Chuckbits In the 2019 Calendar Year As provided by Chuck Langerman , noted South Jersey sports historian and a graduate of Cheltenham High (Montgomery County, Pa.) Chuck's email . . . chucklang@hotmail.com
2018 Calendar Year
- DEC. 30 CHUCKBIT
Not surprisingly,
Tiger
Woods'
comeback
at the
Masters
golf
tournament in April, where he won his 15th major and first since the 2008 US
Open was named the
2019
Associated Press Sports Story of the
Year.
Surprisingly,
none of the articles I read credited the
local
man
most
responsible for bringing the legendary golfer's swing back.
Richard
Guyer
(pictured
here
)
grew up in Ambler and attended Wissahickon High School from 1964 to 1967
where he was an honor student and manager of the wrestling team. After
graduating Wissahickon in 1967, he matriculated at
Ursinus
College
in
Collegeville before attending the
University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
.
Dr. Richard Guyer is now the director of the
Texas
Back Institute in Plano, Texas
where
he sees patients from around the world. Dr. Guyer was instrumental in
bringing artificial disc replacement surgery to the United States after its
creation and use in Europe. When Tiger Woods, who today is celebrating his
44th birthday, visited Dr. Guyer in 2017, the
golfer had had three previous failed back surgeries, and many including
Tiger himself felt his golf career was over. Yet, Dr. Guyer performed a
difficult spinal fusion operation on Tiger in 2017, and two years later
Woods won his fifth Masters on April 14, 2019, and his amazing comeback,
thanks
to
1967 Wissahickon High School graduate Dr. Richard Guyer was complete.
DEC. 26 CHUCKBIT Justin Moore (pictured here )
is a 6-1, 160-pound sophomore guard for the undefeated
(7-0) Cheltenham High School boys'
basketball team. It's always very difficult to predict the manifest destiny
of one so young, but Moore appears to be a rising star. In a recent 68-39
victory over Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Justin scored 18 points on 6-for-11
shooting in an impressive all-around performance. He also has great family
bloodlines. His father is Malik
Moore ,
a 1996 graduate of Martin
Luther King High School who
was an All-City first-team selection by "The Philadelphia Daily News." Malik
played one season at Temple
University before
transferring to Division II American
International College in
Springfield, Massachusetts. At American International, Malik was a
three-year starter in the backcourt, finishing his career as the program's
all-time leader in steals (191) and was sixth in scoring (1,583 points),
assists (377) and made three-point field goals (128). Malik led American
International to a NCAA Championship Tournament Berth in 2000 and was named
to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
DEC. 19 CHUCKBIT "A HALL OF FAMER" Pictured here is 1972 Cheltenham High School graduate and Montgomery County coaches Hall
of Famer Virginia "Ginny Hofmann . Ginny, who played field hockey and
lacrosse at Cheltenham High in addition to being a member of the swim team,
is the retired head field hockey and lacrosse coach at Germantown Academy in
Fort Washington. Ginny coached field hockey at Germantown Academy for 36
years, winning 363 games and five Inter-Ac League championships. As the head
lacrosse coach for 39 years, Ginny won 370 games and seven Inter-Ac titles
in addition to producing 16 All-American players. Her record as a two-sport
coach, a rarity in today's world, remains unmatched. Ginny remains at
Germantown Academy as the Associate Athletic Director/Assistant Admissions
Director.
DEC. 16 CHUCKBIT Occasionally a player doesn't receive the recognition
he deserves, because he doesn't play for a high-profile team. Such is the
case with Audubon High School football player Pat
Driscoll (pictured here ).
The 6-4, 195-pound wide receiver led New Jersey this past season with a state-high
78 receptions .
The 78 receptions is the sixth highest
single-season total in South
Jersey history and
breaks the Audubon High record of 71 catches set in 2006 by Chad
Holtzapfel .
Pat, a three-sport athlete, totaled 706 receiving yards and seven touchdown
receptions this past season.
DEC. 14 CHUCKBIT "ALL IN THE FAMILY" December 6, 1986 was "Championship Saturday" for
scholastic football in the Philadelphia area. It turned out to be a very
special day for the McAneney
family .
In Toms River, New Jersey, Pennsauken High ,
coached by the late former LaSalle High School graduate Vince
McAneney (pictured here ),
handled Toms River South, 29-6, to capture the South
Jersey Group 4 championship .
Future Temple University running back Scott
McNair rushed
for 123 yards and three touchdowns for Pennsauken which finished as the
Number-one ranked team in South Jersey. On that same day over at the
Pennsauken High football field, Bishop
Eustace defeated
St. Joseph Hammonton, 7-0, for the South
Jersey Parochial B crown .
The Bishop Eustace defense was spearheaded by linebacker Tim
McAneney ,
the son of Pennsauken High coach Vince McAneney. Finally, on that same
Saturday, Frankford
High spotted
Bartram a 6-0 lead before routing the Braves, 42-6, for the Public
League Championship at
Northeast High. Kevin
McCoy rushed
for 106 yards and two touchdowns and added a third score on an 85-yard
interception return. The Pioneers limited Bartram to 40 yards total
offense. Frankford was coached by John
McAneney ,
the brother of Vince and the uncle of Tim. Quite a day for the McAneney
family!!!
DEC. 12 CHUCKBIT To say the 2019 Camden Woodrow
Wilson High School football
team had a potent offense is a huge understatement. The South Jersey Group 3
sectional champs scored a school-record
520 points ,
featuring a 3,000-yard
passer , two
1,000-yard receivers ,
and a 1,000-yard
rusher .
Quarterback Devin
Kargman was
256-for-372, good for 3,757
yards and 44
touchdowns .
The 44 touchdowns is second in state history to Timber Creek's Devin
Leary's 48 passing
TDs in 2016, and the 3,757 yards is second in state history only to Devin's
big brother Nick
Kargman who
threw for 3,963
yards last
season. Nick is now a redshirt freshman at Western
Michigan University. The
best thing about Devin Kargman is that he's only a sophomore . Fadil Diggs ,
(pictured here )
a 6-5, 245-pound defensive end and wide receiver recorded 1,031
receiving yards in
2019. "Big Frank" was named the 2019-2020 New
Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year .
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but
also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character
demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Diggs as New Jersey's best
high school football player .
He has committed to continue his academic and athletic career at Texas
A&M University in
College Station, Texas. Woodrow Wilson's other wide receiver Malik
Harvey ,
a Northern
Illinois University commit,
netted 1,083
yards receiving and
snared 18
touchdown passes .
Temple-bound running back Muheem
McCargo carried
the ball 162 times for 1,106
yards and
14 touchdowns. He's the best running back at the East Camden school since
1979 when future Heisman Trophy winner Mike
Rozier carried
the pigskin for the Tigers. As the late West Catholic, Cherry Hill West, and
Pennsauken High football coach Vince
McAneney used
to say, "Rozier is the best back this side of the Delaware River!" Woodrow
Wilson, (10-2) this past season, is only the third
team in South Jersey history to
feature a 3,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers, and a 1,000-yard
rusher. The two other South Jersey teams to accomplish this were the 2015
Palmyra High team
and the 1999
Holy Cross football
team.
NOV. 30 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is the state-famous "Cherokee
Bowl" football stadium where
the Cherokee
High School football Chiefs from
Marlton, New Jersey play their home games. It's a beautiful field set down
in a valley with excellent sight lines. Over the years it has been a
friendly home to the Cherokee football team. The Chiefs have made 28
playoff appearances , 15
appearances in the state final ,
and have won
10 state titles .
