Moorestown

The exterior color early on a sunny day is a shade of terra cotta. By late afternoon, it's turned golden, mellowed by the passing hours. The architecture is strikingly different from that of its neighbors on a street of custom homes in Moorestown. While the others tilt toward a formal Federal style, this home has the look and feel of an Italian villa, from its architecture and exquisite detailing to its roofline. The tale of its creation shows how loving travel and home can harmoniously mix. Elizabeth and Brian Litten, both 44, had lived in a 150-year-old Victorian in Riverton, and then in a modern luxury home in Moorestown.

If his game were basketball, Shaun Turner would be a great sixth man. "Remember Vinny 'The Microwave' Johnson for the Detroit Pistons?" Winslow Township football coach Mike McBride said. "Shaun is my Microwave. " Turner heated up in a hurry on Saturday, bouncing off the bench to score three touchdowns in three ways as Winslow Township beat Moorestown, 47-21, in a first-round game of the South Jersey Group 3 football tournament. Turner, a senior running back, scored on a 15-yard run, a 28-yard reception, and a 65-yard punt return.

It was upside down. Moorestown proved to be the best tennis team in South Jersey this season because of the strength of the base of its lineup: Third singles and both doubles. But in the Group 3 state semifinals against West Windsor North, Moorestown won No. 1 and No. 2 singles and lost the match by a 3-2 score. "It was the reverse of what we needed to do," Moorestown senior No. 3 singles Mike Bass said. Still, that result was instructive: It showed the caliber of competition at the state level and also underscored Moorestown's depth and balance.

More than 100 Moorestown residents, who say a proposed office building would ruin their neighborhood, last night asked the township zoning board to deny the variance needed to construct the building in South Jersey's most affluent community. Landmark Development Group wants to build the office complex on a 3.7-acre triangular lot just west of Route 38 near Church Road. Hooton Pond, an extension of Strawbridge Lake, forms the western boundary of the site. David Brandt, an attorney representing the developer, said the building would blend into the neighborhood and be hidden from nearby homes by a 60-foot zone of trees.

Julie McGrory could not remember the last time the Moorestown girls' basketball team beat Willingboro. Neither could Willingboro coach Guy Fowler, and he's headed up the Chimeras' program for almost a decade. McGrory won't have to ponder the question any longer. The Moorestown senior forward scored a game-high 19 points as the visiting Quakers turned back the favored Chimeras, 47-40, yesterday in a key Burlco-Liberty matchup. "We had a heartbreaking loss to them last year at the end," said McGrory, who was 7 of 8 from the free throw stripe.

The Traganza property is finally in the hands of Moorestown. The 34 acres on Garwood Road are "some of the most prestigious and pristine property in town," said Dennis Talty, the township solicitor. "It has woods, streams, wildlife. It's really environmentally sensitive. " Township officials had been "pursuing this property for a long, long time," Talty said. Late last week, negotiations were completed to buy the land for $350,000 from PNC Bank, the trustee and executor of Robert and Mary Traganza's estate.

After sharing a state Group 2 championship last season, the Moorestown field hockey didn't take any chances on settling for another tie yesterday when it made a repeat appearance in the title game. The Quakers (21-1), ranked No. 4 team in The Inquirer South Jersey top 10, overpowered Wallkill Valley, 4-1, in a game played at Trenton State College. The victory gave coach Joan Lewis her fifth state title in 10 years at Moorestown. "We wanted to come up here and win big," said Lewis, who reminded her team before the game about last year's 1-1 tie with Westwood.

Hurry up. That's one way to describe Moorestown's offense. That's also one way to describe the Quakers' approach to the last moments of the football season. Moorestown (6-4) will visit Hammonton (8-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in the semifinals of the South Jersey Group 3 tournament. The host Blue Devils are the No. 2 seed and the favorites, based on the consistently strong play this season by coach Pete Lancetta's team. "Hammonton is Hammonton," Moorestown coach Russ Horton said.

Moorestown coach Bill Donoghue warned his baseball team about the dangers of playing Cinnaminson, and he saw nothing but puzzled looks. After all, Moorestown had pummeled the Pirates, 18-0, on April 8. Donoghue knew what he was talking about. Moorestown escaped with a 2-1 victory yesterday over Cinnaminson in the Burlington County League Liberty Division. Moorestown, which finished last season 6-14, improved to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the Liberty. Cinnaminson, which starts only two seniors, fell to 6-7, 4-4. "I told our guys that it would be a close game, and they looked at me like I was crazy," Donoghue said.

