMS TAKE ON TOWNSHIP

Tonight, the boys and girls basketball teams face the Freehold Township Patriots in a Class A-North divisionall game. The seventh-ranked girls travel to Freehold at 5:30. The number 8 boys team looks to clinch at least a tie of the public A-North title at home at 6:30.

EAGLES BOUNCE BACK WITH IMPRESSIVE WIN OVER COLONIALS

Middletown South took down No. 3 Freehold Boro 58-45 in a nondivisional game that will have big implications for seeding in the Shore Conference Tournament.

The teams played an even first half, with the Eagles leading 28-25 at the break. But South came out in the third quarter and began to pull away with a 22-point outburst.

Kyle Cancilleiri came back from his broken nose to lead the Eagles with a game-high 18 points.

“Kyle makes a huge difference on both ends of the floor,” head coach Kevin Cullen said. “He’s big for us down low and driving to the basket. He’s our best defensive rebounder and he alters people shots going to the basket.”

Matt Callori and Jake Brodsky each contributed 13 points, while Pat O’Connell continued making a difference with 8 of his own.

“Pat just sees the floor so well,” Cullen said. “He’s really learned our system well, and he’s doing well setting us up in the halfcourt.”

With the win, South ends a two-game skid, as they look to improve their chances for a high seed in the SCT.

“We need to battle some tough teams in the next two weeks,” Cullen said. “But, we’re focused on our goals of securing a good seed in the tournament and getting to Brookdale and the Ritacco Center.”

Freehold Boro, who played without standout Christian Garcia, were led by Lance McKenzie with 12 points. Andrew Gerbehy and Will Howarth each had 10 points in the losing effort.

“We knew we could exploit the blocks with Garcia being out,” Cullen said. “He’s a great player underneath for them, and we just came out and executed our gameplan.”

The No. 8 Eagles take on Marlboro tomorrow to take another step towards their first Public A-North title since 2001.

“We’ve been improving every day since a little bit of a rough start,” Cullen said. “But our intensity about our defense is starting to show in games, and it’s making a big difference.”

COLTS BEAT EAGLES IN BIG DIVISIONAL MATCHUP

Brian Neller's 23 points led CBA over Middletown South 52-36 to set the Colts up to wrap up the A-North Championship next week.

CBA led 20-10 after the first quarter, but then the Eagles held them to 4 points in the second quarter to fight back to 24-20 at the half.

The Eagles could not get it going consistently on the offensive end in the second half, however, and the Colts began to pull away. The lead was 41-30 going into the final period.

Matt Callori led South with 14 points, while Kyle Cancilleiri added 9 before leaving with 4 minutes left in the game after catching an elbow in the nose from Pat Light.

The Eagles (11-5, 8-3) have a quick turnaround, as they play Rumson-Fair Haven tomorrow at 1 p.m. at home.

WEEKEND UPDATE

I forgot to get an update about this in on Friday night, but senior Danielle Pankey scored her 1,000th career point in the first quarter of the girls game versus Middletown North. Ironically, she reached the milestone on the night the Eagles Hall of Fame honored all the 1000-point scorers in school history at halftime of the boys game.

Both the boys and girls teams have tough week ahead of them. The sixth-ranked boys travel to Manalapan before hosting #2 CBA and Rumson-Fair Haven on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Eagles host Manalapan on Tuesday night before going on the road to play #4 RFH.

EAGLES TRAVEL TO SOUTHERN TO PICK UP THIRD STRAIGHT WIN

Middletown South continued on its recent hot streak with a 60-38 road win over Southern Regional.

After holding off a strong start by Southern, South led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles then extended their lead in the second quarter by winning the period 17-7 despite having Kyle Cancilleiri on the bench in foul trouble.

Cancilleiri scored 9 of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, while Jake Brodsky led the way with 16. Will Low and Pat O’Connell each added 10 in the Eagles third-straight win.

DOUBLEHEADER ON TAP AT SOUTH

Both the boys and girls basketball team will play against Middletown North tonight. The number-6 ranked Lady Eagles play at 6:00 p.m. while the boys team, also ranked #6 in the Shore, will play immediately after the girls, at 7:30 p.m.

