Friday, October 21, 2011

This & That

Southern Regional High School has been playing football since 1958 and tonight they can do something that’s never happened in the more than 50 years of the program…win an outright division title. Southern is 5-1 and they are heavy favorites over a 1-4 Toms River East team that comes into Goldberger Memorial Field looking to spoil what could be a party in Manahawkin. The Rams clinched at least a share of the Class A South title last week when they rolled over rival Toms River North and that in itself was noteworthy because you have to go back to 1972 to find when they last won even a share of a division title. Now tonight on what should be a perfect evening for football all the stars are aligned for an outright championship. Veteran coach Chuck Donohue has assembled a solid group of players led by running back T.J. Bellissimo, who scored a school-record 6 touchdowns last week with much of the credit due to a solid offensive line. Quarterback Dan Higgins, receiver and safety Alec Morris, two-way standout Matt Kelly and linebacker Kevin Fitzpatrick are all major contributors to what’s been a special season for Ram fans. Tonight’s game will be broadcast on our sister station 105.7FM (and also 1160AM) with kickoff at 7pm.

This 7th weekend of the season also features two big games in the wild Class B South Division where Central, Brick and Barnegat all have just one loss.
One of those teams will be eliminated tonight when the Bengals host the Green Dragons in Barnegat. If Brick win’s it will clinch at least a share of the division title for first-year head coach Rob Dahl. Central which has experienced a football renaissance this fall, can do no worse than tie for the championship with a win over arch-rival Lacey tomorrow afternoon. The Lions have won 21 of the previous 28 meetings between the schools including the last 8 but this time they are the underdogs against Kalyph Hardy and company.

To a non-football item….congratulations to Lavallette’s Sam Hammer, who added to his reputation as New Jersey’s premier surfer by winning the Smith Optics Garden State Grudge Match Thursday at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights. The 31-year old former Point Pleasant Beach High School wrestler scored perfect 10 rides in both the semifinals and finals to put away his last two competitors in the head to head competition. It was the 4th time Hammer claimed the championship in the nine-year history of the event. When he is not bartending at his family’s Crabs Claw Inn or running his own surf camps Hammer proved again Thursday that when it comes to New Jersey surfing…he is still on top.

No comments: