Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • Page 26

C4 Daily Record, Northwest N.J., Sunday, December 3, 1978 1 'We Are The Champions9 Union, Mahwah, Overpowering 6 i lit' -v. v. i 4 i vn no John Bll photos Watchung Hills surrendered 14 early points to J.P. Stevens and then tried to catch their state playoff foe. However, an interception in the Final moments stopped the Warriors and J.P.

Stevens collected a 14-7 victory. North Jersey 2, Group II EAST RUTHERFORD The last time Union and Plainfield met this season, the game ended in a scoreless tie. Yesterday's playoff game was drastically different, with Union (9-1-1) overpowering the Cardinals, 27-0, for the sectional crown. Fullback Dave D'Addio scored twice for the Farmers, on a 13-yard run and on a 17-yard run after a fumble recovery. Plainfield gained only 56 yards in total offense in the game.

North Jersey 1, Group III PASCACK HILLS Northern Highlands quarterback Vin Calitri proved that regular season losses mean nothing at playoff time. He directed the Highlanders to a 6-0 win over Pascack Hills, a team which had beaten Northern Highlands, 28-7, earlier. The Highlander defense was the key, as they halted Pascack Hills three times inside the 10 in the second quarter. Northern Highlands wasn't able to pierce the Cowboys' defense until the third quarter, as Calitri marched the Highlanders 82 yards and capped the drive with a six-yard pass play to Mike Pesanello. North Jersey 1, Group I MAHWAH Mahwah, which has been averaging over 30 points a game this season, put a few more dents in the scoreboard yesterday as the Thunderbirds upended Park Ridge (8-3), 48-20.

Leading the way for Mahwah (10-1) was halfback Larry Bow-ens, who cruised for 176 yards in 33 carries and scored four touchdowns. Mahwah put across 14 points apiece in each of the first three quarters to throttle Park Ridge's upset hopes. Quarterback Doug Wilson threw three touchdown passes in a losing cause for the 8-3 Owls. Wilson completed 16 of 32 passes for 262 yards on the day. Central Jersey Group I BOUND BROOK Larry Gam-bino rushed for 189 yards in 17 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead Bound Brook (9-2) to an 18-8 win over Green Brook yesterday in the Group I semifinal.

The winner will play Highland Park for the championship next Saturday at the Owls' home field. Gambino's first score was a 39-yarder in the first quarter and he got away again for a 72-yard sprint in the third. WatelraiiE9 eAct9 Stolen rior's passing game which had, in fact, helped carry Hills into the championship game. "Dave didn't have his best game," was all that Baly would say when questioned about the 11-34 for 160 yard passing of Re-bolhz. The junior signal caller often had receivers in the clear but either over or under-threw them on several decisive occasions.

It must be noted, however, that Watchung Hills never did establish a consistent running game and that Rebholz was under constant defensive pressure. After the Hawks' initial scoring burst, it was Watchung Hills' turn. Watchung Hills tallied in the second period by driving 91 yards behind the passing of Rebholz. A 28-yard strike from Rebholz to Coriell put the ball in scoring position at the three and three plays later fullback Dick Coury from the one. The Warriors, who finished wth a 10-1 mark, spent the entire second half knocking on the door but couldn't score despite recovering a pair of fumbles at the J.P.

Stevens 35. It was all part of that script that somehow got tossed out the window. By KURT ERICSSON Record Sport Writer WARREN TWP. If it had gone by the script, Watchung Hills would have stormed from behind in the final minutes yesterday to beat J.P. Stevens of North Edison on a touchdown pass from Dave Rebholz to Barry Coriell.

And that's pretty much the way things where going until the final minute when a 5-foot-10, 215 pound defensive tackle named John Black decided to throw in an ad-lib that left the previously-undefeated Warriors short by just one miracle. Black got in the middle of a Watchung Hills screen pass with 1:28 remaining and and the burly Hawk defender, who might easily be confused with a bowling pin, stole Rebholz' pass at the Stevens 29 and then thundered 10 yards upfield with the football before being dumped to the ground by the Warrior signal caller. Black's theft thwarted the Warriors' last hopes for a comeback and sealed the verdict for J.P. Stevens (10-1) which swept to its second straight Central, Group IV championship by a 14-7 margin. "Do I wish I had that one play back again?" Warrior coach Bob Baly asked the assembled media.

