Manville High Fall Sports Awards

Not many wins, but more highlights

by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
   The fall scholastic athletic campaign at Manville High certainly wasn’t one to remember in terms of wins.
   However, the MHS athletes and teams still produced some highlights. There were some great individual achievements and a few solid team accomplishments. The combined record of the five varsity teams was only 6-60-2, but the Mustangs squeezed their fair share of excitement out of that measly win total.
   The football and boys’ soccer teams each won twice, while the girls’ cross country and girls’ soccer squads posted one victory apiece. The boys’ cross country team endured a winless season but did manage to defeat Bound Brook in the Skyland Conference Championships, and that should count for something.
   This seasonal column is dedicated to listing the best and brightest moments of each athletic campaign. While there weren’t many victories, there was usually something positive and interesting to write about on a weekly basis.
   Let’s take one final look back at the highlights of the recently completed athletic campaign in my Manville High Fall Sports Awards:
   Best Athletes – Brian Rock (football) and Casey Shields (cross country).
   Rock carried the Manville offense with 1,064 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. The senior also was a receiving threat out of the backfield, top kick returner and kicker. He scored a total of nine touchdowns, adding one on a reception and another on a kick return. Rock went over the 1,000 mark in the season finale vs. Bound Brook and was named his team’s Offensive MVP for the game. He certainly was Manville’s top offensive player and MVP for the season.
   Shields enjoyed a memorable season as the school’s most accomplished harrier. The junior reached her goal of qualifying for the State Group 1 Championships. Shields got faster every week and made school history as the first MHS female to compete in the State Group 1 meet. She also led the MHS girls’ team in every race and helped the squad win its first dual meet ever and finish sixth at the Central Jersey Group 1 Championships.
   Best Team – Girls’ cross country. Usually, this award goes to the team with the most wins, but there were no big winners this fall so it’s going to the female harriers.
   The MHS girls made school history for the second straight year. In 2006, they became the first girls’ crew to compete as a full team in a dual meet and championship event. In 2007, they took it a step further by posting the program’s first team triumph. They also came very close to qualifying for the State Group 1 Championships as a team when they placed sixth at the sectional meet.
   Best Coach – Jim O’Connor, cross country. Much of this man’s job has been recruiting athletes to come out for this unpopular sport. O’Connor has increased the numbers in his program every year with the boys and the girls. This year, some of the runners who have been on the team for a few years really started to shine.
   Under O’Connor’s watch, the Manville girls have developed their own team, won a dual meet and become more competitive among the small schools. The Mustangs often were forced to forfeit meets before O’Connor took over. While they’re still not winning many meets, at least they’re competing with respectable numbers now.
   Most Improved Athletes – Cross country runners Jason Pfoutz and Kate Harodetsky made the biggest strides this fall. Both shaved considerable time off their previous standards and became more consistent.
   Pfoutz, a senior, showed up in much better shape this fall and it paid off. He emerged as the No. 3 runner for the MHS boys and came close to the 22-minute mark in the team’s final two races on tough courses – the Skyland Conference meet at Pleasant Valley Park and the Central Jersey Group 1 Championships at Thompson Park.
   Harodetsky, a junior, had the best season of her three-year career. She often struggled to finish races as a freshman and sophomore, but those problems never surfaced this season. Instead, the MHS junior flourished and became a solid, dependable No. 2 runner for her team.
   Most Exciting Moments – The boys’ soccer team posted the most thrilling triumph of the fall season at Manville when it earned its first victory by knocking off rival Bound Brook by a 4-3 score in the rain; the Lady Mustangs enjoyed that winning feeling only once on the soccer field, but beating Dunellen in a 5-0 shutout was a special day they won’t soon forget; the boys’ soccer team ended the season with a 3-1 triumph over Somerset Vo-Tech; the football team broke into the win column with a 26-6 triumph at St. Joseph’s of the Palisades to keep alive its early hopes of returning to the state playoffs; the Mustangs won their only home football game of the year by a 7-3 margin over Newark Academy that was a delight for defensive-minded purists; the MHS girls’ cross country team edged Hackettstown by a 27-28 score at Belvidere for the program’s first victory ever; and both cross country teams finished in front of Bound Brook at the Skyland Conference Championships, giving the boys sweet revenge for their loss in a September regular season meet.
   Best Game Performances – Casey Shields showed up at Thompson Park determined to reach her goal and accomplished her mission by placing seventh in 21:48 at the Central Jersey Group 1 Championships to qualify for the State Group 1 meet; Brian Rock rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Mustangs to their first victory of the season, a 26-6 decision over St. Joseph’s of the Palisades in September; Alex Malliard netted a hat trick, including two goals on penalty kicks, to lead the MHS boys’ soccer team to its season-making 4-3 triumph over Bound Brook; senior Samantha Aichele scored twice in the girls’ soccer victory at Dunellen, a game that also showed the great toughness of Rhianna Lebedz, who returned to play in the second half after suffering an eye injury that hampered her vision.
   Freshman Phenoms – Twins Sima and Anna Issachenko provided a spark for the girls’ soccer team; cross country runner Randy Gomez and football player Mike Hopkins also made an impact as varsity rookies.
   Sophomore Sensations – Football players Angelo Bell and David Olmsted; soccer player Dana Mortensen; and cross country runners Amanda Velez and Alissa Teodorczy.
   Junior Jewels – Cross country runners Casey Shields, Kate Harodetsky, Evanna Tchir, Arielle Mizov and Andrew Franko; soccer goalkeeper Matt Zangara and field players and Richie Hernandez, David Brozyna, Pawel Maziarz and Rebecca Burke; football players Joe Burnett, Billy Mazzucca, Kevin Sellar, Ryan Jankowski and Josh Michalski.
   Senior Stars – Football players Brian Rock, Anthony Palovick, Glen Hall, Dennis Petrone and Mike Bezick; soccer players Rhianna Lebedz, Samantha Aichele, Lucy Yakobchuk, Monika Ozieblo, Alex Malliard, Jimmy Lozada, Drew Evanylo, Chris Kocur and cross country runners Sasa Todorovic, Adam Wolcott and Jason Pfoutz.