After a long summer's nap, The Messenger is back on the scene, ready for the 2010-11 season of varsity bowling in New Jersey. Today, he is at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park for the 9th annual FDU Holiday Team Challenge.
Since TM can't always get down to Central Jersey for season-opening tournaments (Bishop Ahr, et al), this constitutes his first major tournament of the year: 36 teams (25 boys, 11 girls), 6-game qualifying (3 traditional games, 3 Baker games), playoff round to follow (top 8 boys teams advance, top 6 on the girls' side). It's a long day -- and apparently necessitates the use of many parentheses -- but always fun, and it's good to get an early look at some of the local and not-so-local teams.
There's a lot going on, so to make this easy, we'll provide a live blog with game-by-game updates. Enjoy...
STANDINGS AFTER GAME 1:
BOYS: 1. Pascack Valley 985; 2. Howell 972; 3. Bergen Catholic 950; 4. Pascack Hills 925; T-5. Clifton and Ridgewood 918.
GIRLS: 1. Immaculate Heart 948; 2. Howell 853; 3. Ridgewood 768; 4. Holy Angels 760; 5. Fair Lawn 726.
HIGH GAMES SO FAR: (Boys) Rich Gutches, Passaic Tech, 268; (Girls) Sonja Shirak, Clifton, 255.
STANDINGS AFTER GAME 2:
BOYS: 1. Howell 2,066; 2. Pascack Valley 1,990; 3. Wallkill Valley 1,860; 4. Ramapo 1,850; 5. Bergen Catholic 1,843; 6. Pascack Hills 1,835.
GIRLS: 1. IHA 1,797; 2. Howell 1,757; 3. Ridgewood 1,600; 4. Holy Angels 1,576; 5. Bergen Tech 1,455; 6. Clifton 1,361.
NEW HIGH GAME: (Boys) Brian O'Flaherty, Pascack Valley, 279.
STANDINGS AFTER GAME 3:
Change of plans! The final results are in, so we'll just get right to 'em:
BOYS PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS (Seed/team):
1. Pascack Valley 3,748
2. Howell 3,651
3. Bergen Catholic 3,431
4. Clifton 3,357
5. Pascack Hills 3,339
6. Ramapo 3,305
7. Bergenfield 3,289
8. Wallkill Valley 3,280
So the first-round tournament match-ups are: (1) Pascack Valley vs. (8) Wallkill Valley... (2) Howell vs. (7) Bergenfield... (3) Bergen Catholic vs. (6) Ramapo... (4) Clifton vs. (5) Pascack Hills.
GIRLS PLAYOFF QUALIFIERS:
1. IHA 3,121
2. Howell 3,107
3. Ridgewood 2,866
4. Holy Angels 2,796
5. Bergen Tech 2,749
6. Hackensack 2,519
First-round match-ups: (3) Ridgewood vs. (6) Hackensack... (4) Holy Angels vs. (5) Bergen Tech -- it's like an old-time NNJIL showdown, it is -- byes for (1) IHA and (2) Howell.
BOYS ALL-STAR TEAM (Top 5 scores of qualifying round):
Rich Gutches (Passaic Tech), 779 *New tournament record!
Brian O'Flaherty (Pascack Valley), 772
Joey Farinelli (Pascack Valley), 747
Frank Vitarelle (Howell), 729
Brian DiMarco (Bergenfield), 722
GIRLS ALL-STAR TEAM:
Sonja Shirak (Clifton), 714
Colleen Blake (IHA), 645
Nicole Linder (IHA), 595
Colette Malyack (DePaul), 591
Chasitie Ammacher (Wallkill Valley), 589
POINT OF ORDER: A couple of asides while we're on lunch break... first, despite the fact that The Messenger has been covering H.S. bowling in these parts for a decade, he always forgets about the incoming freshmen (bowlers as well as fans). So, for the benefit of those, two things:
(A) Why does The Official Reporter of the NJBB go by the handle "The Messenger"? Well, a messenger pin is one that caroms off the sidewall, goes all the way back across the lane and knocks out a pin that otherwise wouldn't have gone down. For our purposes, TM is here to do just that: provide wall-to-wall coverage of his favorite sport (rimshot? anyone?... please?)
(B) Since we're about to bowl Baker games for the tournament round, here is a brief refresher for the freshmen (a re-frosh-er, perhaps?) as to how they work: the 5 bowlers in a team's lineup will combine to bowl a single game. The example given in today's program: if the lineup goes 1. Lauren Leadoff, 2. Sarah Second, 3. Theresa Third, 4. Felicia Fourth and 5. Annie Anchor, then Lauren will bowl frames 1 & 6, Sarah gets 2 & 7, Theresa gets 3 & 8, Felicia 4 & 9, Annie 5 & 10. The anchor is typically the team's best bowler and/or is a Grace Under Pressure type. (P.S. This tournament is run by the FDU women's team, hence the female names. Personally, I'd have named the anchor Grace... on the other hand, if you've ever seen Anne of Green Gables [don't ask], you know that Annie can be one tough cookie, so I guess it works.
END POINT OF ORDER.
QUARTERFINAL RESULTS (From here on out, we play best 2-of-3 Baker game series)
BOYS:
(8) Wallkill Valley def. (1) Clifton, 2-0
(4) Clifton def. (5) Pascack Hills, 2-1
(3) Bergen Catholic def. (6) Ramapo, 2-1
(2) Howell def. (7) Bergenfield, 2-0
GIRLS:
(5) Bergen Tech def. (4) Holy Angels, 2-1
(3) Ridgewood def. (6) Hackensack, 2-0
SEMIFINAL RESULTS
BOYS:
(8) Wallkill Valley def. (4) Clifton, 2-1
(2) Howell def. (3) Bergen Catholic, 2-1
Once again, the boys championship trophy will have a long ride home from Parkway Lanes... Howell is back in the finals as defending champ.
GIRLS:
(1) IHA def. (5) Bergen Tech, 2-0
(2) Howell def. (3) Ridgewood, 2-1
The Maroons gave Howell a run for its money, but we will have a straight rematch of the 2009 finals in the girls bracket.
THE FINALS...
***BOYS CHAMPION: WALLKILL VALLEY***
The 8th-seeded Rangers end up winning the tournament, defeating No. 2 Howell in the finals, 2-1 (166-156, 143-188, 192-180). The WV lineup: freshman Chasitie Ammacher, senior Ed Davenport, senior Jacob Boone, senior Matt Coombs and junior Larry Tufaro. Late in the decisive game, Boone and Coombs struck back-to-back before Tufaro added two more (hambone!) to seal the victory.
***GIRLS CHAMPION: HOWELL***
If you think this sounds like a broken record, not so... in last year's finals, Howell was the No. 1 seed and IHA was the No. 2. This time, seeds reversed, but outcome the same, the Rebels beat the Blue Eagles, 2-1 (124-165, 172-157, 170-154). That's right in both the semifinals and finals, Howell lost the first game and came back to win the series, securing its 4th straight title. Nugget of note: The Rebels have beaten IHA in the finals 3 of the 4 times, their other title came against Holy Angels in 2008. The Howell lineup: senior Ashley Buck, sophomore Jamie Kelly, junior Kendall Patterson, senior Allison Savoye and junior Shanna Kelly.
And now, because he's been here for 6-1/2 hours and Parkway's WiFi is starting to go on the fritz, The Messenger will sign off. We'll try to post additional scores and such when (and if) TM gets to check his e-mail again. Congrats to the champs, and as always:
See you on the other side...
-TM
In honor of Fairleigh Dickinson becoming the first team to capture the NCAA women's bowling championship in its home state, the NJBB is unveiling a first of its own: picture time! Photo credit goes to Ben Solomon, with special thanks to Sara Naggar, FDU's Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications, for forwarding it along. The Messenger has several others to thanks, as well as a notebook to clear out, so let's get to it...
Such was the chant that went up all night Saturday for the Fairleigh Dickinson University women's bowling team at the NCAA finals in North Brunswick. The Knights knocked off defending National Champ Nebraska, 4 games to 3, in what some openly referred to as the best title match in the 7-year history of the event. Only one other tournament final went the full seven (Vanderbilt over Maryland-Eastern Shore in 2007), and NJBB didn't exist back then, so The Messenger his ownself has no basis for comparison. But there were so many intriguing story lines in this one — well, for us Jersey folk, anyway — that the best way for TM to break it all down is in his tried-and-true stream of consciousness method (hey, that's what blogs are for).
