Manville High 2006-2007 Year in Sports

Football team highlighted school year

By: Rudy Brandl
   Manville High’s athletic teams made a giant leap into a more competitive league and experienced mixed results during the 2006-2007 school year. While many MHS teams struggled in their first exposure to a tougher Skyland Conference schedule, others produced headlines, excitement and even a little history.
   It wasn’t a great year in terms of overall wins and losses at Manville. Only one of the 12 MHS varsity teams produced a winning record. The football team enjoyed a historic 6-4 campaign to highlight the fall season, while the girls’ track and field team went 4-4 to lead all teams in the spring.
   There were some great individual feats in all three seasons. Seniors Mike Knitowski and Tommy Rock starred in the fall, winter and spring, capping their outstanding careers in style. Senior Mark Manderski, a standout on the football field and wrestling mat, earned a scholarship to Benedictine College for football. Many other athletes shined against the best competition they’ve faced on the scholastic circuit.
   The Class of 2007 has graduated and is starting to prepare for the next challenge. In a little over a month, the fall sports practices will begin for the new school year.
   And now, for one final look back at the Manville High 2006-2007 Year in Sports:
   The school year started with a bang. There’s nothing like a winning football season to kick off a new school year. That’s something Manville High hadn’t experienced since 1991. There was excitement on Friday nights. Fans filled the bleachers at Ned Panfile Stadium and watched the Mustangs roll to a 6-0 start.
   People were talking undefeated season and state championship. It was quite a scene, both at home and on the road. MHS fans supported their team on the road, especially at South River in the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs and at Bound Brook in the season finale.
   The 6-0 start propelled the Mustangs into the state playoffs for the very first time. Although the Mustangs lost their final four games to finish 6-4, their season was a tremendous success.
   The Mustangs scored points in bunches and dominated five of their six victims while averaging over 40 points per game through the first half of the season. The schedule got tougher in the last month, but the team played very well with the exception of the North Warren game. The Mustangs were only blanked once all year and doubled the win total of the previous season.
   Much of the credit for this quick and amazing turnaround goes to head coach Brett Stibitz. The second-year head man, a former MHS player, continued to build his program from the bottom. This team went 0-20 in the two seasons before Stibitz took over, so he has done an incredible job. Stibitz has turned his program into a year-round commitment with a greater emphasis on strength training and conditioning and off-season work.
   Rock was the main man in the fall season at Manville. The senior running back made major headlines early in the season when he appeared on the state scoring list. Rock averaged 200 yards per game in the first month and even after cooling down still finished with a team-high 1,278 yards and 15 touchdowns. He scored five touchdowns in a victory over St. Joe’s of the Palisades. It was fun to see Rock run.
   An outstanding senior class led this gritty bunch of gridiron heroes. Knitowski ran the show as the team’s quarterback and also pitched in as a defensive back. Leo Rodriguez was a two-way animal as a running back and linebacker. Kyle Sopko emerged as the team’s most dangerous receiver, hauling in a few big bombs from Knitowski. Jamie Levine made many huge hits from his linebacker position, Linemen Mark Manderski and Matt Golen opened holes for the offense. Fellow seniors Pat Horner, Jack Calvo, Robert Wood and Jon Andrade also made big contributions.
   The other fall teams at MHS didn’t create nearly as much fanfare, but all enjoyed some fine moments. The boys’ soccer team, coached by Mike Shambach, started very slowly but showed great improvement later in the season. The Mustangs struggled to score but enjoyed one breakout day with seven goals to post their only victory over Somerset Vo-Tech.
   Defense was this team’s strength. Tri-captains Ronny Lobo, Marvin Sosa and Roland Yakobchuk and senior defender Lukasz Bogdanowicz led the Mustangs and sophomore goalkeeper Matt Zangara came of age after taking over as the starter in the middle of the season.
   The girls’ soccer team, under the leadership of rookie head coach Erin Delaney, had the best finish of any MHS fall team. The Lady Mustangs won four of their last five games to finish with a 7-12 record. The most exciting victory during the stretch came in a 4-3 thriller over Rutgers Prep.
   Senior Marzena Brozyna showed her versatility by scoring four goals in her first game after moving up from the sweeper position. Brozyna’s barrage led the MHS girls to a 7-0 thumping of North Plainfield.
