BOYS NORTH 1A
Saturday, February 3 at Bowler City, Hackensack
New for 2018
Pascack Valley is up from G3 to G4. Ridgefield Park drops from G3 to G2. St. Joseph of Montvale is up from G2 to G3. Rutherford, New Milford and Dwight-Morrow entered after last year's absence, while Park Ridge and Old Tappan did not enter.
What I got wrong
There's a reason my group listings are projections: Due to the mix of missing teams and new teams, Pascack Valley ended up in Group IV, instead of Group III where I had listed them.
Ranked Teams Participating
None in the top 20, but Fair Lawn is listed in "Just Missed", while Pascack Valley, Ridgewood and Demarest are all under "have a good argument."
GROUP I
defending champ: Hasbrouck Heights
After a 3rd place finish in 2017, North Arlington is a very strong favorite here, with a 183 GA and a starting 5 that is nearly 100 pins clear of the field. Currently 70-0 in the NJIC Meadowlands division, and having won the Bergen County small schools title, the Vikings have a solid, established top 4 in Eric McKenna (198 overall average, FDU team challenge champ), Brandon Barth, Liam Henkel and Kenny Bennett.
The defending champs from Hasbrouck Heights have an excellent chance to advance again this year. They're sitting 4th in the NJICM and have pretty good numbers for a Group I team, with a 161 GA. Shawn Calhoun leads the Aviators with a 172 average.
If there's a contender to break into the top two, it might be Leonia. Quietly putting up decent numbers in the Patriot division, the Lions are led by one of North Jersey's best female bowlers, Gabrielle Capalad, who is fresh off a Bergen County individual championship, as well as Andy Hong who's gone as high as 646 this season.
Last year's runnerup, Becton is a solid 3rd in the NJICM, and they have a star at the top in Trevor Deliantis and his 193 average. The Wildcats will need a strong effort down-lineup, but they're a very live dog for one of the TOC spots.
Palisades Park and Bergen Arts may be dark horses worth considering. The PP Tigers lead the Patriot division with a 66-39 record, while the Yellow Jackets may have enough depth to make a run.
Wallington, New Milford and Midland Park complete the Group I field.
GROUP II
defending champ: Fort Lee
Mahwah, 12-0 in Big North matches and fresh off a 2nd place in the Bergen, are the favorites in Group II. Carrying an impressive 184.7 GA, the Thunderbirds are led by junior Liam Barron, who's averaging just under 200 in Big North play. Shane Graynor, Tyler Klein and Eric Grunblatt are all over 180 as well, giving Mahwah excellent depth.
If there's a team that can challenge Mahwah, it's Lyndhurst, last year's runnerup. The Golden Bears have put up an excellent GA: 175, a solid 3rd place at the Bergen, and a strong second place in the NJIC-Meadowlands. Most importantly, they have the best 1-2 in the grouping, with Troy Villani and Michael Lavell each averaging 193.
Graduation cost defending champs Fort Lee their favorite status, but the cupboard is far from bare: they're 8-4 in conference action, sport a very good 868 T5 (2nd in the grouping) Michael Choe is averaging 182, and the Bridgemen have at least five good options behind him, including junior Jason Jeon who's come on of late.
After the top three, there are a bunch of teams with very similar stats. My top choice as a darkhorse is probably Ridgefield Park, because the Scarlets can throw three guys at you with 180+ averages: Roberto Martinez, Jesse Kim and Brandon Voorhees.
**I have received information that after a regular-season absence, Ridgefield Park superstar Derek Lewandowski will be competing for the Scarlets at sectionals. This is huge - Lewandowski averaged 215 last year and is one of the very best in North Jersey. This makes RP essentially co-favorites with Mahwah in the sectional.
Westwood can put some good bowlers out there, too, especially Cardinals senior Anthony Calamari who's over 180 in his senior year. A strong second place finish in the NJIC Colonial, as well as a solid 164 GA, shows you can't underestimate Glen Rock. The Panther's Matt Passaro shot 645 just last week. Ramsey may not throw any huge averages at you, but they have five solid bowlers, including Tommy McGrath who shot 658 earlier this season for the Rams.
Last year's third place team, Dumont, is going to need a lot of its depth to fire to make a run in 2018, but the Huskies have a huge weapon in Louis Ferrante, who could make some singles noise. Pascack Hills will have no trouble filling all five spots with decent scores. Senior Matthew Miller is the Cowboys top gun. Contention is probably out of reach for Rutherford, who managed a fifth place finish in the NJIC-Colonial.