If you love New Jersey and bowling half as much as The Messenger, then Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick is the place to be tonight at 8:30 for the No. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights against the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the NCAA women's bowling finals. If you can't watch it on ESPNU, fear not; the NJBB tweeting-bird will deliver.
I did get to see the FDU/New Jersey City semifinal last night. FDU rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the best-of-7 Baker series, 4-2. Got a bunch of good stuff from the post-match press conference — will have more time to post those goodies tomorrow, but here are a couple of tidbits to tide you over, as well as a bit of clarification on some points I made yesterday...
Are spring and summer over already? Something woke up The Messenger from his offseason slumber -- a subtle sense that bowling season wasn't yet over. Well, guess what? It's not.
Sure, the high school stuff has all been tied up in a neat little package, sheets of notes and scores filed away in the Official Archives of the NJBB. But hark; the culmination of college bowling season has arrived, and this year, it's right here in our home state!
It's that time once again: comes now the final installment of the N.J. Bowling Blog for the 2009-10 season. You know, for a one-horse outfit in just its second year of operation — even with all the changing alter egos, soft deadlines, crazy hours, negative income factored in — The Messenger had a right good time bringing you a small slice of the small slice of New Jersey sports known as high school bowling. But there will be plenty of time for reminiscing once we get to the sign-off... first, we have one final matter of business to address.
If you're looking for the definition of irony, we have it here on the NJBB. As per The Messenger's postseason preview entry a couple of weeks ago, yesterday (3/24) was supposed to be the grand launch of our first-ever "Grid Of Champions," and today (3/25) was supposed to be an "off day" of sorts – reason being that TM works on a weekly newspaper deadline of Thursday mornings and has almost no time for extracurricular activities on those days.
Well, this week, TM had to get everything done ahead of time on Wednesday and now has a nice, easy go of things on Thursday. Go figure.
The NJBB is still planning to run its varsity season farewell tomorrow, although with all of the school-budget turmoil going on in the Garden State, TM has heard rumblings that various high schools may be forced to drop their bowling programs... a sad circumstance, indeed, so if any news on such occurrences comes down in the offseason, the NJBB will be sure to update.
Today, though, is a time for happier thoughts and reflections upon the season past. The Messenger already has written up recaps on many of the leagues in North Jersey, and of course the boys team, girls team and individual State finals. For those to whom he was unable to give a salutatory tip of the cap, comes now the inaugural list of all the league and county winners the NJBB could find.
Since the NJBB kind of got on a cross-promoting kick yesterday — and, since today’s “What-if” all-star edition has newspaper ties — The Messenger would like to issue some public service reminders... yesterday (3/22), The Record came out with its postseason bowling feature, and if you weren’t able to pick up a copy in print, here are some linkables (these include video features that did not appear in the newspaper, for obvious reasons):
Boys Bowler of the Year: Priore a natural bowler
Girls Bowler of the Year: Linder focused on fun
You can also visit the northjersey.com boys bowling and girls bowling home pages for All-County teams, Coaches of the Year and Teams of the Year. In addition, the Star-Ledger is running its postseason goodies in today's paper (3/23) — which, if you are unable to obtain, has its own online equivalent at nj.com:
BOWLING: SEASON HONORS, 2009-10
Now, as for TM's alter ego... he is a mild-mannered reporter for The Ridgewood News (and that's as far as the allusions to Superman will go), a weekly paper that does not have its own bowling all-star team. So, if we may take the liberty, the NJBB proposes to take a look at what the RN All-Suburban bowling teams might look like, if TM was asked to write them.
As our pal Jon Fass from WGHT Radio told The Messenger earlier today, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that Sports Overtime will proceed with the unveiling of its Winter 2009-10 All-Area teams as scheduled this week (2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday on 1500 AM or ghtradio.com), starting today with wrestling.
The bad news? That's somewhat relative... everyone at the station is okay, as is the station building itself, but all of the GHT Sports archives — old Game of the Week tapes, the Sports OT episode archive, historical binders, brackets, etc. — were completely destroyed by the flood that NONE of our genius meteorologists saw coming two weekends ago. TM does have some copies of old tapes lying around and will try to see how far back they go (particularly in terms of the bowling stuff), but he did not get a copy of this year's "bowling extravaganza" show from Feb. 23. If anyone did get a copy of it, please notify the NJBB at NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com ASAP... we can't recover all of the lost info, but certainly want to do our part to help the GHT guys with what we can.
So, to lift spirits (and take our minds off the 1-2 additional inches of rain they say is going to fall today), we will continue a tradition that started last year. Again, we use the quotes because it's not really official, BUT... if TM could take the liberty, he proposes to take a look at what the GHT All-Area bowling teams might look like, if they had them.
A reminder: Unlike most All-Star selection committees, the Sports Overtime fellows do things a bit differently, in that they pick an actual team of starters and reserves — who they would pick if they fielded a real team — plus year-end awards. P.S. that “Area” in All-Area is Passaic, western Bergen (Mahwah, Indian Hills, Ramapo, Northern Highlands, Midland Park, Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Fair Lawn and Saddle Brook) and northeast Morris (Kinnelon, Butler, Pequannock, Montville) counties.
Without further ado:
*****************************************2009-10 WGHT All-Area Boys Bowling Team
STARTERS (in alphabetical order)
Rob Andresen, Ramapo (Sr.)* – 213 average; led Ramapo to its first-ever NBIL Division 1 championship, rolled 23 games of 200+ in league play. Tied for fifth at Bergen County tournament with 1,314 series (featuring a high game of 247) to help the Green Raiders finish fifth in Groups 3-4 and eighth overall.
Chris Auld, Fair Lawn (Sr.) – 215 average; carried highest average in NJTCC-Bergen division, having shot the league’s second-highest series (739) and a high game of 277. Tied for fifth a Counties (1,314), where his high game was 256, and helped the Cutters finish second in the league and third in Group 4 at North 1A sectionals.
Greg Corradi, DePaul (Sr.) – 212 average; had second-highest average and highest number (36) of 200+ games in NJTCC-Passaic division, tossing a league-high 803 series and leading the Spartans to a second-place finish (and a league-best total pinfall of over 47,000 in 60 games). Finished runner-up at North 1B sectionals with a 247–712 (2 out of first) and qualified for State singles finals, where he shot a 256–1,332 to place 10th overall.
Jaylin Floyd, Manchester (Sr.)* – 213 average; led the B-PSL in average (210), total wood (6,746) and high series (516; the only league bowler to top 500), boosting a young Falcon squad to second place in the King Division. The four-year starter also placed fifth at the Passaic County tournament with a 253–657 and was named first-team All-Passaic for the second straight year.
Tim Scott, West Milford (Jr.)* – 222 average; one of three members of the ‘300 Club’ on the GHT All-Area team, he amassed the highest average in the NJTCC-Passaic, recording 34 games of 200+ and five series of 700+ (including a high of 782). His 235–651 at the Passaic County tournament gave him sixth individually, and he helped the Highlanders place fifth as a team.
SUBS
Corey Burtwell, Passaic Tech (Sr.) – 202.9 average; caught fire at the Passaic County tournament, shooting 232-275-234–741 to win the individual title and help the Bulldogs secure the team championship by over 300 pins. Had 31 games of 200+ in NJTCC-Passaic play, notching a high series of 648 as PCT tied Clifton for third in the league.
Matt Guarino, Passaic Valley (Sr.)* – 204 average; led the Hornets in average and 200+ games (25 in league play), rolling a high game of 277 and a high series of 744. His 276–694 at Counties gave him the second-high game and third-high series in the tournament, where PV finished in third place, just 8 pins behind runner-up Lakeland.
Rich Gutches, Passaic Tech (Jr.)* – 207 average; had the Bulldogs’ high average, posting a high game of 289, a high series of 730 and a total of 33 games of 200+ in NJTCC-Passaic action. Added a 237–647 at Counties, good for seventh individually, as PCT won the team championship.
Ryan Kattine, Wayne Hills (So.) – 204 average; with two years still ahead of him, he will have the chance to lead Hills to other league titles, since their NJTCC-Passaic championship was a one-shot deal. Placed eighth at both the Passaic County (215 – 616) and North 1B sectional (665) tournaments.
Kevin Macchia, Ramapo (So.) – 206 average; picked the perfect time to fire his first perfect game, which was part of a 300-237-193-214-192-237–1,373 at the State individual finals. That helped him finish fifth overall, augmenting a list of accomplishments that included seventh at sectionals (237–674) and aiding in the Green Raiders’ first league title.
