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ABOUT THE COVER
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he Oakcrest boys soccer team won 13 of its first 14 games, its only loss coming against Mainland Regional, and still the Falcons were nowhere to be found in the nj.com Top 20 weekly poll. That all changed when the new polling came out on Oct. 17, as Oakcrest had rocketed up to No. 10 in the state. The Falcons got there due in large part to their season-long resume, but also because they knocked off then-No. 2 St. Augustine Prep, 2-1 in overtime, in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship game on Oct. 14. That victory seemed to give credence to what head coach Joe Seaman has known all along — that there is something special about this group of guys. Not only does Oakcrest have one of the state’s leading scorers in senior Gabe Paz (who scored both goals against the Hermits in the championship game), but it also has one of the best defenses in the state. In this edition we take a deeper dive into that CAL Tournament title game and what it means for a program that seems to have found its identity. — Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
GLORY DAYS MAGAZINE General contact: 609-788-4294/advertising@acglorydays.com Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher: sully@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDsullysays Giuseppe Ungaro, Managing Editor: gungaro@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDgisepu Amy D’Adamo, Graphic Design: advertising@acglorydays.com Bill Lynskey, Director of Advertising: bill@acglorydays.com STORY IDEAS/ADVERTISING: Have a story you’d like to see told in Glory Days Magazine? Want to get your business noticed with a marketing campaign on our website or digital magazine? Call us anytime at 609-788-4294. Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Overall Issue Number: 137. Cover Photography: Dave O’Sullivan 2019 Glory Days Magazine. All rights reserved.
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MAKING HEADLINES Sully takes a closer look at the athletes, coaches and teams who are generating news and highlights in the Cape-Atlantic League and throughout South Jersey.
u Sweet redemption: The Ocean City girls soccer team suffered
a heartbreaking loss in the inaugural Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship game last fall, as the Red Raiders were held scoreless for 100 minutes by rival Mainland Regional and eventually lost on penalty kicks. This time around, the Raiders made sure there was no doubt who the champion was going to be as Ocean City scored a goal within the first five minutes and dominated Millville throughout in a 2-0 victory. u Gaining respect: St. Augustine Prep came into the CAL boys tournament championship as the top team in the league and ranked No. 2 in the state, but Oakcrest, which wasn’t ranked in the nj.com state poll, pulled off a 2-1 victory in overtime in a game that certainly puts the Falcons on the map.
glory days digital Want the best high school sports coverage every day of the week? Visit glorydaysonline.com for game coverage, features and more! You can also like us at facebook.com/acglorydays, and follow Sully on Twitter @GDsullysays. Get the best. Every day.
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GIRLS SOCCER
Retired number a career higlight for Skroski Gami forever hangs up No. 8 in honor of player who now plays professionally By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer uring Absegami’s girls soccer game against Cedar Creek on Oct. 1, little girls from the Atlantic United Soccer Club were beside themselves with giddy delight while standing on the track surrounding the football field at Absegami High School. Even the Braves varsity players were a little awestruck. There was a professional athlete on hand, standing right there next to the Braves’ bench. Former Absegami star player Erica Skroski was on hand to have her jersey retired during a halftime ceremony, becoming the first athlete in school history to enjoy such an honor. No girls soccer player at Absegami will ever wear No. 8 again. “It’s so cool. It’s such an honor for them to be able to recognize me. Coach (Elizabeth Lee) called me a few weeks ago and, honestly, I was silent for a good 10 or 15 seconds because I didn’t know what to say,” said Skroski, who now plays for Sky Blue FC in the Women’s Professional Soccer League. “I was humbled and so honored that they even put that in their thoughts, to retire my number. When she called me I was in such shock that I almost dropped the phone. I just kept saying, ‘wow, thank you coach!’ I couldn’t say thank you enough. It’s a true honor.” “Knowing that she came from Gami is an honor. I’ve always looked up to her, she’s been a role model in my life since I was 7. I used to be the ball girl when she played here and it’s amazing that she came out here tonight,” senior captain Rylee Getter said. “We went to the Sky Blue game on Sunday and saw her play because we knew she was go-
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Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Erica Skroski, perhaps the best girls soccer player in Absegami history and a professional player now for Sky Blue FC, had her high school jersey number retired by the Braves earlier this month. ing to come to our game, so we went to support her and she played an awesome game.” Added Courtney Gaston, another senior captain, “It’s really amazing, like Rylee said. It’s breathtaking. I’m speechless. She’s so great and it’s so special that she went to this school and is doing so many great things.” Skroski has been one of the most recognizable athletes to come out of Absegami High since 2000. A 2012 graduate, she led the Braves into the South Jersey Group 4 and South Jersey Coaches Association Tournament championship games and a No. 3 ranking in the state, and personally was named first-team All-South Jersey, the South Jersey Midfielder of the Year, All-Cape-Atlantic League first team,
was Absegami’s team MVP for two seasons and also was the Press of Atlantic City’s Girls Soccer Player of the Year and overall Female Athlete of the Year. In addition, Skroski was a firstteam All-State selection. She went on to play at Rutgers University, where she was a team captain for two years, All-Big Ten first team, the Big Ten Defender of the Year in 2015, a second-team All-American, and helped lead the Scarlet Knights into the College Cup (the Final Four for soccer) for the first time ever. In 2016 she was drafted by Sky Blue FC of the Women’s Professional Soccer League and also was invited to play for the U.S. Women’s National Team’s U23 team. Her list of accomplishments is long,
but Skroski said receiving an honor like getting her high school jersey number retired has made its way right to the top of the list. “This ranks at the top of the top. I’m in the professional league and I’ve been to U23 camp with the national team, but this is a different feeling, and a special feeling to be honored in your hometown like this,” she said. “This town built me into who I am today, my roots are here — my club coach, my high school coach and my friends and family, I owe them everything. They have continued to push me at every level.” “It’s always been evident that Erica was a standout athlete, whether it was
See Skroski, page 7
Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 7 Skroski, from page 6 playing baseball in the street with the neighborhood kids or marking up Megan Rapinoe in the NWSL, her talent radiates,” coach Lee said. “But what sets Erica apart from most athletes is her willingness to be coached and her desire to make those around her better. She always puts her team before herself and she has taken advantage of every opportunity she has been given.” Skroski spent time after the halftime ceremony taking photos with Absegami players as well as the youngsters from Atlantic United, her former youth club team. “I like to tell the girls today that it goes quickly and to enjoy it. You only get four years of high school, you get to play with your best friends, so just enjoy the process. I remember practice every day after school. My high school team was the same as my club team, it was pretty much all the same girls. So we would get out of school, go to high school practice, get in our cars and go to club practice, get home at around 10 p.m. and get up and do it all again the next day. It’s the memories I made with those friends, all the parents. They all came out to support me in this (ceremony) and it’s just been an unbelievable thing,” Skroski said. “I’m in Central and North Jersey a lot now (with Sky Blue FC) but I always represent South Jersey and Absegami, this is forever my home. It’s crazy because (in the frame) was my actual jersey from high school and I can see the transitions of the jerseys since then. The fact that it’s my original jersey is really cool.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
“I was humbled and so honored that they even put that in their thoughts, to retire my number. When she called me I was in such shock that I almost dropped the phone. I just kept saying, ‘wow, thank you coach!’ I couldn’t say thank you enough. It’s a true honor.” Erica Skroski, professional soccer player
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Skroski shares a hug with Absegami girls soccer coach Elizabeth Lee prior to the jersey number retirement ceremony.