GROUP III
defending champ: Indian Hills
The top-ranked team here is Demarest. High average bowlers in Nick Allegro, Andrew Chung and Ben Nelson have helped the Norsemen to an outstanding 189 GA and a 3rd place finish in the Bergen. And it certainly helps to have one of the very bowlers in the state around, and Jordan Tse certainly fits the bill, with multiple 300s and a Big North-Best 224 average.
But don't count out the defending champs just yet. Despite huge graduation losses, Indian Hills has reloaded nicely, showing stats that are just a hair behind Demarest. Ryan McGuire has been lights-out, averaging 213 in-conference, and the Braves are getting great scores from Jack Miller, Sorab Taneja and Joe Falsetta as well.
There's some separation after the top two, but Bergenfield has plenty enough talent to fill that gap. Peter Bondy (197 average), Derek Weigl (192) and George Ferguson (184) have all put up big numbers at times this season, and the Bears have outscored Demarest in a dual match.
I'm not sure where they turn for the fifth spot, but Ramapo is solid at the top, with Jason and Kevin Roccanova as well as Natty Mucci; all have bested 640 in 2017-18. The Raiders might be the best bet to surprise.
Tenafly has the depth, and it's not much of a stretch to think they might put it all together for one day. Dongyoung Kim and Leon Li have the Tigers' top averages.
Similar stats across the next few teams: Garfield is 3rd in the NJIC-C but probably just short on firepower. Same goes for St. Joseph (Montvale), who has six capable men for the five tournament slots, as well as Paramus, who did manage to take down Ramapo back in December.
River Dell is nearly all underclassmen, and a team to watch closely over the next year or two. Dwight-Morrow is a brand new team, and it's always great to see a new program willing to come bowl with the best at sectionals.
GROUP IV
defending champ: Northern Highlands
Last year it was Group III that was the big drawing card in North 1-A, but this year, the stars come out for Group IV. By my count, we have three outstanding teams and at least four live dogs in this grouping. This is what tournament bowling is about.
Fair Lawn is the favorite on paper. Just outside the state top 20, the Cutters took the Bergen Big Schools title and sport a genuinely outstanding GA of 193. Much more importantly, they have some seriously fantastic bowlers. Tyler (192) and Jake (198) Nappi have gotten it done all year. Anthony Frangiosa was the best story at the Bergen. And junior Nick Greco has been at an all-state level, averaging over 216, tossing multiple 300s and appearing near the state's top series list with a 787.
But here's the thing: Pascack Valley's stats are every bit as good. Four brilliant juniors make the Indians go: Henry Tipping (195), Scott Morris (205), Brian Biml (205) and Trevor Lauber (201) can all hurt you, can all throw numbers. Throw in their 10-0 Big North match record: these guys like to win. Pencil them into next year's top 10, but this year might be theirs as well.
And yet, I won't be surprised at all if one of those top two teams doesn't make it to Bowlero, because Ridgewood is damn good, too. Matt Myers (204 avg) has been great all year, and Brian Skettini (205) is as hot as anybody in North Jersey right now. And they definitely go five-deep. The Maroons beat out Pascack Valley for 2nd in the Bergen and certainly have the ability to do it again.
Paramus Catholic may be able to hang as well. They placed 4th at the Bergen, and have gone 9-1 in Big North matches. A very good top three of George Held, Julian Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez (194 average) put the Paladins in the neighborhood, and what might be the best depth in the grouping could get them home.
Defending champs Northern Highlands isn't going to sneak up on anyone like last year, but a repeat performance isn't totally out of the question either. The Highlanders have a top-line talent in Jacob Lucibello (197) average, and a solid bolwer in Maks Halpin, as well as last year's hero, Will Cunningham. They placed 2nd at the Falcon Frenzee, so tournament success is nothing new.
So many good squads here... Teaneck is another one. Matt Ramos (190), Kyle Campbell (186) and Trevor Savoye (180), underclassmen all, could get the Highwaymen's program to the next level a year early if everybody fires at once.
Bergen Tech is another very young team - the top four of Zachary Chan, Michael Falcone, Walter Wargacki and Elian Calvo include zero seniors. The Knights are probably a year away, but you never know.
Bergen Catholic is slightly overmatched in this loaded grouping, but Hunter Butkera (185) has had a pretty good season. Despite an upset over Highlands last week, Hackensack is likely a bit outclassed here. Chris Previtali of Don Bosco Prep has a real chance at individual advancement.
INDIVIDUAL
His team isn't entered, but Park Ridge freshman Joseph Mahoney is most definitely a threat to take one of the 12 available advancer spots, with his 208 overall average.
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