Dominic Pascucci, Wayne Valley (Sr.) – 202 average; in NJTCC-Passaic action, he produced a high game of 280, high series of 721 and 30 games of 200+. After a so-so County tournament, he rallied the Indians to a second-place score of 2,815 at North 1B sectionals, giving the team its first trip to Carolier Lanes in over a decade.
Jason Scott, Pompton Lakes (Sr.) – 203 average; led the Cardinals to their fourth consecutive B-PSL Carpenter Division title, while fashioning the second-highest average (206), second-highest series (487) and high game (277) in league play.
Zach Zuravner, Lakeland (Jr.) – 200 average; led off the County tournament with a 300 game and ended up second individually with a 701 series. His efforts helped the Lancers finish second in the team standings. In the NJTCC-Passaic, he had Lakeland’s high average and high game (266) and rolled 29 games of 200+.
*Indicates repeat selection from 2009
BOWLER OF THE YEAR: Greg Corradi, DePaul — This was a much tougher call than last year. Others had higher averages, others won more titles, but in The Messenger’s eyes, Corradi was the most consistent all the way through the season from start to finish.
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Passaic County Tech — The only local squad to capture a County or State sectional title, the Bulldogs won big enough at the Passaic Tournament (2,944 to Lakeland’s 2,696) to get the nod.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Michels, Indian Hills — Braves’ senior Bob Klein (197 average) and his classmates deserve a mention to this end as well… Michels rallied his troops from the loss of their anchor bowler late in the season and guided them to a second-place finish at North 1A sectionals and their second trip to the State team finals in three years.
*****************************************2009-10 WGHT All-Area Girls Bowling Team
STARTERS (in alphabetical order)
Alex Hubelbank, Northern Highlands (Sr.) – 168 average; finished fourth at Bergen County tournament (235–581), earning medal for second-high game. She added a 197–519 at the North Jersey sectional tournament, helping the Highlanders finish sixth in Group 3, and she led them in league play with a high game of 222 and high two-game series of 414.
Colette Malyack, DePaul (So.)* – 200 average; the Passaic County champ (241–680) continued to impress this winter, earning two trips to Carolier Lanes by finishing ninth individually at sectionals (224–614) to propel the Spartans to the North Group 2 title in their first year of existence. Had the second-highest average in the NJTCC-Passaic, with a 267 high game and 715 high series.
Emily Ostapczuk, Indian Hills (So.) – 174 average; led all NBIL girls in average, led the Braves with six games of 200+. Added a high game of 222 and high series of 399 in league action and finished in the Top 25 at the Bergen County Tournament (171–482), then shot a 209–558 at North Jersey sectionals, coming within 4 pins of advancing to the State singles finals.
Bridget Pyryt, Indian Hills (So.)* – 169 average; placed third individually (243–584) at Bergen County tournament, winning medal for high game, as the Braves pushed defending champ IHA to the brink in the Baker semifinals before falling. She tossed a 201–463 at sectionals and finished NBIL play with a high game of 223 and high series of 422.
Sonja Shirak, Clifton (Jr.)* – 209 average; for the second straight year, she was the top finisher from the GHT listening area at the State individual finals, rolling a six-game 1,194 to take 13th, one spot better than last year. She was second at Counties (204–548) and North Jersey sectionals (255–695), tops in the NJTCC-Passaic in average and games of 200+ (35) and helped the Mustangs topple IHA for the North Group 4 title.
SUBS
Rebecca Dykstra, DePaul (Jr.) – 160 average; finished sixth at Passaic tournament (170–495) while helping the Spartans to the team championship. Her personal bests in NJTCC-Passaic play were a 236 game and 548 series. She shot a 221–565 at sectionals, aiding in the team’s North Group 2 title and placing 15th individually, earning a pair of trips to Carolier Lanes.
Rachel Kammen, Ramapo (Sr.) – 152 average; a big reason why Ramapo tied Holy Angels for second in the NBIL Division 1, she registered a high game of 214 and high series of 386 in the league. Added a 178–456 at the Bergen County tournament, where the Green Raiders finished seventh, and closed with a 172 – 465 at sectionals, where the team was fifth in Group 3.
Nicolette Maggiolo, Ridgewood (Jr.) – 153 average; the Maroons’ anchor helped facilitate somewhat of a “rebuilding” for a team that lost its top two scorers from the previous season. She had a team-leading 616 series in NJTCC-Bergen play, throwing a high game of 214, and she rebounded from a tough County outing to shoot a team-best 209–535 at sectionals.
Rebecca Nemeh, DePaul (Sr.) – 156 average; rolled a fourth-place series of 499 at Passaic tournament, finishing six pins behind younger sister Isabelle and giving the County champion Spartans four individuals in the top six. She had a 203 high game and 538 high series in the NJTCC-Passaic and an 18th-place 218–562 at sectionals, qualifying for the State singles finals.
Michele Sadkin, Passaic Valley (So.) – 169 average; anchored the Hornets to third in Passaic County, taking fifth individually (184–498). She had the third-highest average in the NJTCC-Passaic, notching a 278 high game and 609 high series to help PV finish third. Missed the State singles finals by 1 pin, scoring a 561 at sectionals, but should get two more cracks at Carolier.
Amelia Silvestro, Lakeland (Jr.)* – 160 average; went from bowling with the boys to anchoring a team with two brand-new bowlers and handled it with aplomb. She led the Lancers to third place in the NJTCC-Passaic, where she posted a 221 high game and 552 high series, and fourth in the North Group 2 tournament, where she shot a team-best 203–535.
Adriana Stapelman, Fair Lawn (Sr.) – 162 average; rolled a 188–482 at the FDU Holiday Challenge, helping the Cutters to the semifinals, then finished 16th at the North Jersey Singles Classic with a 493. She was 23rd at Counties with a 177–487, and in the NJTCC-Bergen, she helped the Cutters place fourth, recording a 223 high game and 562 high series.
*Indicates repeat selection from 2009
BOWLER OF THE YEAR: Sonja Shirak, Clifton — A repeat selection in this category, here are a few additional highlights: an FDU Holiday Team Challenge All-Star (220–556), eighth at the North Jersey Singles Classic (210–568), had second-high game at sectionals (255) and had both high game (269) and series (731) in NJTCC-Passaic.
TEAM OF THE YEAR: DePaul — The Spartans won the “Triple Crown”: league, County and State sectional titles, all in the same year (and, point of order, all in their first year of varsity existence!)…
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jerry Fazzio, DePaul — …and this was the man at the helm for the Spartans’ debut campaign. In addition to the trio of titles, he guided them to a fourth-place finish in Group 2 at the State team finals, while three of DePaul’s five starters earned spots in the State individual finals.
*****************************************
There you have it. Any thoughts, complaints, compliments, comments and general feedback an be sent to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com. Please remember that the above views and opinions are those of the N.J. Bowling Blog and do not necessarily reflect those of any WGHT employee besides the humorously-named "Gutterball Greg."
Tomorrow: What might The Ridgewood News All-Suburban bowling teams look like?
Top O' The Blog to you! That's about as Irish as The Messenger gets, since his ancestors hail from other parts of Europe. Happy St. Patrick's Day nonetheless — hope you enjoy the yarn we're about to spin as you enjoy your corned beef & cabbage, bangers & mashed, soda bread or (at the rate we're going) the leftovers thereof.
In a recent post, the NJBB alluded to the magical season had by Ramapo; not only that the Green Raider boys had won their first-ever NBIL Division 1 championship (the girls got one in 1997), but also the tale of sophomore Kevin Macchia's 300 game and fifth place finish in the State individual finals. (This is the last time we're going to link said story, and we do so for those who are as forgetful as The Messenger can be). Both Macchia and head coach Pat Noto gave me a ton of great stuff when I interviewed them for the story — so to kick off our NBIL recap, I'm simply going to let the Green Raiders give you their story in their own words:
“[At] the beginning of the season, we thought we had a pretty good team. And we started off a little slow – we were in fourth place by the time the Christmas break happened. Then, right before the Christmas break, Ramapo had a pep rally, and everybody goes into the gym… it just so happened that the bowling team sat under the bowling banner. And, I looked up at the banner, and it was the only banner in the gym that did not have a championship on it…
“So the kids went on the break, and then when they came back, this was their mantra: they wanted to win a league championship; nothing else mattered to them. And, actually, from the time we came back from break [on Jan. 4], we only lost one match for the rest of the season.
