Hawk Talk, Basketball 2005-06

Sweeney's Shotz
Basketball 2005-06

Kyle Sweeney and Bill Shotzbarger are students at St. Joseph's Prep with an interest in writing. Kyle is a manager for the team. His e-mail is sweeney_01@msn.com. Bill's is spacejamretro@aol.com. (The Hawk Talk boys, Adam Ferrone and Pat Murphy, might check occasionally on a different file.)
That's Kyle at the left. We'll catch up with Bill later.

JAN. 19
CATHOLIC SOUTH
SJ Prep 59, O’Hara 36
This game was just completely controlled by the Prep starting from the tap.
After O’Hara scored the first point, Prep went on a run and never looked
bad. They were playing very well offensively, they were passing the ball
crisply, executing plays, and hitting the open jumpers. Also, the defense
came out to play today. The defense made O’Hara take tough shots, they
forced 17 turnovers, and collected 12 steals. The score at halftime was
34-8, showing how well the Prep played on both sides of the ball.
The headliners for the Prep today were Reggie Redding, Dave Stefanski, and
Larry Loughery. Reggie finished with 16 points on 7-12 shooting, 6 assists,
5 steals, and 5 rebounds, the complete all-around game. Stefanski ended
with 10 points on 3-7 shooting and also had 4 assists. Larry had 18 points
on 9-13 shooting and had 7 boards. Finally for the Prep, Matt Griffin added
a solid game finishing with 5 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
There were not many headliners for O’Hara, the only players who made a
significant presence on the court were Anthony “Chris Whitney is better than
me at basketball too” Walters, Scott Taylor, and Mark Wedderburn. Walters
and Taylor hit a couple of outside shots apiece, while Wedderburn provided
some inside presence down low. As said before, O’Hara had troubles on
offense, at one time having three straight air-balls. That is something I have
never seen before, well, besides when junior manager Pat Curtin shoots around
during practice.
Sorry about the lateness of some of these reports, I had exams for one
week, and Huck has gone to the pass couple of games, making me even lazier
when trying to do this. So since Huck has done the West and Bonner games, I
will do a quick recap of the Prep-Carroll game:
SJ Prep 47, Carroll 29
The Prep’s defense really controlled this game and made the score as big as
it was. The big finishers were Larry Loughery with 19 points and 8
rebounds, Matt Griffin with 12 points and 4 assists, and Dave Stefanski with
11 points. The big presence for Carroll was Dutch “Big Suburbs” Gaitley who
finished with 14 points. That’s really it, pretty boring game to watch.
This week the Prep has a huge challenge ahead of them; they play Roman
Catholic and Neumann-Goretti back to back. These match-ups will help
determine the playoff seeding in the Catholic League South, so therefore,
these games will be filled with pressure and great intensity. Any
basketball fan will be looking forward to this week.
To the Roman guys, Sugden to Jordan, you guys are hilarious, I guess I was
wrong. Seriously though, some of those nicknames are just so great I would
never be able to think of them. Reggie “Speedy Wants To Have My Babies”
Redding, DJ “Two initials is so cool” Rivera (By the way, it should be
“are” not “is”, it’s that whole singular/plural thing, but hey, they only
taught us that in first grade), and Hanif “I’m not a Crook” Nixon are just
genius. Keep up the great work guys, you are the best.
See you after Roman.

