Haddonfield - Paul VI is playing like the best team in South Jersey. After consecutive wins over top programs Shawnee and Lenape, the Eagles have their sights set high for tournament time.
“I’m really proud of these guys,” commented coach Tony Devlin, after dispatching of previously unbeaten Lenape 61-45. “We’ve been in a couple of tight games, and when we’ve lost the lead, we’ve always fought back. We never give up. We’re very resilient, and we keep coming at you.”
Paul VI is led by junior point guard Ron Curry, who will be suiting up for James Madison in the fall of 2012, and senior Siena-bound forward Rob Poole. Big man Roosevelt Cubbage is also an improving player who you can expect to do big things for the Paul VI program, and develop into a major South Jersey stud and Division I prospect.
“Each game is a step toward March,” added coach Devlin. “We’re just trying to work hard everyday in practice. The guys have been great at buying into the philosophy of one game at-a-time, and we’re working every week towards improving. That’s all we’ve been focused on, and hopefully we’ll be playing our best basketball come tournament time in March.”
Paul VI is definitely a team to be on the lookout for. The Eagles are a talented and focused squad, and represent South Jersey hoops at it’s finest.
{jcomments on}
Medford – When you beat perennial power Shawnee on their home court, deep in the sticks of Medford Lakes, you deserve
some love from The S.J. Rock, and after knocking off the Renegades 66-60, that’s exactly what Winslow Township is getting.
Roman Catholic (Pa.) transfer Stephen Jones led the Eagles with 25 points, and the Eagles also received solid efforts from Stacey
Upshaw Goree (14 pts) and Adonius Melvins (13 pts) in the hard fought road victory.
“We executed what we wanted to do defensively,” stated an exhausted Jared Price, head coach of Winslow Township. “I told the
team that it was going to be a hostile environment coming in here. I’ve been a part of the Winslow program for 7 years, and we
had never won here, so this was a big win for us. A huge win.”
After trailing 25-22 at halftime, Winslow won both the 3rd and 4th quarters to come away with the 6 point victory.
“We came together in the second half and limited our mistakes,” commented Price. “Steve (Jones) was huge tonight. He hit some
big three’s for us, and that allowed us to have the breathing room to be able to play the way we wanted to play. We didn’t shoot
great as a team, but we came through at the free throw line, and I give my guys a lot of credit.”
While Coach Price recognizes that there’s much improvement needed for his Eagles, he expects a hard fought win like this on the
road against a top tier program to inspire his 8-2 squad to do some bigger and better things in the ’11.
{jcomments on}
Paulsboro – The Paulsboro Red Raiders are a team to be reckoned with for years to come.
The South Jersey Rock recently caught up with Paulsboro High School in action at home versus conference rival Lindenwold.
After a chippy contest in which the Red Raiders trailed by 6 points at halftime, Paulsboro came to life in the 3rd quarter, and
fueled themselves to a 64-52 victory.
“These kids have a lot of pride and play with a lot of swagger,” commented head coach Sean Collins, of his 8-3 ballclub.
“I think we did a nice job of keeping our composure throughout the game, and showing a lot of pride.”
Paulsboro is led by 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Xavier Lundy, who shows the promise of developing into one of the area’s top
prospects… ever.
Julien Davenport, a 6-foot-8 sophomore wide body, controls the paint. If Davenport blossoms to his full potential, there could
be very little that stands in Paulsboro’s way for the next 3 years… including 2011.
The Red Raiders also receive solid contributions from Calvin Johnson, Cori Johnson, Juwan Alford, and a cast of able bodies.
They’re a team that’s very talented off the dribble, and can beat you with both a half-court game, or an up-tempo run-fest.
“We’re going to get better and better,” added Collins. “We’ve come out and laid some eggs this year, but that’s the sign of a
young team.”
Keep an eye out for the talented Red Raiders. They’ll be a force in South Jersey for quite some time, but are looking to
do some big things right here in the present. Believe the hype.
{jcomments on}
West Deptford – Haddonfield High School is looking to make a strong push into the playoffs, and after putting on an
impressive display versus West Deptford in a recent road victory, the Haddons are priming themselves for post-seasons success.
“We put ourselves in a great spot,” commented coach Paul Weidemann to his team after a 79-41 victory. “A lot of this win had
to do with the defense, being tougher, boxing out, a better shot selection, and talking to each other. If we can continue to do these
things, we’re going to win the games that are the tough ones.”
At 13-4, Weidemann also complemented his team on their resume of credible wins, citing that when you start winning games in
succession… 5 in-a-row to be exact, teams will take notice.
In the win versus West Deptford, Haddonfield was led by Mike Lacatena’s 23 points and Wyatt Polk’s 20. Anthony Parenti and
Chris Biddle chipped in with 12 and 10 points. Not to be denied was Jake Reisman, who scored 1. (Just The Rock showin’
some love.)
“We have a couple of standout players on our team, but it takes a collective effort,” added Weidemann. “All of the guys can
contribute if they’re strong with the ball, make good crisp passes, take good shots, and don’t do things they think they’re capable
of, but they’re not.
If we’re solid with the fundamentals, we’ll be alright.”
{jcomments on}
Audubon – Haddon Township High School happily ended the season of rival Audubon 59-44 in the first round of the South Jersey Group 1 playoffs. Led by a raucous crowd, the Hawks kept up their intensity throughout the contest, and slowly put the Green Wave way.
“Our fans are awesome,” commented coach Ron Wister. “The environment tonight was almost like a South Jersey championship game. The schools are so close, the gym was crowded, and that made for a pretty intense game. If you can’t get pumped up for your rival school, you can’t get pumped up for anything.”
Haddon Township was led by Ryan Rust and Logan Murray, who each tallied 17 points. The defense of the Hawks held Audubon standout T.J. Tassi to 22 points on a relatively poor shooting night.”
“If you don’t shut Tassi down when you play Audubon, you’re going to have problems,” added Wister. “We did that tonight, and got the win. I’m proud of these kids and the effort. They made all our fans proud on this night.”{jcomments on}
