Nicole Parente

By: Nicole Parente

The North Bergen girl’s basketball team defeated Cliffside Park on Saturday January 22, 2011 at North Bergen High School with a final score of 65-43. That win put the The Lady Bruins at 11-0.

Here are photos from the game:

Photo By: Jim Bolanos (North Bergen's sufficating defense swormed Cliffside Park all game long)

Photo By: Jim Bolanos (The Lady Bruins transition defense shut down any hopes of the Lady Red Raiders chances of running the floor)

Photo By: Jim Bolanos (The Lady Bruins found easy baskets inside all night)

Photo By: Jim Bolanos (North Bergen had their way offensively)

By W. L. Bill Allen, Jr.

Director, NJ Sport/Action

TENAFLY– In the program’s final season as a co-op contingent, the ice hockey team supported by Tenafly and Cresskill High Schools  is off to a 2-3 start.

The combo club, which some call the Ice-Cats (Tenafly Tigers and Cresskill Cougars), kicked-off its current campaign by losing, 1-2, to Bayonne on Dec. 3, 2-3 to Fair Lawn on Dec. 10 and 1-2 to perennial power Ridge on Dec. 11.

More recently, however, the Ice-Cats have found their scoring tough and pummeled Paramus Catholic, 4-0, on Friday, Dec. 17, prior to pummeling Pascack Valley, 4-1, on Saturday, Dec. 18.

After being a member of the Northern Bergen Interscholastic League in that conference’s final year last season, the Ice-Cats are now part of the Northern Jersey Interscholastic Conference/Big North League-Gold Division, along with Paramus Catholic, Fair Lawn, Bayonne, Clifton, Ridgewood, Pascack Valley, River Dell and Dumont.

“Even though we’ve only got one player from Cresskill this season, technically, we’re still a co-op program and that’s why we’re in a league with all those much larger schools,” explained Andy Escala.

Now in his 13th campaign at the Cats club’s controls, Escala is an Englewood native who played ice hockey at the Peddie School as a member of the Class of 1989 and was an NCAA Division 1 baseball player at Jacksonville University as a member of the Class of ’94.

“I’m very happy with the quality of the team’s play so far this season,” evaluated Escala.

“We’re still young, but I think we’re better than our record would indicate,” Escala expounded. “For instance, each of our three losses were by just one goal and we actually seemed to have the game against Ridge, which is undefeated, 5-0, won. But what seemed to the be winning goal  was disallowed.

“Early on, the puck just didn’t seem to be bouncing our way, but that seems to be changing. Overall, we’re playing good defense, allowing just 1.6 goals a game, and that’s keeping us in games.”

Captaining the club Dan Guglielmo, a senior defenseman, although two more captains will be added at the end of this week.

Joining Guglielmo on the list of defensemen are four juniors: Seth Porter, Gary L’Heureux, Austin Rosen and Kevin Kim, with junior Jon Winawer starting between the pipes.

The team’s three lines are comprised by junior centerman Brandon Bernstein, senior right wing Mike Schultz and junior left wing Asaf Markowitz, junior centerman Jordan Lang, junior right wing Scott Shalek and his twin, junior left wing Eric Shalek, and senior centerman Jake Greenberg, sophomore right wing Rich Cho and soph left wing Eli Markowitz.

“The bottom line is that these kids are practicing and playing hard and I think we’re going to be competitive with just about any team that we’re going to face this year,” Escala emphasized.

After facing NV/Old Tappan last night, Wednesday, Dec. 22, the Ice-Cats are slated to return to action by taking part in the Montclair Invitational, a six-team, three-day event which is slated for Sunday, Dec. 26, Tuesday, Dec. 28, and Thursday, Dec. 30.

On day one, Tenafly/Cresskill will battle Hunterdon Central at 8 p.m., with a 6 p.m. tussle against Northern Highlands slated for day two, while the locals’ day three opponent is yet to be announced.

