Catholic, Middle win at Battle by the Bay

Written by Brian Cunniff Saturday, February 02, 2013 10:04 pm

ATLANTIC CITY – The Wildwood Catholic and Middle Township high school boys basketball teams each earned victories at the Battle by the Bay showcase event at Atlantic City High School Saturday afternoon.

Wildwood Catholic picked up a comeback victory over Absegami, while Middle Township led pretty much from start to finish against George Washington of the Philadelphia Public League.

Wildwood Catholic trailed by as much as 14 points in the second quarter before closing to within three at the break. The Crusaders (15-3) then held the Braves (7-10) to only four second-half field goals after intermission to win with relative ease, 62-39. Wildwood Catholic outscored Absegami 36-10 in the second half.

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Wes Hills to play at Delaware

Last Updated on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:17 am Written by Brian Cunniff Friday, February 01, 2013 09:13 am

Wildwood High School’s Wesley Hills is set to play college football at the University of Delaware, according to a source.

Hills, who enjoyed a record-setting season at running back for the Warriors, is scheduled to sign a National Letter of Intent to Delaware during a ceremony at the school on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

A 6-3, 210-pounder, Hills put up extraordinary numbers for Wildwood during the 2012 season. He ran for a Cape May County record 2,106 yards, becoming only the 13^th running back in South Jersey history to rush for more than 2,000 in a season. He scored a county record 35 touchdowns and also added five two-point conversion scores to register a county record 220 points.

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Dave Troiano wins 600th game

Last Updated on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:19 am Written by Brian Cunniff Wednesday, January 30, 2013 11:06 am

WILDWOOD – The atmosphere was festive even prior to the game. Following it, the party really began.

Wildwood High School girls basketball coach Dave Troiano won the 600^th game of his career Tuesday night as his Lady Warriors raced past Cape May Tech, 60-46, after leading by 20 points at halftime.

Troiano, in his 35^th season as coach, improved to 600-290 for his career.

A large crowd, which included many of his former players and the parents of former players, was on hand to witness the milestone victory.

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Beauty queen, scholar athlete, West Point candidate

Last Updated on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:19 am Written by Brian Cunniff Wednesday, January 30, 2013 10:54 am

There are many high school students who try to be as well rounded as possible.

Then there’s Grace Lederer.

A senior at Wildwood Catholic High School, Lederer takes the definition of “well rounded” and takes it to a ridiculously high level.

Without question one of the top female athletes in school history, Lederer is much more than a jock. She’s a tireless volunteer, a distinguished student, a noble advocate for her school and a beauty queen.

Recently, the Cape-Atlantic League named Lederer – a cross country, swimming and spring track standout and honor student – as its National Conference female scholar-athlete for the 2012-13 scholastic year.

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MTHS grad named associate golf coach at Navy

Last Updated on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:19 am Written by Brian Cunniff Wednesday, January 30, 2013 10:51 am

Mike Burke, a 2002 graduate of Middle Township High School, has been named the associate head golf coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, the school announced recently.

Burke had been serving as a member of the academy’s golf professional staff since 2007 and became a volunteer assistant coach in 2008, according to a press release on the Navy athletics web site.

Since his arrival, Navy has won two Patriot League championships (2008, 2012) and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.

Burke will serve under head coach Pat Owen.

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Crusaders show improvement in loss

Last Updated on Monday, January 28, 2013 10:49 pm Written by Brian Cunniff Monday, January 28, 2013 10:48 pm

NORTH WILDWOOD – The first time the Wildwood Catholic High School girls basketball team played St. Joseph this season, the Crusaders were just plain whooped, losing 64-36 in Hammonton.

Catholic didn’t produce a complete turnaround when the teams met against Monday, but the team was certainly much more competitive.

The Crusaders hung with the Wildcats, certainly one of the Cape-Atlantic League’s better teams, until the waning moments of the game and this time fell by the much more respectable score of 40-33.

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Middle survives Wildwood's upset bid

Written by Brian Cunniff Saturday, January 26, 2013 09:20 pm

WILDWOOD – The Middle Township High School boys basketball team lost an overtime game to rival St. Augustine Prep Friday night. The Panthers got no rest the next day, finding themselves in another down-to-the wire fight in a recently rekindled rivalry.

The Panthers survived a major upset bid by Wildwood Saturday night, posting a 60-56 victory after trailing by two points with less than five minutes to play.

Darrell Shelton’s banked jump shot from 19 feet away broke a 56-56 tie and gave the Panthers (12-3) the lead for good.

Wildwood trailed by as much as nine points in the third quarter but got back in the game by forcing 12 second-half turnovers against the Panthers and knocking down seven second-half three-pointers.

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Wildwood coach approaching major milestone

Last Updated on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:21 am Written by Brian Cunniff Wednesday, January 23, 2013 09:09 pm

Even after 35 years as the head girls basketball coach at Wildwood High School, there’s really nothing about the job that Dave Troiano doesn’t like.

That is, until someone asks him how long he’s going to continue to do it.

“At this point I don’t have any plans to stop,” the 65-year-old Troiano said early this week, answering a question that’s been asked numerous times by numerous people over the last few years. “Hopefully, I can stay healthy. People who’ve coached a long time always say that you’ll know when it’s time and I don’t have any feelings in that regard. I still enjoy it. Even the last four or five years where it’s been a bit frustrating at times because we haven’t been as successful, I’ve still enjoyed it. And I enjoy the whole aspect of it, not just one thing. I love being around the young kids, I love being around the coaches, seeing the referees and all the people … the whole thing.”

Already South Jersey’s all-time wins leader in girls basketball by a wide margin, Troiano is approaching another major milestone during his long career. Tuesday’s victory over Clayton left him only two wins shy of 600 for his career.

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Middle to face Prep in CAL National showdown

Last Updated on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:21 am Written by Brian Cunniff Wednesday, January 23, 2013 09:05 pm

Two of the top boys basketball teams in the area are set for a very important showdown this week.

Middle Township and St. Augustine Prep, without question two of the biggest rivals in the Cape-Atlantic League regardless of sport, will meet Friday evening – weather permitting – in a crucial game in the CAL’s National Conference. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Richland and will be broadcast live by 98.7 FM radio. A live video stream can be found at www.987thecoast.com.

Middle, which beat Bridgeton on Tuesday to improve to 11-2 overall, is the lone remaining unbeaten team in the National Conference at 7-0. The Panthers handed St. Augustine (12-1, 6-1) their lone loss of the season, back on Dec. 18, when they shot the ball extremely well in a surprising 67-47 decision.

Middle and The Prep are far and away among southern New Jersey’s top teams. Middle’s lone losses are to St. Anthony and Atlantic City, teams that are ranked first and fourth in the state according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

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Kelly's buzzer beater lifts Rutgers-Camden

Written by Brian Cunniff Wednesday, January 23, 2013 11:14 am

Wildwood High School graduate Loretta Kelly made a buzzer-beating shot in the lane to lift the Rutgers-Camden University women’s basketball team to a 72-71 victory over John Jay College earlier this week.

Kelly drove the ball down the right side of the court before cutting into the lane and flipping up a shot just before the buzzer sounded to give the Scarlet Raptors (7-10) the victory in the game played in New York City.

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