By Jeff Appelblatt
Maybe it was the energy of the home crowd, or it was the benefit of shooting on the hoops they were used to. Whatever the reason, Freehold Township High School dominated its rival from Freehold High School right from the start Dec. 16.
The Patriots went up, 13-4, in the first quarter and never looked back. Once the final horn filled the gym, Freehold Township had the game in the bag, 58-39.
Maybe it’s just the way things go when the local rivals meet. Last year, Freehold Township blew out Freehold twice. Two years ago, Freehold Township won each game the teams played by double figures. The last time the Patriots didn’t handily defeat the Colonials was in 2011, when Freehold won in overtime, 57-49.
That 2010-11 team (12-12) was the last from Freehold that finished at the .500 mark. Many teams have copied Freehold Township over the years and stomped all over the Colonials. And though the majority of last year’s team is back, Freehold’s coaches know that this year won’t be any easier.
“A lot of guys are back. We have a lot of senior leadership,” head coach Jesse Ryan said before the opener. “This year, our guys are playing for each other. Our team chemistry is good, so we’re excited.”
Ryan hopes the maturation of his seniors can lead to something more than the 5-17 record his club posted last year.
“All the seniors are matured and doing well,” the coach said.
Seniors Chris Cassandra and Markee Gill scored 11 and 10 points apiece, respectively, against Freehold Township, but it was junior Ashante Worthy, who recently finished setting records for the football team, who drained the most shots for Freehold.
Playing at quarterback for the football team, Worthy threw for 826 yards and nine touchdowns, but this primary talent was in his running game. The multi-sport athlete ran the football for more than 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Freehold’s coach expected the transition from football to basketball to go well for Worthy.
“His head’s on straight, and he’s been doing a great job,” Ryan said before Worthy went out in the first game and led the Colonials with 12 points.
Freehold’s coach doesn’t want his team to be counted out, nor does he want to guarantee any number of victories.
“We’ve just got to work on controlling what we could control, which is our execution [and] our effort,” Ryan said. “Then we’ll take it one day at a time.”
The Colonials continued searching for a win Dec. 20 when they hosted Manalapan High School in Freehold. The Braves, who were thumped by Christian Brothers Academy, 62-33, in their opener, won each of the two games they played against the Colonials last year.