The other three teams in that tourney are Fair Lawn, Paramus and the host, Montclair High.

By Fort Lee Girls Recreation Basketball League President Michael Klein

Registration is complete. The draft is over. The teams are set. Practices have begun. The Fort Lee Girls Recreation Basketball League is about ready to tip off its season. On Tuesday, January 4, the Opening Ceremonies will take place and officially kick off the 2011 season with a record breaking 271 girls.

Every year Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich has tossed up the ceremonial opening tip-off to begin the season. This year is no different; it’s becoming a tradition with girls’ basketball. Being that Mayor Sokolich and I are life long friends, makes it even more of an honor to have him part take in this event. I love that he shows support for all the kids’ athletic programs in town.

The teams’ sponsors, which are mostly businesses in Fort Lee and the surrounding towns, have been a great support to the league. Many sponsors continue their support year after year. Sponsors’ names are displayed on the back of each team member’s uniform shirt.

Parents, players, coaches, friends, Board of Education members, the Mayor and Council members, and other town dignitaries will be welcomed at the Lewis F. Cole Middle School Gym at 6:00 p.m. The coaches, team members, and team sponsors will be introduced. Each year the league provides the players with special giveaways at Opening Ceremonies. This year personalized rubber bracelets, as well as car magnets, will be given to all team members. The itinerary of the evening also includes my welcome speech and a speech by the Mayor. The highlight of the event is, of course, the opening tip off of the first game. The first game is at 7:00 at the 3rd & 4th grade level followed by three other games. Historically, the event has been a huge crowd pleaser. It’s so great to see the community come together to support the program. The excitement in the air is overwhelming!

For the first time in three years, we have reinstated the travel team at the 7th & 8th grade level. Coached by Scott Mittman and Greg Vucci, these experienced players have already competed in the “Turkey Tournament” and won two out of three games. Coach Mittman and Coach Vucci are confident that the team will continue to improve as the season progresses.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Leah (BLL) Rosa, Ralph Dimeglio, and my wife, Sandi Klein for their help. I appreciate being able to count on them for their support.

Please visit our website, Fortleegirlsbasketball.com for all information about the league. This website is current with schedules, standings, game results, sponsorship listings, contact info, and team rosters.

See you on the court.

By W. L. Bill Allen, Jr.

Director, NJ Sport/Action

OLD TAPPAN--   Following a season in which the volleyball contingent from Northern Valley Regional’s Old Tappan High School went a near-perfect 26-1 overall, with a 26-0 mark against in-state competition, to go along conference, county, state section, state group and state Tournament of Champions titles, six members of the Lady Golden Knights club have reaped some level of post-season plaudits.

Aiyana Whitney, Taylor Jansen, Anna Kate Miller and Kelsey Morgan were all elected to the All-New Jersey Interscholastic Conference/Big North League-National Division League First Team, while Alison Chu was selected for the All-NJIC/Big North-National second string and Cortney Cueissenborn was named to the All-League Honorable Mention list.

In addition, both Whitney and Jansen were voted First Team All-Bergen status by the county’s coaches conclave, with Miller garnering All-County Second Team status.

A four-year starter who played at Cresskill High as a ninth-grader, Whitney, a 6’5” senior outside who played in the middle the past two seasons, is now a three-time First Team All-Bergen pick and seems to have set a number of NV/OT program records, despite only playing at the Northern Valley school for three years.

In her three seasons at NV/OT  Whitney boasts 847 kills, a hitting percent of .460 and 127 blocks, each of which seems to be a school record.

This past season, Whitney, who is headed for Penn State, recorded 381 kills on 673 swings (.455), to go along with 46 aces and 121 digs.

A Second Team All-Bergen pick as a junior, Jansen, who has not decided between Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago yet, racked-up 159 kills on 377 attempts, with 33 aces and 144 digs to her credit.

Miller, a 5’8” senior setter, recorded 324 assists this past season and an apparent school record 1,004 in her career at NV/OT. In the team’s 27 2010 tilts, she also had 27 aces and a serving percentage of 96.

A junior libero, Morgan registered 167 digs and a serving number of 96, with Chu, a senior setter, adding 187 assists, 93 digs and a dozen aces to her team’s totals and Cueissenborn, a 5’8” junior middle hitter, chipping in 58 kills on 177 tries.

“Since we won 26 straight after losing in the finals of a tournament on opening day, it seems like most people think we cruised to our championships, but nothing could be further from the truth,” asserted NV/OT head coach Melissa Landeck, a 13 year veteran with the Golden gals gang.

“We were only able to win 26 straight because this group of girls showed remarkable resiliency and battled through some very touch circumstances, including some key injuries,” the longtime main mentor expounded, adding, “However, these girls didn’t let anything deter them and did a great job of accomplishing the goals that they set for themselves and I couldn’t be any prouder of them.”

By W. L. Bill Allen, Jr.

Director, NJ Sport/Action

TEANECK–  During her four years as a standout starter at Ridgefield Park High, Shenee Clark never backed down from anyone or any team and helped the Lady Scarlets reap three league titles and four straight state section championships.

Now, following an also very fruitful career as an NCAA prime-time level player for Caldwell College, Clark is in her fourth year as the head coach of the girls hoops contingent at Teaneck High and already boasts three league championships and final records of 25-4, 22-5 and 22-5 for a total of 72-14, as she and her Highway women contingent get set to kickoff their 2010-11 campaign.

“We want to win every title or championship that is available to us this year and we think we have the talent to accomplish those goals,” emphasizes Clark.

“This is my fourth year as a head coach and I think this is also the most talented team that I’ve had so far,” she expounded, adding, “We have some great players and our goal is to win each and every time we get on the court.

“We lost in the county’s final four last year and in the section final and we learned from those losses and I feel that we’re now ready to go further and really should go further.

“Actually, I feel that we should be able to compete for the overall State Group 3 championship and, if that turns out not to be the case, it will be a disappointment,” Clark challenged.

Captaining the THS girls hoops contingent are two somewhat interchangeable backcourters: 5’4” guard Syndi Lester and 5’3” guard Monique Cheek.

Also in the first five are 5’4” junior small forward Rebecca Starks, 5’8” power forward Airana Ijadoure and six-foot tall senior center Olivia Logan, with junior guards Deja Gabbidon (5’7”) and Jakelle Gilchrest and 5’10” junior forward Iindia Davenpost also likely to see substantial varsity playing time.

The Highwaywomen are slated to kickoff their 2010 campaign by facing South Shore High of Brooklyn on Saturday, Dec. 18, at South Orange Middle School, with a 7 p.m. tussle against crosstown competitor Hackensack set for Tuesday, Dec. 21, at THS.

By Robyn Nadel

CLOSTER – Winners of this year’s Closter Elks Hoop Shoot tournament, held Sunday, Dec. 12 at the Catholic Family Academy in Norwood, are as follows:

Boys 8-9 years:

Nick Ciampaglio, Norwood

Girls 8-9 years:

Corey Mclaughlin, Norwood

Boys 10-11 years:

Timmy Larsen, Haworth

Girls, 10-11 years:

Kaelie   McGowan, Northvale

Boys 12-13 years:

Matt Flood, Norwood NJ

Area youths from the Northern Valley, ages from 8 years to 13 years old, are eligible to participate.

The winners are scheduled to move on to the district finals scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 8 at Bayonne High School.

Those winning will go on to compete for the state title to be held in February. This event is one of several events run by the elks on a national level to promote positive activities while saying No to Drugs.

Congratulations to all of the winners.

By W. L. Bill Allen, Jr.

