Sandy and its effect on sports

            Since Super storm Sandy left her indelible mark on the New York area on October 29, 2012 life has been anything but normal for area residents many who endured over a week without power. While not suffering the catastrophic floods from Hurricane Irene in 2011, it has taken nearly two weeks for normalcy to return to Cranford and the effects have also been felt by Cougar fall athletic teams. For Athletic Director Darren Torsone it was a daily challenge of juggling events and contacting athletes and coaches while dealing with little power and inconsistent phone connections.

“Following the hurricane was a day by day situation that required a lot of patience by everyone.  The most important thing was to make sure the schools and practice areas were safe before we could continue to prepare for the state tournaments.  The NJSIAA has been working with schools across the state and adjusted tournament schedules to provide time for communities to recover and teams to prepare,” said Torsone, who also had to be cognizant of new rules regarding practices and safety.

“The new regulations related to acclimatization, concussions, and pre-season practice all point in the direction of practice prior to competition.  It was important for our athletes and coaches to have some practice time before competing in their respective state tournament.  Your heart really goes out to student athletes in many towns that have worked so hard throughout the summer and fall and did not get a chance to compete,” said Torsone.

            The football team last played on Friday night October 26, improving to 6-2 with a 29-3 victory over Johnson. The Cougars begin defense of their North Jersey Group III Section II crown when they host South Plainfield tonight at Memorial Field. The girls’ soccer team, which lost a heart breaking 2-1 overtime game to top seed Scotch Plains Fanwood in the Union County semi -finals on Saturday night October 27 saw their season end on Monday November 11 in an equally gut wrenching 1-0 overtime loss to Mendham. The cross country team not only had to wait a week before competing in the state section championships but had to leave the familiar confines of Warinanco Park for Greystone Park in Morristown, one of the few venues that did not sustain major damage.

“It has been a challenging few weeks for everyone.  We have faced numerous obstacles in both the weather conditions and meet scheduling.  All of the downed trees and debris have made it difficult to navigate the streets for distances runs.  The parks and fields where we normally work out are not useable.  Fortunately the track has been available for us,” said Cranford Cross Country Coach John Schiano.

 “It has been difficult to know when to schedule workouts because the meet schedule is being continually adjusted.  Not only were sectionals pushed back a week but we lost our home course advantage as Warinanco is not able to host a race and were relocated to Greystone Park which was unfortunately the home course of our main rivals, Morristown and Mendham!  We were fortunate enough to get a chance to see the course before the Nor’easter hit on Wednesday.  We had a bit of a feel for it so we will not be running blind,” added Schiano, whose teams both qualified for the state finals this weekend.

            The boys were fourth with 114 points and an average time of 17:16. Senior Thomas Feeney led Cranford with an eight place finish in 16:44, followed by junior Connor McMahon  14^th in 16:57, junior Tom Phillip was 22^nd in 17:22, senior  Brendan Donovan was 32^nd in  17:34.94, and junior Vinnie Papandrea  was 38^th in  17:44.22, Junior Jimmy Sweeney  was 41^st in  17:51.09  and senior  Liam Laverty              placed 53^rd in   18:29.94.

“The kids had not raced in two and a half weeks so they were a little rusty.  However, we had faith in their training and did well.  These kids have worked hard since the summer and were in shape,” said Schiano.

            The young girl’s team nearly missed the state finals for the first time in 15 years but squeezed in as the fifth and final team on a tiebreak over Chatham.  Freshman Claire Drewniak finished five spots ahead of the sixth Chatham runner after the teams tied with 140 points. Senior Katia Oltmann led Cranford with a 21^st place in 20:32 and was closely followed by freshmen Amanda Bush (23^rd in 20:41) and Megan Power 25^th in 20:53. Sophomore Julie Byrne was 30^th in 21:05 and sophomore Keara Reilly was 47^th in 22:01.

Krystin Orrico

                The athletic college sophomore was looking for a competitive sport to play. The coach was in need of girls who wanted to try a new sport and was looking for athletic ability and enthusiasm.  Want met need as Cranford resident Krystin Orrico immediately caught Coach Becky Carlson’s eye at an open tryout and the rest has been history for the nascent program at Quinnipiac College, which led by Orrico is 7-0 in its second varsity season. Orrico, a fullback, leads the team in points and in her most recent game against Hofstra scored 30 points on 15 of 20 conversions. A conversion is attempted after a score and is not akin to an extra point in football because it is not taken from a stationary point.

“She has made an immediate impact with no rugby knowledge prior and has grown into a team leader in the last two seasons,” said Carlson.

                Orrico, a former Cranford High School soccer player was a starter for the 2008 Cougars and was also a successful club player for the Central Jersey Stars, a team made up of Cranford, Scotch Plains and Westfield girls. When she arrived at the bucolic campus in Hamden, CT, Orrico considered trying out for soccer but decided against it.