This season the Chiefs went only (6-6) ,
but still won a state championship, the Central
Jersey Group 5 state title ,
with a 35-18 victory over Kingsway in the final. But this year, the
"Cherokee Bowl" was not a home-field advantage for the Chiefs. They
became the first team in state history to lose all of their regular-season
home games and win a state title .
They were (0-4) at home during the regular season for the first time in
school history.
NOV. 28 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is former Camden Woodrow Wilson High School star quarterback and current
redshirt freshman at Western Michigan University Nick Kargman. In
2018, Nick completed 259-passes-out-of 444 attempts (58.3 %) for a
state-record 3,963 yards and 41 touchdowns . In the 2018 South
Jersey Group 3 final, Woodrow Wilson defeated Burlington Township, 22-14, to
capture their second state championship in football. Fast forward one
year. Nick's younger brother, Devin Kargman , a sophomore quarterback
at Woodrow Wilson has completed 220 passes-out-of-321 attempts (68.5 %) for 3,304 yards and 38
touchdowns which are both New Jersey sophomore passing records .
In the South Jersey Group 3 title game, Devin threw four touchdowns in
Woodrow Wilson's 54-30 victory over Somerville High. It is the first time in
the Philadelphia area that two brothers have thrown for 3,000 yards in
consecutive years and have led their respective teams to state championships .
Also, it is believed to be first time that it has happened in the USA .
Even the Manning brothers, Peyton and Eli , didn't accomplish it at
the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana. . . . Have
a Nice Thanksgiving,
NOV. 25 CHUCKBIT This coming basketball season for the Cheltenham
High School Panthers (pictured here )
is the most anticipated hoops season in 50
years since
1969 when All-Stater Craig
Littlepage captained
the Panthers. Last season the Panthers were a respectable 17-9 and
finished second in the Suburban One National Division to league champion
Abington High. This season, for the first time since the inception of the
Cheltenham boys' basketball program in 1906 ,
the Panthers have two
seniors who have both earned full athletic scholarships to play at NCAA
Division I basketball universities .
The Chelts are paced by 6-1 point guard Zahree
Harrison who
has verbally committed to continue his academic and athletic career at St.
Francis University in
Loretto, Pennsylvania. Zahree, who played for a state champ at Archbishop
Wood as a freshman, averaged 17 points, six assists, and four rebounds a
game last season. The other Division I recruit is 6-4, 170-pound two-guard Jaelen
McGlone .
He has committed to play next season at Rider
University in
Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Jaelen has explosive athleticism, and he's also a
good shooter and a quick reactor on the defensive end. The Panthers are
coached by Pede
Fleur y ,
a 2005 graduate of Cheltenham. They should be among the best teams in
District I this season along with Norristown , Coatesville ,
and Methacton .
Cheltenham opens up on Friday, December 6 in their Panthers Tip Off classic
against Frankford
High .
NOV. 13 CHUCKBIT "The Triple Crown" in Major League Baseball is leading
the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in. In Philadelphia-area
(southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey) high
school football receiving, "The Triple Crown" is leading the area in receptions,
receiving yards, and touchdown receptions .
Dapree Bryant (pictured here ),
a Villanova commit, is a 5-9, 180-pound senior wide receiver at Coatesville
High School. For his four-year career at Coatesville, Dapree has 189
receptions for 3,501 yards and 53 touchdown receptions .
Earlier in the season, he broke the Philadelphia-area record of 43 career
receiving touchdowns, set by former Upper Merion High and University of
Nebraska flanker Bobby
"Mr. Cling" Thomas from
1970 -1972. Dapree has also broken the Philadelphia-area career record for
receiving yards of 3,270 yards, set by Upper Perkiomen's Justin
Jaworski from
2014-2016. All that remains to achieve "The Triple Crown" is the area
receptions record. He needs just three
receptions this
Friday night when Coatesville meets Garnet Valley in a District I 6A
semifinal game to break the Philadelphia-area receptions record of 191
catches ,
set by Justin Jaworski from 2014-2016. Justin Jaworksi is now a junior at
Lafayette College where he's a starting guard on the school basketball team.
NOV. 12 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is St.
Joseph Hammonton High
School football star Jada
Beyers .
The 5-8, 165-pound senior slotback has
some staggering career numbers. Jada has rushed for 4,613
yards , scored
92 touchdowns ,
and tallied 584
points .
He also has a great pair of hands, catching 64
passes for 1,086 yards .
He still has two or three games remaining in his career. Unfortunately, his
amazing numbers have not equated to many college football scholarships. To
date, the two-time All-State performer has three offers, from Sacred Heart
College in Fairfield, Connecticut, Judson College in Marion, Alabama, and
the University of Massachusetts.
NOV. 6 CHUCKBIT NFL quarterback greats Joe
Montana (Ringgold), Matt
Ryan (Penn
Charter), Joe
Namath (Beaver
Falls), Johnny
Unitas (St.
Justin's Pittsburgh), Dan
Marino (Central
Catholic Pittsburgh), Jim
Kelly (East
Brady), Rich
Gannon (St.
Joseph's Prep), and George
Blanda (Youngwood)
all played their high school football careers in the state of Pennsylvania.
Senior Coatesville High School quarterback Ricky
Ortega (pictured here )
has an opportunity Friday night, November 8th, to accomplish something that
none of the aforementioned quarterbacks or for that matter no prep
quarterback in Pennsylvania has ever done. Simply put, on Friday, when
Coatesville travels to War Memorial Field in Doylestown to meet Central
Bucks West in
a District I 6A quarterfinal playoff game,, Ortega need s
222 yards passing to
become the first
schoolboy quarterback in Pennsylvania history to throw for 2,000 yards in
all four years of high school. The
Villanova University-commit threw for 2,237
yards as
a freshman, 3,270
yards as
a sophomore, 2,261
yards as
a junior and 1,778
yards so
far this season. Ricky also needs 127
yards Friday
to break the Philadelphia-area (southeastern,
Pa. and South Jersey) career passing yardage record of 9,672
yards which
was set by former Timber Creek (NJ) and current North Carolina State
University starter Devin Leary from 2014-2017. In his career, Ortega has
thrown for 121
touchdowns which
ranks third
all-time in
the state. He has an outside chance of breaking the state record of 137
touchdowns ,
set by Port Allegany High's Matt
Bodamer from
2009-2012. Obviously for that to happen, Coatesville has to keep on winning.
OCT. 16 CHUCKBIT Pictured ( here )
is quarterback Mateo
Desosa of Harrison
High School in
northern New Jersey who had a career-game in
a 46-35 victory over Secaucus High on Friday, October 4. Desosa was
18-for-32 passing for 447 yards and
four touchdown passes, and he rushed 11 times for 174
yards and
three touchdowns. All told, he was responsible for 621
yards of total offense and seven
touchdowns .
Believe it or not, the 621 yards of total offense is only
third-best all-time in the state of New Jersey .
The state record is 635
yards of total offense set
by quarterback Ashante
Worthy of Freehold
Boro on
November 11, 2017 against Nottingham High School. Ashante had 216
yards passing and 419
yards rushing for
his 635
yards against
Nottingham. Also, on September 15, 2017, Ashante had 624
yards of total offense against
Howell High with 286
yards passing and 338
rushing. Ashante
Worthy is the only quarterback in state history to throw
for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 2,000 yards in the same season.
OCT. 10 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Ryan
D'Imperio being
inducted into the Washington
Township High School Athletic
Hall of Fame in 2014. Ryan, a 2006
graduate of
Washington Township, is one of two former Township football players to play
in the NFL. The other is 1993 Washington Township graduate Antony
Jordan .