Director, NJ Sport/Action

CLIFFSIDE PARK–  Following a season in which the boys booters battalion from Cliffside Park High went a near-perfect 24-1 overall, while winning league, state section and state group championships and reaching the county’s final four, a dozen members of the Red Raiders contingent have reaped some level of post-season plaudits.

Exau Paz, Pedro Sanchez and Michael Lopez, Sebastian Zapata, Santiago Pazmino, Joe Han, Julian Ruales, Mike Scarzafava, Sebastian Castrillon were all voted to the All-North Jersey Interscholastic Conference/Big North League-American Division First Team by that conference’s coaches conclave, while Omar Ventura and Juan Pinilla were selected to the All-Big North/American second string and Carmine Panuccio was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention list.

In addition, Paz, Sanchez and Lopez were elected to the All-Bergen First Team by the county’s coaches cabinet, with Zapata made the All-County Second Team and Pazmino landed Third Team All-Bergen honors.

A senior striker, Paz is a four-year starter and now a three-time First Team All-Bergen County selection. During the Raiders 25 2010 tilts, Paz recorded 34 goals and a half-dozen assists and is now the school’s all-time scoring leader with 94 career goals, breaking the mark of 83 set in 1982.

Sanchez, a senior netminder and now a two-time First Team All-County pick, recorded 19 shutouts in the team’s two dozen wins and is also a All-Time CPHS record-holder with a total of 39 blankings on his stats sheet.

Lopez, a senior central midfielder, scored a baker’s dozen goals, to go along with a half-dozen helps, with Zapata, a senior stopper, registering an octet of goals and five assists and Pazmino, a senior striker scoring 11 goals and a score of assists.

Han, a senior right midfielder, had one goal and five assists on his stats sheet, while Ruales, a junior left fullback, assisted on five goals this season, Scarzafava, a senior sweeper, had two assists, Castrillon, a senior central middie and a four-year starter, had five scores and 16 helps to his credit, Ventura, a junior left midfielder, registered four scores and a trio of aids, Pinilla, a junior right fullback, made five assists and Panuccio, a senior midfielder, came off the bench to record a trio of tallies and two assists.

In their 10 NJIC/Big North-American tilts, the Red Raiders gave up a pair of goals, as CPHS foiled Fort Lee, 6-0 and 2-0, dumped Dumont, 8-0 and 7-0, embered Englewood, 2-0 and 7-0, waylaid Westwood, 4-1 and 2-0, and rousted Ridgefield Park, 6-1 and 7-0.

Seeded second in the Bergen County Tournament field, after enjoying a first round bye, the Raiders dumped Demarest, the 15th seed, 2-1, in the round of 16 and rattled Ramsey, the seventh seed, 2-0, in a county quarters clash, prior to suffering their sole stinging setback of the season, 1-2, to Northern Highlands, the third seed, in a BCT semifinals round showdown.

Finally, in the state playoffs, the CPHS boys booters battalion earned sole possession of the State Group 2 championship in the team’s third straight trip to the title tussle.

After tying Delran, 1-1, in the 2008 state title tilt and then losing to those same Bears, 0-2, last time around, the Red Raiders humbled South Jersey champ Haddon Heights, 1-0, in the NJSIAA State Group 2 title tilt on Sunday evening, Nov. 21, at the College of New Jersey in Ewing. That result ended Haddon Height’s season at 19-3-2.

The game’s sole goal was recorded by Paz, who scored on a late first half header. Paz had also scored the Raiders’ only goal with 1:14 left in regulation in the 2008 Group 2 crown clash, but Delran tallied nine seconds later to forge a co-championship.

In this year’s final, though, netminder Sanchez made a sextet of saves to preserve to Raiders’ 1-0 victory.

“It’s great to finally have one all to ourselves,” enthused Paz of the state title.

