Deptford

Deptford football coach Joe Corbi had quadruple-bypass heart surgery at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden yesterday morning and will be sidelined for at least three weeks, according to his wife. Bernice Corbi said her husband planned to take his familiar place on the Deptford sideline when doctors gave the OK. Corbi is entering his 25th season as the Spartans head coach. "He said as long as he feels all right, he's going to continue," Bernice Corbi said. John Casella, an assistant of Corbi's for more than a decade, will take over as interim head coach, Deptford athletic director Irvin McFarland said.

Joe Corbi had to confront a couple of disadvantages pretty quickly yesterday. The Deptford coach and his team were forced to take a long bus ride for a South Jersey Group 3 playoff game at Brick Memorial. Also, the field was soft and slow because of rain, not exactly perfect for a Spartans squad that relies on speed. After sleepwalking through the first quarter, Deptford - which was making its first playoff appearance in 10 years - began to assert itself and rallied for a 28-14 victory.

Kyle Jenkins provided the highlight. Williamstown had trouble providing the high lights. Jenkins, Deptford's flash of a quarterback, bolted 82 yards early in the first quarter of his team's 18-7 victory at Williamstown last night. That seemed like a lock for the most memorable event of the evening. It was a distant second. With 31 seconds left in the third quarter and Deptford (5-3, 4-2 Tri-County Royal) leading by 12-7, the stadium went dark. The scoreboard was on and the press-box lights were on, but for 15 minutes, the game was off. Apparently an accident in the town had caused high-voltage lights around Williamstown to go off, including those at a nearby department store and supermarket.

Deptford ran the play it wanted, and Williamstown defended the way it wanted. That left it up to how the ball bounced, and it went Deptford's way as Ricky Crews put back a missed jumper at the buzzer to give the Spartans a 40-39 victory over the host Braves in a Tri-County Conference Royal Division battle last night. Williamstown (6-1, 3-1) suffered its first loss, while Deptford (6-1, 5-0) remained in first place. "I knew the only way I would get the ball again is if we missed, and I went hard on the boards," Crews said.

The Deptford Township Council agreed last night to settle a dispute with the South Jersey Builders League, and the pact will mandate slightly larger homes and apartments. The council introduced an ordinance that will amend Deptford's building code to increase the minimum interior sizes of new homes and apartments about 30 to 80 square feet per unit. The ordinance is a result of a compromise. The township had wanted larger minimum living units but had defined the "habitable living space" as excluding closets, hallways, bathrooms and utility spaces.

As he usually does, Washington Township coach Tom Brown left his customary spot atop the press box yesterday and joined his team on the sideline as another game was about to come to an end. Only this was more than just another game. Brown, who prefers to orchestrate his game plan while also serving as the team's eye-in-the-sky, had just guided the visiting Minutemen to a 24-8 victory over Deptford. And when the veteran coach reached the sideline, he was greeted with the ceremonial Gatorade bath in honor of his 100th career victory.

In the latest move to update its once-antiquated system, the Emergency Services Unit has hired two more full-time employees to handle an increasing number of emergency calls. The full-time staff of five had to be expanded because Deptford cannot drum up enough support volunteers, said Police Chief William B. Underwood, who oversees the unit. The emergency services director, Don Banks, said the department had handled 1,400 calls this year, up from 1,250 at the same time last year.

When he conducts practice this afternoon, Deptford girls' basketball coach Mark Petito might decide to work solely on offense. That's because it was a strong defensive effort, not solid marksmanship, that kept the squad's season alive. The Spartans eliminated visiting Cumberland, 44-38, in overtime last night in the first round of the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs. Deptford won despite shooting 23 percent (14 for 61) from the field and 14 for 28 (50 percent) from the line.

Edward Lemmo, 18, of Deptford, died yesterday morning at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden after being struck by a sport-utility vehicle that fled the accident scene in Gloucester Township, authorities said. Ging Y. Wkong, 32, of the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township, was arrested a short time later and initially charged with driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, and failure to report an accident, police said. Those charges were lodged before Lemmo died.