JAN. 2
CATHOLIC SOUTH
Neumann-Goretti 50, SJ Prep 43
What a perfect way to end a great Christmas Break: traveling down to South
Philly in the rain to see the undefeated Hawks take on the nationally-ranked
Neumann-Goretti Saints. Anticipation was high for all fans and the game was
sold out well-before the JV game was decided. The game started out slow and
became even slower as a rain delay forced play to stop with the Saints up
8-4 and 4:05 left in the first quarter. We waited for the water on the court
to magically evaporate before it was mopped up, after a wet spot caused D.J.
Rivera to slip and fall on a wide open fast break. After telling the refs a
million times, they finally got the gym doors opened to get rid of the humid
air inside.
So then the game continued, and the Hawks were able to capture the lead in
the second quarter and took it into halftime with the score at 26-24.
Playing a great match-up zone defense, they were able to contain the Saints
and force them to actually work for their points. N-G does not run a set
offense most of the times, they simply try to go one-on-one and all five hit
the boards hard. However, one can not argue with results, and they
definitely play extremely well together. Center Rick Jackson owned the
paint. Whenever he got the ball down-low, he was unstoppable in getting the
basket. Also, he was able to collect many follow-ups on offensive rebounds.
He finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The Prep's halftime lead, quickly disappeared as N-G came out strong in the
second half. The turning point came in the 4th quarter as junior Antonio “I
am older then D.J.” Jardine and sophomore Jamal Wilson hit back to back
treys, forcing the Prep to call a timeout and regroup. It seemed as if the
Hawks couldn't do anything right down the stretch, and the visiting score
was stuck at 39 for over 2 minutes. After Redding finally scored to make the
game 46-41, Larry Loughery made a great steal at the other end of the floor
to give the Hawks a chance to cut the lead to one possession. With numerous
players open on the fastbreak, he threw the ball to no one and it dribbled
out of bounds as sub-captain Matt Beck ran after it to keep our hopes alive.
Later, after a traveling call was made on Jamal Wilson, Matt Griffin
attempted a behind-the-back no look pass to Jim Mower, and Jardine stole the
ball and the Saints converted at the other end. That final basket put the
game away from the Saints.
To put it simply, tonight was just not the Prep’s night offensively. The
two most productive scorers for the Prep, Reggie Redding and Dave Stefanski,
just could not hit their shots that they usually make. Reggie finished with
21 points, but shot 8-22, including 1-10 from three. Dave finished with 1
(that is not a mistake) point, and shot 0-11. However, the missed shots
were not the only thing that doomed the Prep. Neumann out-rebounded the Prep
by 10, and had 17 offensive rebounds. This, and 8 second half turnovers,
led to Neumann taking 14 more shots than the Prep. Whenever that happens,
that team is at a huge advantage, and Neumann took the benefits from it.
This is the second time that the Prep has lost in as many tries to Neumann
at their new home. Each time the Prep went into halftime with the lead, but
Neumann came back in the second half to win it. One thing is for sure
though, when these two teams meet again at the Prep, the fans will be in for a
great game.
We at Sweeney’s Shotz are starting something new, the Game’s MVP. So,
without anymore delays, we are delighted to say that Neumann guard D.J.
Rivera gets the honor as being the first award winner from Sweeney’s Shotz.
Even though D.J. finished with 9 points, that is not the reason why he gets
the award. The reason why he is named MVP is because, unlike last year,
D.J. did not “ball-tap” (sorry Ted, but there is no other way to describe
it) Reggie when he was defending him. We understand that D.J. has grown up
a lot since last year’s incident, and we just want everyone else to notice
the great accomplishment this truly is for him. D.J., it must have taken a
lot of restraint not to do it again, you have a lot of will power, just keep
it up. This is a proud day for you, your family, and St. Joe’s University.
Congrats again, and your trophy is in the mail (smile).
Our next game is against Kennedy-Kenrick, see you then.

***SPECIAL NOTE***
It has been brought to my attention that my comments about D.J. were
offensive and out of line. For that, I would like to say I am sorry. I meant for
that to be a joke, something for people to just laugh at. I did not intend
for it to be offensive and rude. It was a dumb move on my part and I
should have realized the comments I made would have consequences. To D.J.
Rivera, N-G supporters, and to anyone I offended, I want to say I am sorry
once again.
-- Kyle Sweeney

