5/3/2010 - Spartans Gain Top Seed
When the brackets for the first-ever Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Boys Lacrosse Tournament were released last week and I saw that Sparta drew the No. 1 seed, I asked Sparta coach Pat Brennan this journalistic gem.
“How does it feel to be the No. 1 seed?”
Pat kind of just looked at me and replied with a half smile, “It feels great,” all the while he was probably thinking, how else would I feel?
Yes, that is the type of investigative journalism you receive by reading this blog.
All kidding aside, it is great that Sparta (8-1) was awarded the top seed for the tourney because the Spartans definitely deserve it with the way they have been playing of late.
The Spartans are finally playing with their full lineup with the return of outstanding midfielder Paul Gaffney, who gives the Spartans an athletic and very physical presence on both ends of the field.
And receiving the top seed over Hunterdon Central (7-7) also shows the type of respect the Spartans have gained this year. Although, one could make the case that due to the fact there are more lacrosse teams in Sussex than Hunterdon/Warren, the deck was stacked in favor of Sparta, but I don’t think that was the case.
Anyway, last year I wrote a blog begging for some type of county tournament in the area and my wish has come true. The only downside is that Jefferson, which is in Morris County, will not be participating.
The Falcons (6-9), however, did themselves proud on Saturday by knocking off Morris Catholic 17-4 behind a big effort from Steven Bandura for their first-ever Morris County Tournament victory.
No. 13 Jefferson, which is led by its outstanding senior attackman Pat Hodapp and outstanding head coach Scott Reid, will face No. 4 Madison in the next round of the tourney.
The H/W/S gets under way Wednesday and here is a breakdown of the tourney.
(9) Kittatinny at (8) North Hunterdon---Kittatinny is in its first year of varsity play and the Cougars under the outstanding tutelage of Sussex County Hall-of-Famer George Morville are a solid 6-6 and have been very competitive in the Pooley Division.
The Cougars have been paced by Joe Hogh, Cody Tutty, Ryan Morville and goalie Andrew Wilson.
North Hunterdon (2-9) is starting to come together at the right time and the Lions are coming off an impressive win over Voorhees. They look to Nick Bologno, Pierce Hyldan and goalie Karl Chamberlain. This should be a good one, but North’s experience will be the difference.
The winner will face Sparta Friday. The Spartans, whose only loss was in OT to Rizk Division leader Glen Rock, are the real deal with a stout defense paced by John Figarelli, Zach Binder, Zach Reinhauer, Chad Steinitz and keeper Alex McCaffrey.
Zach LoSapio is a constant threat on the attack as is Kyle Enchemedia and Sean Behrendt.
(12) Newton at (5) DelawareValley—Newton is another first-year varsity program and the Braves (4-6) have made great strides this season under coach Brian Bennington.
Tyler Conrads, Zach Little, Kevin and Chris Lyons key the attack, while Luke Liddy, Kiel Diettrick and Parker Pierson are solid on defense.
But the Terriers (5-5) are a very solid group with tough losses to North Warren and Voorhees. Del Val should prove to be too much as Tyler Shedlock and Adam Kendzvlak will lead the way.
(13) High Point at (4) North Warren—High Point is the third rookie program from Sussex County and the Wildcats have come along way this season under coach Marc Russell.
The Wildcats (0-7) are winless, but have improved every game behind Zach Allshouse, Matt DiPiano, Tim Osborn, Nick Francavilla Jon Finocchiaro and keeper Rich Vogel.
North Warren (7-5) is very young and talented, but has been up-and-down this season. The Pats under Hall-of-Famer Spencer Williard have been solid in Klank Division and own some nice wins, including victories over Delaware Valley and Pope John.
Senior Joel Vander Wal is the real deal as is Joey Chayka, while freshmen Trent Simmons and Nolan Robertson are future stars. Keith Messmer keys a very physical defensive unit which should shut down the Wildcats.
(11) Wallkill Valley at (6) Vernon—Wallkill Valley (3-6) is in its second year and the Rangers have been in the middle of the pack in the Pooley Division behind their scoring machine Vinnie Sanfillipo, who tied the state record for goals in a game earlier in the season with 12 against Lakeland in an 18-12 win.
