March 22, 2006
CAL adds to its hoop reputation
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
The little Cape-Atlantic League from the lightly-populated southern tip of South
Jersey added to its basketball reputation again this year.
Greg Goodwin's Absegami girls won a second straight state championship and
advanced to the New Jersey Final Four, the semi-finals of the NJSIAA Tournament
of Champions.
Gene Allen's Atlantic City boys won a second straight South Jersey title and
reached the state final.
Dave DeWeese's Wildwood Catholic boys won a South Jersey title and earned a shot
at one of the country's top teams in the state final.
The girls from Gami went about their job with poise and determination. They were
a fun team to watch and one of the most impressive teams in CAL history. Watching
the inside play of Tara Booker, Sara Mostafa and Krissy Rosario was a treat.
Nobody defended the passing lanes like Connie James. And that popular newspaper
columnist, Alysha Taylor, pulled the whole thing together.
Atlantic City's boys accomplished their goals with emotion, overcoming lulls with
exciting rallies. Frank Turner flying down the lane, twisting and turning his
body through the defense for a layup or short jumper. The powerful Darnell Davis
inside and the almost-impossible threes launched by Dante Bailey.
But, when it came to excitement, there was nothing like Wildwood Catholic. With
junior guard Anthony Raffa turning teams over and letting fly with shots from
every angle and passes that somehow found their way through opposing defenses,
the Crusaders had a thrilling tournament run. Tom Solenski's work inside was the
perfect match to Raffa's success on every part of the court.
There also was the exhilarating run that Ocean City's girls made in the South
Jersey Group 3 final before losing to heavily-favored Woodrow Wilson. And Holy
Spirit's girls knocking off Red Bank Catholic to reach another South Jersey final.
Rosario and Atlantic City's Tasha Cannon both finished their careers with over
1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Rosario had the thrill of scoring her 1,000th
point in the state championship game.
It was a thrill but, because of a silly NJSIAA policy, the game was not stopped.
How hard would it be to allow 30-45 seconds for a pause in the action, a quick
announcement, a presentation of the ball for photographers and on with the game.
These are the moments that should be immortalized.
There was also Charles Johnson breaking the Lower Cape May career scoring record
set by Charlie Wise. Dave Beyel recovering from an ankle injury to become Ocean
City's 10th player to score 1,000 points. And Cape May Tech's Jermaine Russell
and Trey Severs nearly scoring their 1,000th points in the same game.
Next week, in many of these same newspapers, we'll put the hoop season to bed
with one final summary of its highlights, including the final statistical leaders.
This year we asked the CAL coaches to send us their stats, listing the league
leaders exclusively on these pages and at cape-atlanticleague.com. The response
from girls coaches was very good. And, while the boys coaches were cooperative,
their response fell short of the girls, particularly from a few of the most
successful programs.
When former high school athletes look back on their scholastic careers, they
remember the special moments more than they do the numbers. But part of a sports
experience, especially in these computer and Internet times, is a statistical
record of it. On behalf of all of you who commented on how much you enjoyed the
stat leaders, we thank those coaches who made their numbers available. And we all
hope the others will do a better job next season.
The Cape-Atlantic League had another great basketball season. The numbers prove
it. So do the championships. And, most of all, all of those memorable images.
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Tom Williams' columns