BOYS NORTH 1A
Saturday, February 11 at Bowler City, Hackensack
New for 2017
Teaneck, Ramapo, Bergenfield, Old Tappan and Midland Park all entered this year after not participating in 2016. Cliffside Park is not entered; they did enter in 2016. St. Joseph-Montvale drops from G3 to G2, Indian Hills drops from G4 to G3.
Ranked Teams Participating:
#12 Indian Hills (G3), #18 Pascack Hills (G3), "Next 10" Fair Lawn (G4), "Next 10" North Arlington (G1), "Next 10" Lyndhurst (G2)
GROUP I
defending champ: North Arlington
North Arlington is a reasonably heavy favorite to repeat here. The Vikings finished second to Lyndhurst in the NJIC-Meadowlands division with a sparkling 93-12 record. Eric McKenna (206) and Brandon Barth (202) sport big averages and each has put up some big series. Kenny Bennett and Liam Henkel and plenty capable of doing the same. The four-man to five-man adjustment, can be tricky, but they've been getting solid efforts from Trent Petito and finished 7th in the Bergen County.
Hasbrouck Heights finished 4th in the same league; still a very fine year. They don't have North Arlington's top-end firepower, but they have excellent depth: 5 experienced starters that all average over 170, led by Frankie Quatrone's 188. The Aviators are a type of tournament team that I love to pick, because it only takes one to get hot and the others will be right with him. They made the cut at the Bergen and stayed within 200 pins of North Arlington over six games.
Becton is a different type of team, but certainly dangerous as well. Trevor Deliantis is their unquestioned best, sporting a 206 average and a 696 high set. Two other Wildcats have gone over 600. Seven differnt bowlers have at least 12 games in-conference, which is fairly rare in a 4-man league. If they get the right combination behind Deliantis, there's no question that Becton's in the mix.
Palisades Park finished 2nd in the Patriot division with a balanced attack, but probably lacks the firepower to challenge the top three. Same for Bergen Charter, which has very similar totals.
Leonia, Queen of Peace, Midland Park and Wallington round out the entries.
GROUP II
defending champ: Lyndhurst
The NJIC-Patriot Champion Lyndhurst Golden Bears (97-8) are the clear favorite in Group II (again). They're also in the conversation with Wallkill Valley as the best truly co-ed team around: Naomi Ramos and Tyla D'Andrea (186 average) put up numbers right alongside James Podloski and superstar Ryan Donohue (223 average). It looks like Troy Villani has won the 5th spot, and he's been great in limited action. They finished 2nd overall at the Bergen. I see a team without a real weakness, and I see a trip to Bowlero.
Fort Lee, divisional champs in the Big North, has two things going for it that make it the second choice for a spot in North Brunswick: First, they have eight bowlers who have gotten varsity experience this season, and every one of them has been at least pretty good. Second, they have David Grant. The senior has led the Big North in average all season (223), and by a substantial margin. Expect the Bridgemen to improve on their Bergen County performance and maybe even make a run at Lyndhurst.
A bunch of teams beyond the top two merit a mention because, if nothing else, there are some outstanding individual bowlers in this grouping:
Mahwah sophomore Eric Grunblatt has been very good this year, and their numbers are solid across the board, but the Thunderbirds had a rough go at the Bergen, missing the cut. Despite that, I think they're the top darkhorse pick.
Devin Crowley of Ramsey may be an individual contender, and the team is deeper than many, but it would take a really amazing run to get close. Same goes for Westwood, with Daniel Charles and Michael Salerno as the individual threats. Dumont's Kyle Schellberg (216 average) can throw numbers with anyone, I mean anyone, in New Jersey. St. Joseph-Montvale features Senior Nathan Trombo, who's averaging 197. Any of these guys could throw a big enough number to get their teams close, but they'll need plenty of help.
Glen Rock's numbers make me think they're a longshot, but they were fantastic at the Bergen, second among small schools behind Matt Carbone's 648, so we've got to give them a chance to make a run at the top two here.
Park Ridge had a great year, winning the Patriot division, and has a really good bowler leading the way in Nick Fabiano, but their numbers are a bit behind the contenders overall. Pascack Hills is in a similar spot: able to throw several solid bowlers out there, but not quite enough to contend.
