1/2/2013 - 2013 Comes in With A Bang; Pretty in Pink Saturday
Now that all the gifts have been opened, and some returned, and we have rung in the New Year, high school sports fans in Sussex County are still in for a special treat.
Quite possibly, within the span of four days, we will be witness to three of the top sporting events of the winter season and we have not even reached Martin Luther King Day.
That’s right, starting Friday night at 7 p.m. with High Point visiting Kittatinny in their annual wrestling brawl, the Mugs Media area will ring in 2013 with a bang.
On Saturday High Point will play host to the third annual Pretty in Pink Classic at 7 p.m. High Point will host rival Jefferson in an independent NJAC clash.
And it wraps up Tuesday at Sparta High School at 7 p.m. when Pope John and Sparta boys basketball teams play the first of their two American Division clashes.
Wow. I can’t wait.
The High Point-Kittatinny showdown has been for bragging rights in Sussex County for the last 20 years. High Point leads the series 25-11-1 overall since 1976 (Thanks Mike Weilamann!) and has won the last seven meetings, including last year’s surprising 32-12 victory, highlighted by Chris Epperly’s big pin at heavyweight for the Wildcats.
The two most winningest programs in county history should be in for another dogfight in Hampton. High Point (5-1) comes in battle-tested with wins over Warren Hills, Nutley and Timber Creek. Its lone loss was to Shore power Howell on criterion.
The Wildcats will look to Jason Kudbis, Dom Gallo, Jason Gaccione, Chris Auer and Tom Hooker in the lower/middleweights, while Drew Bye, Kyle Stoll, Bob McDonnell and Gunny Wassong round out a very talented heavyweight portion of the lineup.
Kittatinny (5-0) is undefeated and won its holiday tournament. The Cougars have great depth and experience and would love to end HP’s winning streak before a large and vocal home crowd.
Kieran Gerrity, Tom Murphy, Austin Scrviani, Nick Romyns, Jake Brook, Dylan Wunder, Nick West, Garrett Armstrong, and the rest of the Kittatinny lineup have been there before.
Plus, when you get two Hall of Fame coaches going at it in High Point’s John Gardner and Kittatinny’s John Gill, it is worth the price of admission.
The only thing missing will be beloved late Kittatinny assistant Linn Crawn who passed away last year. It certainly will be weird not seeing the larger-than-life Crawn on the sidelines.
I can’t wait for the match and I think we are in for another classic with High Point barely keeping its streak alive for another year.
The Pretty in Pink Classic (see press release below) is one of the most emotional nights of the year and for the last two years it has brought out the best in the Wildcats, who beat Pope John and a very good Kittatinny squad last year.
This year should be another doozy with Jefferson coming to town. The Falcons (3-3) have struggled out of the gate against some very good competition (Randolph, Mendham, and Villa Walsh).
But Jim O’Connor’s crew is the only team from the area to beat the Wildcats at home in a very long time. Jefferson posted a 49-41 win last January which was part of the Falcons’ amazing 26-game winning streak and helped them share the American Division crown with High Point.
The Falcons, now in the Freedom Division, will look to dynamic guard Imani Brown who can do it on both ends of the floor while veteran Kristen Swerzenski is a force down low. Promising freshman Julia Murawinski is coming along nicely, while sharp shooting Renee Lopez and Brandy Corsaro have been key for the Falcons.
High Point (4-1) is off to another good start for Chris Dexter with its lone loss coming to Ramapo at the Indian Hills Tournament.
Darby Smith leads the charge at point guard, while Kirsty Gartner is a lights-out shooter. April Peterson, Erin Woop, Karin Destillo and Maddie Smith are all very talented.
Going to go with the home team here in what is always a great night of hoops.
And speaking about a great night of hoops, what about the PJ-Sparta clash? The two clubs are by far the best teams in the area and the winner will get early bragging rights.
PJ (2-2) is ranked in The Star Ledger Top 20 and has losses to Germantown and state-ranked Roselle Catholic.
Jason Hasson’s club is very talented, but the Lions have played the first part of the season without stud 6-9 senior Jermaine Lawrence, who is injured. But fellow big man Moustapha Diagne, a 6-8 transfer from the Senegal, has been terrific.
Noah Brown and outstanding freshman Bryce Aiken are terrific backcourt while Ryan Izzo, and the Zignorski’s, Matt and Steve, have boosted the Lions.
Sparta is off to a tremendous start at 6-0 after defeating Delbarton 60-55 to win the J.P. Flynn Holiday Tournament, one of the top holiday tourneys in North Jersey.
Senior guard Zack Frick has been almost unstoppable, while Jake Melville has taken his game to a new level. Mitch Cohen has worked extremely hard to become one of the top big men in the area, while Kevin Foulds, Matt Chemis and Austin Unglaub have been key contributors to Brian Brennan’s club.
This game will be SRO at Sparta, and once again, I will go with the home team in a great one. I can’t wait to see Aiken and Frick do battle and Cohen match up with Diagne.
So the holiday season maybe over, but the gifts keep on coming. So get out there and enjoy these incredible matchups as the Winter of 2013 looks like it will be a good one.
That’s it for now see you on the sidelines.
WANTAGE — High Point Regional High School will play host for the 3rd Annual Pretty in Pink Classic on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. Home team High Point will face off against Jefferson Township High School in an independent contest that will feature both teams dressed in pink and white uniforms.
Last year's version of the breast cancer charity game raised over $10,000 for the Susan G. Komen and Cecelia's Angel Funds and was played in front of a standing room only crowd in the High Point gym.
The game was the idea of High Point graduate Taylor Smith who saw Rutgers and Tennessee play a pink game and thought it would be great to bring a similar game to Sussex County.
"This year's game will add a new twist with the High Point gym set up for a Pink Out," said senior guard Darby Smith. "Everyone that enters the facility will be given a pink t-shirt to wear in support of the event."
High Point's Coach Chris Dexter said his girls are really looking forward to the event. "Last year the Pretty in Pink game was very special for a few reasons," said Dexter. "One, we were able to raise money for two worthy causes. Second, we were able to honor cancer survivors during our halftime celebration and last we gave players on both teams an opportunity to play in front of full gymnasium."
As part of the night's festivities, someone from the crowd will get a chance to take a "Shot for the Cure" sponsored by Newton Toyota, with a chance to win a brand new car and a large donation to the breast cancer charities.
The fifth through eighth-grade travel basketball teams from both Jefferson and High Point will be on hand and dressed in pink to welcome the teams onto the floor at the start of the game and to help out with the halftime tribute to cancer survivors.
All of the money raised from ticket sales, sponsors for the game's program, t-shirt sales, 50/50 raffle and the Shot for the Cure will go directly to the Susan G. Komen and Cecelia's Angel Funds.
For more information on the game and to get tickets, contact the athletic departments at High Point or Jefferson Township High Schools.
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