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GLORY DAYS
Every once in a while, a particular high school has a special year when everything seems to come together. It happened a few years ago at Woodbury, and then last year with Mainland Regional as the Mustangs’ Class of 2024 seniors graduated with state championships in football and girls basketball, and for the entire school year Mainland sports had a winning percentage of about 70 percent. That same type of thing is happening this year at Camden Catholic, as the Irish football team went 9-2 and the field hockey squad went to another state championship game, and it has seemed to snowball from there. The wrestling team won a state title, as did junior Sammy Spaulding, who took home the 132-pound individual state title. Then the boys basketball team went on a heart-thumping run that ended with a tough loss to state power Bergen Catholic in the state title game. Overall, it’s been a heck of a year for the Irish. Check out the rest of this digital edition for more!
General contact information: Publisher Dave O’Sullivan: Email: sullyglorydays@gmail.com On X @GDsullysays @sjglorydays on Instagram
Contributors:
Mark Trible, Senior Football Writer (@MTrible on X)
Brian Tortella, Correspondent (@tortreports on X)
Ben Hale, Social Media & Web Development
VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3/ MARCH 2025 (ISSUE NO. 173) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
HEADLINES
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MAKING IT BIG
The NFL Draft is where dreams come true, and this year saw a ton of South Jersey flavor, as the football talent in the area is showing more and more every year. The Philadelphia Eagles selected former Timber Creek standout Jihaad Campbell 31st overall, and several other South Jersey players were drafted, including former Millville star LeQuint Allen and Williamstown’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, who went to the Dallas Cowboys in the second round. Joining Allen in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ backfield will be Bhayshul Tuten of Paulsboro, and former Camden Eastside player Miles Frazier went to the Lions in the fifth round. In all, there were seven players from South Jersey drafted, a record.
WHO WILL BE KING?
The pairings are set for the annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic, the most prestigious baseball tournament in all of South Jersey. It used to be the top 16 teams in the region, but now there are more than 30. Still, there are some heavyweights that everyone will have to get through if they want to hoist the hardware, most notably
Gloucester Catholic, the No. 1 team in the state, as well as Eastern Regional and St. Augustine Prep, which are both in the state’s top 5. Cherokee, ranked No. 6 in the state, and 12th-ranked Delsea will be no pushovers, either.
COMING BACK HOME
Kylee Watson, the leading scorer in Mainland
Regional basketball history and a former state champion, is headed back to the east coast to finish out her college career. She started out at Oregon before transferring to Notre Dame, and after sitting out this past season due to an injury, she’ll be back on the court next fall, this time for Villanova.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
Never Short on desire
Cherry Hill West senior guard showed what she’s made of in state title game
By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays sullyglorydays@gmail.com
No doubt that Cherry Hill West High senior guard Danielle Short has no idea who Willis Reed is. She may, now, however, after her experience at the Group 3 state championship game in mid-March at Rutgers University’s Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway.
Short went down hard under the basket late in the first half, twisting an ankle that she had hurt earlier in the season, and she needed help getting off the court. It looked as though her career might be over.
On May 8, 1970, Reed — center for the New York Knicks — somehow played in Game 7 of the NBA Finals after missing Game 6 with a leg injury. He only scored two baskets, but the emotional lift he provided sparked his team to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He delivered New York its first NBA title and etched his name in basketball lore.
Now, Short may never get that kind of credit or place in history, but her ability to return for the second half certainly had an impact on a Lions squad that would not be denied and went on to beat Chatham, 34-19, to win the first state title in program history.
Short spent the entire halftime with West’s athletic trainer, trying to do whatever she could to get back into the game in the second half. Coach Dan Butler said he figured she was done.
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully
Cherry Hill West senior guard Danielle Short went down with an ankle injury in the first half of the state championship game in March, but came back after halftime and finished with seven points to help lead the Lions to their first state title.
“I didn’t even see her at halftime. She was with the athletic trainer and our athletic director, they were trying to tape her ankle and put her through some functionality tests to see if she was going to be able to come back or not,” he said. “I spoke to her as I was walking to the locker room and I said, ‘there’s still plenty of time to get your career high (in points) in the second half.’ I was just trying to get her mentally to not think about the ankle, just think about positive things.
“I didn’t see her until she was sitting behind me on the bench and one of my assistant coaches tapped me and said, ‘Danielle is good to go.’”
“I was a little scared when I first went down, but I knew I wanted to come back on the court. It took me some time to get back,” Short said after the game. “This will be something I’ll always remember. It was a great experience. We had a lot of confidence going into the playoffs and we just focused on each game, one at a time, and prepared for each team, and that paid off.”
“I’m really not surprised she came back, she’s always like that. She hurt her ankle in the beginning of the season, but it didn’t affect her,” said fellow senior guard Julia Lewis. “I was a little nervous (in the state championship game) because it was early and we
were playing great defense. Danielle plays really good defense and that’s a big part of how well our defense plays. So when she came back on the court it was great to see her. She did a great job, had a big bucket for us in the fourth quarter, and some free throws.”
Short finished with seven points and four rebounds, but the lift she gave her teammates went farther than any stats could, said Butler.
“Surprising was an understatement. I was nervous for her personally, but
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also nervous for the outcome of the game. When you see a player like her go down — fortunately Lilly Legato really stepped up and played well while Danielle was out. But to get Danielle back in the second half was a huge boost,” Butler said. “She’s the pulse of this team. She doesn’t get nearly enough credit, from our conference, from South Jersey, with all-star selections or from print coverage. It’s a shame because she’s a fantastic player who was extremely valuable to our team.
“It really sums up what Daneille is all about. She’s a competitor and she’s up for anything,” he continued. “I think that put everybody at ease and I think we were playing with confidence. That was a great moment for us. We had to have somewhat of a perfect day; you have to have so many things go right for you to win that kind of game, against that kind of Chatham team. Seeing (Danielle come back) was like, you know, this is falling into place for us.”
“I really didn’t know (if she would come back), but I think she did some warmup stuff while we went back to the court. I saw her check in and I was like, ‘wow, she’s coming back,’” Lewis said. “Lilly did a great job, too, and she’s a similar player, but having Danielle back on the court was great because it’s her senior year and that was her last game. It was nice that she was able to end the game on the court.