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GREATE PERFORMANCES PRESENTED BY GREATE BAY RACQUET & FITNESS
St. Joe’s Byers sets scoring record S t. Joseph senior running back Jada Byers is only about 5-foot-7, but after another great performance in a recent 19-11 victory over Vineland he is standing tall again. He scored a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, to become the new all-time scoring leader among football players from Cape-Atlantic League schools. Byers entered the game just two points behind former Ocean City great Kevin Sinclair, who helped lead the Red Raiders to an 11-0 record and a South Jersey Group 4 championship in 1997. He finished his illustrious career with 532 points. Byers finished his effort against Vineland with 169 rushing yards on 19 carries, just another day at the office for one of the state’s best running backs. So far this season, Byers has rushed for more than 500 yards and scored 10 touchdowns, and also has made an impact as a receiver, gaining more than 200 yards and adding another four scores. As a junior last season he rushed for more than 1,700 yards and scored 29 touchdowns; he had three or more scores on six occasions and rushed for 200-plus yards three times, with a season-high of 288 against Millville. u Oakcrest boys soccer defense: The Falcons won the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament with a 2-1 victory over St. Augustine Prep, the No. 2 team in the state, thanks to a pair of goals from senior striker Gabe Paz, but the defense was just as impressive. Led by Shawn McCourt and Mike O’Brien, the Falcons held the Hermits scoreless for nearly 78 minutes, and goalie Ryan Liberty finished with a dozen saves. u Delaney Lappin, Ocean City girls soccer: The Red Raiders, who lost on penalty kicks to rival Mainland in the 2018 CAL Tournament championship game, took home the hardware this fall in large part due to the play of Lappin in the first half against Millville. She scored the game’s first goal on a corner kick header, then later in the half saved a potential game-tying goal with a tremendous defensive play, knocking a loose ball clear of the goal after it had gotten past keeper Abbey Fenton. u Faith Slimmer, Ocean City girls soccer: Slimmer has 25 goals this year, but she’s just as effective as a passer. During the CAL Tournament title game victory over Millville, Slimmer had both assists in a 2-0 victory, as Lappin and Carly Reighard scored off Slimmer’s corner kick passes.
u Kailyn Fortis and Kaylin Flukey, Absegami girls volleyball: Fortis and Flukey both had tremendous games in a win over Oakcrest that gave head coach Kerry Flukey her 200th career win. Flukey finished with nine kills, two service aces and two digs, while Fortis added 17 assists, four aces, three digs and two kills. At one point this season the Braves enjoyed a 12-match winning streak, and after a win over Mainland on Oct. 11 Absegami sported a 15-2 record. The Braves also had dropped just six games all year, least in the CAL. u Ben Arena, Mainland Regional football: With the score tied, 14-14, in the third quarter on Oct. 11, the Mustangs needed a big play to beat Oakcrest and remain undefeated. They got just what they needed when Arena, a defensive lineman, scooped up a fumble and raced 60 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown that eventually gave Mainland a 21-14 victory. u Camryn Dirkes, Mainland Regional girls soccer: Dirkes, a sophomore, scored a pair of goals and added an assist to help the Mustangs keep their
spot in second place in the CAL National standings with a 3-1 victory over Cedar Creek. u E’lijah Gray and Patrick Smith, Holy Spirit football: The pair of running backs combined to rack up more than 300 yards in last weekend’s 4117 win at Washington Township. Gray scored three times and Smith added another touchdown, and it seemed as if each was trying to out-do the other. Smith finished with 169 yards on 23 carries while Gray added 166 yards on 22 carries. u Ernest Howard and Joshua Kotokpo, Pleasantville football: The Greyhounds have gotten off to a 5-1 start this year, and seniors Howard and Kotokpo are a big reason why. Kotokpo was dealing with a leg injury earlier in the season but seemed back to full strength during an impressive 18-6 win over Cedar Creek earlier this month, as he rushed 14 times for 94 yards. Howard also chipped in 94 yards, on just five carries, and scored twice. The following week, in a 41-6 win over Gloucester Catholic, Kotokpo finished with 64 yards and two TDs, and Keon Henry added 89 receiving yards.