“The other thing that goes along with this is the fact that everybody on the team participated. Even though Rob Andresen, who’s the captain – and he’s been the best bowler on the team for the last four years – even though he’s the leader, if he had a bad game, Kevin Macchia came through, or even [one of the more inexperienced] bowlers on our team came through…
“It came down to our last two matches. [Against Northern Highlands on Feb. 8], Nick Fasolo was actually the one who saved us. We couldn’t afford to lose any points in this one, and he ended up bowling a 225 and a 185… he’s got a 165 average. And he sort of carried the first game for us, then the kids came through in the second game, and we ended up taking all 5 [points].
“Then, in our last match against Old Tappan [on Feb. 9], it was Paul Singman who came through and bowled a 225, and we won the first game. And that’s all we needed at that point, just to win one game to win the title…
“So then, Kevin got the opportunity to go down to the States for our team. And there we are – all the boys from our team are there, they’re all watching him bowl, and he bowls a 300 in the first game. It was just incredible… and again, that was just like the perfect end to the whole season.”
—Ramapo head coach Pat Noto, as told on 2/24/10
Macchia had plenty to add when TM spoke with him later that day. The stuff that didn't make the paper:
“I was a little nervous at first, because I was going to go practice [at Carolier Lanes] the day before [the State finals on Feb. 17], but I couldn’t because it snowed. So I went into the day not knowing how the lanes would be, because I’d never bowled there before…
“I just kept throwing the ball, not really thinking about what was happening – and then, as it got later in the game, I’m like, ‘Oh geez, I have the first 8 or 9, this could be a 300,’ which would be my first one ever. And our senior captain [Andresen], who came to watch me – [and] who didn’t qualify, which I was very bummed about – he literally grabbed me by my collar and was like, ‘You need to stay focused. This is a normal 10th frame, don’t worry about what happened before, just go up there and throw like you normally do.
“So, I thought, ‘I need to do this, because it’s just a good experience, and it would be a very nice story to tell to my kids.’
“[On the first ball of the 10th frame], I hit the pocket a little light, and the 4 pin knocked over the 9 pin, but it happened so slowly that I didn’t know what was going to happen… the 4 actually fell over toward the 7 and then sort of rolled slowly into the 9, and it just tipped over. I heard all the parents in the background yelling, ‘Get down! Get down!’ And then as soon as it went down, it was just like an uproar…
“It didn’t even feel real after it happened. I literally walked back and sat down at the table with a group of my friends and teammates. And they’re like, ‘Dude, you just bowled a 300!’ I said, ‘I know, but it doesn’t feel like I did, it feels like this is all a dream. It was crazy.”
—Ramapo sophomore Kevin Macchia, as told on 2/24/10
As I said, the words pretty much speak for themselves. So on we go with the recapping...
After tying Indian Hills for the Division 2 title a year ago, the Ramsey boys (91-34) upped their team average by 35 pins and held off Pascack Hills (87-38) to claim this year's NBIL-2 championship outright. The Rams' trio of twins Kyle (league-high 227 average) and Ryan (206) Landau and Jarrett Floyd (200) — all juniors, btw — was a big reason for that, and if they show the same improvement curve from this season to next, as they did going from 2009 to 2010, this team could be scary good next winter. Remember, they sat in 2nd place in Group 3 through two games at sectionals, and missing out on such a goal often has a way of making returning players that much hungrier to "Git-R-Done" the next time around. Incidentally, Indian Hills (68-57) finished third in this division, so I'm sure it was no small consolation to the Braves that they were the ones who overtook Ramsey to earn a trip to Carolier.
Now to the girls. Trivia question: which team repeated as NBIL Division 1 champion this season? Answer: None of them! Trick question (sorry, had to)... with conference realignment whisking away defending champ Fair Lawn to the NJTCC, there was a shakeup in the NBIL alignment as well. So, after bringing home the Division 2 crown in 2009, the Bergenfield girls (113-22) moved up to Division 1 and cleaned up, taking the title by 20 points over Ramapo and Holy Angels (both 83-52). And, since TM does not recall pointing it out in this corner of the blogosphere before, the Bears' top two bowlers, Cassidy Fiore (173 average) and Sarah Esmenda (163) are both sophomores. Cleary, he has mentioned both of them on the NJBB, he just wasn't aware that they have two more years to carve out a pretty fine legacy — which, as a matter of fact, they've already begun doing. Lefty Samantha Griffenkranz (150) and Danielle Hayes, both juniors, will also be back next year to help Bergenfield shoot for its third different league title in three seasons (Big North, beware) and seventh straight overall.
Finally, as the boys Division 1 race came down to wire, so did the battle for the NBIL-2 girls championship, which went to Indian Hills (117-18) over Pascack Hills (115-20) by 2 points. The Braves beat Mahwah on the final day of the season — seriously, it was the final NBIL match to be made up on Feb. 24 due to all the snow — to lock up the title (P.S. that was their sixth consecutive victory via sweep). TM is actually a bit bummed that IH and Bergenfield were not in the same division this year, as his 2009 postseason prediction of a "burgeoning rivalry" between the two teams' anchor bowlers did not necessarily play out head-to-head. (If you didn't feel like clicking, to refresh your memory: Fiore and Indian Hills' Bridget Pyryt were named All-Suburban co-Freshmen of the Year, or at least they would have been if The Ridgewood News had an All-Suburban bowling team.) Come to think of it, I easily could have written the same thing about the Braves' sophomore duo of Pyryt (169 average) and Emily Ostapczuk (174) as I did about Fiore and Esmenda in the previous paragraph. IH seniors Brana Parian, Heather Hoffmann and Tracy Galek chipped in this season, but since only its No. 4 and 5 bowlers are returning next season, it remains to be seen who will have Pyryt and Ostapczuk's collective "back."
A few quick tasty tidbits before we move on (courtesy of NBIL commish Howie Conklin, *HUGE* thanks for the work he does on the stat pack): Galek, Mahwah's Kris Jergensen, Prerna Kunte and Janice Kim and Northern Highlands' Lukas Favale all had their highest game of the year in the very first game of the season, while Jergensen, Kim, Kunte, Highlands' Danielle Wurtzell and Demarest's Jeff Sabo all had their highest series of the year in their first match of the season... Pascack Hills' Bryan Kist and Marina Consalvo, Old Tappan's Charles Clifford and Paramus Catholic's Marcia Gailes all had their highest game of the year in the final game of the season, while Clifford, Old Tappan's Scott Royse, Ramapo's Lauren Scheck, Ramsey's Floyd and Demarest's Kelly Bergman all had their highest series of the year in their final match of the season... Kist averaged 231.5 over a 12-game stretch early in the season, while PC's Steve Natoli averaged 226 over his final 12 games of the winter. Kyle Landau may have taken the cake, though, closing out the season with 25 consecutive 200 games, averaging an other-worldly 234 in that span. As a public service, The Messenger must advise these three gentlemen that Holiday Bowl has requested their help in getting the scorch-marks off its lanes... I'm looking right at the sheet, and I still can't believe it — Landau's 227 average was not only the highest in the league this season, it ranks as the highest in NBIL history... Also, if I'm reading this correctly, Bergenfield's Brian DeMarco became the first NBIL bowler to shoot a 300 since Bergenfield's Steve Sinko did so in the 2002-03 season. TM meant it when he said beware of the Bears... Props to Pascack Valley's Brian O'Flaherty, too, as his 555 series tied the highest in league history. Also, given his surname and the fact that his team wears green, TM will denote that as the "perfect end" to this St. Patrick's Day wrap-up...
FINAL NBIL STANDINGS - BOYS (Points Won, Points Lost, Team Average)
| Division 1 | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Ramapo | 95 | 25 | 950 |
| Paramus Catholic | 93 | 27 | 967 |
| Northern Highlands | 81 | 39 | 917 |
| Bergenfield | 40 | 80 | 868 |
| Old Tappan | 36 | 84 | 850 |
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| Division 2 | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Ramsey | 91 | 34 | 935 |
| Pascack Hills | 87 | 38 | 922 |
| Indian Hills | 68 | 57 | 897 |
| Pascack Valley | 65 | 60 | 902 |
| Mahwah | 14 | 111 | 766 |
| Demarest | 5 | 120 | 754 |
High games: DiMarco (B'field), 300; O'Flaherty (PV), 297
High series: O'Flaherty (PV), 555; Kyle Landau (Rams), 541 (remember, it's a 2-game league)
High averages: 1. K.Landau (Rams), 227; 2. Kist (PH), 221; 3. Andresen (R'po), 213; 4. O'Flaherty (PV), 212; 5-tie. Macchia (R'po) and R.Landau (Rams) 206; 7. DiMarco (B'field), 205.