Ryan D'Imperio, a linebacker/fullback at Washington Township, was a two-time
All-South Jersey pick and was named All-State his senior season. At Rutgers
University ,
Ryan made 28 starts at linebacker. During his junior season (2008), he was
second-team All-Big East, and the Scarlet Knights' Defensive MVP, compiling
93 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks. D'Imperio was selected in
the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Minnesota
Vikings .
He played parts of two seasons as a fullback and special teamer with the
Vikings and attended camps with the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, and
New York Giants in 2013. Antony Jordan was an All-State selection on the
gridiron in both his junior and senior seasons at Washington Township.
Antony went on to a four-year football career at Vanderbilt
University ,
starting for three seasons at outside linebacker and earning two
All-Southeastern Conference selections. Jordan was a fifth-round draft pick
of the Indianapolis
Colts in
1998. He played four seasons (34 games) in the NFL, occupying roster spots
for the Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Atlanta Falcons.
OCT. 7 CHUCKBIT On Friday night, the Cheltenham High School football
team registered a 28-24 come-from-behind victory over previously undefeated
Plymouth Whitemarsh High School before an animated homecoming crowd in
Wyncote. Quarterback Adonis Hunter rushed for two touchdowns and threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Sam Sykes in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game winner. Wide
receiver/defensive back Nate Edwards scored the other touchdown with an 83-yard kickoff return in the second
quarter. In the end, it was the Cheltenham defense rising to the occasion,
standing up the Colonials at the goal line on a 4th and goal with 6.6
seconds remaining in the game. The Panthers are now (6-1) and
in first-place
in the Suburban One League American Conference .
The Cheltenham--Plymouth Whitemarsh football rivalry began in 1958 ,
and over the years Plymouth Whitemarsh has dominated the gridiron series,
winning 42-out-of-56
or exactly 75 % of
the games. In fact, the Colonials posted 18
straight victories over
the Panthers from 1983
to 1999 ,
including a 16-0 PIAA playoff victory in 1995. Yet, third-year head coach Ryan
Nase (pictured here ),
a 2002
graduate of Father Judge High School has
a "perfect
record" against
the Colonials, scoring victories over PW in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The first
and only other time Cheltenham has beaten PW in three consecutive years was
in 1980, 1981, and 1982 when Ted Weinstein was the coach and Gregg Caplan ,
the school's all-time leading passer, was the quarterback.
OCT. 4 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is middle linebacker Andrew
Bartlett of Pinelands
Regional High School in
Tuckerton, New Jersey. Last Saturday, Andrew had a South
Jersey-record five interceptions in
a 14-13 loss to Keyport High School. He returned one of the interceptions 50
yards for a touchdown. The Philadelphia
area (southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey) record
for interceptions in a game is six ,
established by Bill
Cubit of
now defunct Sharon Hill High School in 1970. Cubit is now an assistant
football coach at his alma mater, the University of Delaware. The Pennsylvania
and national record for
interceptions in a game according to the "National Federation of State High
Schools Record Book" is seven by Jack
Roberts of Bethel
Park High School in
1942.
SEPT. 24 CHUCKBIT Camden Woodrow Wilson High School sophomore quarterback Devin
Kargman (pictured here )
has taken over where his record-breaking older brother Nick
Kargman left
off. Devin was 37-for-54 passing
for 443
yards and
four touchdowns in a 48-38 wild victory over North Jersey non-public power
Delbarton on Saturday. The 37 completions tied
the New Jersey state record set
in 2002 by former Audubon High and current Denver Broncos quarterback Joe
Flacco .
The 54 attempts broke big brother Nick's Woodrow Wilson school record of 51
set last season, and earned Devin a share of second-place
on the all-time South Jersey list .
Joe Flacco holds the South Jersey record of 55 set in a 2002 loss to West
Deptford. Devin's 443 yards passing is tied for eighth-highest in Southern
New Jersey history with Eastern Regional's Tom
Flacco .
The South Jersey and state record is 539
yards by
Nick Kargman last season. Nick Kargman is now playing quarterback at Western
Michigan University .
SEPT. 19 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Cory Booker, a 1987 graduate of Northern Valley Regional High School at
Old Tappan in Bergen County, New Jersey. Cory, currently the junior
Democratic United States Senator from New Jersey, is not your typical
candidate for President
of the United States .
Cory, a tight end/defensive back was not just an All-League, All-Northern
Jersey, and All-State football player. In fact, he was a member of the first-team
"USA Today" All-USA 1986 high school football team .
Joining him in the defensive secondary on the All-USA team was Louis
Riddick from
Pennridge High School in Bucks County. Riddick is now an on-air talent for
ESPN after a seven-year career in the NFL. On the offense, the 1986 "USA
Today" first-team featured running backs Emmitt
Smith from
Escambia High in Pensacola, Florida and Ricky
Watters from
Bishop McDevitt High in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Cory matriculated at Stanford
University where
he played tight end, made the All-Pacific-10 Academic team, and was elected
senior class president. Cory won a Rhodes Scholarship and studied abroad at
the University of Oxford before attending Yale
Law School .
SEPT. 16 CHUCKBIT On Saturday in the fourth quarter of Camden High's
42-41 wild victory over Cedar Creek, Malachi
Melton (pictured here )
of Cedar
Creek ,
a University
of Purdue commit ,
caught four
touchdown receptions in the fourth quarter of
the game to tie
the state record for TD receiving receptions in a quarter .
He equaled the mark of Pemberton High's Corey
Reeder who
caught four touchdown receptions in the second quarter of a 40-0 win over
Burlington Township in 2009. Reeder went on to Villanova
University where
he played defensive back. At the time, Reeder's performance was tied with
the national record for TD receptions in a quarter before Daijuan
Stewart of
West St. Mary High in California caught five
touchdown passes in the first quarter of
a game in 2011 to establish a new national standard.
SEPT. 11 CHUCKBIT
"GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN"
Eighteen years ago on September 11, 2001,
former
West
Deptford High School
and
Fordham
University
fullback
Nick
Brandemarti
(pictured
here
)
went
to work just like any other day on the 89th floor of 2 World Trade
Center, but he never returned home, losing his life in the terrorist
attack on the World Trade Center. In 1996, Nick set the individual
game school rushing record at West Deptford with
340
yards
against
Gateway High
.
That
record still stands today. On the 18th anniversary of the terrorist
attacks, please take a moment to pause and remember Nick and the
other men, women, and children who lost their lives in the September
11 attacks. "MAY THEY ALL REST IN PEACE!"
SEPT. 4 CHUCKBIT Former Cheltenham High School and University of Maryland basketball star Laura
Harper (pictured here )
has been appointed the next Head Coach of the Monteverde Academy women's
basketball program in Monteverde, Florida. Laura is the daughter of Haviland
"Biff" Harper , the former Central High boys' basketball coach and
chairman of the school's math department. Haviland, a 6-7 forward at both
Central High and George Washington University racked up 17 double-doubles in
his career at GW from 1972 to 1976, scoring 1,050 points and grabbing 547
rebounds. His daughter Laura is the all-time leading scorer, boys or girls
in Cheltenham High history with 2,009 career points. At Cheltenham, Laura
was All-Area, All-State, and an All-American selection. She matriculated at
the University of Maryland where she led the Terrapins to the 2006 NCAA
Women's Division I Basketball championship with
a 78-75 victory over Duke. She was named MVP of the Final Four. After
graduating Maryland, Laura went on to play professionally in the WNBA and
overseas. Following her pro career, Coach Harper embarked on a successful
coaching career where she served as an assistant coach at Loyola University
of Maryland, High Point University, George Washington University, and most
recently the University of Florida. Monteverde Academy is an international
independent college prep school for grades Pre-K3 through post-graduate
studies. Their high school boys' basketball program is always among the best
in the USA. In fact, their two most famous basketball alumni are current
Philadelphia 76ers Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid .
AUG. 25 CHUCKBIT Miller Bugliari (pictured here ),
the 84-year
old boys'
soccer coach at the Pingry
School in
Martinsville, New Jersey, has just started his 60th season at
the helm. Miller, a 1952 graduate of Pingry, took over the program in 1960 .
In that time, he has won five state titles, 25 Somerset County Tournament
championships, and is a seven-time winner of New Jersey Coach of the Year.
His career record entering season No. 60 is 860-12-75 .
He's the all-time winningest boys' soccer coach in state history. Thousands
of players---including high school All-Americans, Division I stars and
future professionals---have come through Miller Bugliari's program over the
last six decades. In fact, his grandson, Will
Bugliari ,
who committed to Colgate over the summer, is playing for his grandfather one
last time this fall.
AUG. 23 CHUCKBIT Forty-seven years ago on Friday, February 18,1972, Plymouth-Whitemarsh
High School edged Springfield (Montco), 65-63, in "eight overtimes" (boxscore here )
to win the Suburban One boys' basketball championship in a game played at
Abington High School. The eight overtimes is still a Pennsylvania schoolboy
record. The national record is "13 overtimes" in a 1964 game played between
North Carolina high schools, Angier and Marner's Boone.
AUG. 14 CHUCKBIT
Below is the write-up on
Eastern Regional that will appear in the 28th annual issue of the "South
Jersey High School Football Preview Magazine" when it hits the
newsstands. . . .
EASTERN:
The
Vikings went from 5-5 to 6-3 and again made the playoffs, but now the
challenge is to take the next step. And it won’t be easy since the
Vikings graduated seven first-team all-Royal players. Still, Eastern
should be competitive and can’t be discounted as division contender. Sr.
TE-LB
Mike Wall
(6-3, 190) contributed 15 tackles and 2 TFL and
saw action on both sides of the ball. Sr. RB-DB
Mike Suarez
(5-11,
190) rushed for 762 yards (6.3 avg.) and 8 TDs. He was a second-team
all-Royal choice on offense. Sr. LB
Mo Howard
(5-11, 190) is a
third-year starter. He had 21 tackles. Jr. WR
Jordan Diaz
(5-8,
160) had 32 receptions for 275 yards and 2 TDs. He was a second-team
all-Royal choice. Jr. WR
Justin Moore
(5-9, 160) had 7 receptions
for 51 yards. Other veterans include Sr. OG-DE
Teddy Oseio
(6-3,
230) and Jr. RB-LB
Amiel Davis
(6-0, 195). Returning letter
winners include Sr. OL
Brendan Veit
(5-11, 220), Jr. DB
Tavion
Corbett Collier
(5-11, 180) and Sr. DB
Kouve Kerrin
(5-11,
185). Among newcomers are TE-LB
Kamari Weaver
(6-2, 190), LB
Vernon
Boyd
(5-10, 190), Sr. DB
Ethan Trauger
(6-0, 165), Fr. ATH.
Solomon
Cummings
(5-7, 150), Fr. OL-DL
Josh Hayes
(6-2, 220), Jr. OL-DL
Ronald
White
(6-2, 230) and Sr. OL-DL
Rob Meekus
(6-2, 260).
Replacing all-conference QB
Andrew Heck
, will be the main
challenge. QB candidates include Jr.
Connor Stafford
and So.
Tru
Styles.
Despite all the losses to graduation, the history under
coach
John Doherty
(pictured
here
)
is to remain competitive so the Vikings will challenge for the division,
but won’t be a favorite.
AUG. 13 CHUCKBIT Eastern Regional football players Mike Suarez and Jordan Diaz (pictured here )
have been selected to the West
Jersey Football League Royal Division Preseason Golden 11 by
the 2019 "South Jersey High School Football Preview Magazine." Suarez, a
5-11, 190-pound running back/defensive back, rushed for 762 yards and 8 TDs
last season. He was a second-team all-Royal selection on offense. Diaz, a
5-8, 165-pound junior wide receiver, had 32 receptions for 275 yards. He was
a second-team all-Royal choice. The 28th annual "South Jersey High School
Football Preview Magazine" will be out on the Wawa newsstands shortly.
AUG. 3 CHUCKBIT As a high school field hockey player, 2010 Eastern
Regional High School graduate Kelsey Mitchell (click here )
was named the New
Jersey Player of the Year in 2009 by
the "Newark Star-Ledger". A two-time first team all-state selection,
Mitchell scored 69 times as a senior to tie the state record for goals in a
season. She finished her career with 171 goals, a then state-record, and was
part of four state Group IV championship teams. She played collegiately at
the University
of Iowa ,
and is now entering her third year as the head coach of the Ocean
City High School field
hockey team. Kelsey, a Business Teacher at Ocean City, has a two-year record
of 33-12-1 with
a 5-2 mark in NJSIAA tournament games.
JULY 30 CHUCKBIT As an Eastern
Regional sophomore
kicker in 2013, Todd
Spirt (click here )
established school records with 52
PATs and 70
kicking points .
After his junior season, Spirt's family moved to Dresher, Pennsylvania, and
Todd enrolled at Upper
Dublin High School in
Fort Washington. At Upper Dublin, he helped the Cardinals win the PIAA
District 1 4A title in 2015 with a 46-21 victory over perennial southeastern
football power North Penn. Todd matriculated at Muhlenberg College in
Allentown where he enters his senior season having already set school
records for points by a freshman kicker in a season (77 points), points by a
kicker in a game (18 points-tied), and PATs made in a season (53 points).
For the 2019 season, with Todd Spirt handling the kicking chores, and former
Penn Charter quarterback Michael
Hnatkowsky running
the offense, the Mules are ranked preseason No.
14 nationally in Division III by
"Street & Smith's" and 8th by
"Lindy's."
MARCH 23 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is 1976 Marlboro High School (New Jersey ) graduate and CBS
broadcaster Jim Nantz . Nantz is one of the most recognizable voices
in sports as CBS' top NFL play-by-play announcer who also calls the NCAA
basketball tournament and the Masters Golf Tournament. Jim grew up in the
Colts Neck section of Monmouth County, spending hours playing basketball and
golf which were his two favorite sports. At Marlboro High School, he captained both the basketball and golf teams . Upon graduating Marlboro
in 1976, Jim matriculated at the University of Houston where he made
the golf team as a walk-on. His roommate at the University of Houston was a
golfer from Seattle, Washington named Fred Couples . Nantz, the
aspiring broadcaster, and Couples, who dreamed of someday competing on the
professional golf tour, used to practice in their dorm room the crowning of
the Masters Golf Tournament champion which is known as the "green jacket
presentation ceremony." Fast forward 15 years. On April 12, 1992, Fred
Couples won the Masters at Augusta, Georgia, his first and only major golf
championship title, shooting 13-under par, two strokes ahead of 1976
champion Raymond Floyd. A surreal scene made for Hollywood took place in the
historical Butler Cabin after the completion of the Masters. Jim Nantz
interviewed his good friend and former college roommate Fred Couples just
the way they practiced and perfected it 15 years ago in the University of
Houston dormitory. After Couples tried on the Masters green jacket, Nantz
commented, "It's a perfect fit, Fred!"
