BOYS CENTRAL
Saturday, February 3 at Bowlero North Brunswick
New for 2018
Monroe is up from G3 to G4. Watchung Hills drops from G4 to G3. Middletown North drops from G3 to G2. Colts Neck, Mater Dei and Bridgewater are entered after an absence last year, while Long Branch, Bishop Ahr and Perth Amboy are not entered after participating in 2017.
Ranked Teams Participating
#1 East Brunswick, #3 Woodbridge, #5 St. Joseph-Metuchen, #6 Monroe, #7 St. Rose, #9 South Plainfield, #10 Edison, #14 Ocean Township, #15 Manasquan, #16 North Brunswick, #17 South Brunswick, 'Just Missed' JP Stevens, Wall Township, Neptune; "Good Argument' Colonia, Howell
This sectional is just insanely loaded across the board. I'll talk about favorites and whatnot, but with this much talent in the room, it would be more surprising if there weren't any upsets.
GROUP I
defending champ: Manasquan
A heck of a matchup right up front. #7 St. Rose has been simply amazing in the regular season. They've taken complete control of the Shore Central A at 39-9, fired an incredible 3337 true 5-man set, and boast the fifth-best starting lineup in the state. All the starters are over 200: Joey Chiusano (216), Jarrett Toth (209), Carter Vanderslice (208), Vinny Mastria (202) and David Schuld (201). While they were competitive at the Wave, the Mustang and at Bayshore, the only thing missing from the Roses resume was a huge tournament performance, and then they went and took second after qualifying 3rd at 3010 in the Shore tournament. Looks to be their time.
#15 Manasquan finished behind St. Rose in conference play and their numbers are a bit behind (but still very impressive, espeially the 991 T5), but they outperformed them at the Wave, and they are the defending state champions. They have a full complement of talent, too: Dylan Wolfe and Kyle Bauters are both well into the 210s, while Alex Danish (200) and Ryan Anderson (189) can bring it, too. A sectional title might take a huge number, and the Warriors have gone as high as 3196. Stay tuned.
Can anyone break up the Shore-Central-A party at the top? Maybe. And maybe Middlesex is the one to do it. Battle-tested in GMC action, where they went 10-5-1, the Blue Jays have a more-than -respectable GA of 185, and a strong top two in Jarrett May (205) and Noah Green (195).
Matawan dominated Shore-North-A, showing a 42-0 record, and their numbers are solid, but not earth-shattering. We have to take them very seriously, however, because the Huskies showed at the Brick tournament that they're capable of putting up a huge number, carding 3201 to take second in a very tough field. Aaron Reingold (195) and Zachary Grillo (193) are a formidable top two.
Shore-North-A runnersup Keansburg had a nice regular season, but they're probably a bit outmatched by the quality in this grouping. They do, however, have a legitimate ace in junior Thomas McKeon, who's carrying a 208 overall average.
South River is outside the contenders despite a pair of pretty good bowlers in Kyle Sporer and Alexander Paz. South Hunterdon was much more competitive in the Skyland than recent years and may be on the upswing.
Keyport, Mater Dei and St. John Vianney complete the field.
GROUP II
defending champ: St. Joseph-Metuchen
This right here? This is a free-for-all, with seven legitimate contenders. The "non-contenders" are all really good teams, too. Where do we start? The defending champs, #5 St. Joseph-Metuchen. The Falcons calling card for a few years has been depth; this year is no different. They can run seven different guys at you that all average over 190, and five over 200, including John Hoban (207), John Reggio (201), Conor Quigley (202), Brendan Sosinski (202) and Justin Biancamano (201). But their ranking is so high because the guys they do run out there have been scoring big, and scoring big in tournaments. They finished 3rd at the CJWC (in the same building as this sectional) with a big 3213 and bested a very good field at Woodbridge last week. Not hard to imagine seeing them do it again.
St. Joe's top competition may come from another GMC school, #9 South Plainfield. Riding a huge 201 GA, the Tigers have an excellent 53-7 conference record and took down the Irwin tournament back in December. Top guns Shaun Boffard, Mike Menkin and Angelo Salici are all between 206 & 209 in-conference, and they've been getting great scores from Chris Lacasale and Ryan and Tyler Berardi. A no-doubt contender at both the sectional and state level.
The fact that a team as excellent as #14 Ocean Township is in fifth place is all you need to hear to understand how great the Shore-Central-A is. The Spartans were having a decent year, flirting with a top-20 ranking, having lost quite a lot from last year's runnerup squad. But Doug (207) Rhodes's entry into the lineup helped push OT to another level; they already had a lot of talent in Max Winters (195), 200+ bowlers Jack Henry and Mark Butler, and a star in senior Matt Redbord (216). They beat out Manasquan and St. Rose to take the Wave tournament and are topping 3000 most of the time.
