PISCATAWAY, NJ–Tonight’s game between Timothy Christian and South River typified the type of year it has already been in the GMC Gold. The Tigers and Rams did battle for all 32 minutes, had eight lead changes and seven ties, and neither team had a lead bigger than nine points in the contest. The addition of these two teams as well as Wardlaw to the division has made the Gold better. There is much more parity in the eight team division this year.
In addition, Piscataway Tech, a wildcard in this division every year, has turned out to be one of the biggest surprises in the conference so far by not only coming out of the gate with four straight wins coming into play on Wednesday, but also winning by big margins, and averaging nearly 70 points per game on offense. The trio of Tafari Kerr, Turell McClendon, and Galen Smith have proven to be quite a combination. Then, there’s Dunellen. A team that doesn’t have one senior on the squad, not a lot of size, and one of its starters out with an illness, has gotten off to a 4-1 start including wins over division newcomers Wardlaw, and South River as well as Blue Division foe, Spotswood. Dylan Hoski and Jeff Puckett have been leading the way for the Destroyers, but also watch football standout Rontik Sadler, who is also on the team this year along with Franklin transfer Deon Brown.
Coming into play on Wednesday, Piscataway Tech was 3-0 in division while Dunellen was 2-0. Both South River and Timothy Christian were 2-1. East Brunswick Tech is in fifth place at 1-1 while Wardlaw (1-2), South Amboy (0-3), and Perth Amboy Tech (0-3) bring up the rear. However, the Rams have shown signs of playing much better after losing its first two games while Amboy Tech has been dealing with injuries to key players such as Rashad Adams and Anthony Pena. Malcolm Batts has been doing his best to hold the fort for the Patriots. Even South Amboy has been competitive despite not having a win yet this year. They suffered a 56-51 loss at Timothy Christian, and a 61-53 defeat at Wardlaw in the first week of play. The Guvs did also get beaten decisively twice by South River (70-42) and (75-49).
Wardlaw looked to be one of the contenders prior to the season with the likes of Ian English, Justen Davis, and Jordan Del Sol returning along with the addition of St. Peter’s Prep transfer, Elijah Torres. Timothy Christian appeared to be a team in transition after losing the likes of T.J. Janho, David Bonamo, Kyle Waldron, and Bjorn Svendsen from last year’s team, but the Tigers still do have good players back including junior guard Dan Decker, who scored 33 points in tonight’s win over South River and 21 points in a win over Mount Airy of Maryland in the Citadel Holiday Invitational at Valley Forge. Kristian Svendsen is also back, and he scored 21 points in the victory over the Rams as well. South River appeared to be a contender for division honors after moving down to the Blue. Despite losses of Shawn Fenton and Brandon Walsh to graduation, and Larry Smith, who transferred to Matawan, the Rams still had enough back to be a pre-season favorite.
While the Gold might not be as strong this season as the Red, White, or Blue, it will be a very competitive one for the eight teams in it. Not a lot of easy nights in this division in 2010-11.