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VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY
GOLDEN MOMENT Gabe Paz’s OT goal in the CAL championship game gave Oakcrest one of its biggest wins in program history By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer wo things had to happen in the boys soccer Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship game in order for Oakcrest to score what could be viewed as a program-defining win. Senior striker Gabe Paz had to find the back of the net, and goalie Ryan Liberty had to play the best game of his life. The thought of trying to keep the No. 1 team in the league — and No. 2 team in the state of New Jersey — off the board for eighty minutes had Liberty nearly physically ill all afternoon leading up to the 6 p.m. start at Egg Harbor Township on Oct. 14. Paz did his part, scoring twice, and Liberty — despite a woozy stomach and only hoping he could live up to his end of the bargain — was absolutely fantastic. Paz buried a shot into the lower left corner off
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a free kick from Shawn McCourt a few minutes into overtime to give Oakcrest an improbably 2-1 victory, and as the Oakcrest crowd was raining down applause from the home-side bleachers, Liberty struck a pose with his hands out and his shoulders hunched up, a pose that said, “how in the heck did I just do that?” “I don’t think I’ve ever played that well. They are a great team and I respect all of them. In the moment, I’m just really focused. I was really, really nervous before this game but this is the best feeling in the world. I’m filled with emotions right now. It’s unreal,” Liberty said. “Our defense played out of this world. They are studs.” Liberty held the Hermits scoreless for nearly 78 minutes, as Prep didn’t tally a goal until there was 2:09 left in regulation, and he had to work hard for
the dozen saves he made. On one save his entire body was inside the goal as he held the ball outside the line to keep a zero on the scoreboard, and he made several other saves in heavy traffic in front of the net. The Hermits were relentless in their attack in the final 20 minutes after key outside back Juan Gonzales went down with an injury, which forced head coach Joe Seaman to pull Paz and Mason Stokes, Oakcrest’s other dynamic striker, to the back line as reinforcements. “He’s making a name for himself, and with all the hard work he’s put in it’s finally getting him noticed,” defender Mike O’Brien said of Liberty. “We’ve been working all year, and coming up against this strong team, me, Shawn (McCourt), Ryan and our two out-
See Moment, page 11
Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 11 Moment, from page 10 side backs, we knew what we were in for, and we performed. They just kept coming at us but we didn’t back down. Unfortunately they got that goal with two minutes left, but we just kept trying to do what we’ve been practicing and the defense just tried to hold them off as long as we could.” The past couple of years the Falcons have been a team with talent but could never really put it all together. That all changed this year as the squad, loaded with seniors who said they wanted to do something this fall to be remembered, has been taking South Jersey by storm. Following the CAL tournament victory Oakcrest was 14-1, and after having not won any kind of championship since 1987 the Falcons won a pair of them in a four-day span, having wrapped up the CAL National Conference a few days before. “Holy cow is right,” a relieved Joe Seaman, Oakcrest’s head coach, said after a long celebration following the OT goal. “The first half went off just like we had hoped, we possessed and
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Goalie Ryan Liberty found it hard to believe that he made a dozen saves and limited the No. 2 team in the state to just one goal while helping Oakcrest win the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament. took control. We had a chance to go up 2-0 with a few seconds left but unfortunately hit the post. The first half was our game plan. The second half was OK for the first 20 minutes then we had our starting marking back go down (with injury) and that kind of threw off
the rotation. From there we were just trying to hang on. They got one, but it was inevitable. You can’t hang on for 20 minutes against the No. 2 team in the state. But after that, we dug deep for overtime. I talked about the Ocean City game (on Oct. 11) when we were
down 2-nil — I said, ‘look, we have 10 minutes of overtime, press hard, go hard.’ We did, and we got the win. “We stopped pressing in the second half but in overtime we pressed, we were in their face and they didn’t have any easy passes,” he continued. “They turned the ball over and fouled us and that’s the play we won on. The ball at Gabe’s feet inside the 18, he’s going to get that ninety-nine times out of a hundred. What a fantastic player.” What makes Oakcrest special this year is it has two strikers — Paz and Stokes — who want the pressure of being the leading scorers, they embrace that role of putting the team on their backs, and the defense has a bunch of guys who don’t care if their name ever gets in the paper as long as the Falcons keep piling up wins. Guys like McCourt, Gonzelez, O’Brien and Ethan Nelson — and even midfielders such as Asembo Augo, Zach Dittus, Colin Veltri and Nick Cacopardo — are willing to play whatever role they need to in order to turn the Falcons into a state
See Moment, page 13
Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Moment, from page 11 championship contender. And, after taking down St. Augustine in a championship atmosphere, there’s no reason to believe they aren’t just that. “Our defense, I’ll put them up against anybody, they are top notch,” Seaman said. “St. Augustine is very creative and moves the ball around so well, and our guys just hung tough, cleared when needed, possessed out of the back. We definitely have four of the best defenders in the state in Shaun, Mike, Ethan and Juan.” “It was crazy. Me, Mike and Ryan had to hold it down like we’ve been doing all season. We’re a trio, a brotherhood, we have great chemistry. It was pretty tough and I got scared a little bit, but I always trust my team. This is amazing. They are second in the state and we’re not even in the top 20. Everyone sleeps on us,” McCourt said. “We’re trying to break the clean sheet record and we’re pretty close to it. All season we’ve been solid, we don’t fight back there, we’re all together.” Of course, every coach lays down a string of superlatives about his team after a win like that, but coach Seaman said this year’s team is different than any he’s had in the past, and he loves the approach they are taking to make this a memorable season. “Just a quick story here about how great these guys are. We lost to Mainland, they were frustrated, we had a team fundraiser at Applebee’s (that
“They got one, but it was inevitable. You can’t hang on for 20 minutes against the No. 2 team in the state. But after that, we dug deep for overtime. I talked about the Ocean City game (on Friday) when we were down 2-nil — I said, ‘look, we have 10 minutes of overtime, press hard, go hard.’ We did, and we got the win.”