Just outside the top 20, Wall might be the most under the radar good team out there. That's my fault, really - a team that beats out Manasquan and OT for 2nd place in SCA should certainly be celebrated. An excellent group of six bowlers, all between 189 & 204: Gavin Rotante, Liam Clarke, Liam Graf, Connor Pyburn, Chris Buono and newcomer Mason Kaplan. The Crimson Knights are a real threat to break through here.
Neptune is yet another good team in SCA, led by solid seasons from Billy Flood (186), Sean Magauran (187) and Justin Forque (202). And then Joey Ocello's transfer sit-out ended. Obviously, adding one of the very best in New Jersey is going to drive the Scarlet Fliers fortunes higher, and that's exactly what's happened: they're up to fourth in the league, they've shot as high as 3202, Ocello has a 300 game, a 785 set, and a 229 average. What's next?
The individual numbers don't knock you out, but Colonia, as a team, is absolutely legit. They carry an excellent 191 GA and a formidable 956 T5, despite not having any huge individual numbers. Will Orak, Collin McBride and C.J. Miller are all right around 200, Stephen Cracchiolo not far under. Gotta give the Patriots a puncher's chance, even in this field.
Same goes for Iselin Kennedy, I guess. Chris Falcone is a good one, averaging over 200. Frank Hindy and Dylan Mackin are right around 190. And somehow the Mustangs have fashioned an 11-5 GMC record and a 189 GA. They even beat out each of the other GMC squads in this section at the Baker Challenge.
Middletown North earned its way onto my radar. Not with a 47-1 league record in Shore-North-B, not with huge individual numbers: Joe Yatsko (200) and Kris Kane (189) lead the Lions. And not with decent stats: 171 GA, 908 T5. They did it with a huge 2908 set to take fourth place at the Wave, outpacing Wall and Neptune. Gotta respect that.
The odds are steep against this field, but Ewing has had an awesome regular season, sitting at 13-0 / 49-3. Justin Macellaro is the Blue Devils top performer. Carteret is also a bit short on firepower in this spot, but the Ramblers have gotten strong seasons from Joseph Abadilla, Spencer Fabe and Michael Gurzynski.
GROUP III
defending champ: Monroe (up to GIV in 2018)
Well, here we are again. Last year at this time, #3 Woodbridge had a great case for #1 in the state and headed into sectionals as the favorite, only to be upset both here and at states. Now is the time for redemption. Possibly even more powerful than last year, the Barrons go a legit 8-deep, Joseph Palmer and Nick Simone are in the mid-180s, Jeremy Soto at 197, Alex Silva, John Drost and Giovanni Santiago over 200, Jason Bilawsky at 212 and James Stoveken continuing his historically great career at a 227 clips. Choose five at random and I'd take my chances. They're an incredible 62-6 in the best conference in the state, own the #2 T5 (1054) and GA (209.9) and have a high set of 1054. Frightening.
#10 Edison is not frightenend. A very strong GMC squad themselves, the Eagles own a top 10 GA (198), won the Woodbridge Classic over huge competition (including the hosts), and are led by an exceptional top three in Jason Smith (216), Wyatt Buchany (209) and Joe Banwer (198). Two more in the 180s, Jose De La Barrera and Raleigh Gough, make this a more than formidable challenger, both here and at the TOC.
With a 3259 top set and a top-10 finish at CJWC, we know #16 North Brunswick can bring it. Their 198.5 GA shows they've been doing it all year. Another impossibly deep GMC team, the Scorpions are led by all-conference candidate David Burrows (209) and a bunch of guys in the 190s, including Alex Bursac, Gavin Lugo, Nicholas Farah and freshman Zachary Leinwohl. No matter what happens, a very good team is going home from this grouping.
If you're looking for a darkhorse, we've got one in the Shore-Central-B leading squad from Freehold Township. Taking this very deep, very balanced league wasn't easy, but the Patriots got it done behind full-season performances by Tom Laskay (199) and Jeremy Geller (194), who each threw all 45 games. Freehold didn't enter any in-season traditional tournaments, but their 924 T5 tells me they could get involved if one or two things break right, and their fourth place finish in the awesome field that makes up the Shore tournament tells me they have the fortitude.
