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The KingDom
Basketball 2005-06

   Dominic "Smocis" Mallon is a freshman at Father Judge and a manager for the football team. Having grown up around high school sports has given him keen insights. Dominic's brother, Frank, who played football for Judge and is now playing at Ursinus, has been a gigantic influence. Dominic hopes to become a journalist after college and is excited about getting an early start here.
   Please contact him via e-mail/AIM at dizzypots71@aol.com.  


FEB. 22
REGULAR SEASON REVIEW
   So, it's Spring. The Sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and the best of the best basketball teams are preparing for the playoffs. It's a time where the winners become champions, and the losers go home. In his first year (maybe only year, depending on Bill Fox's future plans) as the head coach for Judge, coach Frank Cahill impressed all with his 10-4 season, finishing second in the Northern Division behind only the Cardinals of Cardinal Dougherty. The Crusaders show signs of promise this year in the playoffs, which could mean a repeat of their 1998 season, walking away with a Catholic League title, which would be a perfect way to top an amazing rookie season for Cahill. The Crusaders' group of talent included league MVP J.J. Franklin (who recorded a team high of 211 points), 3rd team All-Catholic Jim Schule (who recorded 125 points), and returning All-Catholic Art Livingston (who put up 101 points). The other team leader who didn't receive All-Catholic honors was Chris Schwartz (putting up 96). Unfortunately, a person who was expected to make waves but suffered an injury keeping him out a majority of the season was Matt Smyth. In pre-season, when talking to other coaches in the division, they told me that a main reason why they were worried about Judge this year was because of Matt. Even more impressive than the Varsity team was the freshman team, which finished the season undefeated. Similar to the freshman football team, all roads are clear for championship status for Judge in the near future. Look out for these guys as soon as next year. The team was led by a bunch of guys, but to name a few, be sure to remember the names John McGraff, Tim McCaffery, Tim Ott, Pat Shultz, and Adam Nowak. My next article will be on Judge's performance in the playoffs. Be sure to come out and show support on Feb. 25 at La Salle College. If you are planning on going and want a student t-shirt, ask Brendan Kwisz for details.

JAN. 23
CATHOLIC NORTH
Dougherty 69, Conwell-Egan 59 (OT)
   Sorry it's a little late, but I'd like to talk about last week's heavyweight bout, or as I'd like to call it, the Chrome-Dome Duel of the winningest/baldest coaches in the league. Coach Shafer of Conwell Egan went up against Coach Heimerdinger of Cardinal Dougherty. The number one Cardinals were at a disadvantage, being without 6th-man Robert Townsend, who was unable to play due to undisclosed reasons.
   The game started out close with more rebounds recorded than points. Vinny Simpson kept the Cardinals in it putting up 5 of the team's 7 points. The remainder was recorded by Justin Minter. Egan jumped out in front by 4 points with main contributors being Wilson Acevedo putting up 4 points and Adam Van Zelst recording 3. Finn Skovdal and David Marcinkowski both got 2 points.

   In quarter 2, Dougherty jumped out with Vinny Simpson still standing out for Dougherty with 10 points. B.J. Lennon got his first points of the game with 6. On Egan's side, Finn Skovdal kept them in it with 5 points; however, it wasn't enough to keep down the Cardinals, who took the lead at the half, 23-18.
   The 3rd quarter belonged to Wilson Acevedo, who put up 10 points and recorded 2 rebounds. He drew them within 2 points of the lead, but 5 points a piece from Kahlil Mumford and Tim Gates kept the Dougherty lead it a slim 1 point.
   The fourth quarter was probably one of the most fun times I've had watching a game all season. The number 1 and 2 teams are within a point of each other, both teams have a cheering section that refuses to settle down, and Vinny Simpson is on a scoring roll, as well as Wilson Acevedo. Ryan Van Zelst woke up and got his first points of the game, putting up 8 in the quarter. Acevedo recorded 5 and a rebound. Dougherty  kept their streak alive, with Justin Minter, Kahlil Mumford, and Vinny Simpson all recorded 5 points each, but it wasn't enough to seal the win, holding a tie at the end of the fourth with 52 points per team. Ladies and gentlemen! OVERTIME!
     In OT, the Cardinals came out with a game plan. It was called Vinny Simpson. Playing great defense, as well as his streak of magnificence on offense kept Egan on his feet. He got 9 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in the third. His performance gave him a 30 point game. Kahlil Mumford also contributed 6 points, keeping Egan from the win.
KingDom's Kings of the Game:
Dougherty: Vinny Simpson: 30 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Egan: Wilson Acevedo: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist.