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FINAL NBIL STANDINGS - GIRLS
| Division 1 | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Bergenfield | 113 | 22 | 727 |
| Holy Angels | 83 | 52 | 701 |
| Ramapo | 83 | 52 | 705 |
| Paramus Catholic | 70 | 65 | 682 |
| Northern Highlands | 55 | 80 | 659 |
| Old Tappan | 8 | 127 | 550 |
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| Division 1 | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Indian Hills | 117 | 18 | 750 |
| Pascack Hills | 115 | 20 | 740 |
| Pascack Valley | 88 | 47 | 682 |
| Ramsey | 47 | 88 | 625 |
| Mahwah | 20 | 115 | 562 |
| Demarest | 11 | 124 | 558 |
High games: Fiore (B'field), 246; Consalvo (PH), 243
High series: Fiore (B'field), 430; Pyryt (IH), 421
High averages: 1. Ostapczuk (IH), 174; 2-tie. Fiore (B'field), Ana DeLeon (PC) and Megan McNally (PH), 173; 5. Pyryt (IH), 169; 6. Alex Hubelbank (NH), 168; 7. Esmenda (B'field), 163.
Again, a heaping helping of über-thanks to coach Conklin (gratitude for the statitude, perhaps?), a mathman after my own heart... special thanks also to IH coach Mike Michels for running off photo copies of said stat-pack for us and sending them in — clearly, a messenger after my own heart.
–TM
Alas! Time did not permit The Messenger to make a stop at Wallington Lanes to catch any Bergen County Scholastic League action this winter (although some who have rolled there ostensibly wish the same fate had befallen them). Pessimistic postings aside, the National and Olympic Divisions of the BCSL have produced some of North Jersey's most consistently outstanding bowlers in recent years — hence, the title. Otherwise, there are very few connections with the 1995 Kevin Spacey crime thriller of the same name... I mean, if you think about it from the pins' perspective, several of the gentlemen we are about to mention could represent a Keyser Söze-type figure in some roundabout way. But then, the pins aren't alive. So let's end the connections there.
Ok, hail to the champs time: one year after finishing a single point behind rival North Arlington for the National crown, Secaucus came back with a vengeance and took the title by 12 points over St. Mary of Rutherford and 13 over NA. Secaucus not only employed bowlers with three of the top seven averages in the entire league (Dylan Caruso 206, Dante Iyer 196, Corey Czechowski 195), but the North 1-B, Group 1 champ also was led by the BCSL's Sportsmanship Award winner (Caruso). Actually, TM does recall watching Mr. Caruso reach the finals of the North Jersey Singles Classic AND combine with Czechowski to post the team's two highest series at the State boys finals... he now wonders how Caruso and crew would have fared if there was an actual Hudson County tournament that includes the county's BCSL entrants.
We do know this: North Arlington senior Matt Priore (217 average) has very clearly stated his case to be considered one of (if not the) best bowlers ever to come through this league. Although the NJBB has no definite knowledge of the situation, we are convinced it would be a George Mason-esque upset if he were not named the North Jersey Boys Bowler of the Year. FYI, his classmate-slash-teammate Ashley Johnson (184 average) may well be the best non-IHA girls bowler in Bergen County.
As for the Olympic Division, Wood-Ridge was clearly the head of the class, overtaking last year's co-champs, Leonia and New Milford, for the 2010 title. And, as long as we've opened up the "bowler of the year" can of worms, don't think Blue Devils senior Alex Prell doesn't deserve some consideration as well. Looking strictly at league play, his average (204) was lower than Priore's. Looking strictly at County play, Priore (Bergen champ, 1,399 in six games) gets the nod over Prell (tied for fifth, 1,314) again. Looking strictly at State singles play, Prell decided to play the Vanessa Williams card (saving his best for last) and blast a 1,390, finishing third overall, although Priore's 12th-place 1,330 was, in a word, stupendous — only 43 pins separated him from the stepladder. We could go on for paragraphs, so The Messenger will float this notion in The Record's direction. Can you say, Right-handed Bowler of the Year (Priore) and Left-handed Bowler of the Year (Prell)? Again, just throwin' it out there...
A few last nuggets to chew on: Park Ridge junior Mike Wuhrman, who helped the Owls reach the State team finals in '09, was the third BCSL bowler to average over 200 on the winter (and he had the Olympic's top game, a 279). Wood-Ridge senior Nick Roman (199 average) came within a pin of being the fourth, and he registered the Division's high series, a 503... Let's not forget Wallington junior Chris Ferrara (194), who joined the varsity 300 club this winter. Needless to say, he led both divisions in the high game department... when he finished 8th at sectionals and earned a trip to the State individual finals, Joe Bocage of Becton prompted TM to wonder, "who's that?" Again, things that he could have learned by catching some BCSL play in person: Bocage led the Wildcats in average (184), finished 12th in the league in that category, and helped an underclassmen-dominated squad finish with a winning record (65-50) amid some fairly heady competition... a few entries ago, The Messenger opined that Lyndhurst had the greatest percentage of girl power in the BCSL, with lefty Nikki Villani (173 average), frosh Lexus Lopez (171) and soph Angie Sammarone leading the way. He meant to say "more girl power than anyone in the National Division." Leonia gets the nod in the Olympic Division, thanks to Jess Ragone (172), Kathy Lee (164) and Maleyna Marks (163).
Once again, a reminder: the only BCSL results mentioned in this entry were those of the National and Olympic Divisions because the NJBB has been unable to unearth much info on the league's third division, the American. We would LOVE to recap the action from Lodi Lanes, but TM needs a bit of help. Send any standings and stats from the BCSL-American to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com. If you have them, and you don't send them... well, don't complain.
FINAL BCSL STANDINGS (Points Won, Points Lost, Team Average)
| National Division | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Secaucus | 100 | 15 | 773 |
| St. Mary-Rutherford | 88 | 27 | 710 |
| North Arlington | 87 | 28 | 726 |
| Wallington | 83 | 32 | 728 |
| Lyndhurst | 76 | 39 | 705 |
| Becton | 65 | 50 | 701 |
| Harrison | 23 | 87 | 573 |
| Weehawken | 0 | 115 | 466 |
High game: Ferrara (Wall.), 300
High series: Iyer (Sec.), 493 (remember, 2 games in this league)
High boys average: 1. Priore (NA), 216.80; 2. Caruso (Sec.), 205.64; 3. Iyer (Sec.), 196.24; 4. Czechowski (Sec.), 194.76; 5. Ferrara (Wall.), 193.84.
High girls average: 1. Johnson (NA), 184.43; 2. Villani (Lynd.), 172.72; 3. Lopez (Lynd.), 170.76; 4. Jessica Calabrese (SMR), 169.81; 5. Adrienne Middleton (Harr.), 145.19.
Joe Fiegel Sportsmanship Award: Dylan Caruso (Secaucus)
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| Olympic Division | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Wood-Ridge | 96 | 24 | 741 |
| New Milford | 81 | 34 | 696 |
| Park Ridge | 77 | 43 | 732 |
| Leonia | 68 | 47 | 674 |
| Bogota | 52 | 68 | 613 |
| Hasbrouck Heights | 30 | 85 | 567 |
| Ridgefield | 27 | 88 | 558 |
| Hawthorne Christian | 17 | 98 | 531 |
| Palisades Park | 10 | 100 | 534 |
High game: Mike Wuhrman (PR), 279
High series: Roman (W-R), 503
High boys average: 1. Prell (W-R), 204.17; 2. Wuhrman (PR), 200.47; 3. Roman (W-R), 199.13; 4. Anthony Karalian (NM), 191.02; 5. Matt Lajoie (NM), 184.05.
High girls average: 1. Ragone (Leo.), 171.98; 2. Lee (Leo.), 163.94; 3. Marks (Leo.), 163.41; 4. Sarah Schrenzel (NM), 153.14; 5. Amanda Vittetoe (Ridg.), 130.55.
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That's all for today. Since the snail mail came through for us, full NBIL recap on Wednesday! Also, the part of the Kevin Macchia story that you didn't get to hear (well, from the NJBB, anyway). The season wrap-up sequence is underway...
–TM
Funny thing about the high school bowling season in New Jersey... it ends before all the other winter sports, so after the State finals are over, reporters are often asked to pick up and move right on to covering the games that are still going on. Well, this reporter was asked to do so, anyhow.
Still, wishy-washy excuses for temporarily shifting his focus away from the NJBB aside, The Messenger is prepared — nay, DETERMINED — to put a big ol' bow on the 2009-10 campaign before the sweet spring air lures him back outdoors. He just has to get organized a little bit in order to properly keep the reader's attention for a bit longer. (Note the use of the singular possessive... never forget that you, our lone reader, comprise a very exclusive club!)
