Gateway

Two of the largest mortgage lenders based in the Philadelphia region are now one. Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services L.P., Horsham, bought the assets of Arlington Capital Mortgage Corp., Bensalem, Gateway's chief executive Bruno P. Pasceri said yesterday. The deal gives privately held Gateway - which had previously taken the painful slowdown in the mortgage industry as a chance to expand through the purchase of offices in Massachusetts, Arizona and Seattle - more than 1,000 employees.

Brent Rubena doesn't see himself as a No. 9 hitter, and he sure didn't act like one in the biggest game of his young career. The sophomore outfielder broke a 3-3 tie with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning as second-seeded Gateway defeated top-seeded Pitman, 4-3, yesterday for the South Jersey Group 1 baseball championship. Rubena went 1 for 2 with a run scored and the RBI in helping Gateway win its second sectional title. The Gators (17-5) will face Central Jersey champion David Brearley at 4 p.m. Tuesday in a state semifinal at Rider.

The back pain was constant. His knee? It was throbbing through 45 minutes of soccer Tuesday at Haddon Township. Anthony Colofranson makes three weekly trips to a chiropractor for an injury that the doctors have yet to pinpoint, but he refuses to miss playing time for Gateway. Dreaming of moments such as Tuesday's 6-5 overtime win makes it easy to play through the pain. Colofranson played the second half like a man possessed, using his incredible speed to outrun Haddon Township defenders and his nerve to put the ball in the back of the net. In total, the senior forward netted four goals, including the equalizer and the winner, making the pain he felt worthwhile.

Two potential double-play balls told the story of yesterday's South Jersey Group 2 baseball semifinal between Gateway and Audubon. One allowed Audubon to escape a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning unscathed. Another opened the floodgates for a six-run Audubon outburst in the second. After dodging an early bullet, the Green Wave parlayed hot hitting and shoddy Gateway defense into a 13-3 five-inning knockout of the Gators. Audubon, The Inquirer's No. 3 team in South Jersey, advanced to Friday's South Jersey group final against Pennsville at Cherry Hill East.

As a rule, singles players get the attention. A lot of it this season has gone to players such as sisters Kim and Kelly LaMaina of Haddonfield; Moorestown's Maureen and Jen Canuso - who're also sisters - and Elsa Tchourumoff of Lenape. But there is some important tennis being played in the doubles matches. One of the area's better players is senior Amanda Widas of Gateway, who lifted her record this season to 9-0 at first doubles and her career mark to 66-7, a school record in doubles.

Perhaps more than any other South Jersey team, you can learn all you need to know about the Haddonfield girls' soccer team from watching it execute a set piece. And in Tuesday night's 3-0 win over Gateway, there were plenty of set pieces. Three, in fact, led to goals in the first 11 minutes, allowing the Bulldogs to cruise to victory on senior night for the team's 13 graduating players. "Big games at this level are decided by restarts," said Haddonfield coach Glenn Gess, whose Bulldogs (13-0)

The Pennsauken Mart is finally history. The controversial demise of the mart came April 26. A new era will begin, according to Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli. Pennsauken will be the "gateway to Camden County. " Over the years, plans for the site included a civic center housing a hockey arena and a condo complex for people 55 and older, complete with a boathouse, lake and underground parking. They were nixed. Now, according to an article by Inquirer reporter Ed Colimore, the property will become housing, a commercial space and possibly a hotel ("State will provide county $16.5 million for mart site," April 25)

Gateway's football team has decided to forfeit Friday's game at Haddonfield because of a declining number of available players. Coach Mike Karp said Wednesday that he hopes the Gators can finish out the season, but that it will be determined on a week-to-week basis. He said the Gators have just 15 available players who practiced Tuesday, including two freshmen. "We have injuries and illness, and due to the dropped numbers, it wouldn't be ideal to play on Friday night," Karp said.

Gateway broke a school record with its ninth straight win last night, defeating visiting Haddon Township, 26-6, in a Colonial Conference football game. The Gators had won eight straight over two seasons in 1983 and 1984. Gateway (3-0 overall and in the conference) will meet undefeated Sterling next Saturday. Haddon Township (0-3 overall and in the conference) has lost 16 straight games. The Hawks last avoided losing in the fourth week of the 1991 season, when they tied Haddon Heights.

Josh Schwartz, a lefthanded pitcher who helped lead Gateway to the state Group 2 baseball final last spring, said yesterday that he would sign a letter of intent tomorrow to attend the University of Maryland on a partial baseball scholarship. Schwartz, a 6-foot, 155-pounder who also plays in the outfield, went 7-1 last season and batted .340 as Gateway set a school record for wins in a season. The Gators went 24-5 and won their first Colonial Conference and South Jersey Group 2 baseball titles.

