Oakcrest

Oakcrest went into Paulsboro's tiny fortress last night and ripped out a rare victory over the perennial state champion Red Raiders. Riding five pins and a gutty overtime win by John Beerli, Oakcrest took a gripping, 42-28, nonleague victory last night. It was just the second time Paulsboro has lost to a South Jersey opponent in more than 10 years and only the fourth such defeat in 17 years. Paulsboro lost to Delsea at home last January. Before that, the Raiders' last loss to a South Jersey opponent was to Cherry Hill East in January 1982.

Holy Spirit, the top-ranked team in The Inquirer's Top 10, started its season with a 40-13 romp over Oakcrest last night before more than 3,500 fans. But the Spartans' victory did not materialize the way they envisioned it would. Playing under its new lights for the first time, Holy Spirit had to rally in the first half after falling behind, 7-0, in the first three minutes. Then, Spirit had to wait 25 minutes for an ambulance to arrive when senior linebacker Ryan Mastro broke his leg. Eventually, rather than continue waiting, the officials called for halftime with 90 seconds still left in the first half.

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - It was a small step but a sure and steady one. "We're moving in the right direction," St. Augustine coach Paul Rodio said after his team's 52-40 victory over Oakcrest Monday night in a Cape-Atlantic American II game. Seniors Isaiah Morton and Charlie Monaghan led the way for St. Augustine (7-0, 2-0), the No. 1 team in South Jersey in The Inquirer's top 10. Morton, a 5-foot-8 guard, scored 14, and Monaghan, a 6-6 forward, collected 11 points and 12 rebounds.

As his team did, Mark Clements seemed to emerge from nowhere. Clements hardly played youth football. He wasn't one of those eighth graders who looked destined for a college scholarship. Oakcrest football was under the radar, too. For years and years, the Falcons were nobody's idea of a Cape-Atlantic League power, much less a South Jersey power. But it all came together for Clements and his team in 2010. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound cornerback made seven interceptions as the Falcons went 9-3 and turned their first playoff appearance since 1998 into a trip to the South Jersey Group 4 championship game.

Darnell Charles and Akmed Muhamed each ran on two record-setting relay teams and led Oakcrest to the boys' team title at the NJSIAA State Group 3 indoor relay championships on Sunday at Toms River's Bennett Center. The Falcons won five of nine events, including meet-record times of 3 minutes, 37.55 seconds in the sprint medley and 3:27.14 in the 4x400-meter relays. Defending Group 3 girls' champion Winslow Township won the shuttle hurdles and 4x200 relays, but finished fourth in the team standings.

Buena's Bob Hanson doesn't know why his wrestling team has been able to dominate Oakcrest the past three years. The two-time defending Region 8 champion is certain, however, that Oakcrest brings out the utmost talent in Buena. Buena, 4-1 and ranked No. 7 in The Inquirer's South Jersey Top 15, shocked No. 4-ranked Oakcrest, 36-33, yesterday in their Cape-Atlantic League inter- division match. Buena won the first seven matches against the two-time defending South Jersey Group 3 champions and led by 36-0 before chalking up its third straight win over the Falcons.

When Oakcrest and St. Joseph's met yesterday afternoon, an NJSIAA football tournament berth wasn't at stake, since both unbeaten teams already had secured playoff spots. What was at stake was control of the Cape-Atlantic II pennant race. That control now belongs to Oakcrest. Oakcrest, operating against a defense that had collected six shutouts and allowed a total of seven points in its first seven games, accumulated 432 yards and cruised past visiting St. Joseph's, 28-8.

Ocean City piled up 425 total yards yesterday and routed previously undefeated Oakcrest, 47-6, at Carey Field in a game that threw the Cape- Atlantic League's American Conference up for grabs. It was the second straight victory for the Raiders (2-1 overall, 2-1 league) after an opening loss to Millville. Oakcrest, ranked No. 11 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, lost its first game after beating Holy Spirit and Vineland. The Falcons became the second undefeated Cape American team to lose this weekend.

Rich Renshaw was a running back two weeks ago, and for a half of last week, too. So what was the Holy Cross senior doing lofting 16 passes yesterday afternoon against Oakcrest? "I had been the quarterback as a sophomore and a junior," he said, "but this year we lacked depth at running back. They asked me if I'd play there for a few weeks, until we established some sort of depth. "I said I'd try anything to win. . . . " Renshaw cemented his hold on the position yesterday, completing 14 of 16 attempts for 265 yards and three touchdowns, as Holy Cross pulled away from the visiting Falcons, 38-20.