"Sure, I wish I that and about 100 other plays back again. "We just made too many mistakes," continued the soft-spoken Warrior coach. "They caught us early and we just weren't able to cash in later when we had the chances." But is J.P. Stevens the better team? "They were today," responded Baly, with the emphasis on the last word. wish I had THAT play back and 100 Coach Bob Baly But the Warriors had little to be ashamed of, for after a shaky start that saw Stevens score all its points in the first seven minutes Watchung Hills actually dominated play over much of the last three quarters.

"After the first seven minutes we played our best defense of the season," observed Baly. "But offensively we just didn't click. We didn't execute the way were capable of doing." And, although it was unsaid, everyone knew that Baly was thinking about the War Central Jersey Group II MIDDLETOWN Kenny Jackson accounted for 231 total yards and his South River teammates shook off a first-half slump to win the battle of the unbeatens against Shore, gaining the Central Jersey Group II Championship yesterday, 21-7. Shore went into the locker room at the half leading 7-0 on a 77-yard pass from Bob Cossentino to Nick Loubicher. The Rams tied things in the third on two-yard TroHill plunge.

The winning points were set up by a bad snap from center on a Shore punt giving the Rams the ball on the Shore 45. Joe Banaci-ski carried for the score on two-yard run. Jackson, who had four catches for 106 yards, put the game away with an 85-yard interception return for a score with two minutes left. It was the second consecutive title for South River. Central Jersey Group III ISELIN John F.

Kennedy Ise-lin (8-3) scored all its points in the first half to earn a 23-6 victory over North Hunterdon (8-3) and the Central Jersey Group III crown yesterday. A 10-0 game was broken wide open just before the half when Kennedy's Carmen Mastangelo blocked his sixth punt of the season and teammate Lou Evangelists picked up the loose ball for a touchdown. Earlier in the quarter, John Riz-zolo tied a state recordith his eighth field goal of the season, a 37-yarder. Kennedy's other scores where a one-uard run by Jim Petroskie and a 14-yard pass from Scott Jensen to Martin Gill. Central's scored In the final minutes on a one-yard run by Brad Hudson.

Parochial North SOUTH ORANGE Sal DeVito scored all three Seton Hall touchdowns, one on a 22-yard interception return, to pace the Pony Pirates past Bergen Catholic, 22-10. Seton Hall (11-0) trailed 10-7 at the half, but DeVito hit the end zone from three yards out to give Seton the lead for good in the third quarter. DeVito had 76 yards in 15 carries, while heralded teammate John Merklinger picked up 76 yards in 18 carries. Then Boutette took over and gave Toronto a 3-2 lead at 14:56, converting a pass from Jimmy Jones and beating Thomas with a 20-foot to the goalie's short side. Boutette increased the lead to 4-2, capping a two-on-one break with McDonald at 9: 53 of the final period.

McDonald then closed out the scoring at 14:26, beating Thomas on a two-on-one break with Sittler. Anders Hedberg gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a goal, his ninth, at 6: 19 of the first period. Lucien DeBlols made it 2-0 for New York, which was trying to tie the NHL record of eight consecutive road victories, scoring at 5: 10 of the second period. Houston Beats Rice HOUSTON (AP) Eleventh-ranked Houston, flirting with disaster with five first-half fumbles, got a second-half transfusion from backup quarterback Delrick Brown yesterday as the Cougars beat Rice 49-25 and advanced to the Cotton Bowl on a winning note. The Cougars, 9-2, clinched the host berth in the New Year's Day classic against lOth-ranked Notre Dame earlier yesterday when Arkansas defeated Texas Tech, 49-7.

Kings 110 Bullets 109 LANDOVER, Md. (AP) Otis Birdsong poured in 30 points and Phil Ford controlled the offense last night as the surprising Kansas City Kings ended the Washington Bullets' nine-game winning streak with a 110-109 victory. Birdsong clinched the Kings 10th victory in the last 12 games with two free throws with three seconds to play. Kansas City fell behind early, trailed 35-20 at the end of the first period and 60-48 at halftime. Scott Wedman got 11 of his 15 points in the third quarter as the Kings cut the Bullets' lead to LI A Maple Leafs Break Up Rangers' Road Luck Knicks Stop Cold it i i z4 1 TORONTO (AP) Darryl Sutler and Pat Boutette scored two goals apiece and Lanny McDonald added a goal and two assists last night as the Toronto Maple Leafs posted a 5-2 National Hockey League victory over New York, snapping the Rangers streak of seven consecutive road victories.

