BHPRSD Sports Week in Review/Preview

Even the rain that relentlessly poured down on our area could not prevent the fall high-sports season from getting underway last week at Highland, Timber Creek and Triton. The first week of the 2011 fall season saw plenty of action, including a boys' soccer tournament featuring all three local squads and a football game pitting the Tartans and Mustangs against one another.

Below is a look back at the highlights of the week that was and a look forward to what is set to come this week.

BOYS' SOCCER

Thirty-two seconds was all that stood between Highland and a 1-0 start and trip to the finals of the Kick Start Tournament it hosts. 

However, it wasn’t to be.

Deptford’s Mike Tolomeo scored with 32 second left in regulation to tie the game at 1-1 and the Spartans prevailed 4-3 in a penalty shootout to advance to the finals against Timber Creek at a date to be determined.

Max Seigfried gave Highland a 1-0 lead with a goal 2:20 into the first half, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Tartans from starting 0-1.

Timber Creek, meanwhile, had little trouble in its first-round matchup with Triton, .

Giuseppe DeLuca and Jeffrey Morgan found the back of the net in the first 15 minutes to give the Chargers a commanding lead. Sam Cyliax’s second-half header brought Triton within 2-1, but Morgan added a second goal in the 78th minute to put the game away.

GIRLS' SOCCER

Autum Buck scored a pair of goals to give Highland a 4-1 win over Deptford Friday in its season opener. Melissa Blevins, Ashleah Hart and Morgan Ruth each added a goal, while Kari Vanderslice made four saves in goal.

The Chargers also got a win in their first game thanks to Olivia McEachern, who scored two goals to lead Timber Creek over Williamstown, 2-1. Kate DeCaro made nine saves to preserve the win.

Timber Creek backed that up with a 4-1 win over Kingsway on Saturday that featured McEachern and Elise Pratt scoring twice each and Kelly Farrell racking up three assists. It's a good start for a team once again .

The Mustangs dropped their opener, 4-2, to Cherry Hill East. Paige Bergman and Erica Schules scored in the loss.

FOOTBALL

A game between local rivals left little drama as in a 48-0 win over Highland on Friday. Mustangs running back Josh Woods had 120 yards and two touchdowns and the defense forced three first-quarter turnovers to break the game open.

Triton wasn’t the only local team to post a shutout as . The Chargers defense was a force, causing five turnovers and sacking Colts quarterback Steven Garron four times, while Calvin Lowe tossed a pair of touchdowns to pace the offense.

FIELD HOCKEY

The field hockey teams got off to a tough a rough start as Timber Creek dropped a tough 1-0 decision to Pennsauken and Triton was defeated 6-0 by Seneca.

GIRLS' TENNIS

Haley Washington won a grueling 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 match at No. 3 singles, but it wasn’t enough to keep Timber Creek from falling to Shawnee, 3-2. The first doubles team of Brianna Evans and Amanda Riiff secured the other point for the Chargers.

Highland dropped its opener, 5-0, to Clearview.

CROSS-COUNTRY

The boys' and girls' cross-country teams will get their seasons started this week. The boys and girls from Triton and Timber Creek will be taking on the rest of the Olympic Conference on Tuesday at the Bach Meet at 5 p.m. Highland also opens the season on Tuesday, when the Tartans head to Cumberland.

THIS WEEK

- All eyes will be on Friday’s huge football contest between Timber Creek and Delsea. The Crusaders are always among the top teams in South Jersey and will be smarting after opening their season with a loss to Kingsway. The Chargers will look to drop the Crusaders to 0-2 when they meet at 7 p.m. at Timber Creek.

- The Highland football team will look to put a check in the win column this week as it travels to take on a Cumberland team that Timber Creek had little trouble with last Friday.

- Triton football will be looking to improve to 2-0 with a win on Friday, but will have its hands full against Kingsway at home.

- The Triton field hockey team will be in for quite a test this week as it competes against three conference opponents—Pennsauken, Camden Catholic and Shawnee.

- The Timber Creek boys' soccer team will also be busy looking to build off its 1-0 start. The Chargers face a couple of tough tests today and Wednesday when they take on Bishop Eustace and Shawnee, respectively. They round out the week with a home game against Paul VI on Friday.

- The Highland girls' soccer team looks to jump out to a 2-0 record when it hosts division foe Williamstown at 4 p.m. today. Meanwhile, the boys' soccer team will have no time to dwell on its tough defeat to Deptford as it has division contests against Williamston (today) and Delsea (Wednesday).