Sayreville may be in a bit of a rebuilding mode after a huge amount of success in recent years, but they've remained a very solid and competitive team, averaging 182. Thomas Brennan, Dylan Gilligan and Jon Tabacco all average in the high 180s, giving the Bombers an outside chance at making a run.
Justin Korman is a great performer for Manalapan, but their high set of 2877 is probably just below what they'd need to get involved here. Colts Neck has a similar story, with a high set of 2865, but their lineup is a little more balanced.
Chrisitan Brothers has had a strong season, second place in the Shore-North-B, and has a pair of good performers in John (192) and Ed (193) Dudek, but the top teams are probably out of reach.
Middletown South and Watchung Hills complete the Group III entries.
GROUP IV
defending champ: East Brunswick
Well, this is exciting: we have two defending state champions in the same sectional. Both are highly ranked, and they'll be chased by several accomplished teams looking to spring an upset. Fun stuff.
I don't know what more I can say about #1 East Brunswick, last year's TOC champs. Their numbers are simply absurd: 1083 T5 and a 218.7 GA. 15-0-1 (56-6) against the best teams the GMC has to offer. Only "failure" was second place at CJWC where they were forced to switch pairs mid-set and still shot 3258. Back-to-back 3500 sets last week. Just amazing stuff. And their bowlers? Jack Deruvo is solid at 195, as is Matt Mai at 197. Andrew Mai is at 209 overall and Armen Shamim over 213. Sam Bortnick has been everything you could want from an all-state senior, averaging over 226 with an 800 set. And somehow Daniel Lenk has been better. Much better than anyone else in the state really, averaging an incomprehensible 244 in GMC matches and 241 overall. I'm not saying the Bears are unbeatable. But I'll believe it when I see it.
That said, #6 Monroe, last year's Group III state champs, can beat them. They split a dual match a few weeks ago. The Falcons have gone as high as 3403, they have a huge GA of 207.5, and they certainly have the horses: Louis Folgore is a superstar, averaging over 229. Ryley McKiernan has gone from very good in 2017 to fantastic in 2018, carrying a 218 average. Zac Waynor is over 204, Tyler Kresan at 186, and both Joe Hoehler and Devin Maddox have thrown huge numbers in the last week or so. Add in the experience they have from last year's amazing title run, and you have maybe the one opponent in the state best suited to taken on #1.
It's a strikingly tall order, asking anyone to break into the top two of this sectional, but #17 South Brunswick, last year's state runnerup, is very capable. We know this because the Vikings actually beat Monroe at CJWC, and because their GA is 197.5, 12th in the state. And because they were within 100 pins of EB at the James. And because they've beaten Edison and South Plainfield. And because they have a deep, talented lineup including Anthony Fama (206 overall), Nick Delacruz (200), Matt Marich (190), Chris Germain (194) and Noah Li (185).
Obviously, this is a tough spot for upset-minded darkhorses, but JP Stevens, just outside the top 20, should not be overlooked. Their 194 GA is nothing to sneeze at, and the Hawks have a pair of very strong bowlers in Dhilan Patel (186) and Brian McAdams (202), and an absolute stud in Cameron LaPlant, who is over 227 in GMC play.
Howell is a very good team, sitting in 2nd place in the Shore-Central-B, with a string of decent tournament performances (4th at Bayshore, 5th at James) and a top series over 3000. They have depth and balance and a top two averaging 196 each in Brian Garofano and Robbie Wetzel, plus a bunch of guys over 180, headed by Jake Hager. I'm afraid that even the best day they can muster may leave the Rebels a bit short.
Old Bridge took the brunt of huge numbers from East Brunswick and Monroe at the same time last week; if karma existed the Knights should have a huge day here, but alas.... Peter Mattson (192 average) could be an individual threat. Skyland runnerup Hunterdon Central can top 2800 on a good day, but that'll be a little short here. Red Devils Thomas Matthews and Justin DeMartin are each capable of putting up a huge number as individuals.
Piscataway is a bit behind the contenders, but look for Derek Jevic to make some noise. Darian LeMay from Franklin can hang with the very best, but his team is not quite close enough to the big boys. Bridgewater has done a great job bouncing back from a lean period for the program, and their very young team should make great strides next season.
INDIVIDUALS
Only 15 spots are available in this loaded sectional, and the individual entries are an all-star team, including quality competitors in Ethan Matthews of Steinert and Ryan Taylor of Hamilton West, HWS champ Francis Vitelli of North Hunterdon, Justin Pavlik of Ridge who made the final cut in 2017, and the defending state individual champ in Ryan Carlisi of Steinert. If the individual cut in this sectional is 700, I won't be a bit surprised.
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