MARCH 21 CHUCKBIT Nine years ago in 2010, the Neumann-Goretti boys' basketball team edged Chartiers Valley High
School , 65-63, in the 3A championship game held at the Bryce Jordan
Center in State College. Carl Arrigale's Saints got double-doubles from Tony Chennault (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Danny Stewart (17
points, 12 rebounds). Guard T.J. McConnell had 32 points and 12
rebounds for Chartiers Valley High who was coached by his father, Tim
McConnell . FAST FORWARD NINE YEARS . T.J.
McConnell is now playing for the Philadelphia 76ers , and his father
Tim has Chartiers Valley back in the title game, BUT this time around
he is coaching the girls not the boys. After accumulating 552 victories
(22 wins a year) as the boys' coach, Tim McConnell (pictured here )
started coaching the girls this season, and they are undefeated at (29-0 ).
On Saturday at Hershey, his Chartiers Valley girls will play Archbishop
Carroll , at the Giant Center in Hershey for the girls' PIAA Class 5A
title.
MARCH 20 CHUCKBIT Pictured here with his prize pupil Kyrie Irving is New Jersey high school
basketball coaching legend Sandy Pyonin . Sandy is probably the most
accomplished basketball coach in New Jersey that you may never have heard
of. If he looks familiar, you probably have seen him coaching his AAU team, The Roadrunners , at the Albert C. Donofrio Tournament in
Conshohocken. A longtime teacher and coach, Sandy Pyonin is a renowned
basketball guru who has touched the lives of countless New Jersey athletes
over the course of his almost 50-year coaching caree r at Golda Academy , a private Jewish day high school in West Orange,
New Jersey. At Golda Academy (formerly known as Solomon Schechter Day
School), Sandy has won 837 games , making him the fourth
winningest coach in state high school history. His high school team
Golda Academy does not receive much publicity, because they are not an
NJSIAA school, but his AAU team, The Roadrunners, is known nationwide,
especially to college coaches. Sandy has coached the New Jersey Roadrunners
for over 40 years . They are a traveling squad made up of top high
school players from around the Garden State. His AAU teams have won three national
championships and 70 state titles , while sending more than 300
players to Division I college basketball programs. Sandy has personally
trained more than 30 players who have gone on to professional careers
in the NBA. Some of his former students, who have reached the NBA, include: Kyrie Irving, Alaa Abdelnaby, Edgar Jones, Randy Foye, Al Harrington,
Earl Clark, Alex Bradley, Mike Brown, Rafael Addison, Terry Dehere, Derrick
Alston, Chris Gatling, Bobby Hurley, Jr., Tim Perry, David Rivers, Luther
Wright , and Jay Williams just to name a few.
MARCH 19 CHUCKBIT Occasionally a high
school player basketball player will commit to a college after his freshman
year, but it is very rare. Even rarer is a player who verbally commits to a
college after his ninth-grade year when he didn't even play on his high
school hoops team. Such is the case with South Philadelphia playground
legend amd Miami Heat shooting guard Dion Waiters . As a freshman,
Waiters attended Bartram High School and South Philadelphia High
School , but did not play basketball at either school. Waiters committed
to Syracuse University during the summer after his freshman year
despite not having played a minute of high school ball. For his sophomore
season, Waiters played at the South Kent School , a private boarding
school for boys in Connecticut which lists Denver Nuggets guard Isaiah
Thomas as one of its alumni. Dion then transferred to Life Center
Academy in Burlington City, New Jersey where he played his junior and
senior seasons. At Life Center, he played in 24 career games, averaging 20.2ppg . For those who didn't get to see Dion play in high school, here is a highlight video during his senior campaign at Life Center Academy.
MARCH 17 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is former Frankford High School and St. Joseph's University basketball star Carlin Warley . Carlin is the only known former City Leagues player to
score over 1,000 points at two different high schools . According to
TedSilary.com, Carlin scored 1,071 points at Frankford High Schoo l
and 1,287 points at Phil-Mont Christian High School for a
total of 2,358 points . Warley is in excellent company. Only one
player in the rich history of New Jersey basketball has scored 1,000
points at two different schools. That would be former NBA Rookie of the Year
and six-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving . Kyrie totaled 2,080 career
points, scoring over 1,000 points at both Montclair Kimberley High and Elizabeth St. Patrick's .
MARCH 15 CHUCKBIT Pictured here on the left is 1955 Cheltenham High School graduate Nate Dickerson after he became the first and only Cheltenham High baseball player to sign a
contract with the hometown Philadelphia Phillies . On the right is
Phillies ace scout John "Jocko" Collins who tracked down Dickerson
and signed him at a Cheltenham High graduation party at 1 o'clock in the
morning . Collins is known for finding and signing, among many others,
pitcher Dallas Green , who managed the Phillies to the 1980 World
Series championship. Believe it or not, Collins, who graduated from St.
Joseph's Prep in 1927 where he captained the baseball and basketball
teams, coached basketball at North Catholic, Salesianum, St. Thomas More,
and the Prep . At Cheltenham, Dickerson was a four-star athlete,
competing in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. He played
five years in the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League system from 1955-1959.
Despite hitting 75 homers and batting .313, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound first
baseman never made it up to the Major Leagues. UPDATE from Ted Silary . . . It was long believed that Charles/Chuck/Charley Randall , a product
of Glassboro High, in South Jersey, was the first black to play in the
Phillies farm system. He made his debut on June 21, 1955, as Bradford (Pa.)
beat Olean (N.Y.), 12-10, in the PONY League. He went 3-for-4 (all singles)
with one RBI on a bases-loaded walk. He batted 7th and played LF. The story
in the Elmira (N.Y.) Advertiser said Randall was the first Negro to play for
Bradford, which had been part of the PONY league since 1939. . . . Now for Nate Dickerson . He made his debut one day earlier! On June 20, 1955,
Pulaski (Va.) beat Bristol (Tenn.), 9-4, in the first game of an Appalachian
League doubleheader. Nate went 1-for-2 with no RBI. he batted 6th and played
1B. A full boxscore was published for that first game in the Kingsport
(Tenn.) Times, but for for the second game. There was no mention of Nate in
the recap . . . Ted
Washington , a product of Camden (N.J.) High, had been the first black
player to sign with the Phillies. That happened on Sept. 17, 1952, and the
team's intention, according to stories, was to have him play in 1953 for the
Phillies' farm team in Granby, Quebec, Canada, in the Provincial League.
Also according to reports, he soon thereafter entered the Army. There is no
evidence that Washington ever played in the minors. Before signing with the
Phillies, he'd played with the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro League.
MARCH 11 CHUCKBIT Former Cheltenham High School and University of Pennsylvania basketball star Craig Littlepage (pictured here )
has recently retired after serving 16 years as the University of
Virginia's athletic director . Craig, the most accomplished boys'
basketball player in Cheltenham High hoop history, stepped down as athletic
director and transitioned into a role in the university president's office.
His official title now is Special Adviser to the Preside nt
of the University of Virginia and Director of Athletics Emeritus. Craig was
the first African-American athletic director in Atlantic Coast Conference
(ACC) history, and under his tenure Virginia won 13 national
championships and 76 ACC titles , the latter leading the
conference. At Cheltenham, "Page" was the first boy or girl basketball
player to score over 1,000 career points. During his junior year, he led the
Panthers to a 26-0 record, before losing to Laurel Highlands, 63-56, in
overtime in the Class 4A title game before 13,000 fans at the Pittsburgh
Civic Center. Craig earned his bachelor of science degree in economics from
the Wharton School of business and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania
in 1973.
