11/28/2007 - Handing Out the Golden Statues
Well, the Fall sports season is over in Sussex County, so that can mean only one thing: That’s right, the first annual (and most likely the last) Mugs Media Awards presented by me.
These awards are not sanctioned by Mugs Media, but Jerry, Paul and the gang have been kind enough to give me a venue, so here it is. Now, the film industry has the Oscar, Broadway honors its best with the Tony and the crème de la crème in television are feted at the Emmy Awards. For our purposes, we will call our local basic cable award “The Jerry”, in honor of Jerry Morelli.
Here they are. Please to enjoy.
GAME OF THE YEAR--Kittatinny’s wild 25-23 win over Pope John in Week 2 of the Sussex County Interscholastic League football season served as a springboard to the greatest season in Cougars’ history. Kittatinny rolled up to a 22-0 lead at the half, and then held off a furious PJ rally in the fourth quarter for only its second win ever over the Lions.
The game memorably ended with PJ driving for the winning score before being stopped on fourth down inside the Kittatinny 5-yard line with less than two minutes left. PJ coach Vic Paternostro opted to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking a field goal, saying he didn’t like the angle his kicker had from the right hash mark.
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR--There were a couple of wild ones this season, but Lenape Valley’s improbable 16-13 win over Vernon ranks at the top for me. The Pats trailed 13-0 in the fourth quarter and were getting pushed all over the field as the Vikings looked to christen their renovated stadium with a big win that would help them make the state tournament.
But the Pats spoiled the party as Carl DeVenio hit tight end John Fugger for 45-yard score with 1:49 left to cap a wild rally. The pass went right through a Viking defender’s hands and bounced right to Fugger for the score. Vernon wasn’t done, however, and the Vikings drove down deep into Pats territory before Trevor Stempert’s interception at the Lenape Valley 1-yard line sealed the win for the Pats with 25 seconds left in the game.
PLAY OF THE YEAR-—This play comes courtesy of the Sparta boys’ soccer team. Freshman Nick DiSomma converted a corner kick from Anthony Ciccone with just three seconds left in regulation to help Sparta forge a 3-3 tie with a red-hot Pope John squad late in the season.
The tie helped Sparta remain unbeaten in SCIL play and eventually led the Spartans to their unprecedented sixth straight SCIL title. The tie didn’t slow down the Lions, either, as the next award can attest.
SHOCKER OF THE YEAR-—Pope John, which was playing the best soccer of any team in the SCIL at the end of the season, shocked the state and the nation when it traveled down to Martinsville and bumped off nationally-ranked Pingry 1-0 in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of the North Non-Public A state tournament. Goalie John Steyh was magnificent as he fought off the Pingry barrage for 100 minutes. The win was the biggest in program history.
SCARIEST MOMENT OF THE YEAR-—There was a lump in everyone’s throat when John Chichin of Sparta and Mike Delaney of Pope John were motionless on the field after a violent collision with seven seconds left in PJ’s 14-3 win over its crosstown rivals on an unusually warm early autumn afternoon at Richard Cassels Memorial Field at Sparta High School.
PJ was running out the clock on a meaningless fourth down play when the two warriors collided. Delaney got up after a while, but Chichin was taken off the field by an ambulance and sent to the hospital for observation where it was revealed he suffered some neck and back injuries. Thankfully, he returned to action a couple of games later.
CINDERELLA AWARD-—After missing “The Big Dance” for the last 24 years, Jefferson’s field hockey team (9-11) slipped on the glass slipper and crashed the party by earning its first state tournament bid since 1983. Although the Falcons bowed 4-1 to SCIL champion Newton in the opening round, it was still a great accomplishment for coach Danielle Ryan, and top players, Pauline Ferguson and Taylor Trautmann.
COMING OF AGE AWARD-—Sparta’s field hockey team continued to make steady improvement under coach Kiara Nickl and the Spartans proved it in their stunning 2-1 win over a very solid Lenape Valley squad. Sparta finished the season 5-13, but the Spartans were competitive in every game and showed tremendous improvement.
BRIGHT FUTURE AWARD--Newton’s girls soccer team was the most unpredictable squad in the SCIL and finished 7-11, despite playing extremely well against SCIL titans Pope John, High Point and Sparta. And the reason for the up-and-down season? Veteran coach Jake Mull played seven freshmen and started five of the rookies. After taking some lumps, the Braves will be a force to reckon with in the near future.
HEARTBREAK KIDS AWARD-—Vernon’s football team finished a very solid 7-3 under coach Chuck Tepper, but still didn’t make the state tournament due to the power-point system. But I’m sure Tepper and his staff, which has really no margin for error when it comes to gaining a state tourney bid, are banging their heads against the wall when it comes to two of its losses. The Vikings lost a heartbreaker to Lenape as we mentioned, but also suffered d a 20-19 loss to Jefferson at Skylands Park on a last-minute 43-yard scoring strike to Travis Smith. The Vikes, to their credit, did post a great rally of their own when they stunned Pope John 34-19 after trailing 19-7 at the half.
TOUGH BREAKS AWARD—-The following all suffered injuries which curtailed their seasons in some fashion. Kelly Churchill of Newton field hockey, Tyler Conrads of Newton boys soccer, Meghan Hayes of Kittatinny girls soccer, Mustafa Adiguzelli of Kittatinny girls soccer, Casey Quinn of Vernon girls soccer, Kyle Walburn of Vernon boys soccer, Emily Carollo of Pope John girls soccer and Ashley Napovier of Wallkill Valley girls soccer.
BEST CONCESSION STAND AWARD-—According to trusty Mugs Media cameraman Lance Van Ness, Hopatcong and Lenape Valley serve the best grub, especially their hot dishes on those cold Friday nights.
GISELE BUNDCHEN WITH A BLACK EYE AWARD-—This is a tie between the new multi-purpose field at River Dell High School and the boys soccer pitch at Delbarton.
River Dell has a beautiful turf field with lights and a nice track. But the stands are too low and there isn’t a press box. Seems odd to have a nice facility, but skimp on the stands. As for Delbarton, it costs big bucks to go there, but the field Pope John played on when it faced Delbarton in the states was almost embarrassing. It was uneven, to say the least, and not very well-kept. Maybe it’s the Green Wave’s homefield advantage, but Delbarton is so good, the Green Wave doesn’t need any help.
Hope you enjoyed “The Jerrys” and if you noticed, no one was played off the stage due to long acceptance speeches.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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