JAN. 16
CATHOLIC NORTH
Dougherty 50, Judge 48
   In possibly one of the greatest games of the season so far, Bill Fox Gym was packed wall to wall with students and alumni both rooting for their school. The powerhouse game of the Catholic League North this week was that of the two remaining undefeated teams, the Crusaders of Father Judge, and the Cardinals of Cardinal Dougherty.
   The pre-game favorite seemed to be Judge due to Dougherty's lack of a big man as well as still being plagued by the loss of star player Justin Minter. Although both teams have been on fire so far, the odds seemed to be stacked up against coach Heimerdinger and the Birds.
  The game started out slow with both teams feeling around and getting to know each other's defense, almost like the calm before a storm (ha ha; yeah, that was a corny analogy, I know). The score ended with Dougherty on top by only a single point, 7-6. Rob Townsend and Art Livingston stood out with 4 points each.
  The second quarter was when things started to pick up for Judge. Their savior, J.J. Franklin, pulled up an amazing 14 points and 2 rebounds in the second quarter alone. Vinny Simpson tried to keep Dougherty alive by recording 7 points, but miscommunication kept FJ to a 14-point lead in the second.
  Quarter 3 was wake up time for Dougherty when they came out playing like pros. The 3rd quarter standouts were Kahlil Mumford, who got up 5 points, as well as 4 rebounds; Rob Townsend, who received credit for 6 points and 2 rebounds; and Vinny Simpson, who put up 5 points and 2 rebounds. This combo made a comeback for CD and made this a nail biter.

   Fourth quarter. Close game, and the crowd is going wild. Back and forth sunk shots made it a crazy time to be in the stands. Only 3 recorded rebounds by both teams shows that there weren't many missed shots. Townsend and Mumford drove ahead and took charge of the game. With a combined 10 points, and a winning shot with 6 seconds left, the Cardinals walked away with the win, making them the only remaining undefeated team in the Northern Division, defeating the Crusaders 50-48.
  Kingdom's Kings of the Game: For Judge-J.J. Franklin. For Dougherty-Rob Townsend.

JAN. 13
CATHOLIC NORTH
Dougherty 56, N. Catholic 43
   Well, if you were looking for a thrill on Friday night, then the place to be was Cardinal Dougherty's gym as the Cardinals went head to head with a disappointing-so-far North Catholic team. Dougherty, currently undefeated, faced the shorthanded, single-win Falcons of North Catholic, who missed the presence of starting point guard Hanif Edwards (undisclosed reasons).
   The game started off looking like it would become a blowout, with the Cardinals taking charge on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Kahlil Mumford broke away putting up point after point, and controlling the ball, which set up easy plays. He also stood out on defense, playing tough down low and getting up for rebounds. He totaled 9 in the whole game. The Falcons, however, kept the game within reach, with much thanks to Nate Edwards, who led North in points, and came away with 6 rebounds. Andrew Pomager managed to record 9 points, even though he had a case of fumbleitis. He lost control of the ball 4 times over the course of the game.
   The 2nd quarter looked bad for coach Mark Heimerdinger, as the Falcons closed in on his Cardinals' lead. Shahid Paulhill stood out in the end of the first half. He totaled 10 points and 3 rebounds. Chris Edwards didn't make much of an impact, getting 5 rebounds, but only 4 points, and fouling out in the 4th quarter.
   In the 3rd, the Cardinals went away with it. Kahlil, as well as Rob Townsend and Vinny Simpson, controlled the floor. Townsend got 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Simpson got 18 points.
   The fourth quarter turned into a circus. With a good-sized lead, the Cardinals slacked off a bit and pleased the crowd with 2 thunderous dunks by the high-flyer, Townsend, as well as another one-handed dunk by Simpson. Mike McCarron couldn't pull the Falcons together fast enough, and his team sank to 1-3.
   The Kingdom's King of the game: Kahlil Mumford of Cardinal Dougherty.