Ok, ok, I'll seek help for the self-deprecation deal in the off-season. Right now, the NJBB is seeking to assemble a schedule for its postseason proceedings. At the moment, here are our goals for posting what/when:
Monday, March 15: Recap the BCSL Olympic/National divisions. That was one of the leagues for which TM did not get to see the finale, but our pal Vince the Sports Reporter was kind enough to supply us with the final standings. Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain such info from the BCSL American Division... but hey, if you'd like your own NJBB pseudonym, e-mail said information to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com and we'll name-drop you relatively shamelessly.
Wednesday, March 17: In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we'll take you behind the scenes of perhaps the best game that The Messenger covered/did not cover this year, a State-finals 300 by Ramapo sophomore Kevin Macchia. Why? Because he clearly bowls for the Green Raiders (ahem). You can view the originally-published story at that link — however, there is a term in the movie industry, "left on the cutting room floor"... TM simply didn't have enough space to print the entire back-story in the given media, but we sure seem to have plenty of room here! Also, the final NBIL statistics are being sent to us via snail mail, and hopefully they will make it by the 17th so we can conveniently post them along with "the rest of the story," as radio legend Paul Harvey once put it.
Friday, March 19: In case the snail mail lives up to his name, we'll post the NBIL numbers on this day instead. Also, we'll tie up the rest of our loose ends, such as the mysteriously disappearing NJTCC Passaic Division standings chart, plus anything else we might get from a kindly contributor at NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com. (Not sounding too desperate, are we? Just checking.)
From there, it's on to Postseason Awards Week, which will follow... the following:
Monday, March 22: We help the WGHT Sports Overtime guys kick off their All-Area week with the first of our "What-If All-Stars" squads: i.e. what would the GHT All-Area Bowling teams look like, if they had them?
Tuesday, March 23: It's the last of our "What-If All-Stars": i.e. what would The Ridgewood News All-Suburban bowling teams look like, if they had them?
Wednesday, March 24: For the first time ever, we are hoping to present The Grid Of Champions: a master list of all the league and county winners to augment the salutes to the State champions we've had here on the NJBB.
(P.S. If you have any info on the following champs: Burlington County Scholastic League, Greater Middlesex Conference, NJTCC-Hudson, Northwest Jersey Conference, Olympic Conference, Shore Conference A Central and B North, Skyland Conference, Super Essex Conference, whatever the Union County conference is called, plus the Hudson County, Monmouth County, Sussex County and Union County tournaments... well, you know what to do.)
Friday, March 26: The Big Finale and varsity season sign-off. In case you're curious, a hint: The Messenger has figured out a solution to our Parker Bohn III/Johnny Petraglia dilemma.
To tide you over until then, here are links to some of the All-County teams that you can see before they get in the newspaper:
If that spoiled any surprises, we're sorry, but you know how the saying goes... um, the "don't shoot The Messenger" saying. That one.
There were messengers flying all over Carolier Lanes on Saturday, including this one. First, allow me to apologize for my ranting/venting entry on the individual finals, as I momentarily lost sight of the NJBB's two most important bowling-reporting credos: 1) we do this because it's fun; and 2) half the fun is that you never know what you're going to see next.
POINT OF ORDER: In the future, should The Messenger ever suffer a similar lapse in gratitude toward having one of the most awesome jobs on the inter-web, kindly remind him of what he saw at the 2010 State boys Tournament of Champions: a brand new champ in the form of Washington Township, new group champs Keansburg and Manchester Township, a 10th-frame rally that led to a third straight ToC appearance by Sayreville, not one but two 300 Baker games, and a brief conversation lefty legend and PBA Hall-of-Famer Johnny Petraglia. Basically, TM died and went to bowling heaven, but he has revived and shall attempt to do justice in recapping the best tournament he witnessed this year, and possibly ever. END POINT OF ORDER.
BEGIN TODAY'S EPISODE: "Legends of the Pinfall." That last paragraph probably gave you a hint as to why this quasi-butchered movie title is appropriate. Unlike the State girls finals, where there are only 24 schools, The Messenger had a lot more ground to cover with the 40 at the boys finals — which included double the amount of North section teams. One similarity between the two events is that both now incorporate the third-game "Baker 5" during qualifying, where teams roll five Baker games and that counts as their series, instead of five traditional individual scores.
However, since the NJBB likes to change things up to stay fresh, instead of counting up to No. 1, we will take this particular journey from North to South (with a few exceptions when appropriate). If you are unfamiliar with the NJSIAA term "Northing number," take a peek at the State's Group Classification sheets if you have a burning desire to know how TM organized all of this info. If not, away we go...
Pascack Hills (8th in Group 2, 2,682): This was one of those teams whose scores that The Messenger didn't quite get the chance to peruse at sectionals. He got an excellent look on Saturday — sophomore leadoff man Bryan Kist began the day with 9 consecutive strikes on his way to a clean 277 that earned him third-high game honors. Senior anchor Brian Galbraith made the last individual game of his career a 235, and right now I'm really fighting the temptation to refer to this team not as the Cowboys but the Cow-Brians (too late). They had one of the better Baker series put forth by the Bergen County publics in attendance (927) and will return 5 of the 6 bowlers they used at Carolier.
Indian Hills (9th in Group 3, 2,608): The Messenger was impressed not only with the way the Braves rallied from behind at sectionals, but also with how they rallied together after parting ways with their anchor at the beginning of the month (details withheld to protect the innocent). IH made its first trip to North Brunswick since 2008, when they won their first sectional title to get there. This year's crew featured three seniors: Andrew Schwarz (203–383), Kyle Mulligan and Bob Klein, the latter of whom can be heard on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m. on WGHT's annual Sports Overtime bowling extravaganza. The Braves' finish was so-so, but the Carolier Experience may prove invaluable to freshman lefty Andrew Wierzbicki (212–391), who had their high series.
Pascack Valley (8th in Group 3, 2,661): Senior southpaw Jon Frantin is a man of his word — as soon as TM spotted him entering Carolier, the first things I noticed were the hiked-up stirrup socks. I did not, unfortunately, get a look at the Indians' mode of transportation, but I heard it was a sight to behold. Frantin led things off with a big-time effort (235), and although PV's first-game score of 941 was pretty solid, it just wasn't enough, especially competing in Sayreville's bracket. Keep an eye on junior anchor Brian O'Flaherty (204-227–431), though; he's already established himself as legit, and could be a contender for some major hardware next year.
Bergen Catholic (6th in Group 4, 2,898): The Crusaders had a 1,036 after Game 1 and were tied with Union City for second place. Their next game was a 916 — again, a respectable number, it's just that Group 4 was loaded (e.g. Jackson Memorial was over 1,000 all three games and finished third, while East Brunswick put up two 1,100s and got second). Senior Rob Grippo had about as consistent a close to a career as one could have (211-211–422), but before you ask what BC is going to do without the power-bowling righty and classmates E.J. Mendez (204–368) Mike Parsons (354 series), note the numbers put up by sophomore Charles Long: 234-216–450. He and junior Patrick Henry (201–358) should keep BC near the head of the pack next winter.
Wayne Valley (10th in Group 3, 2,554): Although I had been to see the Indians once in NJTCC play this year, Saturday was the first time I got to speak with any of them. Although he had taken individuals to North Brunswick before (Kevin Cheuvront and Kari Berkman come to mind), this was the first time coach Jason Wilke brought a team down in his 11 seasons. Senior lead-off man Dominic Pascucci (212–365) is quite the eloquent spokesperson — if you don't believe me, he'll be on GHT Tuesday as well — and talked highly of his teammates, who are all underclassmen including sophomores Dean Fiorellini (206–352) and Dan Giannone, the anchor. Since WV is in North 1B, TM did not get to see them at sectionals, but if you ask me, beating out league rivals West Milford, Wayne Hills, Lakeland and Passaic Valley for the final Group 3 transfer spot to Carolier is a pretty sweet deal for them — especially the triumph over Hills, which A) won the NJTCC-Passaic and B) is Wayne Hills. Does Valley ever not enjoy beating the folks north of Alps Road at... anything?
Teaneck (10th in Group 4, 2,632): Just as quickly as the Highwaymen peaked at sectionals, they came back to Earth at States. Then again, TM can't remember seeing a Teaneck bowler at Carolier for quite some time, and in the words of loquacious leadoff man James Hoover, if the best his team could do was qualify for the Ultimate Event, "I'll take it." Hoover (358 series) and anchorman Joshuah Romero (353) will both graduate, but junior Dylan Laloo (200-204–404) appears ready to pick up the scoring slack next season.