Louie Parks got the overtime winner as Oakcrest defeated Egg Harbor Township, 2-1, in a Cape-Atlantic American soccer game on Friday. Off a Oakcrest corner kick, Quinn Hardrick headed the ball off the crossbar, and Parks was there to record the game-winning score. The Falcons had tied the score with nine minutes remaining on a Jon Mitchell goal. Oakcrest goaltender Ryan Costello had seven saves. Egg Harbor goalie Brad Watkins tallied six. Burlington County. Charles Ehrgood scored two goals for Riverside as it defeated Burlington City, 3-0, in a Freedom Division game.

Baseball LEE WARE TOURNAMENT Woodstown 11, Kingsway 10 WILDWOOD WARRIOR CLASSIC Championship Middle Township 13, Wildwood 3 Third place Lower Cape May 5, Wildwood Catholic 1 Lee Ware Tournament Kingsway 110 350 0 - 10 15 0 Woodstown 030 400 4 - 11 14 0 WP: Austin Counsellor. LP: Nick Listro. 2B: K-Anthony Esposito; W-Kenny Blocksom. Warrior Classic Middle Township 060 07 - 13 14 2 Wildwood 002 01 - 3 5 2 WP: Doug Schwartz. LP: Billy Bolle.

Twenty-six points from George Sapp wasn't enough for Timber Creek on Friday night. Camden Catholic employed a balanced offensive attack of Kyle Green, Brian Matera, and Thomas Organ to take down the Chargers, 69-46, at home in an Olympic Conference National Division boys' basketball game. Green, Matera, and Organ each scored in double digits, putting up 19, 15, and 11 points, respectively. Organ, a junior guard, dished out seven assists. Burlington County League. Four of Northern Burlington's five players scored at least 10 points en route to a 58-47 victory over Bordentown.

Cherokee jumped out to an early lead, then held off a furious, late comeback attempt by Haddon Heights, to win, 54-46, on the road in a nonleague boys' basketball game Saturday. Early on, the Chiefs drained five three-pointers and held a 17-4 advantage after the first quarter. The Garnets weren't able to score in double digits in any of the first three quarters and trailed by 35-19 heading into the fourth. Haddon Heights found its offense in the final period, putting up 27 points in the quarter, but Cherokee quelled the late rally by converting 11 of 17 free throws down the stretch.

Cherokee jumped out to an early lead, then held off a furious, late comeback attempt by Haddon Heights, to win, 54-46, on the road in a nonleague boys' basketball game Saturday. Early on, the Chiefs drained five three-pointers and held a 17-4 advantage after the first quarter. The Garnets weren't able to break double digits in any of the first three quarters and trailed by 35-19 heading into the fourth. Haddon Heights found its offense in the final period, putting up 27 points in the quarter, but Cherokee quelled the late rally by converting 11 of 17 free throws down the stretch.

With a little help from the backboard, Karli Crispin drained her eighth three-pointer on Wednesday night to break her sister's school mark as host Pitman topped Overbrook, 53-24, at the Tournament of Peace. Crispin, a senior guard, scored a game-high 27 points, and her eight treys set a school single-game record. Kellie Frost, Crispin's sister, is the team's coach and drained seven threes in a game before graduating in 2003. "Out of anyone to break it, I'm glad it was her," said Frost.

Robert Ennis rushed for three touchdowns and eclipsed a school record Friday night as Millville rolled at Oakcrest, 40-29, in a Cape-Atlantic American Division football game. The sophomore running back finished with 302 yards, which set the school's mark for yardage in a single game. Ennis put the Thunderbolts on the board with a 4-yard touchdown in the first quarter and wouldn't score again until after halftime. He ripped off a pair of 50-yard touchdown sprints, one in the third quarter and another in the fourth.

Rocco Ordille and Cody Sampson each scored two touchdowns as St. Joseph cruised to a 39-0 victory over Oakcrest in a Cape-Atlantic American football game on Saturday. Miles Pease started the scoring for the Wildcats with a 74-yard touchdown run a little more than a minute into the game. Ordille followed up two minutes later with a 5-yard touchdown run to put St. Joseph ahead, 13-0. In the second quarter, Ordille caught a 20-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Giagunto for another TD. Sampson scored on a 63-yard run later in the second quarter, and a 23-yard run in the third.