Joe Seaman Oakcrest coach
night) and they all came together and had great attitudes the next day. They played a little soccer in the afternoon then on that Sunday they sat down and watched the Mainland film on their own, dissecting the film, looking for ways to get better, thinking of openings they missed. They even held me accountable because I messed up in that game. Mainland had to beat us, we could have sat back. We didn’t have to attack, so strategically I made an error,” he said. “It’s just great that they can have the maturity to break down film and come up with a plan. This is a great bunch of kids.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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FOOTBALL Senior Drew DeMorat is one of the best linebackers in the area and has helped Mainland Regional limit opponents to less than 40 rushing yards per game this season. The Mustangs also have allowed just one rushing touchdown while racking up a 6-0 record. Glory Days photo/ Dave O’Sullivan
Defense where it starts for Stangs By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer huck Smith took over the storied Mainland Regional football program prior to the 2016 season, and during his first two years he joked that he didn’t like going to Wawa for his morning coffee because he’d be greeted with something along the lines of, “hey coach, how are you doing? How come you guys can’t win a game?” The Mustangs struggled through a pair of 1-9 seasons during Smith’s first two years at the helm after his very successful run at Oakcrest. There were games during the 2017 campaign when the Mustangs would lose 35-0, 40-0, and even a 58-0 loss to Vineland. It’s not easy to show your face around town on a Saturday morning after a drubbing like that on Friday night. But Smith had a plan, and knew the plan would eventually work. He played a lot of freshmen and sophomores those first two years,
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u A group that has gotten stronger, faster and more experienced has been shutting teams down the past two years giving them valuable experience, and preached commitment to the weight room. The Monday after Thanksgiving in 2017 there were nearly 40 players in the weight room — just a few days removed from a second straight 1-9 year. The past two seasons have been a completely different story. The Stangs went 8-3 a year ago, won the West Jersey Football League Independence Division and made it to the state playoffs. This year they are off to a 6-0 start and are chasing down a second straight division title and a return trip to states. The key has been the defense — the same one that was getting ripped apart two years ago is now one of the best in South Jersey. Mainland is allowing
less than 40 rushing yards per game this season and has allowed just one rushing touchdown. “We put a lot of emphasis on defense and we try to put our best players on that side first. I think the key to the whole defense is they have experience, they’ve played for three years now, and they have dedicated themselves in the offseasons. When I walk in on a Saturday morning they will have already watched the game film, a few times, so when I start talking about the game it’s not the first time they’ve seen the tape. They go home and they study it,” Smith said. “It’s a good group of kids and we have some great senior leadership. They’ve been through it and they
know what it was like when we were getting pounded. Now, fortunately we’re on the other end of some of those scores, which is nice. “It’s tough because of the physical nature of it and we took some bumps and bruises early on, but you just have to show belief in the kids and keep the enthusiasm, and show them what it’s going to be,” he added. “Eventually, when they mature, they start totally buying in. When they see the fruits of their labor, then they buy in.” Guys like Drew DeMorat, Brayden Pohlman, Amir Vick, Brandon Batz, Sean Bradley, Ben Arena, Sam Epstein and Chris Campbell have led the way, both on the field and during offseason workouts. Former Villanova standout Antoine Lewis has done a great job coaching up the defensive linemen, and defensive coordinator Doug Shiner switched to a 3-3 stack formation,
See Stangs, page 17
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Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 17 Stangs, from page 14 which allows the linebackers to make a lot of tackles and the safeties to come up in run support. “I think the biggest thing was just getting more experienced and more mature. We hit the weight room as much as we could in the offseason to try to get better,” Arena said after last week’s 21-14 win over Oakcrest. “We also went from a four-man front to a three front and that’s helped out a lot because we have some great linebackers. Our run defense is amazing, and we know we can trust our defensive backs to help us out. We were all here through two 1-9 seasons, so we had that mentality (last year) that we can’t go 1-9 again.” Only two teams, Cherry Hill West and Oakcrest, have even scored more than eight points against Mainland this season. “This is something we hoped for when we saw these kids as eighthgraders and coming in as freshmen. We played a lot of them as freshmen, which isn’t always advantageous, but we saw the future. The key was the offseason weight program. We’re not a huge team. We don’t have the 6-foot-5 guys and the 250-pounders, but we’re strong through each of our positions,” Smith said. “We have a great inside box. When people ask about interceptions, yeah they are great plays by (the secondary) but those plays come from the pressure from the guys up front. When you have guys like Ben, Sam Epstein, Sean Bradley, Drew DeMorat
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
With senior safety Brandon Batz leading the way, Mainland has won 14 of its last 17 games and has put itself in position to defend its West Jersey Football League Indepedence Division championship. Mainland travels to Middle Township this weekend then has a bye before a huge showdown on Nov. 1 against rival Ocean City. — that’s tough for an offense to deal with. And our defensive coordinator, Doug Shiner, does a tremendous job of constantly mixing things up and that keeps teams guessing. But we have to do that because of our lack of size.” Smith said the biggest change he has seen in his players is that now they don’t go into a game hoping they can win, they expect it. And they expect to shut down the opposing of-
fense every week. “That is the change. Once they matured last year, and now we’re mostly a senior heavy team — now they expect to win. We’ve been through the bad parts, this is their senior season and they want to go out on top as best they can,” he said. “Everything starts in the weight room. We have a sign outside our weight room that says ‘championships start here’ and we live and die
in that weight room. The kids believe in it and they see the fruits of their labor. Last year, when we started turning things around, it was no accident that the kids who had a great season were the kids who really dedicated themselves the previous two seasons. We keep building on that.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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bunting family pharmacy FOOTBALL REPORT
Several players boosting recruiting stock
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ood NCAA Division II, III and smaller Division I college coaches know the key to successful recruiting is sometimes turning over enough rocks to find a few diamonds in the rough. And sometimes high school players don’t really begin to flourish until their senior years. Smart college coaches in the region may want to take a closer look at some players in the West Jersey Football League who may not grab a lot of headlines, but certainly have some potential to be a quality addition to a college roster. Here’s a quick look at some of the players who have impressed Sully so far this season during his Friday night and Saturday afternoon travels around Atlantic and Cape May counties. u Imaari Andrews (Oakcrest, senior, WR/DB): This kid will be a steal for any college that scoops him up. He’s only about 175 pounds right now but certainly has room to grow and put muscle on his 6-foot-2 frame. Very athletic, and tough, has a nose for the football both on offense and defense. u Nysere Dunlap (Oakcrest, senior, LB/RB): He has some pretty good size at 5-10 and almost 200 pounds, is durable and could probably play either side of the ball at the college level. u Louie Barrios (Cedar Creek, senior, QB): Barrios has been starting for a couple of years now and this year has really been lighting it up, passing for more than 1,000 yards already. He may not be the prototypical drop-back passing quarterback, but he’s a winner and shows a lot of toughness, as he’s been playing the majority of the season with a banged
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Oakcrest may be just 2-4 so far this season, but the Falcons have some outstanding athletes, including senior Imaari Andrews, who has been making an impact as both a receiver and defensive back. up wrist on his throwing hand. u JoJo Bermudez (Cedar Creek, sophomore WR/DB): Coach Tim Watson thinks he is the best slot receiver in the WJFL, and it might be hard to argue that. He is very shifty after the catch, has great hands and also adds value as a kick returner. He’s only going to get better the next couple of years. u Richard McQueen (Cedar Creek,
senior, WR/DB): He’s 6-1, 185 pounds right now and has the potential to get bigger and stronger. Would project nicely as a taller defensive back/linebacker at the college level, and also is one of the best punters in Atlantic County. u Ben Arena (Mainland Regional, senior, OL/DL): This guy might be the epitome of a diamond in the rough.
