Millville

Friday, 7 p.m., Rowan University. At stake: South Jersey Group 4 title. Coaches: Millville, Jason Durham (23-18); Pennsauken, Clinton Tabb (21-10). Sectional titles: Millville, one (1975); Pennsauken, three (1986, 1984, 1980). Fast fact: Millville's appearance marks the seventh straight year a Cape-Atlantic League team has played in the South Jersey Group 4 final. - Phil Anastasia

There will be no repeat of 1983 for the field-hockey team at Springfield High School. Four years ago, the Spartans reached the pinnacle by winning the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA state championship. But Tuesday night at Northern Lebanon High School, Springfield's dreams of a return to those magical times were shattered with a 3-1 loss to Millville in the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs. As has been their habit this year, the Spartans got off to a slow start.

Holy Spirit, ranked No. 3 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, toppled No. 1 Millville yesterday, 15-13, in what probably will be known for years as "The War at the Shore. " In a game in which so much rode on the outcome and in which the result was measured by only two points, nearly every play was critical. But two of them stood out. The first was a completed screen pass from Millville quarterback Bob Campbell to running back Scott Parent on an attempted two-point conversion late in the second quarter.

Two weeks removed from setting the school's single-game rushing record, Millville sophomore Rob Ennis continued his strong play on Wednesday night. The Thunderbolts won, 20-14, over visiting Hammonton in a Cape-Atlantic League football game behind two Ennis rushing touchdowns. Ennis dashed for 44 yards on the game's first play from scrimmage and then capped the drive with a 6-yard rush. Late in the third quarter, the Thunderbolts trailed by two and again turned to Ennis, who scampered 14 yards for his second touchdown and the game's final score.

Pennsauken (10-1) Date   Opponent   Result     Sept. 9   Shawnee   W, 35-28 OT    Sept. 17   Clearview   W, 48-27    Sept. 24   Triton   W, 33-13    Oct. 1   Cherry Hill East   W, 34-14    Oct. 8   Winslow Township   W, 32-7    Oct. 21   Camden Catholic   L, 42-35    Oct. 30   Washington Township   W, 40-8    Nov. 4   Eastern   W, 33-7    Nov. 12   Atlantic City   W, 31-9    Nov. 19   Triton   W, 52-16    Nov. 23   Bishop Eustace   W, 20-6    Millville (11-0)

Few public places remain in Millville, N.J., where Mike Trout goes unbothered. He still has Jim's Lunch, a popular luncheonette on East Main Street. He eats his six burgers - sauce, no cheese - at a back table without interruption. Rochelle Maul makes sure of it. Maul works the cash register. She's a de facto   security guard. Customers stare at Trout because that's what baseball fans tend to do when perhaps the finest baseball player in the world eats lunch right in the middle of town.

Two weeks removed from setting the school's single-game rushing record, Millville sophomore Rob Ennis continued his strong play on Wednesday night. The Thunderbolts won, 20-14, over visiting Hammonton in a Cape-Atlantic League football game behind two Ennis rushing touchdowns. Ennis dashed for 44 yards on the game's first play from scrimmage and then capped the drive with a 6-yard rush. Late in the third quarter, the Thunderbolts trailed by two and again turned to Ennis, who scampered 14 yards for his second touchdown and the game's final score.

Andrew Biggs has 51 strikeouts in just 21 innings. But he's more than a pitcher. Biggs has four doubles, a triple, and a home run. But he's more than a hitter. "I like to think of myself as a two-way player," said Biggs, who has led Millville to an 8-2 record and No. 4 spot in The Inquirer's Top 10. "I've been blessed with talent as both a pitcher and a hitter. I like to do both. " Biggs said one reason he has made a commitment to attend Delaware State on a baseball scholarship is that the Hornets view him as an athlete who can play the field and stay in the lineup when he isn't pitching.

All season, the Millville football team has been finding ways to win, twice using a Scott Shea field goal in the final minute to create victory. But yesterday, the Thunderbolts, No. 6 in The Inquirer's Top 10, lost their first game of the year, 3-0, when Ocean City senior Dominic Iannace kicked a 26-yard field goal late in the first half. The win sent Ocean City (6-1-1 overall and league) into the Group 3 playoffs and kept the Raiders alive in the race for the Cape-Atlantic League's American Division championship.

Millville High School baseball coach Roy Hallenbeck said he tries to stay up every night to watch Mike Trout's games on the West Coast. But Hallenbeck managed only to stay up to see Trout, a star centerfielder for the Los Angeles Angels and a Millville graduate, take a called third strike in his first at-bat Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners. "I try to stay up, but it's getting late in the year, and I'm exhausted," Hallenbeck said, On Wednesday morning, Hallenbeck said, his wife, who usually gets up earlier, greeted him by saying: "Everybody on the Facebook is talking about Mikey hitting for the cycle.