MARCH 8 CHUCKBIT Last night,
Moorestown High School upended Wall Township High, 64-44, in a NJSIAA Group
3 state semifinal and advanced to Sunday's state championship game at
Rutgers. The last time that Moorestown won a state semifinal and made it to
the NJSIAA state final was 58 years ago in 1961 . That season,
Moorestown coached by the late, legendary Pete Monska (pictured here ),
defeated Lakewood, 68-55, in a NJSIAA Group II semifinal at the now defunct
Camden Convention Hall before an estimated 3,000 fans. Ben Still led
the Quakers with 27 points against Lakewood. In the state final in 1961,
Moorestown lost to powerful Roselle High School, 86-64. Moorestown head
coach Pete Monska was a Philadelphia native and a 1944 graduate of Northeast High School , where he gained fame as the goalie of the first
city high school soccer team to go undefeated. From 1958-1961, Monska was
the one most responsible for making Moorestown the center of the south
Jersey basketball universe during the glory days of hoops in South Jersey.
From 1958 to 1961, he coached Moorestown to four straight state finals ,
winning state Group 3 titles in 1958 and 1959. From 1958 to 1960, the
Quakers won 51 straight games under Monska. In those golden years of
Moorestown hoops, the Quakers featured future NFL Hall of Famer Dave
Robinson , Leroy Peacock , and high-scoring Ed Douglas who
once scored a then state-record 84 points in a game against Hamilton
High School.
MARCH 7 CHUCKBIT On Tuesday, Camden
Catholic defeated Paul VI, 40-34, to win the South Jersey Non-Public A
championship for the second year in a row. All told, the Crawfords --
Jim, Matt, and Kevin -- (pictured here )
have now combined for 11 South Jersey sectional titles . Father Jim
Crawford won seven at Camden Catholic, while Matt has two at Camden
Catholic and current Eastern head coach Kevin Crawford won two while at
Pitman High School. Jim's father, also Jim Crawford , was also a
basketball coach, coaching for 40 years at Christ the King grammar school in
Haddonfield. Jim played for him before matriculating at Bishop Eustace in
1965.
MARCH 6 CHUCKBIT Pictured here on the far right with Philadelphia Phillies team president Andy MacPhai l
and general manager Matt Klentak is 1973 Haverford School graduate John S. Middleton, the managing partner and principal owner of the
Philadelphia Phillies. John Middleton is in the Haverford School Athletic
Hall of Fame for good reason. He earned seven varsity letters at
Haverford. Two were in football as an offensive lineman, for which he
received All Inter-Ac Honorable Mention in 1972. Four of his varsity letters
were in wrestling , in which he was team captain in 1973 of the
National Prep School champions, posted an overall record of 89-9, was in the
200 Point Club (253 points), was Episcopal Invitational Wrestling Tournament
champion in 1970, placed second at National Preps in 1971, 1972, and 1973
and was PAPSIT Most Valuable Wrestler in 1977. He also received a varsity
letter in lacrosse at midfield. John matriculated at Amherst
College where he received four varsity letters in wrestling. In 1977, he
was team captain and was named the team's Most Valuable Wrestler. He
graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College in 1977 with a bachelor's
degree in economics and then attended Harvard Business School ,
graduating in 1979 with an MBA.
MARCH 5 CHUCKBIT
"IN MEMORIAM"
(1957-2019)
Former
Washington
Township High School
standout heavyweight wrestler
Chris Pallies
passed away on Monday at the age of 61. Chris, a 1974 graduate of
Washington Township, was a NJSIAA
regional wrestling champion
in
both 1973 and 1974 and finished third in the state in 1974. Chris was
better known by his stage name of
King Kong Bundy
(pictured
here
)
when he wrestled professionally in the
WWE
. His most memorable
professional match was a steel cage match against Hulk Hogan for the WWE
title in the main event of
WrestleMania 2
in 1986. Bundy is also
known for his acting roles, most notably playing the brother of
Peggy
Bundy
on the television sitcom Married With Children. He also had a
role in the the 1988 Richard Pryor film Moving as an ex-con.
MARCH 4 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is 1972 Overbrook High School (Philadelphia) graduate Darrell White ,
the head girls' coach at Westampton Tech in Burlington County. For the first
time in school history, they will be playing in a basketball sectional final
when they travel to play host Colts Neck High School in the Central Jersey
Group 3 championship tonight at 5:30 PM. Colts Neck was
the No. 1 seed. Westampton pulled off the upset, by 55-44.
FEB. 14 CHUCKBIT Pictured here with head coach Rob Sweeney is Camden Tech's Damon Jones who
scored 60 points Tuesday night and reached the 1,000-point career
plateau in Tech's 100-93 victory over Camden Academy Charter. Damon netted 10 three-pointers and had 28 points in the first
quarter. He was two shy of the school record of 62 set by Kenny
Layne on January 30, 1992. That same night, Jay White of sister
school Pennsauken Tech went for a school-record 53 points in a 106-75
triumph over Clayton High. Amazingly, two players from the same school
district combined for 113 points on the same night.
FEB. 2 CHUCKBIT
Several years ago, I was working the basketball
clock for a girls' basketball game at the school where I taught math for
30 years. I started talking to one of the female referees. She told me
she was originally from
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
. Remembering
that former
University of Pennsylvania
and
Detroit Pistons
Hall
of Fame basketball coach
Chuck Daly
(pictured
here
)
got his start coaching at
Punxsutawney High School
, I asked her
if she knew coach Daly. The ref told me that Mr. Daly was her Civics
teacher in high school, and she was in his classroom when the
announcement of
President John F. Kennedy
being assassinated
came over the loudspeaker system. She related that Mr. Daly and several
of the students in the room broke down crying when they heard the news.
I also asked her if
Groundhog Day (February 2)
and
"Punxsutawney Phil"
the groundhog were really that big of a deal in
her hometown? She looked at me square in the face and said, "My name is
Phyllis. I was named after the groundhog."
JAN. 31 CHUCKBIT Right below is the bio of Barry Jackson , the current coach of Eastern Regional's
champion, record-breaking girls' shuttle hurdles relay team , when he
was inducted into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2005. Barry has
been a very successful girls' and boys' track coach at several schools. He
also played football at Franklin Township High School where he competed
against future NFL stars Joe Theismann and Drew Pearson who
both played at South River High School.
Barry W. Jackson (Class
of 2005) N ew
Jersey Wrestling Officials Association
A 1968 graduate of Franklin Township
High School in Somerset County where he was a three-year participant in
football, wrestling and track, Jackson was a district champion and regional
place winner as a senior before going on to Montclair State University.
While in college Jackson assisted a year at Barringer High School in Newark
and then the 1973 Montclair State graduate was an assistant at Franklin from
1972-78. Jackson was an assistant at Willingboro 1978-83, an assistant at
Scotch Plains-Fanwood a year and then was head coach at Edgewood 1986-91
where he compiled a 62-38-1 record. Jackson had several district champions
and regional place winners and coached Damien Baylock to fourth in the state
at 189 pounds (a year later, as Damien Covington, he won the state title
while competing for Overbrook). Jackson, a former Coach of the Year
recipient, also officiated at the varsity level over 20 years at the
district, regional and state level. He was a recipient of the SJWCOA
Outstanding Official Award in 1992 and received a state officialís award for
contributions to wrestling in 1996. He also has officiated on the
international level (Freestyle and Greco-Roman) for 18 years and became a
pro Freestyle wrestling official. At the time of his induction he was still
teaching at Winslow Township High School in Camden County where he also was
a very successful girlsí track coach.
