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Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 21

Publication:
Asbury Park Pressi
Location:
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Issue Date:
Page:
21
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Bid Day Committees officially extend their, bowl bids today. College Football2 Memorable Day Rola's game-plan reward in marathon is a "personal best." Recreation6 Crowning Day Brick Memorial, TR North win South Jersey soccer crowns. Scholastic5 JB General News7 Classified8 Pro Basketball3 Scoreboard4 'Recreation6 Asbury Park Press Nov. 19, 1983 ater Dei lands Parochial title T1' 'is v-'-" 1 V- PS AitYSfo VttV.jTtUv If rv JfffV i 2 I 4 By MICHAEL AMSEL Press Staff Writer WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP Mater Dei soccer coach Tony Scorciolla was having trouble finding the right words to express his feeling of joy. "I'm just a rookie coach, a year out of college," said Scorciolla, "and to win something like this well, that's kind of unbelievable." "Something like this" was Scorciolla's way of describing the NJSIAA Parochial soccer championship, which his Mater Dei team captured last night with a 3-1 victory over Eastern Christian at Mercer County Park.

The Seraphs, playing inspired, intense soccer throughout, were in control of the game from the outset. But it wasn't until Chris Dugan drilled in a goal at 1:24 of the final quarter that the title was firmly in their grasp. "You can never predict something like this will happen," Scorciolla went on to describe the championship. "You can never tell in the beginning if you've got a team good enough to go all the way. "But tonight I was very confident.

I knew we could do it. We have been playing very well the last few games and I felt we could take them." With just 6:17 gone in the opening quarter, Mater Dei jumped out in front, 1-0, on a 30-yard goal by Jay Toomey. The score, off an assist from John Kilbride, will be one Toomey remembers for a long time. Standing far away from the goal, Toomey took a pass from Kilbride and lofted a high, arching shot into the air. Eastern Christian goalie Craig Popjes timed his leap perfectly, going as high as he could but the shot was just out of his reach, catching the upper left-hand part of the net.

Presto! Mater Dei was on top, and in high gear. "Taking control of the game from the beginning was very important," said Scorciolla. "You want to be in charge in a game like this." Though Eastern Christian managed just four shots on net in the first half, two of them helped account for a goal, tying up the game at 1-1. At 9:03 of the first quarter, Dave Stokes broke through the Seraph defense and blasted a shot at Mater Dei goalie Roger Billotto. Billotto blocked the attempt, knocking the ball out in front of the net, and Stokes calmly booted in the rebound, knotting the'score.

Mater Dei dominated play in the second quarter, but had only one real serious scoring threat. Gary Sisto kicked a bullet toward the left side of the net, but Popjes, acrobatic in goal all evening, made a lunging save to prevent the ball from going in. So at half, Mater Dei had a 17-4 edge in shots, but a mere 1-1 tie on the scoreboard. "It's always frustrating to be in a position like that," said Scorciolla. "You totally outplay the other team and you still don't have control of the game." Scorciolla rested a little easier at 14:02 of the third quarter, when James Mulloy, off an assist from Butch Uhouse, slipped the ball past Popjes, putting Mater Dei up, 2-1.

A short time later, the Seraphs had a golden opportunity to really take charge, but Sisto, all alone in front, booted a shot just right of the post. The third quarter was a true reflection of the game, with Mater Dei in total control, keeping the ball in Eastern Christian territory for almost the entire period. Mater Dei goalie Popjes could have rested on a lounge chair through that 20-minute period, as Eastern Christian failed to get one shot on net. Yet, the game was still up for grabs. "Sure I was nervous," said Scorciolla of the precarious 2-1 lead.