Lyndhurst (10th in Group 1, 2,366): From the Department of "Ask And Ye Shall Receive" — Golden Bears coach Mike Rizzo e-mailed The Messenger after reading the NJBB's North 1A tournament recap and delivered the scores we'd been hoping to see. The system works! And since the senior-less Bears took their lumps down in North Brunswick, what better way to pick up spirits than to review their Feb. 13th championship outing... junior captain Nikki Villani led Lyndhurst at sectionals with a 214–580, while freshman Lexus Lopez shot 190–501 just days after firing a 547 at the North Jersey girls tourney, coming within 15 pins of advancing to the State singles finals. Coach Rizzo also pointed out that in addition to averaging 173 and 171, respectively, BOTH of these girls play basketball for Lyndhurst and often have gone right from a league match to a hoops contest in the same night. Villani, in fact, is the starting point guard — Holy Bo Jackson, Batman! Sophomore Angela Sammarone also gives the Bears more girl power than anyone in the BCSL National/Olympic, and let's not forget the boys, either. Junior anchor Kyle Bonser (233–628) and sophomore leadoff man Carmine Battista (255–619) helped them pull away from the sectional pack, and fifth man Paul Ulrich added a high game of 188. This, in all likelihood, will not be the last we hear from these South Bergenites.
Nutley (2nd in Group 3, 3,106): TM alluded earlier to Sayreville's third-game, 10th-frame comeback, and unfortunately for the Maroon Raiders, it happened at their expense. But here are some things to consider: Nutley was in third place after each of the first two games and trailed Sayreville (3,110) by over 100 pins after Game 2. The fact that they lost by 4 pins is sour, but the fact that they were able to make up so much ground — plus the fact that their 1,076 Baker game was the third-highest total in the house — is pretty sweet. And those five sophomores that we mentioned in last year's State finals entry? They are now five juniors with one more year to go (and have help from sophomore Tyler Huey), and some of their individual totals were eye-popping: Angelo Lambroschino (213–416), Nick Rizzi (215–428) and Joe Frezza (233–455) all averaged 208 or better on the day. Heck, even their Baker numbers were mind-boggling; the lowest one was 203! Granted, nobody ever wants to suffer through a close loss, but I refer you back to the story of the Manchester Township girls team, which lost Group titles by 1 pin and 2 pins in 2007 and 2008, respectively, then came back to win the 2009 ToC. If the Nutley boys keep up these types of numbers, do not be surprised to see the bowling gods smile on them in such a fashion next year.
Secaucus (7th in Group 1, 2,787): To date, Dylan Caruso had been the only member of this team — again, one whose nickname is sadly sullied due to similarities with TM's least favorite NFL team — that I had seen, and his run to the North Jersey Singles finals was impressive. What impressed me about Secaucus at Carolier was that they seemed to get even better once the Baker games began... well, the first two (203, 235), anyway. Actually, now that I look, they had the highest Baker total (959) of any public school from the "North Jersey" area (if you count only Bergen, Passaic and part of Hudson counties, as The Record does). Corey Czechowski (227–412) had the team's high game and series, and Caruso added a 211–393.
North Arlington (8th in Group 1, 2,699): Quite an end to a decorated career for Vikings senior Matt Priore, at least individually. He finished the second game with 9 strikes in a row to clock out with a 258 before helping NA to a 948 Baker series (featuring games of 225 and 203). Lest we forget, the Vikes also have employed one of the top girls bowlers in the area for the past few years in senior Ashley Johnson (186–356). They may have finished behind cross-town rival Queen of Peace in the Group standings, but in terms of bragging rights, their Baker finish was better than the Griffins' (930). Plus, these Vikings don't have to sit through any hemming and hawing about whether or not their stars will return (yes, I'm referring to YOU, Mr. Jet-jilter — good riddance) because, well, graduation hits everyone eventually.
Queen of Peace (5th in Group 1, 2,806): Other than the Baker 300s, which will be mentioned shortly, the longest string of strikes on Saturday was the 11 in a row thrown by Griffins senior Nick Gavron, who started with an 8 and ended with a 278, taking honors for second-high game. He may have been one of those who would have preferred to keep going under the old format, since his second-game 236 gave him a 514 series. QP endured the same fate as Bergen Catholic, tallying a 1,042 to take the Group 1 lead after Game 1 before dropping down to an 834. The graduation of Gavron, North 1A champ Andrew Suscreba (197–343), Rebecca Van Dyk (182–327) and George Bosch (160) will leave a mark, but the Griffins do have another one of the Maurer girls, junior Taylor (225–364), whom TM is confident will continue progressing in much the same way older sister Shannon did (P.S., the elder Maurer went out as a three-time All-Bergen first teamer and was third at State sectionals as a senior).
And now, in the interest of keeping things moving along, we will take the advice of a long-forgotten 1970s R&B one-hit wonder and take a float on:
The Stream of Consciousness... Recycling back to the top of the state — sophomore Larry Tufaro (236-224–460) led Wallkill Valley (2,975) to a fourth-place showing in Group 2... On its way to a fifth-place finish in Group 3, Sparta (2,888) had a phenomenal Baker series of 1,035 and got nice efforts from lefty Cody Spector (226-204–430), Dustin Steffen (202–361), State girls champ Nicole Chanin (206–348) and perhaps the bowler with the most fantastic surname in the entire tournament, John Hawxhurst (184–368)... Dayton of Springfield (2,828) shot a 1,069 in Game 2 to momentarily take the lead in Group 1 before dropping off in the Game 3 Bakers (844) and finishing fourth. Consolation: the Bulldogs' Mark Masucci (sorry for the Twitter misspelling) took home the high-game trophy for his 279... How insane were the scores on Saturday? Jackson Memorial and Nutley were joined by Wall (3,102) as teams to top 1,000 in all three qualifying games but not come away with a Group title. That means you KNOW we have some serious numbers to share with you in the big finish. In fact, they're so big that the rest of these sections are getting their own sub-heads...
Recipe for perfection — Bake @ 300: Let it be said, at this very time, in this very space, that The Messenger will never again bemoan missing a 300 game, because he saw two of the absolute best. On its way to winning Group 1, Keansburg (3,093) didn't start out all that strong in the "Game 3" Bakers, rolling 169 and 198. Then came a 267. Then came one of the most improbable occurrences you'll ever see on the lanes: congratulations Ryan Schoentube, Shaun Moran, Dylan Jordan, Korrie O'Hanlon and Dale Barshewski, you just combined to throw a perfect game. All told, an 1,122 Baker series for the Titans.
BUT WAIT... they were not the first ones to accomplish the feat. Moments earlier, Washington Township (3,287) was cruising toward wrapping up the Group 4 championship with Baker scores of 240 and 212. Then it happened: Nick Maccarone (212–376), Matt Lucich (207–378), Jason Pavlinko (224–439), John Bartosiewicz (268–481) and Steve Pavlinko (252–454) all struck in order through the first five frames of the next game. They followed up with five more strikes before Steve Pavlinko, the anchor, cemented his place in The Messenger's Book of Awesomeness... he recorded the 11th strike by getting a messenger pin — the very inspiration for yours truly's moniker — to come across and knock out the 10-pin... and he blasted the 12th strike by getting another messenger pin to fly in from the left and take out the 10 AGAIN. This could well be the greatest coup that has ever occurred for this blog's purposes, and even though the NJBB has stressed the "no cheering in the press box rule," TM couldn't help but feel like the Minutemen were angling for his allegiance.
At any rate, I can't recall seeing a team get as much pin action in one afternoon as Washington Twp. Johnny Petraglia himself, who was on hand to observe, said the probability of a team "Bakering" a 300 is next to impossible, and sure enough it happened twice within 10 minutes. Mr. Petraglia also introduced TM to the term "slamming the dime," which apparently is exactly what Mr. Pavlinko did in sending the aforementioned messengers to take out the 10-pins. Oh, speaking of the living PBA legend...
Parker Lewis Can't Lose; Parker Bohn, we're not so sure: All of a sudden, The Messenger is in a quandary! His very own category of postseason awards, the Parker Bohn III All-Stars — so named because A) TM's top 3 defining characteristics are left-handedness, love for his home state of New Jersey and a passion for bowling, and B) he wishes to honor those varsity bowlers in similar shoes — was created with his favorite active bowler in mind. He unwittingly yet completely forgot that the now-retired Johnny Petraglia has many similar outstanding traits: left-handedness, a tasteful surname that is nearly identical to that of TM's alter ego, and oh yeah, he had a tournament named after him (the Johnny Petraglia Open) that used to be held at Carolier Lanes. The fact that Mr. Petraglia was born in Brooklyn perhaps may have been the original cause for our gross oversight, but the NJBB is prepared to throw that out the window since Johnny currently resides in the Garden State and is now a close, personal friend of The Messenger ("close" meaning TM stood next to him and chatted for about 5 minutes, and "friend" meaning he was polite enough to accept one of TM's business cards).