BASKETBALL TEAMS IN TOP 10, ALUMNI UPDATE

Today, Scott Stump of All-Shore Media released his Shore Conference Basketball rankings, and both the boys and the girls were ranked number 6 in the Shore. The next game for both teams is a double header against cross-town rival Middletown North on Friday night, starting at 5:00 p.m.

ALUMNI UPDATE
Last night, former Eagles basketball player Garret Thiel started his first game of the season for the Ramapo College Roadrunners. He scored 12 points in 29 minutes of action in a 79-72 win over NJCU.

John Healy, who ran cross country and track at Middletown South, competed for Quinnipiac University on Saturday, January 17 at the University of New Hampshire. He ran a personal best of 9:31 in the 3000 meter run. He will run the 1600 meter race at Boston University this Saturday.

Rob Dill competed at the Gotham Cup on Friday, January 16 for The College of New Jersey. Dill ran the 1000 meter run in 2:44.

LESS THAN JAKE: BRODSKY LEADS EAGLES IN UPSET OF PATRIOTS

Middletown South pulled off a big upset of number-four ranked Freehold Township in a convincing 71-42 win.

Jake Brodsky led the Eagles through the Patriots' full-court pressure on his way to a game-high 22 points. Freehold went up 3-0 at the start of the game, but a couple of quick Brodsky three-pointers put the Eagles up for good.

"Jake came up huge for us today. The way he handled the ball for us against the press was pretty impressive," head coach Kevin Cullen said. "He and Kyle working together in the backcourt got us a bunch of wide open layups on fastbreaks."

Matt Callori and Kyle Cancilleiri continued their consistent play on offense, contributing 14 and 13 points, respectively.

The real story of the game, however, was South's defense, which has not been as strong this season as in recent years. The Eagles held Township to just six points in the first quarter and a total of 18 in the first half. The Patriots were only able to make 9 shots from the field all game.

"The key to the game was playing extremely disciplined basketball," Cullen said. "Our
zone was finally up to the level we needed it to be. We let up some open threes, but overall it was a good performance."

The defense has improved over the last couple of games for the Eagles, who averaged under 45 points per game last season.

"We were very pleased with the effort," Cullen said. "We've been improving each game."

The Eagles are going to need another solid effort on both offense and defense when the play Neptune at the Battle of the Boardwalk a 6 p.m. at Asbury Park Convention Hall.

EAGLES SURVIVE MUSTANG SCARE

Middetown South survived a scare from Marlboro with a 66-52 win over the Mustangs. The Eagles held only a two-point lead at halftime, but came out in the second half to open up the score, and got some breathing room.

Matt Callori led South with 22 points, while Kyle Cancillieri scored 16. Rob Callori and Will Low scored 10 points each to help the Eagles to victory, with both players hitting free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

MORENO DECLARES ELIGIBILITY FOR NFL DRAFT

Knowshon Moreno has played his last game for the Georgia Bulldogs, today announcing that he was leaving college early for the NFL Draft. The former Middletown South standout finishes his collegiate career with 2736 yards and 30 rushing touchdowns. He is listed as #18 on the Scouts, Inc. Top 32. If those rankings hold up (which is highly unlikely) that would set Moreno up to go to the Chicago Bears. Holding the #17 pick, much to the delight of local fans, are the New York Jets. However, they already have Thomas Jones and Leon Washington on the roster, but with a new head coach on the way, things can change. The NFL Draft takes place on April 25 and 26 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Moreno will look to prove himself to NFL teams at a University of Georgia Pro Day and possibly the NFL Combine.

SOURCES: MORENO TO NFL

According to ESPN.com, citing "multiple sources with knowledge of the players' decisions," have reported that former Middletown South star Knowshon Moreno will enter the NFL draft, with an announcement coming later today. Check back later for more information.

EAGLES TAKE CARE OF MANALAPAN, CBA LOOMS

Middletown South was able to finally pull away from Manalapan to win 71-51 in a A-North divisional game before heading into CBA on Tuesday. Manalapan was able to fight within 7 points at the end of the half, but the

Matt Callori once again led the Eagles with 22 points, while Kyle Cancilleiri also put up 21, including going nine for twelve from the free-throw line. Will Low and Rob Callori stepped up on the offensive end, with both of them adding 8 points each.

The Eagles will go on the road tomorrow to take on CBA at 4:00 PM.