CLARK, NJ- Well, the weeks of summer are winding down and it is almost that time of year again, with high school sports starting up! I hope everyone’s had a wonderful summer and that all summer practices for the fall sports teams are coming along.
As I am returning as the sportswriter for TAPinto Clark, I am excited to be covering football, girls soccer and field hockey as the major sports to cover, along with a little bit of boys soccer in the mix.
The football team went 5-5 in the 2016 season and lost a decent number of players from the 2016 team to graduation. This group includes quarterback Vin Crisafi (continuing football career at Caldwell University), running backs Jon Duffy and Nick Fischetti (St. John Fisher College- Rochester, New York), Vin Campbell (playing Division II lacrosse at Mercy College) and several other pieces, there will be other faces who will step up.
Head coach Anthony DelConte returns for his fourth season at the helm of the Crusaders varsity football team. His assistant coaches include Chris Di Nucci, Joe Ascolese, Andrew Zub, Dan Dugan and the two freshman football coaches, Joe Marino and Joe Sortino.
They will be in the Central, Group 2 classification for the state playoffs brackets that were released in July.
Mike Bruno will be the main quarterback and leader of the 2017 seniors. Joe Turek, whose career immediately took off following two outstanding seasons (14 TD’s, 975 rushing yards in 2015; 18 TD’s, 1,045 rushing yards in 2016), is going to be an anchor for the Crusaders’ running game, which will see some faces receiving more chances on the ground.
Juniors Sebastian Iakouchevitch and Vito Galluzzo saw significant work on the running game last year. Galluzzo was also the backup quarterback, but will be a key piece for the offense.
Seniors Tom Bowen, Dan Olenick, Lorenzo De Paz and Jordan Fedak will also serve key pieces for all positions, such as the offensive/defensive line, along with blocking and all the necessary spots on the field.
The season begins against New Providence HS on Friday, September 8, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
The girls soccer team starts a new chapter with a new head coach in Ken Leeder. He succeeds Meredith Peitz, who stepped down after five seasons at the helm of the Crusaders girls soccer program.
Johnson came off a 16-4 season, featuring a conference championship and overcoming multiple bouts with adversity, including injuries to key players. The season also saw the Crusaders lose the first round of the 2016 Union County Tournament, but overcoming that to clinch the top seed in the NJSIAA Central, Group 2 playoffs.
Johnson defeated Delaware Valley in the first round 4-0 and Voorhees in the quarterfinals 4-1, before losing the NJSIAA Central, Group 2 Semifinals to Robbinsville 2-1. There are also a lot of faces the team will need to replace with other skilled seniors and underclassmen coming on in bigger roles.
Players lost to graduation include 34-goal scorer Deserae Sequeira (playing at St. Joseph College in Brooklyn, New York), Tatiana Nieto (playing at Fairleigh Dickinson University), Jess Gannon and goaltender Meaghan Gallagher. A current goaltender has not yet been named for the upcoming season, but could be decided through the scrimmage games.
Major players include a senior class consisting of Danielle Hartzler, Tina Palella, Nicole Cassano, Brooke Vaccaro and Samantha Ianco.
Junior Nicole Buczynski leads the strong core of underclassmen. Her sophomore season ended abruptly due to a torn ACL and meniscus. Ceceila Puentes and Natayla Torres supplied Johnson with key goals in a few games last year and will also look to fill the holes left by the graduation of the 2016 seniors.
The season starts on Thursday, September 7 with their home opener against Elizabeth High School at 4:00 p.m.
The Johnson field hockey team looks to add a major spark following the best season the program’s had in recent recognition. Head coach Katrina Poskay returns for her 18th season at the helm of the Johnson field hockey program.
Assistant coaches this year include Andrea Ascolese, Jen Goldberg, Allison Severage and Amanda Wnorowski.
Co-captains Amy Wysocki (second season), Jessica Lopez and goaltender Emma Francisco lead the team, looking to continue the program’s revamp with talented pieces.
The voids left from graduation last year include two starters in Katie Prestinari and Larissa Vena, along with Nicole Drapinski, Gina Strumolo and Natalie Carnovale.
Last year’s team went 16-4-1 and captured the Essex/Union White Division title. They made strides in the Union County Tournament, earning a double-bye as the third seed in the tournament.
They defeated Cranford HS in the quarterfinals round before losing to Kent Place (ranked No. 14 on NJ.com) in the semifinals round.
In the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 state tournament , they ousted New Egypt HS (first round) and Point Pleasant Boro HS (quarterfinals) 3-0, securing the program’s first sectional semifinals appearance since the 2011 season.
Johnson lost to top-seeded Shore Regional HS (ranked No. 7 on NJ.com) by a final score of 2-1 in double overtime.
Their season starts with their home opener against Hillsborough HS in their home opener on Thursday, September 7 at 6:00 p.m.
A little less than three weeks from now and high school sports will be back! The website will be updated with more links to game stories as the season goes along, so stay tuned in!
