BOYS SOUTH
Saturday, February 3 at Brunswick Zone Deptford
New for 2018
Jackson Liberty drops from G3 to G2. Burlington Township is up from G2 to G3. Pennsauken Tech is up from G1 to G2. Overbrook is entered after an absence last year, while Pinelands is not.
What I got wrong
I had Pennsauken Tech projected for G1 all season, but they're up at G2.
Ranked Teams Participating
#2 Brick Memorial, #4 Toms River South, #8 Brick Township, #20 Seneca, 'Just Missed' Southern, Lenape, Toms River East, Manchester; 'Good Argument' Cherry Hill West, Lacey, Toms River North
So many teams. So very many teams. Lots of them are from SENJ, which doens't have any public standing sheets, so my team performance data is limited. Also, this is the preview that takes forever, and some of the mid-range teams are probably going to get shorted for the sake of my sanity. I apologize in advance.
GROUP I
defending champ: Cinnaminson
There aren't any superteams, aren't any ranked teams, there isn't a whole lot of tournament experience, here in Group I. But we do have a favorite with a substantial statistical edge, and it's Bishop Eustace. The Crusaders' 168 GA dwarfs the rest of the field, as does their 852 T5. Few bowlers in Camden County average 200, but BE has one of them in Zachary Young, along with several solid performers.
Collingswood has put together a nice season, going 8-3/31-13, and they have a pretty good lineup, headed by Alijah Fontanez (187) and Richard Bunnell (174). Given a high set on the season of 2773, expect the Panthers to be right in the mix for a TOC spot.
Last year's champs, Cinnaminson, should be right there as well. The Pirates are led by a pair of talented seniors, Ronnie Runquist and Dillon Siddiqi, each averaging 187, and have the second-highest GA in the grouping.
Overbrook is new to the sectional in 2018, and they've entered at the end of a successful season: 9-2-1/38-10. The Rams' overall numbers are just a bit behind the favorites, but they have a star in the making in freshman Michael Burton, who's averaging 188.
Maple Shade took some lumps this season against a tough schedule, but the 2017 runnersup deserve more than a glance, both because their T5 is right behind the leaders, and because you should never bet big against the team with the very best bowler in the field, which the Wildcats have in Dan Kenny (206 avg.)
The only Group I entrant from the Shore Conference is Donovan Catholic. Led by Daniel Gong, the Griffins held their own at times against a very tough division. If one of the top teams falters, DC is as capable of leaping into the void as any of the others - their high series is 2496, which may be enough to get to North Brunswick.
It's kind of amazing how even so many of these contenders are. Bordentown has T5, GA and high set right in line with the last three teams, as well as an 8-3-1 record. The Scotties may have an edge in depth, though, with three capable bowlers between 154 & 163 behind Gabe Ostrowski's team-leading 175.
New Egypt, Gloucester City and Lindenwold are a little underdoggier than the teams above, but we've seen longshots come in at this level before. It would take some career days, though.
Holy Cross and Salem complete the field.
GROUP II
defending champ: Seneca
The top three teams here are very, very close. Picking a favorite is almost certain to look silly in a few days - especially when team #4 might just beat them all. Oh well, I've gotta write something...
#20 Seneca are the defending champs and a slight favorite here. The Olympic tournament champs, the Golden Eagles went 46-6 in regular season matches, and outperformed both Manchester and Lacey at both tournaments where all three appeared, finishing 5th at the Mustang and 7th at Snowball. Seneca's lineup features five guys, Zachary Malcolm, Eddie Cashwell, Cole Ludikowski, Mitch Tippin and Jake Walterswith,with nearly interchangeable numbers; they're all in the 190s, and they're all really good, which led to a group-best GA of 193.8
Manchester's lineup might be even a bit better, with Justin Villano and Kenny Burdge at 206 and Nick Wolf (191), Robert Shaw (187) and a few quality options for #5, the Hawks T5 is even higher than Seneca. Just outside the top 20, they dominated Shore-South-B, going 14-0 in matches, and then blew away nearly all of a fantastic field, qualifying second at the Shore tournament with a 3052 set. Manchester missed the TOC by just five pins last year, and they don't want that to happen again.
Second place behind Manchester in SSB, and with both T5 and GA slightly below the leaders, Lacey does have a couple of things going for them here. First, they outscored Manchester in three out of four tournaments. Second, they have perhaps the best bowler of the teams involved in Nick Striffler (212 average). John Truland (197), Brian Huebler (190) and Clayton Humcke (185) can all chip in big numbers, too. The Lions won't go down quietly.
