Brief excerpts from some of Tom's stories over 50 years
February, 1963
For sale, cheap – one set of ice picks, used only once.
Anyone interested should contact Don Casey in care of Bishop Eustace Prep in Pennsauken.
The bargain came out of Ocean City’s loss to Eustace by the unusually low score of 15-13
when Dixie Howell’s Raiders froze the ball against Casey’s defending state champions.
The loss, which went into two overtimes, was Ocean City’s second straight and dropped their
record to 15-6…
March, 1964
New Jersey Group Two State Champions!
Ocean City High School’s basketball team earned that distinction Saturday afternoon when
they bombarded North Arlington, 76-51, in Atlantic City’s huge Convention Hall. The victory
ended the state champs’ season with a 21-4 record.
Junior Randy Fox turned in the highest scoring performance of his career in the most important
game he has played. The quick-moving guard scored 21 points and made the hustle play of the
day, turning a possible backcourt violation by North Arlington into a layup…
March, 1972
Tim Taccarino has stolen the basketball from Ocean City High School opponents 188 times in
his varsity career, equal to Ken Leary’s school record. His 188th steal, however, was probably
worth the first 187, combined.
Taccarino’s steal insured the Raiders’ 51-50 victory over Haddon Township Saturday afternoon
in Vineland and gave Jack Boyd’s team the South Jersey Group 2 championship, the first by
the Raiders in eight years…
February, 1976
Senior Bill Fisher reached another milestone in his career Friday night when he passed Ken
Leary to become the highest scorer in Ocean City history. The accomplishment was spoiled a bit
when St. Joseph surprised the Raiders, 75-70, as the Ordille brothers, Paul and Dave, combined
for 43 points.
Fisher needed five points coming into the game to pass Leary. He finished the game with 36 points,
seven rebounds and six assists...
February, 1978
No South Jersey school has ever won 100 straight league or conference games in any sport.
Until now.
Ocean City’s remarkable girls basketball team rebounded from its severest league challenge in three
years on Friday to defeated Pleasantville, 62-47, for its 100th consecutive Cape-Atlantic League victory.
Stephanie Vanderslice scored 21 points and Lisa Foglio added 18…
March, 1979
The reactions were strong and varied Friday night when Ocean City High School’s girls basketball team
defeated Edgewood, 56-49, for the South Jersey Group Two championship.
Lisa Foglio, who scored 30 points in the victory, embraced her father and a few other family members
before being engulfed by reporters.
And Pat Dougherty, the veteran coach who came into the game with 162 wins in eight years, seemed
to be as excited as she was back in 1971 when she chalked up her very first win.
This was not just another girls basketball win. It was not even just another championship. This was the
one that had eluded the Raiders for seven years, the last three when they lost in the final game…
December, 1981
Ocean City outscored Power Memorial of New York City, the alma mater of Lew Alcindor, by a 36-11
margin over the final 12 minutes Monday night in their Seagull Classic game and came away with a
73-71 victory.
The win completed the most impressive comeback in the history of the Seagull Classic, one of the
nation’s finest tournaments. Chris Rackley led four double figure scorers for OCHS with 27 points…
November, 1984
The hero of Ocean City’s incredible 22-21 win over Willingboro for the South Jersey Group Three
football championship last Saturday was David Miller.
The 5-10 senior, who’s done a little bit of everything for the Raiders this season, raced 59 yards for
the game’s final touchdown, a little more than eight minutes before time ran out and the celebration
began…
June, 1986
Leon Brown won the 200 meters last week in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, becoming the first
Ocean City High School athlete to win in the ultimate New Jersey track meet.
Brown had won the 200 in the state Group Three meet and had won the 200 and long jump in the
South Jersey meet…
March, 1989
Pat Lynch has achieved another first for Ocean City High School sports.
The talented sophomore, who was the school’s first regional wrestling champion, became the first
to win a state title on Saturday at Princeton University.
Lynch finished a perfect (32-0) season with a 20-7 decision over Chris Tokarski of Roselle Park
to win not only the 171-pound title but the Outstanding Wrestler Award as well...
May, 1993
The Ocean City girls did it again.
Led by Megan Hartman’s double win and single victories by Joi Johnson and Shelley Solheim, Mike
Naples’ Raiders outscored runner-up Bridgeton on Saturday to win a fourth straight South Jersey
Group 3 championship.
Hartman broke Alison Amicone’s school record in the 3200 meters and Johnson bettered her own
mark in the high jump…
December, 1996
Kevin Sinclair saved the best for last.
The talented Ocean City High School senior scored four touchdowns and ran for a career-high
284 yards on Saturday to pace the Raiders to a 27-7 victory over Shawnee in the South Jersey
Group 4 championship game, played in a steady rain at The College of New Jersey…
March, 1999
It just keeps getting better for Raider fans.
John Bruno’s team scored 10 straight points in overtime Monday and came away with an improbable
76-73 overtime victory over Middle Township for the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 championship.
Against a team that had beaten them by 21 points just 13 days earlier, Ryan Reich sent the game
into overtime on a three-pointer from 35 feet at the fourth quarter buzzer. Mike Rowell, who set a
new OCHS career scoring record in the game, and Eric Dalton made big plays in the overtime period…
December, 1999
Well, what did you expect? It was Ocean City vs. Mainland, after all.
The Raiders and Mustangs played for the last time in the 1990s and it was a special game. Ocean City
successfully defended its South Jersey Group 3 football championship with a 21-18 win over previously
undefeated Mainland at Rutgers…
March, 2001
Camden’s heralded Dujuan Wagner scored 52 points against Ocean City last week in a 94-48 win over
the Raiders in the NJSIAA Group 3 Tournament and became the all-time New Jersey leader in career
points…
June, 2003
John Richardson threw both hands in the air and screamed with joy as he crossed the finish line of
the 800 meters. Coupled with his earlier win in the 1600, it was his second victory in the NJSIAA Meet
of Champions, a first for an OCHS athlete. But it was much more.
No male runner from any New Jersey school had won both the 800 and 1600 in the 35-year history of
the meet. Richardson also established a new CAL record in the 800 and a meet record in the 1600…
November, 2003
Brittany Sedberry did something on Saturday that had never been accomplished by a Cape-Atlantic
League cross country runner.
She became the best in New Jersey.
The 98-pound OCHS sophomore won the NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park…
February, 2009
It was a special moment in Ocean City High School girls basketball history.
Over nearly four decades, the Raiders had won two South Jersey titles, a bucketful of league championships
and around 650 games.
But they had never beaten a nationally-ranked team, let alone one that had won six national championships.
That all ended Saturday night as Sarah Gibbs cradled the basketball in her arms as the final seconds
ticked away on a 55-52 victory by Paul Baruffi’s team over New York’s Christ The King…
February, 2010
Ocean City outscored Lower Cape May, 14-3, in the final four minutes of regulation and went on to defeat
the Tigers, 63-60, in double overtime to win the overall CAL championship. It was the first appearance in
the league championship game for both teams.
If there had been an MVP in the game it would have been Chris Curran. He set a new championship game
record with 33 points, added 10 rebounds, made a steal with 90 seconds left that tied the game and hit the
three-pointer in the second OT that turned out to be the game-winner…
June, 2010
Connor Ortolf said he was starting to feel tired in the final few innings of last week’s South Jersey Group
3 baseball final. You’d never have known it. He seemed to be more effective in the late innings of the Raiders’
9-2 win over Highland.
“We thought his curve became more effective as he got tired,” said OCHS baseball coach Craig Mensinger,
who guided the Raiders to their first South Jersey title in 46 years…
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