Virtually unheard of until this, his final season, Arena (younger brother of former Mainland softball star Bailey Arena) has really come on strong, particularly as a defensive lineman. He’s not big as far as D-linemen go, as he’s 5-11 and just a shade over 200 pounds, but this is a lunch-pail type of player
See Report, page 19
Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 19 Report, from page 18 who is willing to grind every day and work hard for playing time. u Joshua Kotokpo (Pleasantville, senior, RB): Got off to a little bit of a slow start this year because of an injury, but has started to turn it on of late. This is a guy who loves football, is a patient runner and has the ability to break a big play if the blocking is there. u Joe Repetti (Ocean City, junior, QB): He still has another year of high school ball in 2020, but keep an eye on him as he develops his skills. He’s picked up Ocean City’s offense nicely in his first season and has become a pretty formidable dual-threat quarterback. u Angelo Fodero (St. Augustine Prep, senior, OL/DL): Love the makeup of this kid and he has some pretty good size at 6-foot, 240 pounds. This is the kind of guy you want on your offensive line, a guy who isn’t going to mess around but instead come to work every day, spend hours in the film room and be a team leader. u Shawn McGraw (Atlantic City, junior, RB/DB): He has some pretty good size for a running back at 5-10, 180 pounds, but what’s most impressive is his passion for the game. In the season opener, coach Leo Hamlett took him out of the game for a play because he thought McGraw needed a breather, and McGraw gave him a stare that said, “don’t ever think about doing that again.” That’s the kind of attitude you want in a running back. u E’lijah Gray (Holy Spirit, senior, RB): He’s been getting some good looks from colleges, and for good rea-
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Pleasantville has a huge showdown with Buena Regional on Oct. 25. Last year, the Chiefs scored a win over the Greyhounds to lock up the West Jersey Football League United Division title. son. He’s put up more than 3,000 yards in his career, and while he may be a bit undersized at 5-foot-8, he’s close to 200 pounds and has proved to be a durable back throughout his career. He’s also a great team player and leader, and that’s the kind of kid colleges are looking for. He knows how to win, and what it takes to be consistently good.
Division titles up for grabs
There will be some interesting battles for WJFL division championships the next couple of weeks. Mainland and Ocean City are on a collision course to meet on Nov. 1 in what most likely will be the game that decides the Independence Division title. Last year, Sean Carey booted a game-winning
field goal in the waning seconds to lift Mainland to victory, so you know the Red Raiders will be frothing at the mouth to try to get some revenge this year. The Constitution Division race has really heated up after Week 6, as Willingboro, Camden and Cedar Creek are all tied at 2-1 inside the division. Creek beat Willingboro and Camden topped Creek, so this one likely will go down to the wire. In the Continental, there will be a big showdown on Oct. 26 between St. Joseph and Timber Creek, which are both undefeated in divisional play. This likely will decide the champion, as the other teams in the division
have at least two losses. Hammonton has the edge in the Royal Division race because of its win over second-place Holy Spirit, and that’s big because teams in this division only play four games inside the division. Spirit will have to get some help from Eastern and Washington Township against Hammonton in order to have a shot to win this race. There’s also a huge battle on the horizon in the United Division, as Pleasantville will host Buena Regional on Oct. 25. Last year, the Chiefs beat the Greyhounds to lock up the title, so you know The Ville will be looking for some revenge.
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CROSS COUNTRY
Mainland’s Antczak primed to finish his career on a high note Senior in the best shape of his life as ‘championship season’ begins By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer evin Antczak, a senior at Mainland Regional, has spent the past couple of years establishing himself as one of the top cross country runners in South Jersey. It looks as though he’s starting to take it to another level in this, his final season in green and white. Earlier this month, Antczak ran a blistering 15:32 at Holmdel Park — one of the iconic cross country courses in the Mid-Atlantic region — during the New Balance Shore Coaches Invitational, and in the process shattered the Mainland school record of former star Greg Hughes, who finished second at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions as a senior and is perhaps the best runner in school history. Antczak beat out West Windsor-Plainsboro North senior Luke Johnson at the tape to take first place and also recorded the fastest time at Holmdel by a South Jersey runner since Paul VI’s Jason DiJoseph’s 15:16 in 1988. “I knew I had a time like that in me, but I didn’t know what to expect until I actually ran it. At no point in the race did I feel like I needed to slow down, so I guess I felt pretty good,” said Antczak, last year’s Cape-Atlantic League champion. “Toward the end, I felt like I could have taken the lead but I just held back for some reason. Over the summer, I’ve just been working harder. The faster you get, the faster your workouts get and the more miles you do.”
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“That was unbelievable. It’s a deep class but this time puts him right in the mix. There are two guys who can run faster than that, maybe a couple more. It’s an unbelievable senior class as far as depth, so he’s going to have to be on that day. The hardest part for him is that almost all the heavy hitters are in Group 3 so they’ll race each other in back-to-back weeks. Liam Murphy from Allentown was the only kid to beat Devon Hart last year in indoor, and he’s Group 3. The kid he outkicked is Group 3. So they are going to race each other a couple times in a row, and it will be interesting to see how that goes,” said Mainland coach Dan Heyman. “It’s exciting because we’re building everything for the end of the year. We got lucky with the weather the way it was. You never know what you’re going to get, sometimes in October you get a summer-like day, but that was closer to a November day. But, I don’t care what the weather is, 15:32 on that course is unbelievable. We knew he was really fit when he ran a 15:05 at home without really digging down. It’s the second-fastest South Jersey time in the last 31 years. Greg Hughes, who had our school record, is an all-time great. Kevin was always hearing the stories about him, and Kevin would say to people that if he could have any one record at Mainland, he wanted the Holmdel record. To knock that out early is great because now he doesn’t have to worry about it and can just go out and race.”