“I had been injured so many times in high school and club soccer and didn’t want to get injured playing college because it might have impacted my studies,” said Orrico.

                Although she played two years of coed intramural soccer, it did not satiate her competitive juices. Missing the excitement of competitive athletics, Orrico jumped at the chance to attend an open rugby tryout conducted by Carlson, a former rugby star at Eastern Illinois. Only 12 of the 50 girls at the tryout were selected to play for the first Quinnipiac team in 2011, which took its lumps but showed improvement late in a 3-6-1 season.

“Krystin stood out right away with her kicking ability and speed,” said Carlson.

“We didn’t worry about them not knowing about the game. We have done a lot of teaching and Krystin has been an excellent learner,” added Carlson, who in addition to being a spectacular player and successful coach is also an ambassador for the rapidly growing sport, which is often played at a club level.

                Rugby advertises itself as having the grace of soccer, the speed of track and the power of football and according to an NCAA study is just as safe as soccer.  So far this season, there has been only one ankle sprain among the 23 girls on the team. Orrico had her first introduction to rugby from her older brother Bill, who played club rugby at Drew University.

“I was familiar with it from watching my brother play and wanted to try something new. It looked like a fun and challenging sport but playing it has been even better than I expected,” said Orrico, who loves the camaraderie of her team.

“I love the team dynamic most of all. Everybody on the team is relatively new to the game and nobody thinks they are better than anyone else,” said Orrico.

                Orrico’s greatest forte is on conversions where she uses foot strength and accuracy to give Quinnipiac a tremendous weapon on set pieces.  Carlson uses Orrico to take all conversion kicks and marvels at her ability in picking up a new sport.

                “She is an amazing kid. I wish she had a few more years of eligibility”

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Reggie Green to the University of Pittsburgh

                Cranford quarterback Reggie Green will be taking his prodigious talents to the University of Pittsburgh, ending a recruiting contest that came down to two schools in Pennsylvania’s largest cities and disappointed the runner-up Temple of Philadelphia.  Like most college choices, Green’s final decision which was announced on his Twitter account, was not easy and came down to his relationship with the Pittsburgh coaching staff, the attractiveness of the school, his immediate playing prospects and even the conference that Pittsburgh will play in.

In the rapidly changing college football landscape Green will join a current Big East school that moves to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) next year. Although Temple is now a Big East member and the ACC includes no school within 200 miles of Cranford, Green‘s family will be able to see him play in Maryland and Virginia, where he has many relatives.  Green also had offers from Boston College, UMass, Michigan State, North Carolina .State, Rutgers and Central Florida.

The thoughtful Green also looked at Pittsburgh’s current roster and saw an upperclassmen dominated receiver corps that gives him an immediate chance to contribute next season.

“Colleges don’t hand you anything but the opportunity will be there to play right away at wide receiver. The competition will be very tough but I like the challenge,” said Green, who eliminated Rutgers when the New Brunswick school told him that he was likely to play defense.

“Rutgers is loaded with young wide receivers so it didn’t look like it would be a good fit for me because I would prefer not to play defensive back,” said Green, who was rated as New Jersey’s fourth best quarterback and one of its top thirty prospects.

                Another reason for picking Pittsburgh included its strong Criminal Justice curriculum, a career path Green plans to take when his football career ends.

“College isn’t just about playing football. My parents have always made education a priority in our house. You need a plan after you stop playing,” said Green, whose older brother Will plays basketball at Farleigh Dickinson.

                Cranford Coach Erik Rosenmeier has been the beneficiary of Green’s brilliance the past three years and is certain that Green will continue to find success at the next level.

“Reggie has been a game changer for us the past few years. He makes plays that very few players can make and his competitiveness and unique talent will make him successful at every level,” said Rosenmeier.

                Green has had a penchant for saving his best performances for the biggest stages.  In the state finals against Parsippany Hills, Green ran 23 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns and came up with an interception. Through four games this season Green has completed 21-of-37 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 591 yards and seven touchdowns on 84 carries. In two games he has surpassed 200 yards rushing and while he will miss not being a quarterback next year, Green is optimistic that getting his decision out of the way will help him towards his goal of leading the Cougars to a second consecutive state title.

“I wanted to make the decision as soon as I was certain about it. I think not having the uncertainty will help me have a good finish to my senior year,”

               

Struggling Cranford field hockey team wins 2nd

            The schedule maker has not been kind to the Cranford Field Hockey team over the first month of the season with Coach Jess Berkowitz’ team facing a who’s who of state powers and starting off 1-5. But the Cougars ended the month of September with the signature victory they had been searching for when they edged rival Westfield 2-1 on Thursday September 27 at Westfield to improve to 2-5.

Junior Charley Hurley scored a goal and had an assist and senior Julie Schott also scored as they dropped Westfield to 4-4. Senior midfielder Erica Faraone played her usually solid game in midfield, junior attacker Catherine Miller created numerous offensive chances and senior goalie Jessica McCoy stopped all but one shot.