“I thought we were playing well, and I felt like we could keep going and prove that we could win a state championship,” Short added. “It’s a great experience and something I’ve always dreamed off. Playing on this court was a pretty cool experience. I was scared, but the nerves went away when I stepped onto the court. We put in so much work and it paid off really big. This was our goal the entire season. It’s a great feeling.”
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South Jersey Glory Days photos/Sully
VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY Passion of Irish undeniable
It’s been quite a year so far for Camden Catholic’s athletic programs
By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays sullyglorydays@gmail.com
Every once in a while, a particular school will have a certain vibe that lasts the entire school year. A special group of seniors who lead multiple sports to memorable seasons. It’s these kinds of school years that can galvanize entire communities. We saw it last year with Mainland Regional’s class of 2024, as the football team recorded a 14-0, state championship season, then the girls basketball team followed that up with their second state title in the last five years; the swimming teams were outstanding, as usual, the softball team had an inspiring run to a sectional final. The Mustangs’ baseball team won 20 games, the boys basketball squad won 26 games — including an unforgettable three-overtime win over rival Ocean City in the sectional championship game.
This year’s version might just be Camden Catholic. The Irish have been enjoying memorable runs in everything from field hockey to wrestling. Even the boys bowling team — in just its second year of existence — has won a sectional title.
In fall and winter sports, Camden Catholic teams compiled a .720 winning percentage, captured the state championship in wrestling and went to the state championship game in both field hockey and boys basketball.
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully
Camden Catholic guard Seamus Bieg, left, and Luke Kennevan react during the Irish’s incredible comeback win over Paul VI in the state playoffs.
“It’s been an exciting year. I came in in April of 2024, so I jumped right in during the spring then was able to take the summer to get the lay of the land around here. It’s been really enjoyable to see the community and their support of athletics, and it’s been great to see the coaches and players’ hard work rewarded with some success,” said new athletic director Jim McHugh, a former athletic trainer at Rancocas Valley High. “What I said to the coaches when I first got hired was my main role as athletic director is to just support the coaches and kids as much as possible. I try to be there for our coaches, but
also let them do their thing because we have great coaches and support staff. I try not to get in the way as much as possible, and take as much off their plate so they can focus on the kids and their teams. If they need anything they know they can come to me. It’s great being around these great coaches and learning from them.”
Success in high school sports generally starts from the top, and Camden Catholic has some of the best coaches in their respective sports. Mark Vittese is one of the best field hockey coaches in the country and every year, it seems, his girls are ranked national-
ly, and that’s with playing one of the toughest schedules in the region. Boys basketball coach Mark Crawford has hoops roots that run deep in South Jersey, and took his team on one of the most magical runs in recent history this winter before the Irish fell by three points to North Jersey power Bergen Catholic. Bill Heverly put about half his wrestling team into the individual state championships in Atlantic City
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this year and produced a champion in 132-pound junior Sammy Spaulding. And girls basketball coach Christine Matera put up 15 wins while playing in the Olympic Conference, one of the most brutal in the state.
“That guy (bowling coach Joe Nawn) puts a lot into that program, he’s super enthusiastic. It’s definitely been a good year. We have a new athletic director and he does a great job figuring out the landscape of the school,” Heverly said. “You don’t realize (how well other teams are doing) when you’re in the middle of your season, but I know Matt Crawford really well and would text him. I watched them down the stretch, and seeing them lose in the state final really hit hard — it ripped my heart out of my chest. I felt for him because they did so well this year. But that was a great story, and we have a lot of football players in the wrestling room and having that connection all year was a big deal.”
It all seemed to start with football, as Wayne Gilliam II (who has since stepped down) guided the Irish to a 9-2 season that featured a nine-game winning streak to start the season and a West Jersey Football League Patriot Division title.
“I don’t want to say we necessarily saw this coming. I know that traditionally Camden Catholic athletics has been very strong. We’ve had some great programs across the board. But an undefeated regular season in football was definitely something that took the school by storm, and there was some great buzz around our athletics starting in the fall season,” McHugh said. “We have elite programs like field hockey and wrestling and basketball that perennially are competing for sectional and state championships, but then you have the bowling program, which won the conference last year in their first year, and in the second year as a program under Joe Nawn they win
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully
Senior Brooke Mitchell helped lead the Camden Catholic field hockey team to 18 wins and another berth in the state championship game last fall.
a sectional title. I definitely did not see that coming, but the passion and work that these coaches put in, it’s not necessarily surprising, either. That run our boys basketball team went on was magical. Two double-overtime wins, back-to-back, against the No. 1 seed (in the sectional semis) and to follow that up by
beating the No. 1 team in the state for the sectional title. I don’t think anybody saw that coming after we
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lost to Paul VI three times during the season.”
The boys basketball playoff run was one that will be talked about for decades in the Cherry Hill area. The Irish showed all kinds of heart, grit and determination, taking out higher ranked and higher seeded teams the whole way, including consecutive overtime wins over Paul VI and St. Peter’s Prep, two of the top teams in the state. In fact, St. Peter’s was No. 1 in the state when Camden Catholic beat them to win the sectional title.
“We took a couple of buses to Rutgers and that was something I was happy to do, it was a great experience for our whole community,” McHugh said. “Even though we fell short in the state championship game, I think you saw the pride that the entire school community has in our teams and coaches, and how important our athletic programs are here at Camden Catholic.”
“It’s a small community but everybody pulls for each other. The basketball team is happy when the wrestling team does well, and vice versa. We root for the field hockey team, the football team — everybody roots for each other, there’s no animosity or egos between the sports. It’s a good community, and we’re enjoying a good stretch right now,” Crawford said. “Some of the wrestlers were (at Rutgers for the state championship) cheering us on. It’s pretty cool to see. Sammy Spaulding had just won a state championship and he’s out there rooting on the basketball team a couple nights later. Our crowds were great, we had a lot of supporters. There have been a lot of loyal people around the program.”
“It was definitely a great feeling. It’s sad that my career is over, but it was a great feeling knowing that even the kids who don’t play sports or have nothing to do with the teams show up to all the games. There was a ton of great school spirit this year,” said senior basketball star Luke Kennevan.
It may sound silly to say, given that Camden Catholic is a private school, but most who wear hunter green and white consider themselves blue collar.