Glory Days file photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Mainland senior Kevin Antczak clocked a 15:32 earlier this month at Holmdel Park, a time that puts him in contention to win an NJSIAA Meet of Champions title. Turning in a 15:32 at Holmdel has really energized Antczak ahead of “championship season” which began this week with the Atlantic County Championships and continues on Oct. 24 with the CAL Championships in Millville. The ultimate goal is to win the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in November, at Holmdel Park. “The plan has been the same all along, to give it all I have at MOC and try to punch my ticket to Foot Locker Nationals. Before this last race, I knew I had a shot to win it because anything can happen on race day. There are favorites and people who are more likely to win, but after running that time I’m more confident of being a contender. Every week that goes by, the more fit I get. From last year to this year, I have a whole year of training under my belt and I feel like I’m in the best fitness of my life right now and it’s only going
to get better as the season progresses,” Antczak said. “There is always something I learn from every race. Last year I was never really a contender in the big races, I was just among the top guys. I would just try to run as fast as I could. This year, now that I have another year of experience under my belt, the seniors are the ones to decide how the races play out. I didn’t really have any experience with that last year but I’m starting to understand how it works now.” “He’s ready to go. We’ll pick our spots where he’ll really go. You can’t go to the well week in and week out if you’re trying to beat guys who are within a couple seconds of you, so we’ll pick spots where he’ll push and in practice we’ll keep working really
See Antczak, page 21
Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 21 Antczak, from page 20 hard. He’s going to have to race these guys in consecutive weeks, so it might be the kind of thing where we see how it goes the first race and then attack in the next one. If he can just focus on himself and not worry about other guys, that’s the best thing he can do. He just has to keep himself fit so that he knows he can be in the mix and whoever has the best race that day will take it,” Heyman said. “This year, we feel like he is strong enough to make the MOC, so we’re just going to plan on being there. When you
know your season is going to go through the end of November, you plan that way. We did the same thing when Alyssa (Aldridge) was here. You can plan to peak later, and that’s a nice luxury to have. When Hughes was here our team was so strong that we knew we’d make it as a team, but when you’re an individual you have to make sure you qualify.” Make no mistake, the time he turned in a few weeks ago certainly puts Antczak in the mix of top contenders to bring home a MOC gold medal. “That time he ran would win the Meet of Champions in most years. Except for about six times in
the last 40 years, that time he put up would be good enough to win it,” Heyman said. “There were three guys who hit that 15:32 mark, so it’s a deep class. The guy who Kevin is second to in South Jersey, Jason DiJoseph, set the (South Jersey) course record in 1988 and he was a Foot Locker national champion. We want to keep him in that mix. A 15:16 might not be in the mix, but Kevin is thinking about making a run at the MOC and making it to the national championships.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Country roads felt like home Cedar Creek junior pitcher David Hagaman gives verbal commitment to West Virginia University By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer f the Cedar Creek High School baseball team scores even a couple of runs each game next spring, the Pirates are going to be very tough to beat. That’s because coach Ryan Flannery’s squad is loaded with pitching talent. Junior David Hagaman, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound right-hander, is the latest to announce his college commitment, as he said recently that he chose West Virginia University. He’ll be able to officially sign a National Letter of Intent during his senior year of 2020-2021. Hagaman joins current seniors Luke Vaks and Steven Kaenzig, who have committed to Old Dominion and Hofstra, respectively. “We’re excited. We knew he was getting recruited big-time and for him to pick a school and settle in on it probably feels good for him. That will relieve some of the pressure he probably feels pitching in front of all those scouts (at showcase events),” Flannery said. “It’s well deserved. He works his tail off and we’re happy for him. When we got him as a freshman you could tell there was potential. He started at shortstop for us and batted in the No. 3 hole as a freshman, so we knew he was going to be special. We knew we’d see some growing pains when he was younger, but last spring he really came into his own and we expect two more years of him being one of the top guys in our program.” The recruiting process can be difficult for high-level high school athletes, and Hagaman went through it for more than a year, as — particularly with baseball — colleges are recruiting younger athletes more than ever. Hagaman played for several travel teams, including the South Jersey Sand Sharks, and spent the past few summers attending showcase events hosted by companies such as Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report. Hagaman said he enjoyed the process and was confident he would get an offer from a high level NCAA Division I program. West Virginia plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the toughest baseball conferences in the nation. “My second option was Old Dominion, obviously with Luke it was ideal for them to get me, too, so that was hard to tell them that I was going to West
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Glory Days file photo/Dave O’Sullivan
David Hagaman, now a junior at Cedar Creek High, pitched well as a sophomore and during summer showcases, and last month announced he had given a verbal commitment to West Virginia University. Virginia. I talked to Notre Dame a little bit, and North Carolina, Virginia Tech and a couple other ACC schools and a few smaller Division I schools. It is pretty surprising, but I do feel like I’ve put in a lot of work. I’ve talked to a couple guys who went to ACC schools and they said this is when it all starts to line up, around your junior year. I was pretty confident in myself, and when it came about I was pretty happy,” Hagaman said. “It’s definitely awesome and I’ve had a great time throughout the whole process. I’ve talked to a lot of great guys and made a lot of good relationships with everyone. It was very humbling when they contacted me.”
Hagaman and Cedar Creek had a breakout year last spring, as the Pirates advanced all the way to the South Jersey Group II championship game before falling to West Deptford. The Pirates also challenged teams like Mainland Regional, Absegami and Ocean City in the Cape-Atlantic League National Conference, and should be a contender again in 2020 after having lost just a handful of seniors. Hagaman got a taste of varsity pitching as a freshman, but hurled only eight innings. He was relied on much more this past spring as a sophomore, and in 33 innings he allowed
See Hagaman, page 23
Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 23 Hagaman, from page 22 just 15 earned runs while striking out 48 batters. According to perfectgame. org, Hagaman’s fastball now reaches 90 miles-per-hour, a 12-miles-per-hour increase from his freshman year. “I feel like I could have done better. My freshman year I only had a couple of starts, and in my first varsity start, against St. Joe’s, they put up about four runs on me. I wasn’t as big a factor as I wanted to be (as a freshman). Last year, with coming up short in the playoffs, that’s pushed me to do better. I feel like I’ve done decent so far, but I definitely want to get better,” Hagaman said. “We have three guys throwing 90plus now and two other guys who are in the mid-80s, so we definitely have the pitching, we just have to hit. We’re not looking for anything less than a state championship. I’ve been incorporating a slider and that’s something I used in the Futures Game to get a lot of outs. It’s more of a chase pitch when I’m up in the count. That’s something I’ve been working on a lot this summer.” Hagaman, son of Christine and Edward Hagaman of Egg Harbor City,
Glory Days file photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Hagaman helped lead the Pirates into the South Jersey Group 2 championship game for the first time last spring, and this year Cedar Creek will be aiming even higher. said West Virginia just felt like the right place for him to spend his college years. “There wasn’t one thing about West Virginia. When I got there, it just felt like home. I had a great connection with everyone there, I love the campus, it’s a beautiful area. I showed up on
campus and it felt like home,” he said. “It’s been a long road, we’ve been doing (this process) for about a year and a half now, so I feel like there’s a weight off my shoulders. My parents were a huge factor. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to go everywhere I did and wouldn’t be where I am right now.