   Other girls’ soccer stars included seniors Michelina Aichele and Marta Fabiyna, juniors Rhianna Lebedz, Samantha Aichele, Monika Ozieblo and Lucy Yakobchuk, sophomores Angelika Lazur and Rebecca Burke and freshman Amy Evanylo.
   The cross country teams didn’t generate any victories, but don’t be fooled by numbers or records. Veteran head coach Jim O’Connor accomplished one of his major goals — to field a full MHS girls’ cross country team. The combination of good recruiting and coaching made this happen.
   Manville made history when Arielle Mizov crossed the finish line as the fifth runner in a dual meet at Belvidere in September. The MHS girls ran a few more dual meets as a full team and made history again by sending five runners into competition at the Skyland Conference Championships in October. Sophomore Casey Shields was the leader of the pack for the MHS girls.
   Junior Sasa Todorovic led a Manville boys’ team that continued to get faster as the season progressed. While the Mustangs didn’t win any dual meets, they managed to finish in front of Keyport in the Central Jersey Group 1 Championships at Thompson Park.
   O’Connor took pride in the fact that his top four runners — Todorovic, Adam Wolcott, Erik Lubas and Jason Pfoutz — all ran their best times in the CJ 1 race. Numbers were up on the boys’ team and the future looks bright for the entire Manville cross country program.
   The winter season started very slowly, with the three varsity teams losing 22 straight combined events. The boys’ basketball team was winless for eight games, the girls’ basketball squad opened at 0-5 and the wrestlers were 0-9 before getting their first victory.
   However, all three teams performed much better after that. The MHS boys went 8-5 in their final 13 games, the girls won five of their next nine to entertain hopes of qualifying for the playoffs and the wrestling team split its final six matches. Unfortunately, there was no team state playoff action during the winter at Manville.
   There was still plenty of excitement on the courts and mats. The Manville boys sent retiring head coach Larry Blasi out in style, winning their final two games with buzzer-beating comebacks. The Mustangs didn’t quit after a slow start, one that was caused by the hangover effect of a long and draining football season. They hung tough and played some great ball in late January and February.
   Knitowski capped his fine hoops career with 975 points. He probably needed one or two more games to reach the coveted 1,000-point plateau. He led the Mustangs in scoring in most games and dropped in a career-best 30 vs. South Hunterdon. Knitowski, Rock, Sopko and Wood, four of the fabulous seniors who led the football team, stood out again on the hardwood. Juniors Billy Fisher and Brian Rock also made hefty contributions.
   The MHS girls avenged an opening night loss at Bound Brook by gaining their first victory of the season in the holiday tournament. They also split with South Hunterdon, swept Sussex Vo-Tech and made an exciting comeback to beat Princeton Day School.
   Lebedz, the team’s talented junior point guard, ran the show again last winter. Lebedz showed her all-around game in the team’s home victory over South when she posted 21 points, five rebounds and six steals. Fellow junior Samantha Aichele, the team’s scoring leader, erupted for a career-best 23 points to go with seven steals when the Lady Mustangs romped past Sussex Tech in Manville. Seniors Katie Lukacs and Michelina Aichele also contributed for Kyle Rehrig’s team.
   Manderski was the man to watch on the MHS wrestling mat for the second straight year. After a slow start, Manderski got hot at the right time and finished with a 20-10 record. His 20th victory, a special accomplishment for any scholastic wrestler, came in the District 18 semifinals against a Somerville rival who had pinned him in the regular season.
   Although he lost another heartbreaking District 18 championship bout to Franklin rival Derrick Williams, Manderski finished his career with 43 victories. He also became the first MHS wrestler in six years to win 20 bouts in a season for head coach Stibitz.
   Manderski was the team’s most consistent winner in dual meets, where the Mustangs struggled until late in the season. They finished the year with an exciting 34-33 triumph over East Orange thanks in large part to a hard-fought major decision by Bogdanowicz, who also had a pretty good season. Bogdanowicz enjoyed a little personal glory when he finished third at the Rutgers Prep Tournament in January.
   After a very short winter season, one which ended a week sooner than usual because of the new NJSIAA wrestling schedule and no state playoffs for the MHS basketball teams, there was a full month respite before the spring campaign began in April.