Kennevan said athletes at the school never take for granted what an honor it is to wear that uniform, and they work hard to be able to earn the right to wear it, no matter what sport it is.
“We have great school spirit. We all work hard and I think we have the same values that the Catholic schools teach, and that carries over into the sports we play. Everyone at Camden Catholic, we’re just a bunch of hard-working kids and we don’t take things for granted. We work hard every day in practice, the coaches push us. We’re not cocky kids, we just play hard. We’re a bunch of blue-collar kids. I don’t think we’re preppy kids by any means,” he said. “I’m proud I went to Camden Catholic, and I’m proud to represent the school and the basketball team. It’s a great feeling that you have all these people — people who graduated from the school 40 years ago — coming back to watch and support us. It shows how much great alumni came from Camden Catholic and how much support the school has had throughout the years.”
Spaulding concurs.
“At the end of the day, we’re very blessed by God and I think that does play a major role in it, because of our faith we just carry ourselves to a high-
er standard. When you go to Camden Catholic, it’s not a right, it’s a privilege. Everyone carries themselves with pride and we have a tradition of great sports. We are kids who have faith, we put in the work, we do well in school and we’re just nice people. I went to public school my whole life, but I think Camden Catholic was my greatest decision ever because I’ve gained some brothers,” he said. “I feel like we all have something to prove and carry a little chip on our shoulder. The basketball team were the underdogs and had something to prove, just like all the kids on my team who went to the state tournament. Other teams are going to have to fight until the end against us because we are definitely the Fighting Irish, and we definitely go to the whistle.”
“After we beat St. Peter’s Prep, I come in Tuesday morning and kids are literally dancing in the hallways, high-fiving each other,” McHugh recalled. “Everybody was rallying around the basketball team, and that’s been going on all year. It’s been great.”
Added Crawford, “we have a core belief in working hard at this school. I teach most of the kids, especially juniors and seniors, so I’ve taught wrestlers and field hockey players who
were some of the best in the country. You wouldn’t know that teaching them, they just act like regular kids, good students. They don’t brag or anything like that. It’s a good community where everybody pulls for each other and everyone believes in hard work.”
McHugh said this group of seniors set to graduate in May have made a huge impact on Camden Catholic athletics, and are taking the Irish to the next level, collectively.
“The field hockey seniors have won four sectional titles and two state titles, and Luke Kennevan will go down as one of the best boys basketball players in Camden Catholic history,” he said. “This senior class is going to be remembered for a long time, not just because of their various accomplishments, but because of the impact they’ve had on the school in general.”
Spaulding still has one more year to go, but he said he’s definitely enjoying the ride the Irish are on this year.
“It’s been awesome,” he said. “The winter, specifically, with both the boys basketball and wrestling teams pulling all these crazy wins, it was just amazing. We love the school, we love each other and we love the environment.”
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully
The Irish wrestling team put together a perfect 17-0 season that was capped off with a state championship victory.
Senior of the Month
Sparking a change
The Cherry Hill West girls basketball team began laying a championship foundation when Julia Lewis arrived on campus four years ago
By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays sullyglorydays@gmail.com
The Cherry Hill West High girls basketball team took on the personality of its leader, senior point guard Julia Lewis, this past winter — humble, selfless, blue collar with quiet confidence. And the team reflected Lewis’ best attribute all year. Competitiveness.
Lewis was the kind of player who would do anything to win. If that meant scoring double-digit points, she could do it (she scored 10+ points in 20 of 29 games this year). If that meant locking down an opposing team’s best player, she could do it. If it meant dishing out assists (more than 50 this season) to open players if the other team was keying on her — you get the point.
In no game was her impressive skill set on display more than in the Lions’ Group 3 state championship victory over Chatham, a dominating 34-19 triumph by West. Lewis had seven points, eight rebounds, five assists, a blocked shot, two steals and went 3-for-3 from the foul line. But more important than all that was her ability to shut down Chatham’s star player, Ella Kreuzer, a Division I talent who was limited by Lewis to just four points on one made basket and a pair of free throws. With Lewis locking down Chatham’s main scoring threat, the team was held to single digits in each of the four quarters, including just two points in the fourth quarter.
The South Jersey Glory Days Senior of the Month for April had a tremendous career with the Lions, finishing with more than 1,100 points, 200-plus rebounds and more than 100 assists, and she also had 78 steals and hit 52 three-pointers in 99 career games played. She averaged more than 11 points per game for her career, increasing her total points each season.
“Julia doesn’t get enough credit because she’s not the leading scorer on the team. It kind of distracts from all that she does. She’s our best defender, our best rebounder, she facilitates the offense at the point
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully
Senior point guard Julia Lewis scored more than 1,100 points during her outstanding career at Cherry Hill West High.
guard position, she doesn’t turn the ball over,” explained West head coach Dan Butler. “She’s calling all our sets, and she’s a calming factor for us. I think she gives everybody else on the court confidence. She’s definitely the type of player to get her teammates involved in the game before she worries about scoring. She could shoot more if we needed her to, and she does score when we need her to. But I think she really just facilitates the offense and gets her teammates set up so well. She’s incredible. I can’t say enough positive things about her.”
Lewis emerged as the leader of a solid sophomore class — kind of because she had to. When she was in 10th grade, there were no juniors or seniors on the team.
“We didn’t have any upperclassmen and there were four sophomores on varsity, the four of us who are seniors now. We didn’t have anybody older to look up to, so I kind of had to (be a leader) and be as vocal as possible. We weren’t great our sophomore year, but we definitely had potential,” Lewis said. “We’ve been playing together for four years and then Kirsten (Gibson) was a freshman last year and came in and helped us out a lot. We had a bunch of people who could score and it made our offense flow. We had a
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great season last year, even though we lost in the (sectional) semifinals in a really tough game.”
Two years ago, the Lions were 17-9 with all those sophomores, but got bounced in the first round of the state playoffs by Winslow. Last year, the team won 19 games and made it to the sectional semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Mainland Regional, 44-39. This year, the Lions put it all together, going 25-4 and winning the first state championship in program history.