So the quandary is now this... should the NJBB rename the Parker Bohn III All-Stars? Should we turn it into a combined honor like the Johnny/Parker All-Stars? If you have any opinions on the subject, e-mail The Messenger at NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com. P.S. In the highly unlikely event that Mr. Petraglia drops us an e-mail on the subject, we're basically going to do whatever the heck he says. I mean, TM has never met anyone else that's on the PBA's list of the 50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years.
Okay, where were we? Oh right, Hawk pride!: The boys from Manchester Township (3,227) joined their female counterparts as State Group 2 champions this year. The Hawks won the first game of their Baker semifinal match with Sayreville, 255-181, before the two-time reigning ToC champs won the final three. Still, take a look at this Baker series that Manchester put together in the morning: 248, 237, 185, 215, 265. And that was the second-highest "Game 3" series. Four different Hawks averaged over 200 in the two individual games, including John Herbert (257-225–482), Nick Nametko (225-224–449), Alan Garcia (202–403) and Billy Carudo (215–401). What a job that coaching staff (and the bowlers, of course) have done with this program, kudos to MT.
Say you, say me... Sayreville always, naturally: Even though the Bombers were unable to become the first team to win three straight ToC crowns, they did not go down without a fight. When Nutley came storming back to take its brief lead at the end of qualifying Game 3, Sayreville was still on the lanes and knew what it needed to get the job done. Junior Eric Applegate, a veteran of last year's title team, responded with an 8-spare-strike in the 10th and final frame of the five Baker contests to cap off his team's Group 3-championship tally of 3,110. In the ToC semis, with the Bombers leading two games to one, senior returnee Glenn Sauer touched off a string of five consecutive strikes from frames 6 through 10 — with Wayne Bebert, Anthony Nicholas, Phil Bailey and Applegate following suit — that helped Sayreville put away Manchester, 232-174, in Game 4. Nicholas, Bailey and Applegate each struck twice in Game 2 of the ToC finals, helping their team to a 231-191 win that evened the series at 1-1.
But let's face it: the day belonged to the Township.
Don't let those other four "Washington Townships" fool you: Yes, by now the existence of New Jersey's five townships named "Washington" has become a standard Garden State geography gag (although there used to be six, thanks to Robbinsville for stepping out of line and getting a little creative). A long, long time ago, a young The Messenger lived in the Bergen County Washington Twp., but that's quite a hike from whence this year's champions hail.
And yet, perhaps nothing makes a 70-mile bus ride back to Gloucester County happier than a Group 4 trophy (which the Sewell-based Washington Twp. captured with a house-leading 3,287 in the morning) and a ToC trophy (which the Minutemen claimed with their 235-189, 191-231, 262-174, 247-199 victory over Sayreville in the finals). I can't even begin to tell you how many strikes this team threw on the day... well, we know it was 12 in the perfecto, plus they added 10 more strikes in that 262, and they even made another bid at perfection in the title-clincher, starting off with a 7-bagger before getting robbed by a stone-10 in the 8th.
Give Sayreville credit, they strung together a 5-bagger in the finale to keep the pressure on. But after getting a 9 on his first ball of the 10th, Steve Pavlinko picked up the spare to clinch the victory, leapt into the air and did his best Springsteen/Super Bowl-halftime stage slide (fortunately there was no TV camera in his sliding line, as there was for Bruce).
The Minutemen also have their own "legends" connection. Nick Maccarone's father Sam, the team's assistant coach, has bowled on the pro tour and works with coach Mike Hudock's squad on a volunteer basis. The payoff was not only Washington Township's first-ever trip to the boys State team finals, but also its first State title.
When asked about it, the younger Maccarone did agree that the Baker 300 was a sign the Minutemen might be in for a special afternoon. "That's when you know," he said, "When those [messenger] pins come over and then take [the 10-pin] out, you know it's your day. I mean, it's a good shot when you come in and send a messenger, and when it doesn't miss, you know that it's your day to win."
Quite simply, it was indeed The Messenger's day...
NJSIAA Boys State Team Tournament scores | GRP 4 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Washington Twp. | 1015 | 1113 | 1159 | 3287* |
| 2nd | East Brunswick | 1100 | 947 | 1130 | 3177 |
| 3rd | Jackson Memorial | 1033 | 1043 | 1002 | 3078 |
| 4th | Livingston | 1006 | 1007 | 931 | 2944 |
| 5th | Old Bridge | 978 | 940 | 1000 | 2918 |
| 6th | Bergen Catholic | 1036 | 916 | 946 | 2898 |
| 7th | Union | 979 | 965 | 949 | 2893 |
| 8th | Union City | 1036 | 817 | 891 | 2744 |
| 9th | Kearny | 934 | 931 | 851 | 2716 |
| 10th | Teaneck | 858 | 893 | 881 | 2632 |
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| GRP 3 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Sayreville | 1091 | 1051 | 968 | 3110* |
| 2nd | Nutley | 1010 | 1020 | 1076 | 3106 |
| 3rd | Woodbridge | 961 | 1072 | 986 | 3019 |
| 4th | Scotch Plains | 1046 | 964 | 986 | 2996 |
| 5th | Sparta | 869 | 984 | 1035 | 2888 |
| 6th | Brick Township | 968 | 1013 | 881 | 2862 |
| 7th | Jackson Liberty | 902 | 987 | 884 | 2773 |
| 8th | Pascack Valley | 941 | 823 | 897 | 2661 |
| 9th | Indian Hills | 847 | 894 | 867 | 2608 |
| 10th | Wayne Valley | 809 | 852 | 893 | 2554 |
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| GRP 2 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Manchester Twp. | 1029 | 1046 | 1152 | 3227* |
| 2nd | Wall Township | 1000 | 1054 | 1048 | 3102 |
| 3rd | Burlington Twp. | 1000 | 992 | 1025 | 3017 |
| 4th | Wallkill Valley | 959 | 1031 | 985 | 2975 |
| 5th | Hopatcong | 897 | 939 | 978 | 2814 |
| 6th | Gov. Livingston | 866 | 993 | 890 | 2749 |
| 7th | Ocean Township | 894 | 910 | 902 | 2706 |
| 8th | Pascack Hills | 926 | 829 | 927 | 2682 |
| 9th | A.L. Johnson | 921 | 902 | 838 | 2661 |
| 10th | Lyndhurst | 711 | 837 | 818 | 2366 |
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| GRP 1 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Keansburg | 1039 | 932 | 1122 | 3093* |
| 2nd | Monsignor Donovan | 1029 | 953 | 960 | 2942 |
| 3rd | Roselle Catholic | 917 | 997 | 949 | 2863 |
| 4th | Dayton | 915 | 1069 | 844 | 2828 |
| 5th | Queen of Peace | 1042 | 834 | 930 | 2806 |
| 6th | BCIT-Medford | 968 | 984 | 845 | 2797 |
| 7th | Secaucus | 967 | 861 | 959 | 2787 |
| 8th | North Arlington | 845 | 906 | 948 | 2699 |
| 9th | Sussex Tech | 885 | 882 | 900 | 2667 |
| 10th | Bishop Ahr | 827 | 858 | 767 | 2452 |
*Group champ, advanced to Tournament of Champions
| T of C - SEMIFINALS | BAKER 1 | BAKER 2 | BAKER 3 | BAKER 4 | BAKER 5 | GMS WON | AVG |
| 1) Washington Twp. | 268 | 177 | 225 | - | - | 3 | 223.3 |
| 4) Keansburg | 166 | 174 | 214 | - | - | 0 | 184.7 |
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| 2) Manchester Twp. | 255 | 178 | 210 | 174 | - | 1 | 204.3 |
| 3) Sayreville | 181 | 193 | 212 | 232 | - | 3 | 204.5 |
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| T of C - FINALS | BAKER 1 | BAKER 2 | BAKER 3 | BAKER 4 | BAKER 5 | GMS WON | AVG |
| 1) Washington Twp. | 235 | 191 | 262 | 247 | - | 3 | 233.8 |
| 3) Sayreville | 189 | 231 | 174 | 199 | - | 1 | 198.3 |
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
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