JAN. 26 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Mainland Regional High School swimmer Destin Lasco . Destin
is one of the most accomplished high school athletes in New Jersey that you
probably have never heard of unless you follow scholastic swimming. Lasco,
only a junior, is a two-time "Newark Star-Ledger" Swimmer of the Year. Even though his high school career is only a little more than half over,
Destin, in my opinion, is the greatest male high school swimmer in state
history. Lasco is one of the top athletes in New Jersey history regardless
of sport. He's now arguably the top high school swimmer in the USA. Yes, a swimming phenom in cold, windy, and snowy New Jersey. He led Mainland
High to state titles as a freshman and sophomore. Earlier this month, Lasco
won the 100-meter backstroke at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming
Championships in Fiji. Lasco, 17, broke the National Interscholastic
Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA) public school 200-meter freestyle
record in 1 minute, 51.15 seconds. The resident of Linwood, New Jersey now
owns five of the eight (NISCA) individual public-school meters records, plus
all three relays. He's even shattered some of the youth age records of Michael Phelps , the most decorated Olympian of all-time. Destin
committed last week to the University of California and plans to
major in business or biology.
JAN. 22 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is 6-5, 321-pound Los Angeles Rams reserve offensive lineman Jamil
Demby . Jamil stands alone as the only Philadelphia area (southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey) product in this season's Super
Bowl match-up of the Rams vs. the New England Patriots. Demby, a 2014
graduate of Vineland High School in Cumberland County, New Jersey, started
playing football at the age of seven in the Vineland Midget football League.
Jamil starred at the University of Maine and was selected in Round
6, Pick 18 (no. 192 overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft .
JAN. 21 CHUCKBIT Today there are a lot of high school boys' basketball games scheduled in the
Philadelphia area and on the cable channel ESPNU, but more importantly
January 21, 2019 is the 33rd anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day which
was observed for the first time on Monday, January 20, 1986. Fifty-five
years ago on April 15, 1964, civil rights leader Dr. King (pictured here ) ,
who had just appeared that January on the cover of "Time" magazine visited
Cheltenham High School. As part of the Cheltenham Township Adult School's
"Five Star Forum," Dr. King spoke about race relations to a sold out
standing-room-only crowd in the Cheltenham High auditorium. The speech was
very moving, inspirational, and similar to his "I Have A Dream" epic speech.
Dr. King was paid $1,000 plus transportation costs for the speech according
to the contract (pictured here )
between him and the Cheltenham Township Adult School.
JAN. 17 CHUCKBIT "IN REMEMBRANCE"
Pictured
here
is former Cheltenham High School teacher, United States Army World War
II veteran, and Frankford High and Temple University football legend
Mr. Joseph "Indian Joe" Nejman
. Joe attended
Frankford High
School
where he was a high school football star, leading Frankford
to a 13-0 victory over West Catholic in the
1940 City football
Championship
before close to 40,000 fans at Franklin Field. Joe
matriculated at Temple University, becoming the starting quarterback on
the 1942 football team. After his sophomore year, he decided to take a
break form school and football, enlisting in the US Army to serve his
country during World War II. After serving honorably in Africa and
Europe for close to three years, he returned to Temple to quarterback
the 1946 and 1947 Temple football teams. "Indian Joe" was team captain,
Most Valuable Player, and a College All-American. Mr. Nejman would go on
to work in the Social Studies and Physical Education Departments at
Cheltenham High School
for 34 years as a teacher, coach, and mentor
to many students before retiring in 1985. Joe coached football at Olney
High School, Germantown Academy, Roxborough High School, Cheltenham
High, and ultimately as the backfield coach at Temple University and
scout for the San Francisco 49ers. He also coached
Olney
High
School
to their
first baseball city championship in 1951
. He
was the founder of
Camp Anglewood
, a day camp in Elkins Park
which celebrated its 66th year this past summer. Mr. Nejman passed away
on July 13, 2012 at the age of 91. Joe and his wife "Nicky" were married
for 63 years.
JAN. 16 CHUCKBIT Former Rancocas Valley football coach Bill Gordon started coaching
at R.V. in Mount Holly in 1953 and became one of the most successful
football coaches in South Jersey history, guiding the Red Devils to seven
championships and two unbeaten seasons. Gordon compiled a 151-105-16 record
over a 30-year career as coach of the Red Devils when he retired in 1982.
Coach Gordon had many star players including Irving Fryar , Ron
Gassert , Al Harris , and Franco Harris , all of whom played
in the NFL. Franco Harris, in my opinion, is the most accomplished former
New Jersey high school football player in state history with four Super Bowl
rings. Before coaching at Rancocas Valley, Bill Gordon was the head coach
at Manasquan High School , located in Monmouth County at the Central
Jersey shore. At Manasquan, Gordon recruited a former freshmen football
player named Jack
Nicholson (Manasquan High "Class of 1954") to be his student manager.
Nicholson, a self-described "class clown," was also the student manager for
the basketball team until he got himself in trouble. Nicholson avenged the
beating of a basketball teammate by sneaking into the opponent's locker room
and attacking it with a Louisville slugger. He was banned from Manasquan
sports after that incident, and began to get involved with the school's
plays and musicals. Had Nicholson (pictured here at a Lakers' game) been less adroit at breaking and entering that day, we
may never had known one of the most remarkable acting talents this country
has ever produced.
JAN. 12 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is former high school basketball star Keith Kirkwood , a 2013 graduate
of Neptune High School in the central shore area of New Jersey. During his
junior season, Kirkwood , a future nominee for the 2013 McDonald's
All-America Boys High School Basketball Team, led Neptune's basketball team
to the Group III state finals, averaging 17 points and 15 rebounds during
the team's state title run. Keith Kirkwood dreamed of being the next Stephen Curry . He had multiple scholarship offers and intended to go to
Davidson where he planned to become the next 6-foot-3 guard to lead the
school to the big stage. College hoops stardom and the NBA were a reasonable
dream for Keith. He starred on an AAU team alongside Karl Anthony-Towns,
DeAndre' Bembry, and Malachi Richardson , all of whom now play in the
NBA. After his junior year, scholarships started pouring in. Ivy League
schools were interested in the National Honor Society member. So, instead of
letting his dreams into focus, Kirkwood decided to try something new and
become a multi-sport athlete. For fun and something new, he went out for the
football team his senior season. It was the first time Keith ever played
organized football. Kirkwood responded by catching 33 passes for 737 yards
and was named to the All-Shore Conference Football team. The rest is
history! He earned a football scholarship to the University of Hawaii before
transferring to Temple University where he had a stellar career playing wide
receiver. Tomorrow, Keith Kirkwood, the young man from the Jersey Shore who
went out for football for fun his senior year in high school for the first
time, will line up as wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints when they
play the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday's Divisional Playoff game.
JAN. 11 CHUCKBIT Where Is He Now . . . ? Tito Nanni (pictured here )
was one of the top athletes in the Inter-Ac League during the decade of the
seventies. The 1978 Chestnut Hill Academy graduate played football,
basketball, and baseball and was the captain and MVP in each sport. Tito was
an All-City selection in football, All-Inter-Ac in basketball, and
All-American in baseball. He once hit four home runs in a game against Penn
Charter. In 1978, Tito was the first round sixth pick of the Seattle
Mariners. After his professional baseball career was over, he earned a B.S.
in Business/Managerial Economics from the University of Utah. He is now an
Operations Manager for UPS Freight in Salt Lake City, Utah.