Tyler Wally can also score and if converted goalie Evan Bowlby is on the attack he is a threat. Kaje Cowans is a presence in the midfield and Freddy Bolio keys the Rangers’ physical zone defense.
Vernon (5-7) has battled injuries and inexperience all season, but Vernon coach Harry Shortway will have the Vikings ready for this one as he will be going against his former player, Wallkill coach Nick Speer. Speer played for Shortway at Vernon when Shortway was an assistant to Chuck Tepper.
Joe Kacur, Jackie Jernick and Colin Perdue key the attack, while Tyler Deutch is solid at midfield. Chris Gonzalez and Frank Russi anchor the defense in front of keeper Kyle Katenzenberg. Look for the Vikings to advance and play No. 3 Voorhees (9-4).
Voorhees owns a nice win over North Warren, 10-6, but fell to an undermanned Sparta club 5-3 earlier in the season. The Vikings look to Willie Stanaback and Tim Valkner and their showdown with Vernon should be a dandy with OT written all over it if Vernon is healthy.
(10) Lenape Valley at (7) Pope John—This should be a very interesting matchup depending on what Pope John team shows up to play.
The Lions (4-10), to say the least, have been up-and-down. They own a real nice win over Jefferson, 14-9, and played tough in losses to North Warren, 7-6, and state-power Bergen Catholic, 13-6. PJ has firepower with Zach Johannes, Matt Pepe, Shawn Laverty and Brian McDonald. But PJ has struggled on defense.
And if PJ struggles on the defensive end, Lenape Valley (6-5) will take advantage with the Shannon brothers, Brendan and Kyle, Mike Squillante and Joey McMahon on the attack.
Jim Labell and T.J. Galvin key a very physical defense in front of keeper Chad DiRupo.
I’m going with the upset here as Kevin Earl’s bunch will advance to play No. 2 Hunterdon Central (7-7).
The Red Devils are the No. 2 seed and are a very deceptive .500 team. They won the H/W tourney the last two years and look to Steve Soriano, Max Herman and Jake Anderson.
So who will win it? I’ll be a homer and go with the Spartans in a slugfest over HC in the final May 12 at Hunterdon Central.
The girls tourney also starts this week and here are the seeds: 1. Hunterdon Central (11-2), 2. Vernon (13-0), 3. North Hunterdon (3-10), 4. Pope John (8-4), 5. Delaware Valley (8-3), 6. Voorhees (5-10), 7. Sparta (5-5), 8. Phillipsburg (0-12), 9, North Warren (1-12), 10. Lenape Valley (2-9).
Sparta will host Lenape in the first round and the Spartans behind Christie Taylor, Taryn Rogalsky and Nicole Ham should get by the Pats and their top scorer Alyson Chwatek. Sparta owns a 21-4 win over Lenape this year.
Pope John has a tough draw in Del Val as PJ will look to Tara Fisher, Kelly Ferguson, Kayla Dalzell, Melanie O’Connor, Alexa Ficke, Mackenzie Logan and keeper Rachel Conway to lead the way.
Del Val will count on Tracy Novak, Kristen Vath and Hilleri Kiezer in what should be a good one.
North Warren will look to advance with a win over P-Burg as the Pats are paced by super scorer Kelsey Johnson.
Vernon is having a dream season and the Vikes should get to the final. The high-octane Vikes under Steve Carlson have several players who can score starting with Jess Mills, Leslie Werner, Brittany Ast, Stephanie Peterson and Alyssa Giannini.
Nadia Womble is terrific in goal and midfielders Ashleigh Berge and Brittany Parak are as good as it gets.
If PJ doesn’t upset Hunterdon Central, then look for the Red Devils to play Vernon in the final May12 at HC. The Red Devils won the last two H/W tourneys and are loaded with Rachel Aitkens, Brittany Orashen, the MVP of the 2008 H /W tourney, Gabby Gordon, Anna DeGiovanni and goalie Jacki Kakaleick.
As much as I think of the Vikes and coach Steve Carlson, I believe the Red Devils will prevail. But we will see and it should be a lot of fun finding out.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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