Don't look for any one team to dominate the Olympic Conference National Division football standings this season. Three schools have legitimate shots at unseating defending champion Deptford and claiming the 1986 title. Overbrook, Woodrow Wilson and Bishop Eustace will challenge the Spartans in what figures to be a tight race down to the wire. "We're still champions until someone knocks us off, but I know as well as anyone that this is a tough football conference," said Deptford coach Joe Corbi, whose Spartans went 7-0 in the league last season.

Jim Rossi was at his best when it mattered most. Rossi pitched a three-hitter as Cherokee beat Millville, 2-1, Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic at Deptford. Rossi, a senior righthander, struck out five and walked four in facing just 28 batters in the briskly played game between teams in the top three of The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings. "When we threatened him, he got better," Millville coach Roy Hallenbeck said. "We made him bend, but we couldn't make him break.

Luke Pease scored four times and set up five goals for 10th-seeded Haddonfield, which recorded a dozen assists in sinking No. 23 River Dell, 20-11, Saturday in the opening round of the NJSIAA state Group 1 boys' lacrosse tournament. State Group 4. Quinn Mehigan picked up two of his three goals in the first quarter for No. 14 seed Cherokee, and the Chiefs parlayed a fast start into an 11-6 victory over No. 19 seed Morris Knolls. Colin McDonald had a hat trick along with one assist to lead Rancocas Valley's balanced attack, and the 10th-seeded Red Devils used a 10-4 spree over the second and third quarters to pull away from No. 23 Randolph, 13-7.

Haddonfield coach Bob Bickel knew his team wasn't going to earn an at-large bid to the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic. "Just missed it, right?" Bickel said the other day. The Bulldogs were on the outside looking in with a 10-6 record at the May 5 cutoff for the tournament selections. But maybe the rest of the field is lucky about that. Haddonfield is one of South Jersey's hottest teams. The Bulldogs have won 11 of 12 since April 15, and they beat surging Moorestown by a 4-3 score on Saturday.

Here is the schedule for the first round of the 39th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic ( records through Saturday ). Saturday At Maple Shade: Millville (11-4) vs. Gloucester Catholic (15-2), 10:30 a.m. Cherokee (12-2) vs. Haddon Township (11-4), 1 p.m. At Deptford: Eastern (12-6) vs. Washington Township (13-1), 10:30 a.m. St. Augustine (10-6) vs. Sacred Heart (12-3), 1 p.m. At Overbrook: Burlington Township (10-5)

"You can't miss me," Carl Thomas says, and he's right: No one else at the diner is wearing a "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" T-shirt from the "XXXChurch. " "I appreciate outside-the-box ministries," explains the Deptford resident, a born-again Christian who helps other men overcome what they experience as a soul-destroying dependence on pornography. An array of bold tattoos, a shaved head, and a high-voltage grin give Thomas, 40, a dude rather than a do-gooder look. But the man, an insurance agent and a married father of two, is on a mission.

Sam Nevius stole home to pull Deptford even and Lexi Croce followed with the game-winning single, highlighting a two-run seventh-inning rally that lifted the host Spartans over Highland, 6-5, on Thursday in Tri-County Conference softball. In another Tri-County game, Erynn Sobieski pitched a three-hitter in posting her 11th win of the season, with offensive support from Taylor Thomas (2 for 2, 2 RBIs) and Taylor Favinger (3 for 4, 2 runs) ensuring GCIT's 4-1 victory over visiting Cumberland.

Sam Nevius stole home to pull Deptford even and Lexi Croce followed with the game-winning single, highlighting a two-run seventh-inning rally that lifted the host Spartans over Highland, 6-5, on Thursday in Tri-County Conference softball. In another Tri-County game, Erynn Sobieski pitched a three-hitter in posting her 11th win of the season, with offensive support from Taylor Thomas (2 for 2, 2 RBIs) and Taylor Favinger (3 for 4, 2 runs) ensuring GCIT's 4-1 victory over visiting Cumberland.

West Deptford senior Erika Sprague was one of 20 students across the nation to be awarded a $2,000 scholarship by Major League Baseball players in recognition of their community service. Sprague is a three-year member of West Deptford's Key Club, an international student-run service organization. Through Key Club, Sprague became involved with the Action Team, a youth volunteer organization linked with the Volunteers of America as well as the Major League Baseball Players Trust.