JAN. 1
REPORTS ON NUMEROUS GAMES . . .
Prep 90, Sallies 39
   When one team scores 15 points before the other team has any, you know
there is going to be a problem for the other team. That was the case for
the Sallies. It was clear from the tip-off that they were going to be in
for a rough game. The Prep started off hot and never looked back. They
played suffocating defense causing 14 turnovers and missed shots, and had a
terrific day shooting the ball, shooting 64% from the field and 70% from
three. Overall, it was just a bad game if you were a LaSalle fan.
Numerous players had great games. Reggie Redding led the way with 20
points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds, and that was not even in a full 3
quarters of playing time. He surely would have gotten a triple-double if he
played the whole game. Dave Stefanski, Matt Griffin, Matt Beck, and Mike
McCauley each scored 11 points, and Mike also had 5 assists. Finally, junior
Matt Dolan finished with 0 points on 0-1 shooting when he was blocked by the
rim when he tried to dunk. Better luck next time Matt.
   Sorry about missing the write ups on the past 4 games, but finishing my
college applications came first. He is a recap of all the games I have
missed:
Prep 55 Lower Merion 50 (OT)
This was the most exciting game of the year so far. This game featured two
of the best teams in the area. Lower Merion was led by Ryan Brooks, who had
17 points. Brooks made big shots and forced the game into overtime. The
Prep was led by the game’s MVP Larry Loughery, who had 14 points and 5
boards, and Reggie Redding who had 18 points and 9 boards.
This game was close throughout. When the Prep started to pull away, Lower
Merion would hit a big shot and keep the game close. In overtime, after the
Prep missed a shot, the Lower Merion coach proceeded to have Brooks hold the
ball at half court until the Prep came out and challenged him. Brooks took
about 3 minutes off the clock. When the Prep finally came out of their
defense to force a shot, Lower Merion missed a shot but got the rebound and
was fouled. The made one foul shot, making the score 50-49. On the ensuing
possession, off a timeout, Dave Stefanski hit a three pointer to put the
Prep up two. The Prep then stole the ball, made foul shots. and the game
was over after that.
Play of the game: an alley-hoop by Garret Williamson from Lower Merion. An
amazing play that had everyone on their feet.
Prep 57, entral 33
I was sick for that game, one of those 24 hour virus things, so Ted’s
report will do. One note though was that starter James Oberlies got hurt in
the first quarter. He broke his leg and will be out for weeks.
Prep 72 Souderton 24
   Watching this game was just as bad as reading a Sugden to Jordan article,
really really really boring (got’ em). Souderton scored 0 points in the
fourth quarter, and it was clear that the Prep was just the more athletic
team out there. The headliners for this game were Redding with 24 points,
and Stefanski and Griffin each had 13 points.
Prep 71 Germantown Academy 51
This game had Villanova head coach Jay Wright come to see his two recruits
go head to head, Reggie Redding and Andrew Ott. Both played well, Reggie
having 31 points, 10+ boards, and 9 assists, and Ott having 26 points, but
Ott was the only person who played well for GA. Prep was playing great
defense and hitting almost every shot they took. Larry Loughery had 18
points and Matt Griffin added 14. The game was a blowout throughout, the
Prep was just to much for GA.
There, I am done updating all the games I have missed. Our next game is
probably the most anticipated game of the year, Prep vs. Neumann-Goretti.
This matchup will feature some of the best players and two of the top teams
in the state. It will be a great game between two great programs. See you
then.

DEC. 12
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 81, Southern 47
   Anyone who thought the players from Southern would not be intimidating were
dead wrong. They are, before the game, arguably one of the fiercest teams
in Philly. Whether it was their whole team trying to frighten Jr. Chris
Farrell, a JV stud, while he was shooting before the game, or how they came
out in their black hoodies with the hoods up for their pre-game warm-ups
(like that's normal) -- one thing was for certain, they wanted to strike fear
into the hearts of the opponents, St. Joe’s Prep. And it worked too, until
the game started. Once we had the tipoff, it was all downhill from there
for Southern.
    The Prep started off hot and never looked back. Matt Griffin started out
with 2 three-pointers and the Prep opened up to a huge 23-3 lead in the
first quarter. Attributing to the quick start, besides made baskets, was
the turnover margin for Southern. The Prep’s defense was creating problems
all day for the Southern ball-handlers creating many steals and loose balls
which led to easy fast-break points.
    The headliners for the Prep today were Reggie Redding (of course), Larry
Loughery, Dave Stefanski, and Matt Griffin. Reggie finished with 20 points
on 6-10 shooting, 4 steals and 5 rebounds. Larry had 18 points on 8-9
shooting (his missed shot was a half-court 3 point attempt as the clock
expired) and 6 rebounds. Matt Griffin had 9 points by going 3-6 from three
in addition to 7 assists and 3 steals. Finally Stefanski finished with 10
points on 3-6 shooting. Not to leave out Southern on getting some press
time, Daniel Weatherly finished with a team high 17 points and Bryheem
Charity had 11 points, one of the only bright spots in the game for them.
    Not much else to say about this game. Therefore, let's look toward
Wednesday when the Hawks play Malvern Prep. Malvern should have a big crowd
since they are at home and hopefully, Prep students will go to the
game right after school and show their Prep Pride. Our Prediction: The REAL
PREP will win the game, St. Joe’s wins big, 75-51.
Other Notes:
    Congrats to Prep coach William “Speedy” Morris on his 499th Career High
School Victory. He will be looking for 500 vs. Malvern. To show everyone
the great coach that he is, he turned around a mediocre Prep program into
now one that competes for the championship. His career record at the Prep
is 117-11!!! That is a 87% winning percentage. Simply amazing.
See you after the Malvern game.