Sittler and Boutette erased a 2-0 New York advantage, scoring three times in a span of a little more than seven minutes in the second period. Sittler cut New York's lead to 2-1 at 7:51 of the middle session, scoring his 13th goal of the season on a power play, and less than two minutes later, he beat Ranger goaltender Wayne Thomas to tie the score 2-2. Canadiens 8 Sabres 1 MONTREAL (AP) Guy Lefl-eur scored three goals and Steve Shutt added a goal and four assists last night as the Montreal Canadiens rolled to an 8-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in a National Hockey League game. Sonics 100 76ers 97 PHILADELPHIA (AP) Jack Sikma scored a season-high 29 points, including a free throw that put Seattle ahead with 32 seconds to play, as the Supersonics went on to a 100-97 National Basketball Association win over the Philadelphia 76ers last night. The 76ers committed four fouls in the last 47 seconds as the Supersonics rebounded from a 97-95 deficit.

Hawks 128 Jazz 94 ATLANTA (AP) Tom Mc-Millen and Armond Hill led seven Atlanta players in double figures as the Hawks manhandled the New Orleans Jazz 128-94 in a National Basketball Association game last night. It was New Orleans' third game in as many nights, and their second loss in a row. By ED MARKS Record Sports Writer NEW YORK When New York Knick forward Toby Knight looked up at the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter of last night's game with Portland he became a man with a mission. "I remembered out in Denver earlier this year when we scored only 38 points in the first half," he said. What jogged Knight's memory was the somewhat ridiculous total of 15 points on the Trail Blazers' side of the board across from the Knick' 22.

"When I saw that I thought, Here's our chance to get rid of our record." So Knight and his teammates went out and held Portland to only 12 points in the second quarter, forging a 40-27 halftime lead that ballooned to 75-54 after three quarters and ended up as a 111-77 rout. The Portland total was the lowest by any pro team since the new Madison Square Garden opened 10 years ago, and the NBA low for the season. "It's nice to have one like this rather than going down to the last five minutes," Knight continued. Defense wasn't the only thing on his mind, though. His 18 points were second to 19 by Ray Williams.

"I have been trying to score more," admitted the "defensive" forward who was high man in the Knicks two previous games. The previous three games were all losses the first slump of the second Holzman regime and with Bob McAdoo missing his seventh straight game things did not look encouraging for the Knicks. But they came out on defense like they were determined to shut out the Trail Blazers, and they did blank them over the first three minutes, running up a 6-0 lead that forced coach Jack Ramsey to call a timeout. Portland came back with six points of their own to tie the score, but it was all downhill from there as the Knicks hustled, switched and talked on defense which, in turn, keyed the offense. "We talked about being more aggressive on defense," said Knick guard Jim Cleamons.

"You can't just lay back and let the offense do what they want." The Portland "offense" shot 31 percent from the floor in the first half. "We like to think it was our defense that caused that," coach Red Holzman said. "That was as good a game as we've played." Holzman became famous teaching his former Knick squads how to stop the other team and he was obviously pleased with the showing of his present pupils. "There's no such thing as a perfect defensive game," he said. "But that was close." And Portland couldn't come close to putting the ball in the basket on a consistent basis.

They shot 32 per cent for the game and Maurice Lucas was high man with 16 points. It's no wonder Bill Walton still recuperating from a broken foot wants to get as far away from Portland as possible. Despite the lack of competition, the 17,088 on hand loved every minute. And they got a bonus with the Knick win. Not only did they see their heroes crack the .500 mark (New York is now 13-12 while Portland is 13-11), but they were able to leave early and beat the traffic, secure in the knowledge New York could not lose after building a 30-point lead with two minutes to go.

There were a few people left at the end of the game, biting their nails until the final buzzer, but that was understandable. After all, New York Giants fans have to go somewhere these days. Bucks. 106 Cavaliers 100 RICHFIELD, Ohio (AP) Marques Johnson scored 15 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Milwaukee Bucks to a 106-100 National Basketball Association victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night. LSU Tops Wyoming BATON ROUGE, La.

(AP) Hokie Gajan returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, and Charles Alexander attained the career rushing plateau as Louisiana State University beat a surprisingly tough University of Wyoming squad 24-17 in a rainy college football game last night. Liberty-Bowl-bound LSU was a better than two-touchdown favorite over the 4-7 Cowboys. 9 a Blazers T.K. Dunn (L) and Maurice Lucas (R) formed an Earl Monroe Sandwich. Knicks beat the Blazers 111-77.

Celtics 117 Pacers 110 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Billy Knight scored 25 points against his old teammates last night as Boston defeated Indiana 117-110 in the NBA. Bulls. 105 Rockets 91 CHICAGO (AP) Reggie Theus scored 25 points and Artis Gilmore added 20 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 105-91 win over the Houston Rockets in NBA action last night..