“I’ve been with the girls program for 16 years now and we went through some really rough years with single-digit wins. All that changed when Julia Lewis and this senior class came to West four years ago,” Butler said. “They started as freshmen, they went through their growing pains, playing an Olympic Conference schedule with some really tough, high-quality teams, but they developed, both mentally and physically, and grew into a state-championship caliber team this year. Julia has been our captain since her sophomore year, which is kind of rare. That year was bizarre, we didn’t have a single junior or senior in the entire program, so we were basically four sophomores and a freshman. Julia had to mature more quickly than her years would indicate. But she’s the epitome of a student-athlete. She’s one of the best soccer players in our school and they won a sectional championship and went to a state championship two years ago. She was great in track, also. She’s just a special human being. She’s somebody who’s easy to follow, someone who does all the right things all the time.”
Lewis said she could tell early on that the Lions had something special brewing this season.
“We had the exact same team coming back and we worked all summer. We had summer league and summer practices and all that stuff. Our schedule was really tough, but we knew that would help us in the long run,” she said. “We played some good teams early, like Cherokee and Moorestown. And in that South Jersey Invitational Basket-
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully Lewis and the Lions took home the state championship for the first time in program history, beating Chatham 34-19 in the Group 3 final at Rutgers University.
ball Tournament we played teams like Paul VI. We lost to them, but you could tell our team chemistry was there and everything was coming together, and by the time the state playoffs came we were at our peak.”
Lewis said she believes her love for basketball impacted her teammates. She loved showing up to practice every day, and that kind of energy became contagious.
“Overall, I like how far our team came this year. Freshman year we lost in the first round of the state playoffs. I never thought we’d be playing five more games after that by the time I was a senior. But our team got along really well, we did a lot of stuff outside of basketball. We all liked hanging out together, and that’s one of the things I like
and Chatham in succession, and only Moorestown got within 10 points of West.
“We started our first playoff game with a huge win (87-46 over Winslow), everybody came out and was playing fast and confident, and that just kept carrying over game after game,” Lewis said. “Like the team we played in the sectional final, we had already played them twice earlier in the season. We knew it was going to be hard, but our confidence was high. Our coaches always said, ‘play like underdogs.’ We couldn’t get too high from the wins, we just had to come in and work.”
What made that run possible, in large part, was Lewis leading the way on offense, not turning the ball over and getting the Lions into their sets so they could be successful on the offensive end.
“We’re a defensive team, so that means we’re limiting the opponent to a reduced number of possessions, but that also affects our number of possessions. It puts more value on each possession,” Butler explained. “She has the ball in her hands all the time facilitating our offense. She’s disciplined and has great awareness and basketball IQ. She gets us a great shot almost every time down the court. She’s our No. 1 ball handler and the No. 1 person in charge of our offense.
most about high school basketball,” said Lewis, who is committed to play basketball at Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) next year. “Basketball is my main sport and I love playing it, so I wanted to show up to practice every day. Whether I was a captain or not, I wanted to practice, and I think that rubbed off on everybody. Like Kirsten, even though she’s a sophomore and she’s not considered a captain, she was still a great role model. We were all able to communicate and people took advice well.”
Lewis said West rode that underdog mentality throughout the state playoffs this year, and pulled off what no other Lions team had ever done. They beat Winslow, Timber Creek, Toms River East, Moorestown, Neptune
“She’s a calming influence. She’s the outlet against any kind of pressure, and it’s unique in girls basketball to have the ability to handle the ball so well. It allows everyone else to have a more simplified job.”
Butler has a huge challenge next winter, trying to replace the kind of leadership that Lewis and fellow seniors like Danielle Short, Molly Bovell, Addison Petti and Jada Sayers brought to the table every day.
“(Lewis) makes it easier for other kids to kind of fall in line and understand what the program’s expectations are,” Butler said. “She takes a lot off my shoulders because she’s basically a coach on the court. She does an excellent job of preparing, for practices and games. She leads by example and leads with compassion and heart. She’s much more mature than what you would expect a high school kid to be.”
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Blood, sweat and tears
Luke Kennevan left it all on the court during his Camden Catholic career
By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
By the time the horn sounded ending the Non-Public A boys basketball state championship game at Rutgers University’s Jersey Mike’s Arena, Camden Catholic senior do-it-all guard Luke Kennevan was wearing some kid’s junior varsity uniform.
That’s because his normal No. 12 jersey, and matching shorts, were spotted with blood and had to be switched out in the second half.
The phrase “blood, sweat and tears” gets tossed around a lot when describing an athlete’s effort in a particular game, or season, but in Kennevan’s case it couldn’t be more true. He gave everything he had to try to get the Irish a state championship, but in the end his team came up three points short against North Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic. Kennevan stood near the bench, drenched in sweat, bloodied, beat up, a black eye — exhausted from the punishment he took during an inspiring state playoff run that featured back-to-back double-overtime wins over two of the best teams in the state in Paul VI and St. Peter’s Prep.
There was nothing left to give, except respect to the Crusaders, who rallied from a nine-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to stun the upset-minded Irish and deny them their shot at glory.
But it won’t take a state championship trophy for Kennevan to be remembered at Camden Catholic. He’ll probably be in the school’s hall of fame before he buys his first house. He was that good during his four-year career, and that valuable when it came to putting Camden Catholic basketball on the map as one of the best teams in the state.
“We’re blessed to have had him for four years and we’re definitely going to miss him. He gave his heart and soul every game, on every play, and did that for four years straight,” said Irish coach Matt Crawford. “He did it in practice every day, too. He was great to have around. He just plays with so much effort and wants to win. He’s a good teammate, and when you
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully
Senior guard Luke Kennevan scored nearly 1,700 points during his Camden Catholic career and led the Irish to a state championship game appearance this year.
play hard like that good things end up happening. He can score the basketball, obviously, but he does so many other things — passing, rebounding, playing defense and just being a leader out there. Luke was the guy who made us go. He had the most experience, but he trusted his teammates — he wasn’t selfish at all. At the end of the day, he was our leader and our best player.
“Kids who play right away as freshmen are pretty rare. We weren’t sure (what he would be), but he was in a nice situation where we were a little bit of a young team so he got on the court and played well,”
he continued. “A couple of guys graduated and transferred and he went from being the fifth guy, a role player, to the main guy. He took that role and did well with it.”