DEC. 7
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 83, Academy Park 38
   Remember when I said our next game was vs. Southern? Well I lied, it was
against Academy Park on Wednesday. Not too much to talk about here, as we won
by 45 points. This game was scheduled to replace the Pennsbury game that
was pushed back because of the Pennsbury School District’s Teacher Strike.
When the Prep players heard this, many of them were very sad. The reasons
why? The reasons were because the players would not be able to see their
old teammate Kevin “KG” Gallagher (he would not have been able to play
anyway because of a shoulder injury) and the good-looking Pennsbury
cheerleaders; one of the only times a group of girls go into the Prep during
a school day. I went and asked some of the basketball players and fans how
they felt about not seeing KG and the cheerleaders and they gave me their
responses. Junior Guard Drew Horgan said, “Man I wish we were able to see
KG, he was a funny guy, even though we were laughing at something he said
that was stupid, he still was a funny guy.” Senior Mike McCauley added, “I
loved making fun of KG. He was a goofy kid.” Finally, stud football player
Ryan Haber said, “This is horrible, I was gonna try and get some digits from
the cheerleaders.” When asked how he was going to do that he responded,
“Pretend I was Charlie Noonan. It has worked before. It would have worked
this time, too.” So instead of seeing Pennsbury, the players and fans had to
watch Academy Park instead, and it was an ugly game to watch.
   Once SJP got the lead in the 1st quarter, they did not look back. Reggie
Redding led the way for the Prep with 24 points on 9-15 shooting, 5-8 of
those from 3. He also finished with 7 assists and 6 boards. If you watched
this game and were not keeping track of Reggie’s points, you would have
swore that he had over 30, he was hitting almost every shot. Next leading
SJP was Dave Stefanski with 18 points by shooting 7-12 from the field. I
would have no problem saying that Dave has the best shot in the Catholic
League, he is automatic from all over the floor. Larry Loughery chipped in
with 13 points on 6-9 shooting. Finally, the stats of the game, which will
show you how bad the game actually was, were the turnovers and steals. The
Prep finished with 10 turnovers to Academy Park’s 30, and SJP had 14 steals
(James Oberlies, Mike McCauley, and Kevin Fox with 3 each) to AP’s 1. That
tells it all about the game.
   Our next game is Friday night at Soudertown, so see you then.
   P.S.- Kevin Gallagher is a nice kid, he knows we are joking around with him.

