St . Joe ice hockey ties Mainland
St . Joe ice hockey ties Mainland
Wednesday , November 30 , 2016 Volume 20 • Issue 48
Winter sports teams face new challenges
THG / Dan Russoman . To purchase photos in The Gazette , call ( 609 ) 704-1940 .
Senior Mike Mascioli , right , will lead a rebuilding St . Joseph wrestling team this season that hopes to build on last year ’ s success .
Rowan hosts SJ title games
THG / Dan Russoman . To purchase photos in The Gazette , call ( 609 ) 704-1940 .
Cedar Creek ’ s Isiah Watson tries to break the tackle of St . Joe ’ s Sencere Tapp . The Pirates face West Deptford in the South Jersey Group II championship game this weekend at Rowan University . For previews of all this week ’ s championship games , see pages 68-69 .
Former teammates turning around new programs
Dan Russoman
The food was probably great and the stories were likely better in the parking lot at Pleasantville High School on Thanksgiving morning , as members of the LaSasso and Sacco families gathered prior to the start of Pleasantville ’ s game against Ocean City .
Both families are from Hammonton , but they gathered at Pleasantville last week to watch a game that featured teams coached by a pair of longtime friends and former teammates .
Frank LaSasso IV , a Hammonton graduate , serves as defensive coordinator for Ocean City , while one of his best friends , Chris Sacco , is the head coach at Pleasantville .
The two were teammates back in their playing days at HHS , where they each learned under former Blue Devils head coach Pete Lancetta , now an assistant at rowan University .
Growing up in Hammonton , both LaSasso and Sacco were always around football . Starting with the Hammonton Hawks and then at HHS and on into college , they learned the game and how to play it and coach it .
They were part of a tradition of winning football at Hammonton High School , and now , they are following another longstanding tradition in town : they ’ re passing on what they ’ ve learned .
I ’ m sure it was an easy decision for both of them .
It ’ s been a long time since a LaSasso didn ’ t walk the sidelines at either Hammonton
HAMMONTON — While several southern New Jersey high school football teams will play for sectional championships this weekend at rowan University , the traditional Thanksgiving games played last week signaled the unofficial end of an historic season for the West Jersey Football League ( WJFL ).
The league , which consists of 95 schools in the traditional South Jersey region , played its first season as a so-called “ super conference ” in 2016 , as members of the Cape Atlantic League and Colonial Conference merged with the WJFL last spring .
Much was made of the merger , as most schools felt it was the best situation for each team , while others weren ’ t as sure , wishing to remain in their traditional conferences .
The WJFL spent a lot of time configuring both its divisional alignments as well as the overall by Dan Russoman
GAzeTTe STAFF WrITer
HAMMONTON — With preseason practices underway , the local winter sports teams are busy preparing for the 2016-17 season . The boys and girls basketball , wrestling , indoor track and bowling teams at Hammonton and St . Joseph each have high expectations as their respective season openers approach , and every team hopes to build on last season ’ s success .
While all the teams are hoping for a strong performance this winter , there are questions and challenges facing each squad as its season approaches .
With that as the focus , here are some of the biggest questions each winter sports team must answer this season .
Can St . Joe ’ s boys basketball team contend for a championship ?
Perhaps , no local team ’ s expectations are as high as the boys basketball team at St . Joseph High School . The Wildcats were one of the Cape Atlantic League best and most exciting teams a year ago , and with many of its key players returning this season , the Wildcats are looking to challenge not only
Hammonton ’ s game against Williamstown . schedule for each team in the league , finally deciding on arrangements that satisfied most members while disappointing others .
Questions and concerns that existed in late spring and early summer , most concerning crossover
or St . Joseph High School , and Frank could have stayed at his alma mater and coached alongside his father , currently a volunteer assistant for the Blue Devils .
He chose a different path , one that led him to Ocean City , where he has helped turn around a storied program that had fallen on some tough times .
It wasn ’ t that long ago that Ocean City was a dominant program in southern New Jersey , and now with LaSasso and a strong staff around him led by head coach Kevin Smith , the team is quickly bouncing back to the top of the standings .
After college , Sacco served as an assistant at both St . Joseph and Hammonton before taking a chance at the Pleasantville head coaching job .
Faced with the challenge of turning
P . 66
for a division title , but for the overall CAL championship .
Third-year head coach Paul rodio has put a lot of pressure on both himself and his team this season , as he feels they can take the next step on the road to a title . rodio has said several times during the offseason that he feels this team can win 20 games and be among the best in southern New Jersey .
St . Joseph lost a few players to graduation and its leading scorer from a year ago , Jordan Herrin , is no longer at the school . The Wildcats do return a talented group , led by letter-winners Terrence Pough , Marcellus ross , Corey Blackwell and Najee George , along with some strong transfers who should provide immediate impact .
Blocking St . Joe ’ s road to the CAL United Division title is Wildwood Catholic , a team that has frustrated the Wildcats several times in the last few seasons and should once again be among the league ’ s best .
Pleasantville , which battled the Wildcats in two hotly-contested games a year ago , is also in the division , as is perennial CAL power Middle Twp .
See QUESTIONS , Page 70
Larger WJFL succeeds in first year
by Dan Russoman
GAzeTTe STAFF WrITer
THG / Dan Russoman . To purchase photos in The Gazette , call ( 609 ) 704-1940 .
Victor Solis-Mays ( 2 ) follows the block of Matt Zein ( 33 ) during
opponents , travel and start times of games , eventually settled themselves out , and by late November , most members of the league were pleased with how smoothly the season went .
“ Overall , I think we did a pretty
See WJFL , Page 67
around a program that hadn ’ t won a game in several seasons , Sacco instilled a new attitude , and this year , his second at the school , the Greyhounds won four games and competed for a berth in the playoffs .
Both could have stayed home and worked with solid , established programs , but they each chose the tougher path , to try to turn around rebuilding teams .
LaSasso and Ocean City pulled out a win last weekend , so they went home with bragging rights and the better story to tell next season . But there will be more games between them and a lot more stories to write .
Dan Russoman is the sports editor of The Gazette . Watch him on “ Gazette Sports Week ” every Wednesday afternoon and “ Gazette High School Football Report ” on Thursdays at www . hammontongazette . com . Follow Russoman on twitter @ DanRussoman .