December 17, 2003
The best (and worst) of the CAL fall season
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
The high school football season ended Saturday in South Jersey and, just six days later, basketball will
begin. Championship games postponed by snow have reduced this gap between the seasons to its
shortest in decades.
For the Cape-Atlantic League, the separation was not much of a problem. Only two CAL football teams
played after Thanksgiving – St. Joseph and Hammonton – and they both played last Tuesday, 10 days
before the start of the hoop season.
This week, most of our focus in on the basketball games on Friday night, the earliest an NJSIAA school
can play hoops, and Tipoff Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. But before we file away the 2003 fall
season, lets look back at some memorable accomplishments.
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Mainland’s boys cross country team accomplished things this year that have never
been approached. The team coasted through another undefeated regular season, then captured another
South Jersey title with the first three runners to finish and four of the first five. They went on to win another
state title – it’s first in Group 4 – and, for the second straight year, won the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.
Dan Heyman’s team, led by senior Greg Hughes, has set standards at which South Jersey teams will be
shooting for decades.
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Ocean City’s Brittany Sedberry impressed people in 2002, her first year of
varsity cross country, especially with some strong efforts in the championship competitions at the end of
the season. This year, despite a nagging foot injury, she took things to a new level. A second straight
South Jersey title, a state Group 3 championship and then something no other CAL runner has achieved –
first place in the Meet of Champions. That would have been enough, but Sedberry took things a step
further. After her high school season, she finished second in the Foot Locker Northeast Championship
and, on Saturday in San Diego, finished 30th in the National Championship race. Not just satisfied with
being the best in New Jersey as a 98-pound sophomore, there were only 29 runners in America who could
beat her.
BIGGEST FOOTBALL IMPROVEMENT: Eight teams in the CAL won more games in 2003 than in 2002,
including Absegami and Vineland with three more wins apiece. But the best in the league was registered
by three teams that didn’t get quite as much credit throughout the season – Holy Spirit, Middle Township
and Millville - despite winning four more games than the year before. All three ended their seasons with big
wins on Thanksgiving Day. Millville has a lot of seniors and Middle will lose talented quarterback-kicker
Erich Wolf. But the Panthers have some talented, experienced players returning. Holy Spirit is another
story. The Spartans finished sixth in the league in scoring but not a single point was scored by a senior.
Ed Byrnes Stadium could be jumping again in 2004.
WORST FIELD SITUATION: The team won a state championship and shared the overall CAL title. But
Ocean City’s soccer field was selected by the Courier-Post as the worst in South Jersey. That should give
Gary Schaffer some additional ammunition in his efforts to get the facility upgraded.
FOOTBALL RUSHING LEADERS: Holy Spirit junior Andrew Clayton led the CAL in rushing. He was one of
just three runners who gained 1,000 yards in 2003. The others were Rich Forman of Millville (who averaged
30 carries a game) and Jonathan Williams of Pleasantville, both seniors. The talented sophomore from St.
Joe – Jack Corcoran of Ventnor – fell four yards shy of 1,000. Clayton also led the CAL with 114 points on
19 rushing TDs.
FOOTBALL PASSING LEADERS: St. Joseph senior Mike Peteah led the league in passing efficiency and
TD passes, falling 43 yards shy of 1,000 yards. Mainland’s Dan Cappelluti was tops in yards, throwing for
1,451. Two others passed 1,000 yards – Ryan Goodman of Absegami and Alex Castillo of Vineland.
Vineland’s Marcus Lee and John Impagliazzo of Mainland were the only two receivers with more than 600
yards. But Vince Simone of St. Joe led the league with seven TD receptions. Worth noting is Atlantic City
junior LaQuay DuBose, who caught five passes this year for three TDs and an average of 40.8 yards per
catch.
ROOKIE COACHES: Three first-year head football coaches – Doug Colman of Absegami, B.J. Butch of
Pleasantville and Bill Walsh of Holy Spirit – led their teams into the second round of the playoffs. Colman
produced the Galloway Township school’s first playoff victory. But you can’t forget Trish Hopson and Bruce
Welch, co-coaches of Ocean City’s girls cross country team, who won a South Jersey title and took their
young team to the Meet of Champions in their first year.
THE STREAK LIVES: St. Joseph’s win in the Parochial 2 championship game gave the CAL at least one
NJSIAA football champion in every year since 1986. Over those 17 seasons, a total of 31 teams won
championship games. The biggest years were 1999 and 1996 when four CAL teams won titles.
MISCELLANEOUS: John Clements of St. Joseph was the only player in the CAL who had both a kickoff
and punt return for a TD...Vineland’s Darren Ford had two kickoff returns for TDs...Ryan Goodman of
Absegami and Joe Hiltwine of Hammonton both ranked among the top 10 in passing efficiency and the top
15 in rushing yards...St. Joe led the CAL in both most points scored per game and fewest allowed. The
Wildcats averaged winning each game by 25.8 points...Rob McLaughlin of Absegami edged Matias Spahn
of Hammonton by one point to lead the CAL in kicking points...McLaughlin, Spahn, Rich Ryan of St.
Augustine and Ocean City sophomore Dave Beyel were the only kickers to kick two field goals this
season...Dominique Burrous of Pleasantville led the league with five two-point conversions...though Ocean
City suffered its first losing season in 10 years, the Raiders did extend their streak of not being shut out to
108 games, possibly the longest in South Jersey.
OK, now let the hoops begin!
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