The Shore Daily, 1/15/15

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Whenever Long Branch and Raritan meet on a wrestling mat, you can bet that it will go down to the wire with a capacity crowd roaring at every twist and turn.

Wednesday night was no different, as the Rockets had the No. 7 Green Wave on the ropes before wins in the final two bouts gave Long Branch a thrilling 30-27 nondivisional victory in front of a packed house in Hazlet. The clincher was a pin at 220 in the final bout by junior Joey Jasio, who was one of the starting offensive linemen paving the way for record-setting Long Branch running back Dahmiere Willis in the fall.

However, before Jasio could be the hero, a freshman, Peter Wersinger, had to come through at 195 or Raritan would've already clinched the win. Wersinger, who entered the bout at 5-7 on the season, pulled out a 2-1 win in double overtime to keep Long Branch's hopes alive for Jasio to finish it off.

The most entertaining bout was Raritan freshman Russell Benson winning 7-5 in sudden victory over Long Branch's T.J. Conlon.

Also, check out the awesome leapfrog takedown by Long Branch's Andy Hernandez.

Those teams are often state playoff foes, but unfortunately that won't happen this year as Long Branch is in Central Jersey Group III with Group V now being added in wrestling. The Rockets are in Central Jersey Group II.

While that was a big nondivisional match, two division titles were all but officially decided in Class B South and Class B Central. Jackson Liberty won 10 of 14 bouts, including six pins, to roll past Point Boro, 45-23, in Class B South, where they also won the division title in 2012-13. This marked the fourth straight season that this match has decided the B South crown, with the teams splitting them at two wins apiece.

Point Beach continued its reign atop Class B Central with a 38-33 win over Shore Regional, as the upperweights led the way with four straight wins from 170 to 220. Pins by Cory Gross (170) and Jack Backer (182) and a technical fall by Forrest Gardner at 220 pushed the Garnet Gulls' lead to 29-9 on their way to the win, which was locked down by Rodman Rupp's 2-1 win at 126.

The eye-opener of the night belonged to No. 9 Toms River South, which upset No. 4 Southern 24-23 for a rare win over the Rams that was brought home by a freshman, Nick Gallichio, who won 6-1 at 113 in the final bout to seal the victory. Toms River South's Antrez Clagon also had a huge win when he edged Region VI champion Matt Wilhelm 8-6 at 170 to fuel the victory. Junior Owen McClave added a key 6-3 decision after bumping up to 132.

In one other Top 10 showdown, No. 6 Brick rolled to a 54-10 nondivisional win over No. 10 Middletown North as the Green Dragons gear up for a huge Class A South match with rival Brick Memorial on Saturday morning that looks to go a long way toward deciding the division title.

Football recruiting: Apparently Wagner was all over the Shore yesterday, as three Shore Conference standouts, first-team All-Shore wide receiver Dan Calabro of St. John Vianney, first-team All-Shore linebacker James Bedell of Shore Regional and second-team All-Shore defensive back Mike DeMonte of Red Bank Catholic all picked up offers from the Seahawks.

Also, one quick college commitment as Holmdel girls soccer star Gabriella Bair, a junior, verbally committed to Bucknell after helping the Hornets win their first Group II title in history in the fall.

More on Thursday:

Check out the current stat leaders for Shore Conference boys basketball.

Fourteen players from New Jersey, including four from Pope John XXIII, have been nominated for the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game, although the Shore did not land any nominees.

There could potentially be an early signing period in December for football rather than the current one done in the first week of February.

The NJSIAA is still trying to hammer out some type of solution to the transfer madness across the state. My two cents is that if you are a varsity athlete and you transfer, you sit 30 days, period. I don't care about change of address, private-to-public or the reverse, you should sit regardless.

The South Jersey public basketball finals could be moved to Richard Stockton College in 2016. They are currently played on the home court of the highest seeds, and the move to Stockton would be to be able to accommodate more fans.

Todd Bowles is the 10th new coach in my 30 years of Jets fandom, but he gives me some hope that he won't be gone in the usual three-year cycle of disaster because he's a Jersey guy from Elizabeth.

A girls basketball coach in California has been suspended for two games after his team beat an opponent 161-2.

In the counter to the sportsmanship shown by that coach, a girls basketball player in New Mexico chose to show good sportsmanship that allowed the other team to ultimately win the game.

Can't fathom what this must be like. A Utah high school boys basketball player is persevering as his father is dying from kidney failure.

Inside the bizarre world of Nick "Swaggy P" Young on the Lakers.

The Hornets' P.J. Hairston getting in his early submission for a 2016 Oscar nomination.

On tap for tonight: There is one Top 10 match-up set for tonight in boys basketball, as No. 8 Colts Neck heads to No. 4 Red Bank at 6:30 p.m. in a bid to knock off two top-four teams in a row after beating No. 3 Red Bank Catholic on Monday.Colts Neck looks to remain alone in first place in Class B North, and a win by Red Bank would throw it into a three-way tie with the Bucs, Cougars and Wall if Wall can get by Neptune tonight at 6:30 on the road.
I'll end with LSU's Tim Quarterman just straight flushing one last night.

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