“My mom went to Camden Catholic, my grandfather, aunts and uncles, my great-grandfather. So it’s kind of a family tradition. My dad used to be
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the coach, so I always went to the camps and visited there. And I really liked coach Crawford, so I decided to go there. I grew up going to games there,” said Kennevan, a Shamong resident and third-team all-state selection. “When I came in as a freshman, I really didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t starting at first, I had to work my way up. But I just wanted to play and have fun. I had some goals, but I just wanted to play basketball and hopefully good things would happen. I didn’t envision (scoring that many points), but I worked really hard.”
Kennevan finished his career as the second-leading scorer in school history with 1,694 points — but he was so much more than just a scorer. He hit 129 threes, had more than 700 rebounds, added nearly 350 assists and shot 85 percent from the foul line for his career. And he was the guy the Irish turned to when things got really tough in the state playoffs. He scored 27 points in a win over Union Catholic in the sectional quarterfinals, then had 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Irish overcame a 13-point deficit in the final three minutes to force overtime, and then beat, a Paul VI team that had beaten Camden Catholic three times during the regular season. As an encore, all he did was record a triple-double in a win over St. Peter’s Prep, the No. 1 team in the state, in the sectional championship.
“He’s all about giving it everything you have. He gave everything he had, all the time. At times he almost played too hard, you know? There were times in the playoffs where it almost looked like he was hyperventilating because he was playing so hard. We preach that you have to be on your game every day and you can’t let up, no days off, stuff like that. And the way he plays, he holds himself to that standard — he never takes a play off. There were times when we had to tell him to calm down a little bit, but we never had to tell him to play harder, that’s for sure,” Crawford said. “The guys leaned on him. The other players played their roles great, but it helps when Luke gets
a lot of the attention. That does free up other guys to do some things. And the other guys knew they didn’t have to try to do too much because they could rely on Luke to carry the load. They just had to play as hard as they could.”
“I always try to think of it like any day could be my last day playing basketball, so I might as well leave everything I have on the court. And, personally, I hate losing and I’m super competitive. I’ve always been that way.
So it’s a combination of hating to lose and just thinking of it like playing every game like it’s my last,” Kennevan said of his approach to th game. “I always tell the younger guys to understand their role, but also have confidence in themselves. I knew (before the season) that we had the potential to be one of the best, if not THE best, team in South Jersey. We just had to trust in each other and work really hard. It started in the summer with me and Sean (Welde) and open gym workouts.”
Kennevan admitted he thought his career was over when the Irish trailed Paul VI by 13 points with just three minutes to play. But Camden Catholic turned up the defensive pressure and
Like any great leader, Kennevan laments not being able to lift his team to victory in the state championship game. He scored 10 points and had four rebounds, two assists and two steals against perhaps the best team the Irish played all year, but he felt it still wasn’t enough. Still, though, he knows he and his teammates left their mark with what they were able to accomplish against some pretty stacked odds.
“I feel like I should have done more in that game. Obviously, they are great defenders who are super athletic. We were up by nine, and you can look back — I’ve watched the game (replay) a ton of times and you can blame this play or that play,” Kennevan said. “But they just ended up making more plays than us, so I’m not going to dwell on it. Initially, it hurt. Being a senior leader, I always feel like if we lose the game I didn’t do enough, personally, and I wish I could have done more. But I’m also proud of everything we accomplished as a team.
kept getting steals and scoring, eventually sending the game into two overtimes.
“At the start of the fourth quarter, I was like, ‘well, this might be my last quarter of high school basketball.’ But then we started getting closer and closer, and I’m like, ‘oh, this might happen!’ I credit coach Crawford a lot because he kept telling us to just keep playing hard and good things would happen. That’s what he always tells us. Whether you are up 20 or down 20, just play hard. He believed and he put that confidence in us, and good things started to happen,” he said. “Paul VI was ranked higher than us and they beat us three times in a row. So they had all the confidence in the world that they could beat us again. They came into that game with everything to lose, where we kind of had nothing to lose. I think, mentally, that helped a lot, and we somehow found a way to win that game. That 13-point comeback gave us so much confidence. It was like, ‘OK, if we beat Paul VI, we can beat anyone.’ And we ended up beating St. Peter’s Prep and coming up just short against Bergen Catholic.”
“That playoff run really put us on the map of South Jersey, and even the state. It felt like Seamus (Bieg) shot 75 percent from three, Bryce (Clark) was amazing, Azyris (Richmond) was great defensively. Everyone kind of rode that high we were on during the playoffs.”
“He represents himself and his family very well, and represents our school and basketball program so well. We’re very proud of him,” Crawford said. “That loss hurt a lot and we’ll think about it for a while, but if you look at the big picture I think our kids were very pleased with the outcome of everything. We gave everything we had, and that’s all you can ask. It was almost enough.”
Kennevan said he hopes that 20 years from now he’s remembered for how he played the game, not the stats or the final scores.
“I just hope people look back and remember, not the wins or losses or stats, but how hard I played and the respect I had for the game. And I hope people remember that I was a good teammate, because it’s not about me, it’s about the team. My individual success came because the team had success. That’s what I want people to remember.”
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully Kennevan was an All-State third team selection this season by nj.com
WRESTLING NEVER SATISFIED
Camden Catholic’s Sammy Spaulding
finally won a state title after two years of heartbreak in Atlantic City. Now, he wants more.
By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
When Runnemede resident Sammy Spaulding decided to attend Camden Catholic High three years ago, he had his sights set on becoming a four-time New Jersey state wrestling champion. He was a dominant force on the youth circuit, so naturally he expected that success to continue once he got into high school.
But he found out quickly that wrestling 18- and sometimes 19-year-old kids is a whole different ballgame than taking on a fellow eighth-grader.
As a freshman, he cut down to 120 pounds and won a region title, but his dream of winning a state title ended in the pre-quarterfinal round with a loss to Holy Spirit’s Max Elton, who went on to wrestle at the University of Buffalo. Spaulding spent much of his sophomore season between 126 and 132 pounds, but got sick the week of states and lost again in the pre-quarterfinal round.
Things were not going as planned. Spaulding took that loss hard. He was the top seed, after all.