The top seed in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 2 state playoffs bracket, Cliffside Park had begun its march towards a title by pummeling Parsippany, the 16th seed, 3-0, in the first round on Nov. 1, prior to nuking Newark Tech, the eighth seed, 3-0, in a quarterfinal round clash on Nov. 3, after Tech had flattened Fort Lee, the ninth seed, 3-0, in the first round.

Next, in a section semifinals skirmish on Nov. 8, the Raiders walloped West Essex, the fourth seed, 6-0, before securing sectional supremacy via a 3-1 beating of Bernards, the second seed, on Nov. 11.

Finally, in the State Group 2 semifinals, Cliffside Park got by 17-4-2 Glen Rock, the North Jersey Section 1 title-taker, 3-2, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, in Millburn.

A member of the CPHS Class of 1992, Raiders head coach Jim Fucci has guided his charges to five league titles, four BCT final four appearances, one trip to the county’s title tilt (a 1-3 loss to Don Bosco Prep in 2007), a quartet of section supremacies and two State Group 2 championships in his 11 campaigns at the club’s controls.

“I really can’t take a lot of the credit for the program’s success, I really just feel that I’m in the right place at the right time,” emphasized Fucci, who excelled in both soccer and baseball at Cliffside, prior to playing hardball for four years at Mars Hill College in North Carolina.

“We work very hard during both the season and in the off-season and we emphasize academics, character and discipline with our kids and we really feel that philosophy is paying off,” Fucci expounded, adding, “While winning is important, it’s even more important that to us that our kids become good people, nut just good players and that they go to college.

“From our point of view as coaches, whether our kids go on to play soccer or another sport in college is not nearly as important as just getting them to go to college so that they can continue their education and personal growth. That’s the most important part.”

CLOSTER – The Closter Elks of the borough is scheduling their Annual Hoop Shoot competition 5-8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 10 at Holy Family Academy, 200 Summit St.

The hoop shoot is open to boys and girls, ages 8 to 13 in the Northern Valley area. The age is based on the child’s age as of April 1, 2011. Winners will go on to the district, state, regional contests. Winners of the national contest win a scholarship.

For information call the Elks at 201-768-2304.

The winners from the October Soccer Shoot who will go on to the district finals are:

Ages 7 and under: Kelsey Higgins, Closter and Andrew Hefter, Demarest

Ages 8 and 9: Julie Riciutti, Demarest and Mathew Hefter, Demarest

Ages 10 and 11: Jessica Gray, Demarest

Ages 12 and 13: Allison Suterez, Closter and Akira Kasai, Closter

Events are run to promote positive activities while saying No to Drugs. For information call Cliff Martin 201-768-2304.

Photo by Bill Allen-NJ Sport/Action

In the most bizarre ending to a game in the four decade history of the state playoffs, Wayne Hills senior back Brian Dowling (9) was seemingly tackled by a host of NV/Old Tappan defenders during a kickoff runback with 23 seconds left in the game and a whistle was blown by at least one official, but the action was not stopped and Dowling tossed the ball to teammate Troy Zaffino who ran the rock back 76 yards for what became the game-winning touchdown in a 24-21 victory.  The win was scored by  the 11-1 Hills over the previously unbeaten Golden Knights in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 3 state championship game on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

By John Marin

FORT LEE –    The Fort Lee Soccer League wrapped up its fall travel season on Saturday, Nov. 20 and Sunday, Nov. 21 with several of the teams participating in matches in the Northern Counties Soccer Association (NCSA).

The Under 14 Boys ‘A’ travel team avenged their only loss of the season by defeating Sportsfriends Soccer Club of Wayne, 2-0 on Saturday, Nov. 20. Paul Leale scored the game’s first goal in the twenty-first minute after a beautiful feed from Justin Picache. Then two minutes before the half, Dennis Paus stole the ball at midfield, made a great pass down the wing to a streaking Leale, who crossed the ball to Picache then with a little chip, Myungjin Bang, headed the ball home.