GROUP III
defending champ: Paramus
I've got to say, I've been looking forward to this one all year. The two top teams in the Big North, #14 Indian Hills and #18 Pascack Valley, in the same sectional, in the same group. Both had outstanding seasons: Indian Hills is 97-8 and Pascack Valley is 100-12. Both won their divisions. Both have excellent numbers.
Indian Hills' are a little better; they have the #7 GA is the state at 202.8 and a slightly higher T5 (990 v 982). That's because of the Braves' thunderous top four: Jared Duncan (218 average and second at Bergen) and Jon Mormando (212) are the leaders, with Ryan McGuire (206) and Jack Miller (195) right on their heels. Each of the four has gone 691 or better. Andrew Smolenski made his season debut at the Bergen and shot a respectable 538.
Valley has five guys averaging over 190: Tom Smith, Trevor Lauber, Brian Biml, Scott Morris and Henry Tipping (the leader at 200). Not one of them would surprise me if they appeared among the individual qualifiers. Perhaps most tellingly, the PV Indians defeated Hills soundly at the Bergen. All told, it's a total tossup between two high-level teams, and it's gonna be an awful lot of fun.
Can anybody spoil this two-team party? Absolutely. Take a look at the 90-15 Bergenfield Bears. Strong enough in the middle, they have Rafael Fernandez averaging 192 and an absolute monster in Derek Lewandowski and his 218 average up top. Their game average is only 5 pins behind Pascack Valley.
One more possibility is Demarest, who carries a higher T5 than Ridgefield Park. The Norsemen have a really good top three of Jon Kopf (188), Zack Fischberg (193) and Junior Jordan Tse, who has fired four 700s this season.
Defending champion Paramus is a competitive team without any weak spots, and Ramapo did manage to take 2 of 3 from Indian Hills this season, and has a very solid one-through-four, but I think both are a step behind the contenders.
Unfortunately, when the talent level at the top of the sectional is this high, it increases the number of longshots. Bergenfield, Garfield, Tenafly and River Dell fall into that category.
GROUP IV
defending champ: Indian Hills (at Group III for 2017)
Last year's champs moved down, so who's going to be the new champ? The numbers say it's Fair Lawn. The Cutters are carrying the best GA (190) by 5 pins, and the best T5 by a whole lot. They haven't clinched the division yet, but it's looking good. Most importantly, they've got talent. Sophomore Nick Greco is becoming a star. He won the North Jersey Singles title and is averaging 210. Tyler (196) and Jake (189) Nappi are really good as well, each having shot over 650. Tim Hoedemaker is a strong #4 and there look to be a few good options at #5. This group underperformed at the Bergen, but I think they've got a chance to run away with the sectional.
Ridgewood may have something to say about that, though. With a fourth place overall at the Bergen on their resume, the Maroons are selling depth, and they've got it in spades. Matt Myers is very strong up top, averaging 204, and Freshman Brian Skettini has looked great, averaging 195. Beyond that are five good candidates for three spots: a position very few Big North teams are able to achieve. The overall numbers give them an excellent shot at advancing to states; the right combination of five might give them a shot at the title.
Bergen Catholic finished 5th at the Bergen, so they're certainly in this mix as well, despite numbers a click below the top two. The Crusaders are one of the most balanced high-quality boys teams in the Big North, if not the state. The four starters averaged between 172 and 189, led by Hunter Butkera and Kyle Laube. The likely fifth starter is even in that range in limited action. You know I like these balanced squads.
Paramus Catholic's youth movement may be a year away from crashing the rankings, but they're gonna generate some excitement with sophomore Alex Rodriguez (187) and freshman Louis Ferrante (202). Never bet the house against young teams that may not know any better than to overperform by a whole bunch. Teaneck has put together a nice season in a very tough division and Trevor Savoye (another freshman) may be a future star. Northern Highlands is another talented, balanced group, but their numbers are just a little shy of the top teams.
Don Bosco Prep, Bergen Tech, Old Tappan and Hackensack complete the field.
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