   The spring season at Manville was another mixed bag of exciting winning moments and hard-luck losses. The impact of the school’s move to the bigger Skyland Conference was felt most in the spring, where two perennial winning programs struggled on the diamond.
   Manville’s baseball team had qualified for the state playoffs for 11 consecutive years under skipper Steve Venuto. Despite returning many talented players, the Mustangs won just six games and couldn’t continue that impressive streak.
   Rock certainly did his part, both as the team’s leadoff batter and ace pitcher. He led the county with a .527 batting average and drove in 25 runs and scored 23 times. Rock also went 4-4 on the mound with a 2.16 ERA that included his first no-hitter in a 5-0 victory at South Hunterdon.
   The senior right-hander shut out Gill St. Bernards in the Somerset County Tournament. He beat Bound Brook to avenge losses to that school from football and basketball season. He tripled and scored the winning run in the season finale at Somerville, a season-making 10-9 victory that sent Venuto out in style.
   Venuto had announced earlier that week that he’d be stepping down at the end of the baseball season. His players wanted to be sure to give him a special parting gift.
   Wood played the most dramatic part of that victory against the Central Jersey Group 2 runners-up. The senior shortstop belted a huge two-out grand slam in the seventh inning to force extra innings. Rock and Sopko, who hit the sacrifice fly to drive in the go-ahead run, took care of the rest.
   Other baseball standouts from this spring season included sophomore third baseman Joe Burnett, junior outfielder Chris Weber, junior first baseman Anthony Palovick and senior outfielder Pat Horner.
   The MHS softball team, under head coach Ed Knapp, won just three times after reaching the states in all but one season in this decade. All three victories came by a single run, including two over North Plainfield.
   However, no win was sweeter than the softball team’s 2-1 thriller over Bound Brook. Sophomore Kim Jones had her biggest game that day, firing an impressive six-hitter to avenge an opening day defeat while delivering the biggest hit of the day to drive in both of her team’s runs.
   Senior shortstop Michelina Aichele was the team’s MVP, for both her fine defense and clutch hitting. The team struggled offensively but Aichele got some big hits. She and her younger sister Samantha, a junior second baseman, gave the Lady Mustangs a solid defense up the middle. Senior third baseman Amanda Bron, catcher Lukacs and center fielder Lebedz also made the plays.
   Things were very exciting on the track and field for Manville this spring. More athletes than ever showed up to compete for third-year head coach Michelle Mongillo, who boasted the first-ever full girls’ squad. Thanks to the full girls’ cross country and track and field teams, Manville now has 12 varsity teams in competition.
   The MHS girls posted the second-best record in the school this past year, going 4-4 in dual meets. They also sent three athletes to the State Group 1 Championships — senior Marzena Brozyna in the 400 hurdles, and junior Melissa Teresak and freshman Courtney Brisebois in the 100 meters.
   Several other female track and field athletes contributed for this team. Junior Lucy Yakobchuk won four events in the team’s 121-1 thrashing of David Brearley. I still can’t believe that score. Gabby Firak, Ashley Shields, Angelika Lazur, Amy Evanylo and Alissa Teodorczy added big points for the Manville girls this spring.
   Knitowski was the dominant figure for the MHS boys, but he just missed qualifying for the Meet of Champions for the second straight year. This time, he came within one miss of making the cut in the high jump after matching his career-best of six feet at the Group 1 Championships in South Plainfield.
   The senior jumping sensation made school history by scoring in the Skyland Conference Relays two-man high jump by himself. He also placed third in the Somerset County long jump with a personal record of 20 feet, 11¾ inches. Knitowski graduated with the school record in the triple jump (40-7½).
   Despite Knitowski’s heroics, the Manville boys finished 3-4 in dual meets. They were over .500 for most of the year but a season ending sweep at the hands of Bernards and North Plainfield spoiled that record.
   Other MHS seniors who stood out on the track and field included hurdler Bogdanowicz, middle distance runner Calvo and the versatile Rodriguez. Some younger athletes who continued to climb the ranks included juniors Drew Evanylo, Glenn Hall and Chris Kocur, sophomores Billy Demeter, Matt Zangara and Danny Pierrot and freshman Eddie Yakobchuk.
   While these seniors left MHS with memories to savor, the underclassmen will be getting ready for another year of scholastic sports action in a few short weeks. It won’t be long before the 2007-2008 school year begins, so enjoy what’s left of the summer.