Did you prom? Back in the day, before prom shed its the like some painful four-inch pump, the dance was an annual rite of passage, an opportunity for embarrassment, mischief, and lousy living-room photography memorializing Farrah hair, powder-blue tuxes, ruffled shirts, and supersized bow ties, now all blessedly extinct. Proms weren't yet an industry but a middle-class response to the debutante ball of toffs and swells. Now, prom has become the alpha and omega of adolescent consumption, reduced to one word, like Cher.

Baseball Games to Watch Monday: Haddonfield (8-5) at Sterling (10-1), 3:45 p.m Monday: Hammonton (10-2) at Millville (10-3), 4 p.m. Monday: Buena (10-4) at Sacred Heart (10-2), 4 p.m. Wednesday: Audubon (12-2) at Gateway (10-5), 3:45 p.m. Thursday: Shawnee (9-3) at Paul VI (9-4), 3:45 p.m. Friday: Eastern (10-6) at Pennsauken (11-1), 3:45 p.m. Sunday: Gloucester Catholic (13-2) vs. Don Bosco Prep (11-3)

Final 2011-12. Boys Player, School G   Pts   Avg.    Kyle Green, Camden Catholic. . . 27   612   22.7    Carson Puriefoy, Bishop Eustace. . . 28   631   22.5    Xavier Lundy, Paulsboro. . . 29   648   22.3    Zak Barrett, Wildwood. . . 24   519   21.6    Brandon Rembert, Pennsauken Tech. . . 23   487   21.2    Stefano Okoro, Gloucester. . . 26   533   20.5    Tyrell Maloney, Willingboro.

Name, School G Pts Avg. Kyle Green, Camden Cath.. . . 26 589 22.7 Brandon Rembert, Penn. Tech. . . 22 475 21.6 Zak Barrett, Wildwood. . . 22 74 21.5 Xavier Lundy, Paulsboro. . . 24 515 21.5 Carson Puriefoy, Eustace. . . 25 533 21.3 Tyrell Maloney, Willingboro. . . 23 476 20.7 Stefano Okoro, Gloucester. . . 25 512 20.5 K. Chukwuocha, Medf. Tech. . . 26 515 19.8 James Bullock, Overbrook. . . 25 490 19.6 Christian Mortellite, Hamm..

Westampton Tech won the New Jersey Vocational Tournament boys' basketball championship for the first time on Wednesday, as Shaun Russell had 17 points to lead a balanced attack in a 73-59 victory at North 13th Street Tech. Bazil Jackson (14 points), Marquel Davis (13) and Marcus Stewart (10) also scored in double figures for the Panthers, who seized control with a 23-12 second-quarter spree. Nonleague. Xavier Lundy pumped in 30 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and dished off four assists in guiding third-ranked Paulsboro to a 77-55 win at Woodrow Wilson.

Westampton Tech won the New Jersey Vocational Tournament boys' basketball championship for the first time on Wednesday, as Shaun Russell had 17 points to lead a balanced attack in a 73-59 victory at North 13th Street Tech. Bazil Jackson (14 points), Marquel Davis (13) and Marcus Stewart (10) also scored in double figures for the Panthers, who seized control with a 23-12 second-quarter spree. Nonleague. Xavier Lundy pumped in 30 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and dished off four assists in guiding third-ranked Paulsboro to a 77-55 win at Woodrow Wilson.

Alisha Fox fashioned a 36-point performance, including a tying three-point basket and the go-ahead layup, as host Gateway used a furious fourth-quarter rally to edge Woodbury, 48-42, on Friday in a Colonial Conference girls' basketball season opener. Danesha Triplett scored 17 for the Thundering Herd, which held a 42-39 lead with two minutes left in regulation. But Fox's long-range jumper tied it, and her layin off a stolen inbounds pass put the Gators ahead to stay with 57 seconds remaining.

Anthony Colofranson, Gateway. . . 46 Ryan Butler, Palmyra. . . 40 Mike Ryan, Cherokee. . . 33 Brent Greco, Schalick. . . 29 Jose Mayo, Bridgeton. . . 27 Giuseppe DeLuca, Timber Creek. . . 23 Zack Curl, Haddon Township. . . 24 Jeff Morgan, Timber Creek. . . 23 Mike Mazzochi, Sacred Heart . . . 22 Daniel Bermudez, Schalick. . . 21 Joe Demarco, Doane Academy. . . 20 Kyle Redrow, West Deptford. . . 19 Greg Biggiani, Shawnee.