DEC. 3
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 56, Abington Friends 46
Larry “Buttercup” Loughery was mad at halftime. No, change that, he was
furious. He could not keep his temper in check. When asked why he was mad, he
replied, “So many things are infuriating me. First, I am not playing up to my top
level of performance, second, the refs won’t let us play, and third, I saw one of
our managers hittin’ on my cousin during the game . . . But right now I am going to
take out my anger on Abington Friends.” Sure enough, that is what he did.
Larry had 9 second half points helping lead the Prep to a huge 56-46
victory over Abington Friends. His second half was a full of key shots and
great defensive plays. He finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds. The only
down part to his second half was that he fouled out with about 3:30 left in
the fourth quarter, and both fouls were questionable at best. With Larry
out of the game, senior Mike McCauley took over the role of trying to stop
one of AFS’s 6-9 seniors, Jason Love, a Xavier commit. Mike did the best
job possible when considering how much bigger Love was. Love finished with
15 points, which is pretty low considering the size advantage he had over
the Prep. The low point numbers must be contributed to the coaching staff
on how they drew up the defensive plans to stop him from getting the ball
down low and to stop him getting offensive rebounds.
Besides Larry, another key second half performer was senior James Oberlies.
He hit two key baskets in the second half, including a tip-in off a shot
where he was also fouled. He finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds. His
hustle and key jump shots really made a difference in the game. Also,
Reggie Redding provided the usual great performance that we see every game
he plays. He finished with 14 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. However,
his most impressive stat was holding 6-9 AFS forward Andrew Jones, a Penn
State commit, to 6 points. He took Jones, arguably their best player, out
of the game. Dave Stefanski finished with 13 points which includes 3-5 from
3, and hit two big foul shots with 48 seconds left to put the Prep up four.
Matt Griffin finished with 7 points, including foul shots at the end of the
game to seal the victory.
The game was very tight until the last couple of seconds. Whenever Prep
started to pull away, AFS fought back and made it a game again. With 1:15
left in the 4th quarter, AFS pulled the score to 48-46, but they did not
score the rest of the game. The Prep hit their free throws and ended the
game. It was a great game played by two of the best teams in the area.
Other Notes:
Congrats go out to the SJP football team for winning the PCL Red
Championship over O’Hara 41-7. Great season guys, and thank you seniors for
a great four years. Also, the Prep Student Section was out in full force
and were rowdy throughout the whole game. Hopefully they will bring the
same rowdiness to the basketball games this year.
Also I would like to say thanks to the 2005 Prep Soccer team, we had a
great year, and then got screwed in the playoffs.
Our next report will be on the Southern game, see you then.

DEC. 2
CHESTNUT HILL TIPOFF
SJ Prep 81, Chestnut Hill 38
    Coming into this year’s season, there were many questions about the Prep
basketball team. Who was going to replace the leadership of Joe Fox and
Corey O’Rourke, how was the team going to handle the losses of Kevin
Gallagher (transfer to Pennsbury) and Oscar “I am not better than Matt”
Griffin (transfer to American Christian), and finally and most importantly,
would Kyle Sweeney be able to replace two All-American managers in Colin
Curtin and Ned Dillon? Well, the last question was answered at the Friday
afternoon pep rally for Saturday’s football championship against Cardinal
O’Hara. At the rally, Sweeney was named, “Manager of the Decade” while
being thoroughly embarrassed by having his parents put a crown on his head
and given a bouquet of roses. Also, to make matters much worse, a picture
of him from freshman year was put up on the wall, he had a huge curly
afro and looked like he was two.
    Let’s get back to the game. The Prep answered many of the questions posed
about them on Friday’s performance. David Stefanski and Reggie Redding led
the way to a blowout win over CHA, 81-38. Stefanski was on fire from behind
the arc, shooting 4-6 from 3, leading to a game high 18 points. Redding
turned in a complete game, shooting 5-9 for 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6
assists, and 3 steals. Also stepping up stats wise this game were Matt
Griffin, who scored 10 points and had 5 assists, and Charlie Schrier, who
had 10 points. However, stats are not the only thing that are important
during the game. Some people do things such as setting screens, causing
turnovers, and diving and getting loose balls. This best says how James
Oberlies, Larry Loughery, and Mike McCauley played on Friday. They played
with the heart and determination that Prep basketball is all about. They
were all over the court and created numerous problems for CHA.
    Chestnut Hill was led by Julian McFadden, who had 9 points, and
Malik Easterling, who had 7 points. CHA took the first lead of the game, 2-0, and
then never had it again for the rest of the game. The talent level between
both teams was enormous, and it was only a matter of time before the Prep
went up big.
    On Saturday, the Prep plays Abington Friends, who are just off a 64-58 win
over Episcopal Academy. It should be a great game between two of the best
teams in the Philadelphia Region. However, I think Prep will play great
behind Redding and Stefanski and beat AF 75-67.
Other Notes:
    After the Prep basketball game, the focus will change to Northeast High
School, where Prep plays Cardinal O’Hara for the PCL Red Division Football
Championship. I think the team is hissed off over the LaSalle lost and will
take it out on O’Hara. Prep wins 35-3.
    The best pep rally ever was on Friday and I would like to say those who
organized it, Keith Pizzi. Pat Murphy, and Mike Wallace in particular, you
did a great job. The funniest thing I have ever seen was having a 5 minute
slow-mo action of Pat Joyce on camera. It brought me to tears.
   The next report will be on the AF game, see you then.