Letters Signed

Toms River North football coach Chip LaBarca Jr. knows a little bit about the recruiting game. He was an all-state wide receiver at Toms River South before signing with Penn State where his career included catching a touchdown pass in a 1992 Fiesta Bowl win over Tennessee. However when LaBarca signed his National Letter of Intent in 1989 with Penn State it was pretty much a small affair involving his family, which included his father Chip Sr. who just happened to be his high school coach.

Wednesday both LaBarca’s were on hand at Mulligan’s Bar & Grill in Toms River where a celebration was taking place after Zach Kane signed a National Letter of Intent to be part of a highly-regarded recruiting class at the University of Miami. Chip Jr. watched as a large crowd of family, friends, coaches and well-wishers gathered…many of them decked out in the orange and green colors of the Hurricanes. He laughed when he said this was a bit different than his signing but the college football recruiting game has changed quite a bit in the 19 years since he was a high school senior.

Kane was the only Ocean County player to sign with a major Division 1 school Wednesday although his high school teammate Austin Kugler inked a letter of intent with Monmouth University as did Toms River East lineman Mike Murphy and linebacker Jon Rogers of Barnegat.. Other players to make their decisions were lineman Justin Rand of Lacey who is headed to Penn and Barnegat’s Erik Smithman, who is Wagner-bound.

Suring is not a sport familiar to many…it’s more something they just watch while sitting on the beach or walking the boardwalk. The shore area has been a surfing hotbed for decades and one thing I know is surfers share a common bond and tend to be very supportive of one another. That’s why they are pulling for Dean Randazzo, considered by many the greatest surfer to ever come from New Jersey. The 36-year old father of a young son is battling Hodgkin’s disease for the fourth time and Saturday there will be an all-day benefit to provide financial support while he undergoes chemotherapy in California. There will be a surf contest at the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights with registration at 8AM and then at 6PM the Crabs Claw Inn of Lavallette will host a fundraiser which will feature raffles for autographed surfboards and much more. For information on the contest and the Crabs Claw event you can call (609) 231-1562 or visit www.deanrandazzocancerfoundation.org