JAN. 3 CHUCKBIT One from Philadelphia. One from
the Philly suburbs, and one from South Jersey. Three former high school
basketball guards will be linked forever as the only prep players in
Philadelphia-area history to score 100 or more points in a 32-minute
high school basketball game. They are Bristol High School's Pete Cimino ,
(pictured here )
Dobbins Tech's Linda "Hawkeye" Page , and Dajuan "The Messiah"
Wagner from Camden High School.
On January 22, 1960, 6-foot-2
shooting guard Pete Cimino, who would later be signed as a baseball pitcher
out of high school by the
Washington Senators
, poured in
114
points
as Bristol beat visiting Palisades High, 134-86. Cimino shot
44-of-78 from the field and 26-of-29 from the foul line. Pete had 20 in the
first quarter followed by quarters of 24, 32, and 38 points. Cimino pitched
in the Major Leagues from 1965 to 1968 with the
Minnesota Twins
and
the
California Angels
.
Linda "Hawkeye" Page, a
5-foot-11 scoring machine from Dobbins Tech, burned the nets for
100
points
on February 15, 1981. She made 41 field goals and 18 free throws
in her team's 131-38 victory over Mastbaum. Entering the game, Page needed
37 points to reach the 2,000-point plateau for her career and earned that
milestone midway through the second period. For the game, she was 41-of-58
from the field and 18-of-21 from the foul line. On that February day, the
late Linda Page broke the
Public League individual game scoring record
of 90 points established by Overbrook's
Wilt Chamberlain
in 1955. .
. . Ted covered that game in person and I've asked him to post the story.
It's below.
Dajuan "The Messiah" Wagner
scored his
100 points
in a 157-67 blowout of visiting Camden County
Tech on January 16, 2001. Wagner made 32 two-point field goals, ten
three-pointers, and six foul shots to hit the century mark. His quarter
scores were 25 in the first, 21 in the second, 26 in the third, and 28 in
the final stanza. On that January afternoon he broke both the
state and
Camden High
record of 94 points set in 1992
Greg Barr
.
--
Feb 14,
1981
BY TED
SILARY
Dr. Tony
Coma, the coach, decided to change his mind, then a star named
Linda
proceeded to rewrite the most noteworthy page in this city's book of
schoolperson basketball records.
Remember
the days when Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 90 points against
Roxborough
in February of 1955, held the record for most points scored in a
game?
Well, they
ended yesterday with 4:04 remaining in the fourth quarter of a
Public
League game between Jules Mastbaum Tech and host Murrell Dobbins Tech.
They ended
in a flash, too, as Linda Page , a 5-11 guard, leaped from the
right side
to follow a missed foul shot by Lisa Gilliam for her 91st and 92nd
points.
Better
still, with 48 seconds remaining, Page was hacked on a baseline drive
and walked
to the foul line. Swish. Swish. One hundred points.
Team-wise,
the stats of note were Dobbins 131, Mastbaum 37. Page-wise, the
stats of
note included 41-for-58 shooting from the field, 18-for-21 from the
line, 19
rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals and 6 three-point plays.
" I wanted
to break Wilt's record and I'm glad I broke Wilt's record,
" said
Page, who is expected to announce her college decision in early March,
choosing
from among North Carolina State, St. Joseph's, Louisiana Tech,
Tennessee
and Old Dominion. " I'm also glad it's over with. Like always, I
couldn't
have done it without help from my teammates and coach. "
ESPECIALLY
THE COACH. It was totally Coma's idea to take another crack at
Chamberlain's record.
One month
back, after Page had scored 87 points against hapless Roxborough,
Doctor
Tone promised that " this is the last assault" and " nothing will be
done on
purpose from now on in. "
Even
before yesterday's game, he indicated that a film crew from Channel 10
had been
invited merely to " capture the hoopla surrounding Linda's 2,000th
career
point. "
However,
Coma let his emotions take control because several people had
opened
their enraged mouths a little too wide.
" I
received all kinds of adverse criticism when Linda scored 87 points,
" Coma
said, with disgust. " It came from unnamed people, mostly those in
skirts.
When that happened, I couldn't wait to turn her loose again.
" The
people who criticized me didn't realize that Linda made our league
known
throughout the country , not to mention her and our school. They
failed to
see the forest for the trees.
" Linda
Page is a one-in-a-million player. She's a Wilt Chamberlain to the
girls
game. I don't care what people think about me. I was fried by the likes
of Sports
Illustrated and Frank Dolson (while coaching the men's team at
Cornell).
But I do care about Linda Page . I want people to know: she's a
great,
great player. "
PAGE
REACHED 37 points and the 2,000 mark on a breakaway layup (pass from
Freda
Harris) with 4:51 remaining in the second quarter. Her quarter-by-
quarter
scoring breakdown was 27-26-27-20.
Before
anyone gets bent out of shape again, this was one of the cleanest
massacres
in basketball history. Dobbins never pressed full- court and the
starters,
except for Page, played no more than half the game. There was no
taunting,
basket hanging or matador imitations on defense, either.
Coma
partially informed Mastbaum Coach Jay Kuvik what was planned beforehand
- the
assault on 2,000, not 100 - and Kuvik (" I had an idea she'd go crazy
against
us" ) graciously made no waves when the game was stopped so Linda
could pose
for pictures with her coach, principal Ed Magliocco and a
specially-painted ball to commemorate the occasion.
Oddly
enough, the officials (Ralph Mappone, Barbara Ransom) also helped by
giving
Page an even shake. In her 87-point game, bumps and little chops were
often
ignored as the refs seemed to figure, " Ah, she'll get her points
anyway.
She doesn't need our elp. "
Page tied
Chamberlain's record with 5:01 remaining as she dribbled behind
her back
and nailed a 10-foot jumper. After breaking the record on the follow
and
sticking three more jumpers, raising her total to 98, Page passed to
Danita
Gilliam for a would- be three-point play.
HOWEVER,
THE foul shot kicked off to the right side and Linda missed a
follow and
a subsequent jumper - only the second time all game she'd flubbed
back-to-back shots.
The
successful free throws helped her ease into the three-digit club five
seconds
later.
" I
enjoyed this game more than the other one (Roxborough)," Linda said.
" Why? I
was making more of my shots.
" Really,
this wasn't planned. It just started as the day to hit 2,000. But
I got 37
pretty quick and I knew by the half that I had to be close to 50. We
could see
that the record was within reach. "
" When
Linda had scored 53 at the half, all systems were go," Coma said. " I
told the
girls that Linda needed only 38 more to break Wilt's record and that
I was sure
they'd all like to someday say there were proud to play in a
really
special game. "
With that,
as the players broke their huddle, they bellowed the following
cheer: "
Break Wilt's Record!! "
Through 12
league games, Page owns a scoring average of 53.4 and her overall
average
(17 games) is 49.2. Wilt's senior-season average in Public League play
was 47.2.
DON'T LOOK
NOW, but Linda (2,063) also has a chance to top Chamberlain's
career
scoring mark of 2,252. The Mustangs could play as many as seven more
games if
they win the league championship.
On
Wednesday, however, they were topped by perennial powerhouse University
City as
Page suffered a rare bad game.
" As soon
as that game was over, I was so upset, I wanted to play another
one right
away," Linda said. " Today, I took it out on Mastbaum. No, I don't
have
anything against Mastbaum. I don't have anything against any of the
teams we
play. "
Some
teams, however, are treated worse than others by the scoring machine
with
numbers on her belt like 46 (twice), 51, 53, 55, 61 (twice), 87 and 100.
Yes. One
hundred.
Wilt would
never believe it.
Author
Published
March 5, 2026
Updated
March 5, 2026