"We should have been up much, much more." With the Mater Dei rooting section cheering them on, the Seraphs finally put the nail into the Eastern See MATER DEI, page B5 Michael RaffertyAsbury Park Press GETTING AHEAD Middletown South's Kurt Reck (right) beats Cedar Ridge's Kevin Boyle to the ball in Central Jersey Group IV soccer final yesterday at Brookdale. Cedar Ridge posted a 1-0 victory. See story on page B5. Camacho retains WBC title Asbury Park Press Mater Dei's Jim Golding drives the ball in NJSIAA Parochial soccer final last night at Mercer County Park. Mater Dei won, 3-1.

King-led Knicks overtake Celtics The Associated Press BOSTON Bernard King hit a season high 32 points and the New York Knicks outbattled Boston down the stretch for a 110-103 victory last night, handing the Celtics their first home loss of the National Basketball Association season. The Knicks, who ended a 14-game Boston Garden losing streak last March, outscored the Celtics, 13-7, after Boston had pulled to within one point with 2:23 remaining. Boston moved to within one point again, 101-100, but the Knicks cashed nine free throws in the final 75 seconds for their fourth victory in the last five games. The Knicks raced to a 24-16 first-period lead, but Boston scored 10 points in 53 seconds for a 26-26 tie. The Celtics went on to reach the quarter ahead 32-31.

King, who had 15 points in the first period, scored eight in the second as the Knicks led at the half, 57-53. The Knicks built their lead to eight points midway through the third period, but Boston rallied to take an 80-80 tie into the final quarter. Scott Wedman put Boston in front 82-80, but the Knicks went in front to stay on a basket by Louis Orr and two by Ernie Grunfeld. Bill Cartwright had 15 points, Grunfeld 12 aiiJ Truck Robinson and Darrell Walker 11 each. The Celtics, who had a nine-game winning streak snapped in Utah Wednesday night, were led by Dennis Johnson with 18 points and Larry Bird with 17.

1 The Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Undefeated Hector "Macho" Camacho registered an electrifying knockout in the fifth round last night over Rafael Solis of Puerto Rico to retain his World Boxing Council super featherweight title. Camacho, the 21-year-old champion from New York, came out with two blazing right hands in the fifth round to end the challenge from the division's No. 1 contender as Solis sprawled on the canvas twice, the last time for the cout at 2:02 of the fifth. "I don't know what hand I hit him with," Camacho said after the fight. "I think I got him with this one," he said, raising his left hand.

I The 23-0 fighter, born in Puerto Rico but raised in New York, held the interview in Spanish but could not remember the Spanish word for left hand. I It was actually a right hand that put Solis down for the first time in the same fifth round and then he followed through with a second right hand after Solis had taken a mandatory eight-count to end the fight. "I knew this was going to be a tough fight, he was fighting in front of his mother and his fans," Camacho said. Solis, the loser in the scheduled 12-round title fight, refused to talk to reporters. Camacho admitted Solis' left hand had stung him at the beginning of the fifth round when it looked like Solis might be ready to take control of the fight.

Camacho in the earlier rounds seemed confused by the 5-foot-10 Solis' four-inch height advantage. But Camacho's manager, 30-year-old Bill Giles, who said it was Camacho's right hand punches that hurt Solis, said height was no problem. "He's fought fighters six feet and over," he said. Camacho seemed to be having difficulty with the challenger during the first four rounds before he floored Solis for the first time in the fifth. The blow decked Solis and caused blood to ooze from his mouth in the fight scheduled to go 12 rounds.

After taking an eight-count, Solis got up and indicated he was not hurt. But the champion moved in again with another right hand that ended the fight. Just before Camacho delivered the punishing blows, Solis had connected with a long left hand to the midsection, causing the champion to double up and hold on to the challenger. Once referee Octavio Meyran of Mexico City pulled them apart, Camacho moved across the ring and delivered the first of two blows that ended the fight. From the start of the bout, both fighters seemed to be preoccupied by the Home Box Office television cameras and also by their families, who gathered in close to the ring.