With help from a four-run fourth inning, Hammonton upset visiting Millville on Tuesday, 4-2, in baseball. Hammonton's Mike Angeline gave up two runs on five hits and struck out eight against The Inquirer's second-ranked team in South Jersey. Keith Salmon went 2 for 3 and knocked in a run for Hammonton. In other Cape-Atlantic American play: Troy Dixon homered and scored twice in host Egg Harbor Township's 8-5 win against Absegami. Brandon Ott tripled in a run and Mike DiIanni pitched a three-hitter for Holy Spirit, which beat visiting Mainland, 4-1. Johnny Malatesta went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs scored in Vineland's 9-7 win at Oakcrest.

Mike Trout is used to seeing his name in lights on major-league scoreboards. But the Los Angeles Angels outfielder knows it's going to be different seeing his name on a sign over the baseball field at his old high school in Millville, N.J. "I know it's going to be humbling," Trout said. "Driving by and seeing my name up there, it's going to be a good feeling. My dad [Jeff] played there. All my buddies played there. The coaches who brought me up are still there. " Trout, the 21-year-old who burst on the baseball scene as the American League rookie of the year in 2012, has been the driving force in an effort to refurbish the baseball field at Millville High.

Few public places remain in Millville, N.J., where Mike Trout goes unbothered. He still has Jim's Lunch, a popular luncheonette on East Main Street. He eats his six burgers - sauce, no cheese - at a back table without interruption. Rochelle Maul makes sure of it. Maul works the cash register. She's a de facto   security guard. Customers stare at Trout because that's what baseball fans tend to do when perhaps the finest baseball player in the world eats lunch right in the middle of town.

Millville High School's baseball field will soon be named after its most famous former player: 2009 graduate and 2012 American League Rookie of the Year Mike Trout. Millville baseball coach Roy Hallenbeck said Wednesday that the Millville Board of Education on Monday night approved a sponsorship deal that will include a $10,000 donation to the school for improvements to the field in conjunction with naming the facility after Trout. Hallenbeck said that officials hope to hold a naming ceremony later this spring but that the date and other details still were being finalized.

The Millville girls' basketball team rode balanced scoring and an aggressive fourth-quarter press to its 10th straight win, a 43-38 victory over host St. Joseph in a Cape-Atlantic League game Wednesday. Junior point guard Lexi Bruno, a Sacred Heart transfer who became eligible Jan. 15, scored 15 points for Millville, as did senior forward Ashli Weems. Despite sitting out much of the first half with foul trouble, Weems also had 16 rebounds and forced seven turnovers. The 12-5 Thunderbolts haven't lost since Jan. 4, and have won all eight of their games since Bruno became eligible.

The Millville girls' basketball team rode balanced scoring and an aggressive fourth-quarter press to its 10th straight win, a 43-38 victory over host St. Joseph in a Cape-Atlantic League game Wednesday. Junior point guard Lexi Bruno, a Sacred Heart transfer who became eligible on Jan. 15, scored 15 points for Millville, as did senior forward Ashli Weems. Despite sitting out much of the first half with foul trouble, Weems also had 16 rebounds and forced seven turnovers. The 12-5 Thunderbolts haven't lost since Jan. 4, and have won all eight of their games since Bruno became eligible.

Gloucester Catholic came roaring out of the break to beat St. Joseph, 35-32, in the Prime Events Girls Shootout at Holy Spirit on Sunday. The Rams, who trailed by five at the half, hit two three-pointers to quickly take a lead en route to outscoring St. Joseph, 14-2, in the third quarter. Becky Puns scored 18, and Mary Gedeka added 12 points and seven rebounds. Also in the tournament: Amanda Smith scored 19 and Lexi Bruno had 17 to lift Millville over Buena, 62-52. Deaja Reynolds scored 12 points to help a balanced Atlantic City beat Trenton, 53-39.

S.J. 500-Win Club These are the coaches who have won 500 or more games in South Jersey boys' basketball. Coach   School(s)   Wins    Clarence Turner   Camden   777    *Paul Rodio   St. Augustine   763    *Jim Crawford   Camden Catholic   698    *Tom Feraco   Middle Township   654    *Paul Collins   Willingboro, Riverside,    Burlington City   649    Lou Schantz   Salem   625    *John Valore   Cherry Hill East, Cumberland   549    *Joe Kessler   Shawnee   549    Bill Hiltner   Sterling, Millville   523    Ken Faulkner   Burlington Township   521    Ken Leary   Pleasantville   519    *- still active - Phil Anastasia