That was all the scoring the boys needed as the midfield and defense dominated the game. Mike Payan recorded his fifth shutout of the season as Fort Lee didn’t allow a goal from the opposing team at home all year. The team took first place with a record of 6-1-2. The rest of the team’s roster consisted of: Richard Capone, Henry Chen, Danny Duarte, Elmar Ebrahimzadeh, Sasha Ivanoff, Taiga Kikuchi, Amil Prajapati, Ryo Sugawara, Arif Toremis and Zachary Wielkocz.

Despite losing four starters from last year’s Under 8 team and facing an 0-2 start this season, new coach John Park and his Under 9 Boys ‘A’ travel team finished the season on a high note by losing only one other game the rest of the year, as they defeated the River Dell Blackhawks 5-1 leading the team with an impressive record of 5 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties.

The defense of Yutaka Imanishi, Aaron Sourek, and Paul Kim was too much for the Blackhawk offense, allowing only five shots on goal during the whole contest. Combined with two great saves by goalie Christopher Park, the Under 9 boys showed to be a strong defensive team. Left midfielder Hiromasa Fujita was on fire scoring all 5 goals, assisted by Darin Yun (2), Jordan Rodriguez (2) and Sebastian Sepulveda (1). Great supporting roles and teamwork were performed by Eric Kim and Milan Antonopolous.

Each week the team improved as they finished in a tie for fourth place and only one point away from third place.

The Under 12 Boys ‘A’ travel team defeated the Wyckoff Torpedoes 2-1 in their final match of the season. Peter Kim scored the opening goal 18 minutes into the contest when the Torpedoes goalkeeper made a save on the initial Fort Lee shot, but redirected the ball to Kim who tapped the ball into the empty net. Ten minutes later, Chris Korkis outmuscled two defenders and chipped his shot over the keeper for a 2-0 lead.

While Fort Lee appeared on the verge of a blowout victory, the Torpedoes held firm on their home field and made the U12’s earn their win as they tallied early in the half and fought hard for the equalizer, only to be denied each time by goalkeeper Mohamed Abdelhamid, who made two diving saves, deflected two others away, snatched several hard shots taken directly at him and punched out several other crosses into the box to douse a potential tying goal. Fort Lee’s defense held tight with Nicolas Danciu’s and Jacob Im’s man-to-man defense. Midfielders George Moraitis, Dwight Kim and Andy Won provided valuable second half minutes.

Although Fort Lee finished 5-5, the team was actually only one point away from finishing in third place in the competitive NCSA Premier Division. Fort Lee actually defeated third place Ridgefield twice during the fall season (the only team to do so) and were the only team to defeat eventual champion Ironbound with a 2-1 win. Four of the teams five losses came by only goal. Other accomplishments include allowing the second least amount of goals in the division. With an amicable showing against top club teams that play-year round, Fort Lee looks to build upon its season next fall.

The Under 8 Girls travel team defeated the Wyckoff Torpedoes 4-2 on Nov 20 despite missing two key players. Forward Rebecca Cagan intercepted a clearance twelve minutes into the match, dribbled the ball in and tallied for the opening goal. At the 19-minute mark of the match, defender Nadia Kostenko drove the ball up the left wing and found Arielle Jacus, who dodged 3 defenders to give Fort Lee a 2-1 halftime lead.

In the beginning of the second half, the Torpedoes scored in the thirty-eighth minute despite a valiant attempt by goalkeeper Grace Kim to make a save. Fort Lee bounced back immediately as the team earned a penalty kick which was converted by Kostenko. The Under 8 Girls added an insurance goal, which may have been the goal of the match. With eight minutes to go, Jessica Yee dribbled down the right wing and crossed the ball into the penalty area onto a streaking Gabriella Clemente as the ball was placed into the lower left corner of the goal, well out of the reach of the opposing goalkeeper.

The following day, Fort Lee battled the Ridgewood Maroons to a 1-1 tie at home at Van Fleet Park on a goal by Amy Diaz.