JAN. 3
CATHOLIC NORTH
Judge 51, Ryan 41
   The only noise you could hear if you were outside the gym of Father Judge was rain hitting the ground, but if you took a step inside it all changed, because once you stepped into Bill Fox gym, the noise of cheering Judge and Ryan faithful overwhelmed you.

   The loss of Joe Zeglinski really came back to hurt Ryan tonight, with a loss to Judge. The Crusaders jumped out to an early lead in the first by playing strong down low, giving the Raiders hardly any second chance shots. Art Livingston stood out and took control of the floor both offensively and defensively. Art, Will Taggart, Chris Schwartz, and Jim Schule kept this game out of reach in the first half, extending their lead to 18 points in the second quarter. Mike Varanavage and Kevin Hudgeons kept the game from getting out of hand, but missed free throws and sloppy offense kept them from an early comeback.
    The second half, however, was a different story. Ryan came out with a will to win, setting up good offense and getting off good shots. Andrew Rogers worked his way into the mix, helping the Raiders trim the score to a slim 6 points. But once again, missed foul shots and good defense by the Crusaders kept Judge's lead out of reach for Bernie Rogers and his Raiders. Livingston stepped up his game to an even higher level, along with the rest of the team, ending the game with a ten-point lead, and giving coach Frank Cahill a win in his first league game.

JAN. 2
CL NORTH PREVIEW

As the weather gets colder, and the wardrobe goes from jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, to 3-5 layers of clothes, the only thing that comes to my mind is high school basketball. I grew up watching this stuff, and I think it's safe to say that I can't live without it haha. As the league opens today as I write this, I thought that a preseason outlook for the Catholic League North would be fun.
 
  1. North Catholic-this team has a lot of speed and returning talent. They showed what they could do last year, and with some unfortunate events happening to several other teams, for example, the loss of players to graduation, the loss of a coach, and injuries to star players, all signs for this team point to a Catholic League North title.
  2. Father Judge-this spot could really go to either Judge or Cardinal Dougherty, but even the loss of legendary coach Bill Fox, shouldn?t keep this team from turning some heads.
  3. Cardinal Dougherty-like I said, the Cardinals could fit into either the 3 or 2 seed, but the loss of Chris McNicholas leaves a big-man position unfulfilled, which might come back to haunt them in the long run. But the dangerous combo of coach Mark Heimerdinger and young talent including 4 juniors should spell disaster for a lot of teams this season.
  4. Archbishop Ryan-with the unfortunate loss of multi-sport star athlete Joe Zeglinski to a torn ACL, Ryan should be feeling the effects of his loss all season. However, the return of starters Kevin Hudgeons and Mike Varanavage should at least keep the Raiders in contention for a playoff spot.
  5. Archbishop Wood-graduation hurt these guys the most, and should be as much of a pain in the back to keep them from reaching the playoffs again this year, but coach Joe Sette should at nothing else, keep them from falling into the pits of the division.
  6. Conwell Egan-nothing big is expected of them by this teenaged sports writer, but you never know. I wouldn't be surprised to see some surprises by this team and maybe even a few upsets.
  7. La Salle-don't be surprised to see the Explorers fall to the same spot as last year. No big sparks from this team and not a great preseason record should shed some light on where this team will end up.
  8. Bishop McDevitt-this team should not become a beast this season, and should resume their last-year spot at last place. But welcoming back coach Jack Rutter should help this team in the long run, so look out for the Lancers within the next few years to perhaps contend for a playoff spot.
There are my predictions, everyone. Thanks for reading and I hope you all had happy and safe holidays.