Anyone who saw what Jackson Liberty accomplished at CJWC (5th place in the season's deepest field) knows that they'll be a factor here, too. The Lions' season-long numbers might be below the top three, but a) not by much, and b) Liberty has the highest top set of any team in the grouping at 3096. Freshman Justin Bohn (212) has been as good as advertised, and Preston Williams (191) and Gerard Chidichimo (187) can put up numbers, too. Finishing ahead of the likes of Brick, Brick Memorial and Lacey at the Shore tournament bodes well. This could get crazy.
West Deptford doesn't have a pretty record, and their stats (177 GA, 915 T5) are decent but not eye-popping. But the Eagles have something going for them: four very good bowlers. Billy Barger (182), Harrison Weidner (184), Brandon Parker (196) and Keith Perry (206) might be able to all get hot at once, and turn this into complete insanity.
Tom Tartaglia is having a very nice season for Delran, but the Bears' numbers look just a little short with so much talent among the favorites. Barnegat is in the same category, but make sure to pay attention to David MacGillivray and his 220+ overall average.
Point Pleasant Boro is probably out of range, but 196-average Mike Krey could be a factor. Medford Tech is much better than last year, but still has a few strides to make. Moises Galvan has been really good for Lakewood, but they don't have quite enough just yet.
Deptford is a few steps behind the contenders, but Brent Ayres could make some noise as an individual. Pemberton and Pennsauken Tech are longshots to contend.
GROUP III
defending champ: Toms River South
As I write this, #4 Toms River South is celebrating the Shore Conference tournament title (3152 set and 2 Baker round wins). As if I didn't have enough good things to say about the defending champs. Third at Mustang and Brick, Second at RWTI and Bayshore. 205 GA. 1031(!) T5. 16-2 in the toughest division we have, with a 3342 top set. Last year, the Indians had almost too much depth, if that's possible. While they've got plenty of horses again in 2018, the top five looks mostly settled, with great seasons from Jim Breslin (197), Nick Brescia (203), South Jersey Singles champ Andrew Xiques (207), Kevin DiBernardo (210) and Kyle Oliveri (213). Several teams feel they have unfinished business this month, and TRS has a place on that list.
#8 Brick Township is young: 4 of 5 starters are underclassmen. That makes it easier to understand their inconsistency, maybe: 8-8 in conference play, but won two tournaments, Mustang and Bayshore. 1002 T5 but 'only' 196 GA (14th in NJ). And their youth may make it tempting to say "watch out next year', but that would be a mistake, because these Dragons can win it right now. They shot 3200 at Snowball, they beat TRS in a regular match on Tuesday, and they have a great lineup: Kyle Chirichello (200), Chris Shymanski (208), Stephen Spirio (198), Andrew Masi (202) and Nick Gross (200) can beat anyone out there, and may just do it.
They've been just off the pace in a few tournaments, but there's no denying the talent at Toms River East. They sit just outside the rankings, carry an impressive T5 of 976 and have hung tough in the middle of the pack of Shore-South-A. Dennis Carino (209) and Ryan McIntire (204) lead the Raiders, with plenty of help from Chris Baxter and Dylan Tambascia (190 each). It'll take a full team effort, but the upset of the postseason is sitting there for them.
Or maybe the upset of the postseason is coming from outside the Shore Conference: Cherry Hill West. At 10-1 in regular matches, this may be the best team nobody's talking about. Josh Lipko is a star, averaging 217, but the rest of the lineup is also very strong, with all four guys from the mid-180s up: Alexander Seibert, Ryan Boone, Clayton Scola and Patrick Matoon (195). That gives the Lions an impressive 961 T5, which is absolutely in the competitive range. Olympic conference teams came into this sectional and took out some big Shore teams last year...
One more Shore contender to talk about, and that's Central, who finished 3rd here last year. The team stats are obviously a cut below the top teams, but Tristan Borders (184), Josh Costa (189) and Jason Tymesko (195) have had good years, and the Golden Eagles have shot as high as 2933. If the conditions are right, we could see them make some noise.
The best record in this grouping belongs to Hammonton, at 13-1. The team stats are pretty good, including a 179 GA, if a little below the top contenders. Joseph DiCamillo (199) and Alex Lanutti (189) are the Blue Devils top weapons.