Alex Zaugra stopped 21 shots. Kristin Kocher stopped her own heart. And the Shawnee girls' lacrosse team stopped one of the most impressive winning streaks in the history of South Jersey sports. Kocher, a junior midfielder, scored with 12.6 seconds on the clock to lift Shawnee to a stunning 7-6 victory over Moorestown on Monday in the championship game of the South Jersey Group 3 girls' lacrosse tournament. "My heart stopped beating," Kocher said of her reaction to her dramatic goal.

"I want to say, ‘Thank you for your service,'?" said Marissa Colbeck, 14. "?‘What you do is brave, and I wouldn't be all right without you, so thanks for taking care of us.'?" Said fellow eighth-grader Kevin Calhoun: "It's the least we can do. " What they did was pretty impressive. Right in time for Memorial Day, "Hearts for Heroes" was the name given to the effort organized by Patty Watson, a patriotic volunteer, mother and former nurse from near Buffalo, N.Y., who has a New Jersey connection.

Both teams had already gone their separate ways. For the Moorestown girls' lacrosse team, it was another win in an utterly flawless season. A 19-8 triumph over rival Shawnee in the South Jersey Group 3 title game. Another milestone, but not exactly something on the minds of the team's seniors immediately after Thursday's win. One group hug wasn't enough. Neither wasn't a second, lengthier 10-person embrace. The 10 seniors decided to walk to the center of the field, lie down, and spend a couple of minutes pondering where the last four years have gone.

Both teams had already gone their separate ways. For the Moorestown girls' lacrosse team, it was another win in a flawless season. A 19-8 triumph over rival Shawnee in the South Jersey Group 3 title game. Another milestone, but not exactly something on the minds of the team's seniors immediately after Thursday's win. One group hug wasn't enough. Neither was a second, lengthier embrace. The 10 seniors decided to walk to the center of the field, lie down, and spend a couple of minutes pondering where the last four years have gone.

There are two times that matter most for leadoff hitters and seniors: Early in the game and late in the season. Andrew Lisa is making the best of both. Lisa reached base five times and scored three runs Wednesday to spark Moorestown to a 15-7 victory over Winslow Township in the first round of the South Jersey Group 3 baseball tournament. Lisa, a senior shortstop, also collected three hits and two RBIs as third-seeded Moorestown (15-6) won for the 12th time in 13 games and advanced to face sixth-seeded Ocean City in Friday's second round.

The Moorestown and Haddonfield boys' tennis teams continued their postseason dominance and added to their trophy cases on Friday with a pair of South Jersey championships. Moorestown, which has won a sectional crown in every year except one since 1984, took home the Group 3 title by handing No. 2 seed Delsea its first loss of the season, 5-0. In the match at Eastern, the top-seeded Quakers saw Ryan Dickerson and Pierce Cooper cruise to identical 6-0, 6-1 wins, and Tyler Blessing take third singles from Nick McBride, 6-0, 6-7 (4-7)

The top seeds held form in the South Jersey boys' tennis tournament Wednesday, as Pitman, Haddonfield, Moorestown, and Atlantic City each claimed semifinal wins. Zac Castagna battled past Jack Peterson, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, at first singles to help Pitman oust Schalick, 5-0, in Group 1, and Haddonfield lost a total of six games in blanking Woodstown, 5-0, in Group 2. Moorestown hammered Hammonton in Group 3, 5-0, with Dan Schafhauser and Zach Morrow pulling out a 6-0, 6-7 (4-7)

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.

Chance Embler opened the scoring with a third-inning double and Dan Schurer pitched a five-hit shutout, as No. 8 seed Moorestown upset top-seeded Holy Cross, 2-0, on Friday in the Burlington County League baseball tournament. Nick Savino batted 3 for 3 in support of Schurer, who struck out seven in improving to 4-0. Tri-County. Matt Miniconzi of Highland singled to lead off the seventh inning, breaking up Kingsway pitcher John Beshada's no-hit bid, but the host Dragons still came out on top, 2-0, thanks to Brody Moran's two RBIs.