“I thought I was going to be a fourtime state champion, I’m not going to lie. But, obviously, I had to go through a lot of obstacles and a lot of tribulations. I’ve always had high expectations. I knew I was going to a good room with good coaches, so I was expecting the best. I got a region title, but I definitely didn’t perform the way I wanted to, so that only fueled me the next year — and that next year, falling short, only fueled this year,” Spaulding said. “I had a tough freshman year. I was com-
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully Junior 132-pounder Sammy Spaulding won 46 matches this season and took home the first state championship of his impressive career.
ing down from 145 pounds to 120, so I was depleted. That was definitely the hardest thing for me. That year, just making weight three times a week took a big toll on me. And I realized there is a big gap because I was performing on the national level in middle school, but then you take a big step into high school and you’re 15 years old going against kids who are 19 sometimes.
There’s a big difference in that jump, so I knew I was going to have to adapt. It was a struggle freshman year, but I was able to push through.
“I only had two losses going into states, so last year was a great year. I was feeling great, competing great, and then the week of states I woke up and had chills. I tried to practice, I was laying on the locker room floor. I was
like four pounds under weight, had the flu,” he explained. “So that was tough, seeing those guys get to the spot on the podium and I wasn’t feeling my best. I knew I could win, but the fact that I was sick was so defeating. I went into a
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little bit of a slump, got chunky, eating my depression away. I was up at night thinking about how heartbreaking it was, that everything I was hoping for was shattered. But it didn’t leave my mind for 365 days because no matter what, I didn’t want to feel like that again in Atlantic City.”
Spaulding made sure he didn’t feel that way again this year. He finished 46-3, winning the state championship for the first time in his career by beating third-seeded Ryan DeGeorge of Delbarton, 9-6, in sudden victory overtime at 132 pounds.
“All my workouts, all my practices, all my extra stuff — anything I did to better myself, I had that in the back of my mind and that bad taste in my mouth, and I didn’t want to feel that way again. Mentally, it took a month or two. It took a toll on me because I knew I had it, I was in position to win and just fell short. But once I got back on my feet I felt different — like I had a chip on my shoulder. I needed to prove something. I needed everyone to know that I’m here and I’m going to be competing until the last second,” Spaulding said. “I had a lot to prove. I wanted to get my name out there more for colleges. I was practicing five or six times a week (in the offseason). Summer is a big training time for me. I go to Pennsylvania a lot, North Jersey. I like to get different looks and wrestle different guys. Anything I could do to better myself.”
“We definitely thought there were some areas he needed to clean up after reflecting on last year. There are a lot of things he improved upon, and I think that helped him break through this year and win the state title. Last year, he was the top seed and took fourth. Going into the state tournament he cleaned up a lot of things, technically, and in my opinion had a much better game plan on how to get after his opponents,” said Camden Catholic coach Bill Heverly. “I always say that confidence comes out when you know your stuff is going to work. Confidence comes out of a kid believing in himself. He has to believe in himself, his coaches, his work eth-
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully Spaulding also helped lead his team to a perfect 17-0 record that included a Non-Public state championship.
ic, the way he goes about his business. I think Sammy realized that this year. He can dictate a match because there are certain things that he can do, and he has a gas tank. He has a motor on him that is really second to none. If he’s tired in a match, we realize the kid he’s wrestling is equally as tired — or worse — because we know it’s hard to wrestle Sammy. It’s almost a given that if he’s tired, that other kid is dead tired.”
It’s crazy to think that this is a kid who won just one match when he started wrestling as a young tot. More than a decade later, he’s on top of the world as a reigning state champion.
“I knew there was a lot of pressure on me, not only for myself, but I felt like I had all of South Jersey on me, so I knew I had to get it done,” said Spaulding, who was the only wrestler from the traditional seven South Jersey counties to win a title this season. “I try not to get in my own head too much and just stay calm and relaxed. If you’re able to push that pressure off you can channel that and do great things. The pressure I felt — I wanted that pressure. I was the No. 1 seed and I wanted everyone to know I was the best kid in New Jersey at my weight. I wanted everyone to know that this year wasn’t a fluke and I should have been on that podium (as a sophomore). I had
was a rematch with Slotnick, which Spaulding won, 5-1. In the semifinals he ran into St. Joseph Regional’s Vincent Paino and escaped with a 2-1, tiebreaker win. The state championship match against DeGeorge came down to a sudden victory overtime period. He was trailing 6-0 to a defending state champion in that match. Spaulding had one of the toughest draws of any top-seeded wrestler in the tournament.
to make up for it this year.”
Heverly said it was all about having just a little bit of a different approach — trying to grind an opponent down rather than dominate him.
“We told Sammy he doesn’t have to do all that rolling around to win matches. Sammy always felt like he needed to dominate matches and really beat people up, even pin them, to feel good about winning,” Heverly explained. “I think that was one of the biggest differences this year — and it’s going to be a big difference going forward — is realizing that just because you’re the top seed or because you’re really good doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. He knows there are kids out there that can take you out. He knows it’s going to be hard and it’s not always going to be easy to get pins and just dominate kids. This year, his region final (against Williamstown’s Jackson Slotnick) was really, really hard, and in the second match of states he had the Brian Little kid from Don Bosco Prep. That kid was tough as hell and gave Sammy everything he could handle (in a 5-1 Spaulding win). It took until the last 15 seconds of the match for him to prove that he was outworking him.”
Spaulding’s road to the title certainly was a grind. He scored a pin in the opening round, then had to fend off Little in the pre-quarterfinals. Next up
“A lot of people talk about the state final, but the semifinal (against Paino) was every bit as good as the final,” Heverly said. “He fought harder in that match than any other match and at the end there was a lot of mutual respect between those guys. He’s had a long rivalry with that kid. A lot of kids would have given up a takedown and lost that match, but Sammy wanted it and worked really hard for that match. He knew it was going to be really hard, and he was ready for it this time.”
Spaulding said it was a surreal feeling, winning a state championship at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. And he’s ready to do whatever it takes to win another one before he graduates next spring.
“The adrenaline was crazy, but after it just felt fake, like I was in a dream, living the best possible moment of my life that I could. Just to be able to spend that moment with my family, coaches and teammates, I’m so blessed. It’s something I dreamed about since I was 4 years old. It was everything I could ever ask for, I had the whole crowd chanting my name. I was happy, just to have that goal that I’ve been chasing my whole life. It feel great knowing nobody can take that away and I have my name etched in stone forever. But I think two-time state champion sounds even better,” he said. “Now it’s about going back to the lab, working, getting better, perfecting things. At the end of the day, every time I step on the mat I expect to win. Anyone that’s put against me is my equal — they weighed in the same as me, they’ve been wrestling, they know the rules. I just have to work on bettering myself and getting better in every aspect of my game. I’m going to be really tough to beat, I’m going in with that mindset. No pressure, just get better every day.”
GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL
Surprise of a lifetime
EHT’s Brielle Von Colln hadn’t seen her brother in nearly two years. That all changed in a dramatic way earlier this season.
By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
Egg Harbor Township junior Brielle Von Colln has had a pretty good high school career. She’s a solid player on both offense and defense for the Eagles’ girls flag football team, she plays golf, and she already has 38 goals and 36 assists as one of the top scorers on EHT’s girls soccer team in the fall. She’s had some great moments in her sports career, but the best one — by far — had nothing to do with any of her statistics or big wins.
Earlier this season, after a win over Mainland Regional, Eagles coach Cameron Bell said he had a surprise for Von Colln. She turned around and saw some parents taking her picture, so she figured it was just some kind of thing for the school’s social media. It took a moment to realize what — or, rather, who — coach Bell was pointing at. Striding across the field was older brother Eric, a corporal in the United States Army and a sibling that Brielle hadn’t seen in nearly two years.
“He came straight from the airport when he got here from Germany. He even surprised my mom at the field. My mom quickly texted coach Bell and was like, ‘hey, I need you to distract her for a few minutes. Her brother just got here from Germany.’ After (the handshake line) at the end of the game Bell was like, ‘I need Von Colln.’ He was like, ‘you played your heart out, great game. I have a surprise for you. Turn around,’” Brielle explained. “I turn and I see two photographers taking pictures of me, so I posed for a picture and just kept walking. Then I saw my brother. I had no idea he was there. He usually has a break around the holidays but the military kept him this year, so I haven’t seen him in almost two years. I
Egg Harbor Township junior flag football player Brielle Von Colln is overcome with emotion earlier this season by seeing her brother, Eric, for the first time in nearly two years. Eric, a corporal in the U.S. Army, has been stationed in Germany since 2023.
was so shocked. All I could think of was just to run, and I was running to hug him and started immediately crying. I didn’t even know what to think. I was just like, ‘oh, my God! You’re here!’”
“I had no clue. My husband arranged everything and I didn’t know until they walked down the path on their way to the field, and I looked back and saw my husband walking with him. I was completely shocked,” said Brielle’s mom, Heather. “My husband (Mark, the Northfield Police Chief) was able to fly out to Germany last year to visit him. I’m a teacher, so I wasn’t able to, so I’m in the same boat as Brielle where I wasn’t able to see him for nearly two years. We’re actually very surprised they were able to keep
that secret.
“They showed up about 15 minutes before the end of the game,” Heather continued. “It gave me enough time to reach out to coach Bell and see what we could arrange. One of the other players’ parents takes pictures of all the girls, so I was able to reach out to her as well. I asked her to take some pictures because she’s always on the field.”
In one of the feel-good moments of the spring sports season, Brielle and Eric were reunited — albe-
Photo courtesy of Krista Kraybill
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SURPRISE
, From Page 21
it briefly. He had a 10-day break from his military service, so after a little more than a week spent home he was flying back to Europe. But, for a brief moment, the Von Colln family was nearly whole again. (Oldest brother, Colten, lives in Pennsylvania).
“It was just nice having him around the house. He stepped right into it, helped out, it’s almost like he never left. He was taking the dogs out, vacuuming,” Heather said.
“It was all worth it. I know that she misses him a lot. They’ve always been close, even when they were younger. When he left, that was hard on her.”
Heather Von Colln, mother of Brielle Von Colln
“We do keep in touch. We try to make calls on the weekends because it’s a six-hour difference. So we try to keep in touch at least once every week and we’ll FaceTime once every two or three weeks. It really depends on his schedule. Brielle is extremely busy, so I think that helps. She plays academy soccer, which is 12 months a year, and she swam this winter. Now she’s playing golf, football and club soccer, so she keeps herself busy.”
“Only my dad knew. He surprised my mom when he was walking up to the field. I didn’t even know that (she didn’t know he was coming home). I missed him so much. It was crazy, looking over and just seeing him there. I would never imagine he would be home. It felt so nice just hugging him and having him home,” Brielle said in a recent phone interview. “I had been in contact with him and he said he was at his base doing some field work. I had no idea (he was coming home). We hung out a lot. We share a car, so we went everywhere together. When we dropped him back off at the airport it was sad. I really miss him. We didn’t
have a lot of time to say goodbye because I had a soccer game right after.”
The family may be getting to see a lot more of Eric at the start of 2026, when his military commitment is scheduled to end. He’s been in the Army for about three-and-a-half years now, since graduating from Atlantic Christian School in 2021. Heather said it was amazing for Brielle to finally get to see her brother again after being apart for about 18 months.
“It was all worth it. I know that she
misses him a lot. They’ve always been close, even when they were younger. When he left, that was hard on her,” Heather said. “He’s getting done (with his military service) this December and he’ll be home. He’s still trying to figure out what he wants to do next, but right now we’re just excited for him to be done with his contract. We’re super proud of him. (After graduating from Atlantic Christian) he wanted to try to find some skill set that could make a difference. He has two grandfathers
who were in the military — his grandfather on his dad’s side was in the marines and my father was in the Army.”
For now, Brielle will try to keep her mind off the miles between she and her brother by keeping herself busy with soccer, golf and the flag football season, as Egg Harbor Township (6-2) is one of the top teams in the West Jersey Football League and has four games scheduled in May before the start of the regional playoffs.
Photos courtesy of Krista Kraybill
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LACROSSE
From the ground up
Hammonton players, coaches enjoying process of building their programs in first year
By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
The Hammonton High boys and girls lacrosse teams won just one game during their first combined 15 matchups this spring. That’s to be expected, though, as the Blue Devils are the newest entry into the South Jersey lacrosse world. Both programs are in their first year of official varsity competition in the Cape-Atlantic League, and there are going to be some growing pains as Hammonton athletes try to figure out a whole new sport.