Camden Tech has looked good this season, taking 3rd at the Olympic Tournament and topping 2800. Elvin Estremera (195) is the Warriors top gun.
Dark horse potential is limited in a field like this, but Gloucester Tech may be one to watch. They have several top performers, headed by Nick Solina (187) and Zachery Hansen (193), they swept Hammonton earlier this week, and the Cheetahs have fired on all cylinders to the tune of a 2969 set this season.
St. Augustine has an exceptionally balanced lineup, with 5 bowlers in the 170s and Craig Ambrose at 185, but the Hermits are a notch below the contenders. Similar story for 13-2 Burlington Township and the Falcons' average leader, Andrew Brown, as well as the Pennsauken Indians and Connor Bulicki.
Northern Burlington and Westampton Tech round out the field.
GROUP IV
defending champ: Shawnee
One year ago, Brick Memorial was #1 in the state, but ended up the odd team out in the deepest sectional competition ever despite all five bowlers breaking 620. This group of Mustangs is just as strong, and will endeavor to not let than even come close to happening again. They have phenomenal numbers, 208 GA and 1041 T5. They have tournament victories at RWTI, Brick, CJWC and Snowball. They have an outlandish 3352 high series. And they have a monster of a lineup: senior Alec Hehir (217) and four juniors all between 204 and 209: Michael Guzman, Andrew Varela, John Boughton and Cameron Waldheim. Somebody goes big pretty much every single time they step on the lanes. Expect big things.
Even if we concede a spot to Memorial, there are plenty of contenders for the other spot at Bowlero, starting with Shore-South-A opponent Southern. The Rams put up a pretty decent conference record, considering the competition, and are just outside the top 20 on the strength of very good numbers: 975 T5 and 190 GA. There's a lot of ability in this balanced lineup, with Jack Hudson, Steve Martin, Tom McCann and Jack Wilkinson all comfortably in the 190s.
Lenape is exactly the same type of team, though their schedule allowed a prettier record: 10-3. Olympic conference runnersup, the Indians bring two bowlers just under 200 in Devan and Amar Patel, and three more in the high 180s: Brendan Kelly, Ryan Delozier and Jayen Patel. When they all fire, the results can be impressive, with a high set of 3041.
An excellent T5 of 970 and a stratospheric high set of 3209 show that Toms River North has plenty of talent. They took Brick Memorial by nearly 200 pins earlier this week. James Bolish has improved greatly, his average up to 209. Robert Bartley (197), Josh Burns (194), Colin Slocum (189) and Drew Demeter (188) have all had significant success. The Mariners problem has been consistency, but that won't matter much in a one-series event if they get hot. If there's going to be a big upset, this is the most likely team to steal the title.
Egg Harbor sits at 11-1-1, and with pretty good stats (933 T5, 187 GA). The Eagles are yet another deep and balanced team here in Group IV, led by Stephen Masi (193) and Standley Liang (190), with Huy Nguyen and Ethan Kenney also having good seasons. I wouldn't have thought they had quite enough to truly contend, and then they went out and blasted a 3123 set earlier this week. So... why not?
It might be a mirage created by my mind, but it seems like Washington Township has been getting better and better as the season moves along. They've got their T5 up to a nice 924, and Pat McGuire (199) and Billy Myers (201) have been scoring really well for the Minutemen.
Jackson Memorial hit their season high of 3004 just a couple of days ago, getting huge numbers from Todd Mai (187 avg) and Jaden Perischilli (194) to go with the season-long excellence of Brad Aumann (198). The Jaguars are certainly peaking at the right time.
Eastern is a solid team who's gotten good work from Joseph Leonard (185) and Dominic Stella (184), but the Vikings probably don't have the firepower to hang here. Kingsway has numbers a bit lower, but is very much in the same category.
Nobody lost more than last year's champs, Shawnee, but they've improved considerably over the season and will be competitive again very soon. Aiden Cohen (187) is still pretty good, too. Atlantic Tech is out of range of the contenders despite a quality bowler in Zachary Lee.
Cherokee and Cherry Hill East, who lost a lot of talent from last year's runnerup squad,complete the field.
INDIVIDUALS
Mark Friedman of Cedar Creek and Eddie Ross III of Absegami are entered as individuals, and each is a very real threat to take one of the 18 available spots at the state finals.
No comments:
Post a Comment