Coming into this week, the Mustangs of J.F. Kennedy has gotten off to its best start since the 2001-02 season when current St. Joseph’s Athletic Director, Jerry Smith, was still coaching at the school. In that season, the Mustangs defeated 2002 GMCT finalist Colonia on the road, eventually qualified for the state tournament, and won an opening round game. This week could not only well determine where the Mustangs will go in terms of the GMC Blue standings, but also help project their chances for the upcoming state tournament in March and the GMCT.
Kennedy stands at 5-1 right now including a 3-1 mark in conference play. JFK won the Gene Haley Tournament for the first time ever over the holidays something that the 2001-02 team couldn’t do. It lost to eventual GMCT champion, Carteret that year. The Mustangs are led by the tandem of Rasheed Howard and Joe Marciano while junior Dashion Robinson is also a player to watch out for. A.J. Pichalski is a very active player on the inside while Nick Spoganetz does the little things that make the difference between wins and losses. The lone loss suffered by Mustangs was at the hands of Highland Park on a last second shot by David Webb in overtime (54-53) on December 21st.
The Mustangs resume Blue Division play this week with two important games. On Tuesday night, they host a Middlesex team that has won four straight including a victory at Pingry on Monday. The Blue Jays appeared to be in for a difficult ride with Avery Barnes appearing to be out indefinitely when the season got underway. However, Barnes returned during the Shello/Santy Tournament, and he made an immediate impact by scoring six points down the stretch in a 37-34 victory over Manville on December 28th. The Jays also have done something twice already that the Mustangs haven’t done, and that is beat Highland Park including a win at HPHS on Saturday. On Thursday, JFK is taking on Metuchen, which is playing much better since losing to Spotswood in its opener. The Bulldogs have won three straight by an average margin of almost 31 points per game.
Kennedy then finishes out its week against Woodbridge, which is looking for its first win of the season, but plays in the larger school GMC Red. A solid week this week could propel the Mustangs into the Top Ten. More importantly, it could be a solid sign that JFK is ready to make the state playoffs, and some noise in the 2010 GMCT.