Hammonton boys coach Ryan Prendergast, who played lacrosse at Notre Dame High in Mercer County and went on to run cross country at The College of New Jersey, said he was shocked that Hammonton didn’t have a lacrosse team. He attended a Blue Devils football game a few years ago, saw some outstanding athletes, and asked some folks how well the Hammonton boys lacrosse team was doing.
People were like, ‘um, what are you talking about?’
Fast forward a couple years and after club seasons last year, with both teams mostly just practicing and having intersquad scrimmages, both the boys and girls teams at Hammonton are official and rolling through their first seasons as varsity programs.
“I moved down here and went to see a football game when they were playing my alma mater and saw how athletic (Hammonton players) were and I wanted to learn how their lacrosse team was doing. I looked them up, couldn’t find them, so we started laying the groundwork. Luckily for me there was a kid who was already trying to get
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully
Hammonton has the newest boys and girls lacrosse programs in the Cape-Atlantic League, as both squads officially began varsity competition this spring.
a team started here for a couple years, so there was already some word going around school and there was some interest,” Prendergast said. “They just needed somebody to come in and help them start it. It took a year or two. Last year we were a club team so we kind of just slowed things down, came out here four days a week just repping stick work. We didn’t play any games, we were just out here playing lacrosse, learning lacrosse. I think that was beneficial for the kids who returned because they are not going through the growing pains, where as the kids who
didn’t come out for club lacrosse last year, they are experiencing all those growing pains while in the competitive nature of a varsity sport.
“It’s a fun mix. It’s interesting,” he continued. “I’m glad they through me into the fire. We’re just trying to keep these kids in the right mindset. We’re not a program that is supposed to win — we have four kids who know what they are doing. So the fact that we won (against Millville earlier this season) will help with their confidence, but my goal this year is just to expose them to competitive lacrosse and show them
that they are capable of doing it. Within the next couple of years, hopefully we’ll start stacking some wins. It’s a credit to the community that we have kids who are coachable and athletic.”
Blue Devils girls coach Tracy Angelozzi has been a lacrosse official for years, and the Cherokee graduate and former Rowan University two-time All-American said she’s thrilled to be able to start up Hammonton’s program.
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“I was an official for the last 10 years, and every time I would walk onto the field I would be thinking to myself, ‘we’re missing out on an opportunity at Hammonton. We’re not tapping into our athletes.’ Last year, we introduced the sport as a club sport and had a good turnout, and this year we had 35 girls come out for the team,” she said. “We still have a lot of girls who are learning the fundamentals. Just like in basketball and softball, those little skills come by just practicing on your own. There’s a lot for us to unload on them with teaching the sport, there are a lot of rules and they have to know the positions. We started with the basics, with ground balls. You have to start with that and work your way up to throwing, catching. I basically teach the game from the standpoint of learning good defense because defense is more difficult to learn. Everyone has to play defense at some point, just like in basketball, so we have to be able to teach those fundamentals.”
Right now, players and coaches said they are not fixated on the won/loss record, but rather celebrating the little victories that come along with starting a program from scratch.
“We had a big moment (recently) as our goalie (sophomore Aubrey Ellis) hit 100 saves. Even though we haven’t won a game yet, that was huge for us,” Angelozzi said. “Just seeing those small successes on the field — pretty much in every game there is some kind of teachable moment, or a rule we’re talking about during a timeout or during halftime. I’m excited for next year, too, because just getting this first year under our belts is super important.”
“It was just something new coming to the school and I thought, ‘why not?’ I had a bunch of friends who were like, ‘hey, let’s try this.’ And we’ve grown to love the game. It’s very similar to hockey in how the ball moves, how you cycle it around trying to get the best shot, and not just have a shot. Being an open-field sport, you don’t have the boards to rely on to bounce the ball off of, but you get to move a lot
more with the ball,” said Zach Schaeffer, who grew up playing hockey. “The younger guys have been doing really well and I think they are picking it up faster than we did last year. I’m very impressed by the talent that is here and I can’t wait to see them grow. I want to get us on the map. Myself and the other seniors hope to build a strong foundation here, and hopefully come back (to something bigger) and give back in the future.”
Added fellow senior Carmen Dych, a football player, “it’s been amazing. We’ve really grown from last year, starting out as a club sport. We had an intersquad scrimmage last year to end the season, and that was a lot of fun, but this year we’re actually playing different teams. It’s eye-opening and we’re all learning a lot. We’ve always had a great mindset, no matter what the outcome is. It’s like ‘Lacrosse IQ.’ This is a very mental game. The physical side is easy — it’s easy to hit kids, right? But knowing what to do and how to play is definitely a learning curve. But we have great team chemistry. We come together during practice
and build each other up, which is fun to see.”
Building each other up is going to be key this spring, the coaches said, because a lot of these athletes come from very successful sports and aren’t used to losing a lot of games. It’s testing their mental fortitude.
“When you come out and are trying a new sports, I tell them that losing is going to test your character,” Angelozzi said. “These are life lessons that are going to last beyond high school. I want to help develop these girls into leaders, and those kinds of values are important to me. I hope at the end of this season we’re getting girls back and that we don’t have girls who just give up.”
“It’s a really good program. There’s a lot of diversity on the team, and with this being the first year we’re kind of trail blazing,” said senior Zachary Goehringer. “We’re setting a strong foundation for the years to come. A good mix of kids are from hockey, so about half the team knew each other, but last year it was a lot of meeting new people. It’s really good for the school.
They are introducing more sports, and hopefully (the administration) will keep doing great things.
“Our goal this year is to just keep our heads high and set up something that will last a lifetime and be a part of this school’s history.”
Prendergast tries to remind his players what a great opportunity they are experiencing right now, and how he’d give anything to be in their shoes.
“They understand their situation, and it’s really cool to see them settle into building something,” he said. “We don’t need to try too hard, we just need to compete and give effort and everything else will come. I think they are enjoying watching the other teams because they see what they can be capable of and it gives them something to work toward. Overall, they have really good heads on their shoulders. After an 18-3 loss and a 15-6 loss (to start the year) you would think most of these kids would have checked out, but they are hungry to keep coming back to practice and working on the things they’re not good at.”
South Jersey Glory Days photo/Sully Jake Gerber is one of about eight Hammonton seniors who are finally getting a chance to compete in boys lacrosse.
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South Jersey Glory Days photos/Sully