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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 2) Manchester Twp. | 255 | 178 | 210 | 174 | - | 1 | 204.3 |
| 3) Sayreville | 181 | 193 | 212 | 232 | - | 3 | 204.5 |
| 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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