Both of them watched their cheering sections from time to time in the opening rounds. Solis, 30-3-2, made fun of Camacho from the start and the 5-foot-10 challenger, who had a four-inch height advantage over the champion in addition to a four-inch reach advantage, seemed to confuse the champion in the early going. Camacho was not able to land a telling punch at all until the fourth round. The win for Camacho was his first defense of the title he won back on Aug. 7 in San Juan with a fifth-round knockout of Rafael "Bazooka" Limon of Mexico.

Both boxers easily made the 130-pound weight limit. Camacho weighed 129 12 and Solis 129. For the fight, Camacho earned $200,000 and Solis $50,000. Fate pays Harris 'dream dividend Peters gets two-year suspension The Associated Press l'i (ffi Mir- By BILL MCLAUGHLIN Press Staff Writer THERE COMES a time in everyone's life when reality hits like a ton of bricks. A dream dies and life goes on.

In sports the moment can be crushing. Lost youth and a lifetime of struggle add up to what seems to be zero. For Rod Harris, the moment came after playing for a couple of Tri-State League ice hockey champions in the early '70s at Brookdale Community College. Though he was successful at that level, he knew that he'd reached the end of the line. "I knew," he said, "that no matter how hard I worked or how long I tried I'd never play in the National Hockey League." And he hasn't.

But he's done the next best thing. On game nights, he works at the Meadowlands Arena as an assistant to the New Jersey Devils' equipment manager a job with more headaches than you can shake a goalie's stick at. "It's the perfect diversion from work," said Harris, a 30-year-old Tinton Falls resident. "A lot of it is running after this or that, but you really get close to some of these guys and see what they go through during a season. It's still kind of a dream world, but it's not as glamorous as it looks." When that moment of realization came, Harris was the typical American youngster who got a late start in the sport, compared with his Canadian counterparts and would never have gotten a chance to catch up.

What a difference a decade makes. I U.S. skaters were selected and 3 last June in the annual NHL amateur draft and another American, Tom Barasso, is the first goalie to go from U.S. high school hockey to the NHL and he was off to a 5-1 start pit last look. But U.S.

skaters didn't get chances like that 10 years ago. So Harris hung up his skates arid moved on to the business world. "It was time to grow up," the Majt-awan native said. "So I got involved with a company that was growing and looked like it would provide the career. I wanted." He went to work for Marine Supply company in Perth Amboy and figured his hockey days were over.

"My father and I used to go to Rangers games all the time. I grew up watching them and rooting for them' said Harris. "And I never lost interest-But I wasn't involved much beyond that." Then transferred Harris to! the Washington, D.C. area in 1977 to help open a retail store. He laced on the skates again, playing in the semipro Chesapeake League and met most of the Washington Capitals in the process.

See FATE PAYS, page B2 La NEW YORK Tony Peters, an All-Pro safety for the Washington Redskins, was paid $3,000 for his part in a drug deal that may have, cost him $380,000 and two years of his career in the National Football League. Yesterday, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle extended Peters' suspension, which began with this season, through the 1984 season in what was believed to be the stiffest league penalty ever levied against a player for drug involvement. Peters was sentenced in federal court on Oct. 7 to two concurrent four-year prison terms, both of which were suspended, and fined $10,000 after he was convicted of two drug charges that included conspiracy to distribute cocaine. In addition, Peters was ordered by the court to perform 500 hours of community service.

Peters was indicted by a federal grand jury on Aug. 10. He pleaded innocent to charges on Aug. 17 but changed the plea to guilty on Sept. 2.

The indictment said Peters was paid $3,000 by agents to act as the middleman in a $115,000 drug deal. Last summer, Peters signed a four-year, contract with the Redskins. In being suspended for two years, he forfeits $370,000 in salary besides having to pay the $10,000 court-See PETERS, page B2 James J. Connolly Asbury Park Press Rod Harris (right) of Tinton Falls, assistant equipment manager for the New Jersey Devils, gets lesson in skate repair from team equipment manager Keith Parker prior to recent game at the Meadowlands Arena..

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