Ever since I was really young my dad has been working with me. They’ve been by my side every single game, every single tournament, and I definitely appreciate that.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Pirates already amped up for 2020 Hagaman commitment to W.Va. means Cedar Creek now has three Division I pitchers on its roster By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer yan Flannery has his hands full at the moment as one of the assistant coaches on Tim Watson’s Cedar Creek High School football staff, but he can’t help but be excited to talk some baseball these days. That’s because Flannery’s Pirates made a run to the South Jersey Group 2 championship game last spring — the first time the baseball program had that much postseason success — and there are three Division I pitchers returning in 2020. It may be football season, but for some guys baseball season never really ends. “They’re excited. With everybody back in school now and seeing all the guys, you can tell there’s a little extra buzz,” Flannery recently said after current junior right-hander David Hagaman made his verbal commitment to West Virginia University. “I’m excited as a coach and they are excited, too, to get back out onto the diamond. But they know they still have to put in the offseason work, starting now.” The Pirates finished fourth last spring in the very competitive Cape-Atlantic League National Conference, going 7-5, but went 16-10 overall and won three state playoff games before falling to West Deptford by a run in the sectional championship game. And 12 of those wins came inside the CAL, as Cedar Creek posted a 12-7 record against league opponents. The team only lost a couple of seniors and this year will be stacked with nearly a dozen seniors. “I actually coached this senior class as their head JV coach (when they were younger) and the following year I took the varsity job, so I’ve been with these guys all four years. When I got the head job three years ago, we were talking to the assistants and we were saying this year, meaning 2020, is going to be our year to show up and kind of put the program on the map,” Flannery said. “Last year, we were had a breakout year but we were a little inconsistent. But we only had a few seniors on the team. This year we’ll have nine seniors and obviously we have the guys you hear about in the papers, but there is a good group of other guys who may not get the publicity. We have Sean Brady, who is an excellent pitcher for us, Joe Hamill and Nate Goodrich have done well for
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Glory Days file photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Luke Vaks, now a senior, had a tremendous junior year, striking out 70 and allowing just nine earned runs in 38 innings. He’s committed to Old Dominion University. us, Connor Shulby, Justin Thomas, Barry Walker — so we’re excited to see what they can do as well.” Cedar Creek should have a big-time advantage on the mound with Hagaman and seniors such as Luke Vaks, Sean Brady and Steven Kaenzig, who all will be throwing to junior catcher Dan DiGiovannantonio, one of the best backstops in the CAL and already a two-year starter. Vaks, who reached as high as 94 miles-per-hour last year and twirled a gem against Delran on the state playoffs, has given a verbal commitment to Old Dominion University and Kaenzig is committed to Hofstra. “We have three guys throwing 90-plus now and two other guys who are in the mid-80s, so we defi-
nitely have the pitching, we just have to hit. We’re not looking for anything less than a state championship,” Hagaman said. “I’ve been incorporating a slider and that’s something I used in the Futures Game to get a lot of outs. It’s more of a chase pitch when I’m up in the count. That’s something I’ve been working on a lot this summer.” Both Hagaman and Vaks made the rounds at high level prospect camps and events this summer and have a ton of potential to be dominant pitchers in South Jersey next spring, and Kaenzig and Brady
See Pirates, page 25
Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 25 Pirates, from page 24 aren’t far behind, either. Vaks allowed just nine earned runs in 38 innings last spring while striking out 70 batters, and Hagaman said he gained a lot of confidence during a solid performance at the Futures Games in Georgia this past summer. “Coming in freshman year, I knew I wanted to help this team out, but me being the little kid on the team I wasn’t really confident enough,” he said. “Coach came up to me at the meetings after freshman year and said I needed to get more confident on the mound and trust myself. I did that this year. Before every pitch I told myself to execute and that helped a lot.” “They all have personal pitching guys they can go to on the side, and in our offseason program the guys have lifts they need to get in during the fall and winter. We do testing throughout the year to make sure they are all on pace,” Flannery said. “We have a new app where we can keep track of them, so if they’re not lifting at the school they can get on the app and that goes
Glory Days file photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Sean Brady is an outstanding infielder and bat in Cedar Creek’s lineup, and can also pitch. to my phone, so we can figure out where their strengths are and where their weaknesses are so we can identify what we need to improve on. It’s pretty awesome software. They type in the weights and the reps and the com-
puter takes over, so the next time they do those exercises the weights and reps go up, stuff like that. It’s a pretty sophisticated program for a high school offseason.” While the Pirates want to be consid-
ered one of the elite teams in the CAL, Flannery said they are going to have to go out and prove it the way teams like St. Augustine Prep, Holy Spirit, Mainland and Ocean City have done for years. “We talk about owning your role in the program. Some people are going to get their names in the paper and some aren’t, but it’s about what you can do collectively to help the team succeed. (Winning big games) is definitely going to be one of the challenges, and the other challenge is no one is sleeping on us anymore,” Flannery said. “Last year we came on the map late but this year we can expect to probably see a lot of No. 1 or No. 2 arms. People will be scheduling their pitchers for us, where as in the past they might have been like, ‘oh, it’s Cedar Creek, we’re not going to throw our No. 1.’ There are a lot of expectations, so we’re excited, but at the same time we have to level out those expectations and just play baseball.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Milestone extra special for Flukey Absegami coach reaches 200 wins with daughter Kaylin leading the way By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer bsegami girls volleyball coach Kerry Flukey didn’t quite know how to react after her Braves took down rival Oakcrest on Oct. 3, beating the Falcons 25-16 and 25-13. It was, after all, just another regular-season win, much like the many others she’s had in her career. But this was one was a little bit different, as it marked the 200th career victory for coach Flukey, who has been at the helm the past 13 years and started the program when her daughter Kaylin was in kindergarten. Kaylin is now a senior at Absegami and played a big role in the win over Oakcrest — a victory that coach Flukey said she had no idea was a milestone. She was wondering what the big celebration by her players on the court was all about after the final point was made. “I was not expecting this at all. I was not keeping track, so I had no idea. They asked me if I wanted to know and I said, ‘nope.’ (I didn’t know) until they started cheering. Nobody seems to believe me, but I don’t keep track of things like that. I’m too busy coaching. The girls kept it quiet, and I can’t believe they kept a secret like that. I’m still kind of in shock, I haven’t had a chance to process it yet. This program has been so amazing. My assistant coach (Zach Mack) and I work really hard with these girls. We don’t have a lot of year-round travel players — in fact, this year we have none — so to get these girls to this point where they are consistently working so hard, it’s so much fun to see them blossom. They are studs and they impress me every single day,” coach Flukey said. “We played really well, our passing was on point and that always makes a huge difference. It’s always a big rivalry with Oakcrest and it’s always a great match. That’s definitely the way to do it.” The first game was nip-and-tuck until Absegami got a little breathing room when Kailyn Fortis scored a pair of service aces to give the Braves a 14-11 lead. Absegami stretched the scoring run to 10 straight points, opening up a 24-14 lead, forcing Oakcrest to call a timeout, but moments later the Braves closed it out after the Falcons had cut the lead to 24-16. In the
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Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Kaylin Flukey is a star senior on the Absegami girls volleyball team and she recently helped her mom, coach Kerry Flukey, reach 200 career victories. second game, Oakcrest built a 9-7 lead and threatened to go on a run, but Flukey, Jackie Fortis and Angelina Pollino came alive on the front line and started driving home points. The Braves tied the game, 10-10, then after taking a lead, a pair of aces from Ashley Solano pushed Absegami’s advantage to 15-10. Oakcrest only got as close as 24-12 before the Braves closed it out with a 25-13 victory. “It’s awesome. She’s worked so hard over the years. I was little when she started coaching and just seeing this is awesome. I just remember coming and watching all the girls play and thinking, ‘I’m going to be there someday.’ Yesterday was a close one and we didn’t play our best, but we wanted this one for her. We wanted her to have it at home, so we fought hard,” Kaylin Flukey said. “South Jersey teams are very underrated when it comes to girls volleyball,
so I think this definitely shows that we’re here and we’re showing out.” Pollino, another senior, said the team was feeling the pressure to get the win at home against Oakcrest. The Braves had to win the day before against Cinnaminson to give coach Flukey an opportunity to reach the milestone during a home match. “This is all we talked about all day. We were so nervous, we had everything planned out and we told all our parents that when we get toward the end, make sure you are videoing it because this is something we have to do for her. This was a big rivalry and to get the win tonight was awesome,” Pollino said. “We do everything together, and when we make a mistake it’s together, and sometimes they come one after another, but tonight we were really motivated to get her that
See Flukey, page 29
Oct. 18, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 29 Flukey, from page 26 200th win, and we pulled through. She definitely gets the job done, and she does it well.” Coach Flukey has built up perhaps the most dominant team in the CapeAtlantic League the past 10 years, as the Braves have won plenty of league titles and are right in the thick of things again this season. “I’ve lived around this sport my entire life. My dad was my coach in middle school and I’ve always loved it,” she said. “I’ve loved seeing the transition from seeing very few teams in South Jersey to now most schools have it. It has made such a huge difference and I love being a part of it.” Making the win and milestone even more special, coach Flukey said, was getting the chance to experience something like that with her daughter at her side. “I feel more confident in my coaching now. I didn’t coach underneath another head coach, I was it. I started the program. I have coach Mack who is a huge support system, and my husband and family. My kids were little
“(I didn’t know) until they started cheering. Nobody seems to believe me, but I don’t keep track of things like that. I’m too busy coaching. The girls kept it quiet, and I can’t believe they kept a secret like that. I’m still kind of in shock, I haven’t had a chance to process it yet. This program has been so amazing.”
Kerry Flukey, Absegami coach
kids running around this gym when I first started coaching, and it’s become a huge part of all of our lives,” coach Flukey said. “I’m so proud that my daughter got to be a part of this. That just doesn’t happen very often. There aren’t even words. I’m so proud of her. She came here because she wanted to play for me, and she’s an amazing athlete and just such a leader. All these girls have played together and it’s so much fun watching them grow together, and to come together and play like they have been, it’s amazing.” The pair said they try to keep the coach/player and mother/daughter relationships as separate as possible, but more often than not the talk around the dinner table is centered around Braves volleyball. “It’s more good than bad,” Kaylin
joked about having her mother as her varsity coach. “I love having her with me all the time. She’s very good about being a coach on the court and my mom off of it. We try to keep everything (at the court) but we do talk about stuff at home sometimes.” “It’s tough. I can separate the two, but she has a hard time separating,” coach Flukey said with a laugh. “But we’ve been doing this for so long that I think we handle it well. Sometimes I’ll say, ‘I’m sorry, I screwed up today.’ Or it’s her apologizing, so it all works out.” Flukey’s easygoing nature and positive attitude certainly resonates with her players as she is one of the most popular coaches in the school. “For us, I think each and every one of us loves her in our own different
way. She’s so special. She’s different than any other coach I’ve ever had, and being a part of this and being able to say we were on the team when she got this win is something I’ll never forget,” Pollino said. “She connects with us. I know every coach says all the players are like their own kids, but she really does make us feel that way, and just the way she helps us understand everything we do and why we’re doing it.” Flukey said a night like reaching 200 wins and seeing the reaction from her players — who presented her with flowers, a poster and a commemorative volleyball to mark the occasion — has certainly re-energized her as a coach. “I do think sometimes we get ourselves in a rut. We get it from all angles as coaches — there are parents to deal with, referees, bus drivers, all these different things, we’re teachers and moms, all those different things,” she said. “Sometimes you get down and you think, how can I keep giving so much of myself to this? Then a night like this happens and you think you can go for another 13 years.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
snapshots Ocean City’s Riley Fortna gives a high-five to coach Kelly Halliday prior to the Red Raiders’ 2-0 victory over Millville in the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship game. Glory Days photos/ Dave O’Sullivan
Oakcrest lineman Amir Cherry catches his breath on the sideline during the fourth quarter of a tough matchup against Mainland Regional on Oct. 11. Mainland topped the Falcons 21-14 to remain undefeated.