            McCoy,a four year starter at goalie has faced many of the top teams in the state during her career and this year has faced top five teams, West Essex and Oak Knoll as well as top twenty teams Montclair and Montclair Kimberly. In a 5-0 loss to West Essex, McCoy was spectacular with 24 saves. McCoy believes that taking their lumps early has its benefits later in the season.

“I think starting off with a tough schedule like this is an advantage. It challenges us at the start of our season, so we have to raise our level of play to compete with theirs. Of course, it'd be nice to play them again at the end of the season to see how we would do, but I think playing teams like Oak Knoll and West Essex early on improves our skills and prepares us for the rest of the season,” said McCoy, who will also be a four year starter for Coach Jackie Dyer’s basketball team this winter and was second team all county last year.

            Although field hockey primarily uses a different athletic skill set, McCoy does see many complementary skills.

“In terms of skill, the two sports don't overlap much to affect my abilities. However, because I play goalie in field hockey, I'm in a unique position where I'm on the field and involved, but also detached. This allows me to observe team dynamics and has also taught me the importance of intangible qualities like hustle. These dynamics and qualities are vital to basketball as well and I think that recognizing them in field hockey has provided me with a new perspective to keep in mind while in the thick of a basketball game,” added McCoy, who has learned much in her four

years

“The most important thing I've learned from this position is that you have to brush off your mistakes. As a goalie, mistakes have greater consequences, but allowing them to pile up in the back of your mind is even worse. Being a goalie taught me that in order to be successful in the present, you have focus on the present,” said McCoy.

            Miller has been the team’s leading scorer with four goals, all scored in the team’s other victory thus far, a 5-0 win over Union on September 11. Faraone also scored and added two assists. Faraone also scored in a 3-1 loss at #15 Montclair. The schedule does not get any easier as October begins with games against powers Kent Place and Summit but Berkowitz, an all state field hockey player for Cranford and first Team All-American at The College of New Jersey, is hoping to continue Cranford’s steady rise as a county power.

“My coaching experience has been developed through camp and clinic programs.    I have returned to my college at various times to help with practices and that has really helped in my ability to analyze and break down the game. I am lucky enough to still have my college coaches and former teammates who are now high school coaches to bounce ideas off of,” said Berkowitz.

“I think my greatest contribution to this program is my intensity, knowledge of the game, work ethic, and high expectations for the girls.  I believe in having high standards and expectations.  Nothing great was ever achieved with low expectations; you have to set your goals high and don’t stop until you get there.  If I can get the girls to understand the importance of playing every practice at game speed, then I think we will have a great advantage over our opponents because we will know nothing other than giving our absolute best in every match.   I would also like to see more Cranford girls playing at the college level in future years.”

Election Reform

            In another six weeks we will know. Four more years of Obama or four years of Mitt Romney will signify the end of maybe the worst presidential campaigns any of us can remember. Is it my imagination or does it seem like this election has been going on for six years? This election cycle seems longer because with social media and the internet the news cycle has shrunk and each twist and turn lasts only as long as the next “game changing” event takes over the headlines.

           

            A quick review of the Republican race seems like these events happened in our childhood. It was August of 2011 when Michelle Bachman became the presumptive Republican front runner by winning an Iowa Straw Poll vote. That lead lasted until she did some interviews that made Sarah Palin sound like an intellect. The GOP primary process evolved into a Mitt Romney against the anti-Romney flavor of the week which jumped to Rick Perry until his memory failed him in a debate.  Then came Herman “9-9-9” Cain until past womanizing scandals derailed his chances. Newt Gingrich resurfaced for a month but his past eventually sent him back to the lecture tour and he did manage to sell a multitude of books while in the spotlight. Eventually Rick Santorum, who had almost dropped out, emerged as the final not Romney candidate until he ran out of money and energy. Ron Paul might still be running but he was just looking for free air time at the Republican Convention and isn’t really taken seriously. All the while, Romney took all the punches and used his vast financial resources to build an organization that got him to the nomination. And that was all completed by early Spring.  

             

Things could be much worse. We could live in one of the handful of so called “battle ground states” where the endless negative advertisements would make us long for those competing car commercial jingles and Erectile Dysfunction spots. One study says the percentage of negative ads by the parties is in the mid to high 90’s. The last chance for us to find out anything about these two men who will lead the free world is the debates.

The system is screaming for reform and the solution is readily at hand if anyone will listen. Junk the incomprehensible primary and caucus system for a one day Super Primary Day held the Sunday after Labor Day. Every state can participate and the winners become their party’s nominees with plenty of time to state their case when Americans are truly paying attention. Voting rates would certainly exceed the pathetic 20 to 30%. It would never fly because too many lucrative livelihoods would be affected.

Instead the most powerful man in the world is going to be decided by a few thousand people in about six states(you know what they are). It will be a long six weeks.