WW-P South tops North boys’ lax behind solid frosh
By: Justin Feil
A year ago, Dave Twamley sat behind the goal with his eighth-grade friends when West Windsor-Plainsboro South took on West Windsor-Plainsboro North in the boys’ lacrosse rivalry.
Dave Twamley enjoyed watching the West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys’ lacrosse team beat WW-P North last year, but he was happier to be a part of it this year with his friends.
Twamley led the Pirates with four goals in a 13-3 win over WW-P North on Saturday. The midfielder was one of five freshmen to start for WW-P South.
"It’s been a lot of fun," Twamley said. "It’s cool to look around and think, just last year we were all in eighth-grade lacrosse. Last year, we all went to the North-South lacrosse game. We were all sitting together behind the goal. Now we’re all starting."
The five freshmen are not only starting, they’re playing a significant role in the success of the Pirates, who improved to 8-8 heading into their first state tournament game today. The Group III ninth-seeded Pirates will open at No. 8 North Brunswick today at 4 p.m. for the chance to play No. 1 Ridge by Saturday.
"I think we’ve played in enough big games," Twamley said. "Over the summer, I played in a lot of big-time games. I think we’ll step up because we have to. It’s win or go home. I think everyone on our team will step up, from freshmen to seniors. For the seniors, it could be their last game. I think everyone wants to step up and not let it be their last game."
Even those that can see plenty more opportunities in the future. The future is indeed bright at WW-P South, but the Pirates are more concerned about the immediate impact of their influx of talent.
"For the most part, our main focus is on this season and the state tournament," said Pirates head coach Kerry Weigner. "We worry about that now. They deserve to play. They earned these spots. It’s not like, ‘Oh well, put the freshmen in.’ They’ve done a great job for us. We don’t believe in rebuilding. We believe in reloading."
The Pirates have found some high-caliber gems in the five freshmen. Twamley, Riemann, Farrell, Burke and Valero may become household names within a couple years. For now, they’re just cutting their teeth on high school competition. Twamley and Connor Farrell are midfielders, Evan Burke is in goal with Jeff Riemann a close defender and Eric Valero on attack.
"We’ve always been playing together since fourth grade," said Twamley, the Pirates’ leading scorer this season. "We’ve always had good chemistry. We all hang out together. From the beginning of the season, we knew we’d have an impact. But we didn’t think it would be this big. We’ve had a lot of older guys around to help out.
"I think our class is doing a great job. We had great expectations coming in. Our coach says don’t be satisfied. We’re not satisfied. We want to have a good run in the state playoffs."
Expectations were high for the five-some after they put together a 27-3 record with the West Windsor-Plainsboro Lightning club lacrosse team the past two years. Those expectations only climbed when Weigner was introduced to the go-getters.
"We started at 6 a.m. that first Friday," said the fifth-year coach. "We went for a mile and a half at 6 a.m. For freshmen, it’s optional. They all ran.
"We have this thing called ‘Pirate Platinum.’ It’s a combination of pull-ups, dips, bench press and the mile and a half with a certain number to get for each of them. Three of them made Pirate Platinum. That was better than a lot of seniors. From that point, I knew they’d been getting ready. I knew they were athletes. They wanted to go out and make things happen. They wanted it right now."
Weigner doesn’t stop there in his praise of the freshmen. The five comprise almost half the starting lineup, and they have filled in for those former players that did not choose to return this season. WW-P South, like WW-P North, returned just two starters from last year’s team.
"They’ve pretty much saved our season in that three returning guys didn’t come out and the fourth quit after two weeks," Weigner said. "They’ve filled some major shoes. We thought we had these guys coming back and they’ve filled in."
Twamley says he was aided in his adjustment to high school lacrosse by playing a high level wit the New Jersey Lacrosse Club in the summer. The talent level wasn’t such a great jump because of that experience. The Pirate players who did return made the rest of the transition run smoothly.
"I had to focus on new kids," said Twamley, who also plays football and basketball. "Getting familiar with my new teammates. All my teammates are great friends. They accepted us from the beginning.
"With five freshmen starting, we were sort of shaky in the beginning," he added. "I was trying not to mess up. It was a little shaky. I was always nervous. Now we’re more confident. At this point in the season, after (Saturday’s) game, we all have great confidence. We all have high hopes for the state."
Now there are new opponents, new levels of competition to adjust to. Saturday, the Pirate freshmen got their first first-hand taste of the North-South rivalry. They helped WW-P South to an all-important win.
"That’s our No. 1 goal," Weigner said. "At the beginning of the season, we say, we’re going to beat North. That’s our No. 1 goal. All our other goals go through being the best in our town. If you want to look at winning divisions or winning state championships, you first need to be the best in your town. That goes a long way in setting our focus and mentality for the season. Then we can move on to our other goals."
The timing couldn’t be more perfect for the Pirates. They will move from a highly emotional rivalry game into a win-or-go-home state tournament game today against North Brunswick, a team they scrimmaged in the pre-season. A lot has changed since then. Neither team currently has their top player from that preseason scrimmage.
"I would like to think we’ve gotten a lot better," Weigner said. "I think they’re 11-4 or 12-5 so they’ve won a lot of games and been successful.
"There’s no doubt we played a tougher schedule. We’ll see what that brings us. I have confidence in my guys and my team that it’s made us better. But a lot of these guys are in virgin territory playing in a state tournament. We’ll see how they react."
The Pirate freshmen have not disappointed yet, and they’re not too familiar with disappointment having come from such a strong feeder system. It’s the same feeder system that is also giving WW-P North hope for its future.
"There’s definitely some potential on the horizon," said Knights head coach Steve Czelusniak, whose team slipped to 6-8. "We had a lot of guys step up in their first year. They got a lot of game experience. We made a lot of mistakes that will hopefully benefit us in the long run. They’ll be ready to step up next year as experienced players."
The Knights will have plenty of motivation down the street. And WW-P North, which loses just two players from this year, figures to give a tougher challenge next season.
"We progressed," Czelusniak said. "If you look at the record, we’ve already won two more than last year. That’s some progress there. Pat Wade did an outstanding job in his first season as a varsity starter.
"And my defense got another year of playing together. Joe Moore, Dave Korsen and Dan Devery, did a very good job overall, and so did Chris Petrone, our longpole middie. Offensively, we struggled a little bit. We ended up starting a sophomore and freshman. Andrew Reichert is a freshman and Ernie Park is a sophomore. And we bring back John Feuerstein, who’s just a junior. In the midfield, we lost Nick Capps and Bill Galton, our only returning starters. That’s where we have to look to fill in."
If they’re lucky they’ll land some rising freshmen like those that the WW-P South boys’ lacrosse team found. Who knows? Maybe help was sitting together behind the goal, taking in all the action in the rivalry match Saturday just like last year.