Washington Township

The Inquirer TOP 10     BOYS' LACROSSE Team   Record Records are through Tuesday. Last week's rankings in parentheses.   1. St. Augustine (1)   10-4 2. Moorestown (2)   8-4 3. Shawnee (5)   10-5 4. Haddonfield (3)   11-3 5. Lenape (4)   9-4 6. Eastern (6)   10-3 7. Kingsway (7)   11-4 8. Seneca (8)

Highlights of Thursday's contests can be found at: www.philly.com/rally Baseball BURLINGTON COUNTY LIBERTY Burlington Township 3, Northern Burlington 0 Rancocas Valley 8, Pemberton 2 BURLINGTON COUNTY PATRIOT Delran 22, Medford Tech 8 Cinnaminson 7, Willingboro 6 CAPE-ATLANTIC LEAGUE NATIONAL Wildwood Catholic 10, Bridgeton 9 COLONIAL CONFERENCE ...

James E. Huckfeldt says he loves his two teenage sons and supports them - which would not be so surprising except that the boys stand accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill him. "I'm doing everything I can to get them through this," Huckfeldt, 43, said yesterday. Fourteen-year-old Adam Huckfeldt and his 17-year-old brother, James, were arrested Tuesday after they allegedly paid an undercover officer $300 to kill their father, promising him more money if he finished the job. They were in a youth detention center last night, charged with conspiracy to commit homicide.

Preservation efforts in the 1970s saved Washington Township's Old Stone House, one of the municipality's oldest homes. Now residents hope that similar efforts will result in the reopening of the Creese-Quay farmhouse, long closed to the public. The three-story white clapboard house was built in 1825 by John Turner of Turnersville. This section of the town was named after Turner, a Methodist minister, carpenter and prominent landowner, said Bob Gruber, the township's chief park ranger, who is leading restoration efforts.

In something of a microcosm of the national midterm elections, Washington Township, home to many South Philadelphia natives, swung Republican in a local council race for the first time since 1998. After a hard-fought campaign, Republicans captured the three open seats on the five-member council, which Democrats in Gloucester County's most populous municipality have long dominated. The Democrats had fielded three political newcomers. But the new GOP majority will be tempered by a Democratic mayor, Matt Lyons, who has veto power.

Donna Costa took over the Washington Township girls' basketball team seven years ago, after the nucleus of the three-time South Jersey Group 4 champion had graduated. Costa, who played on a Township team that won an Olympic Conference title in 1972, has managed to field competitive teams since starting the rebuilding project. But the Minutemaids hadn't been able to regain a place among the area's elite teams - until this season. Township is currently 12-1 and rated No. 2 in South Jersey by The Inquirer.

What are Washington Township's most outstanding attributes? How would you describe the township to someone who was planning to move there? What advice would you give that person? What are the township's strengths? Are there any drawbacks - traffic, perhaps? How do you think the township will look 10 years from now? Send essays of 200 to 500 words to S.J. Voices, 53 Haddonfield Rd., Suite 300, Cherry Hill, N.J. 08002. E-mail sjvoices@phillynews.com. Fax 856-779-3221.

Surprise, surprise. There might even be a third surprise when it comes to Friday night's South Jersey Group 4 tournament opener between sixth-seeded Washington Township (6-2) and third-seeded Williamstown (7-1). These teams are neighbors, rivals, and key players in what has been a shift in the balance of power in South Jersey's large-school group in the last two years. The first surprise isn't that Williamstown is in the playoffs but that the Braves are home and a high seed and one of the favorites in the tournament.

It was a typical game that ended in typical fashion: with a dramatic overtime victory for Clearview over Washington Township in girls' lacrosse. But the result was anything but typical for the Pioneers. Clearview won the first sectional title in the history of the program with a 7-6, double-overtime victory over host Washington Township on Thursday in the championship game of the South Jersey Group 4 tournament. Freshman Gianna Bowe scored two goals, including the winner with 22 seconds remaining in the second overtime, and senior Kim Tumolo added two goals as Clearview (17-4)

There were plenty of goals illustrating the scrappy, hard-nosed abandon of the Clearview girls' lacrosse team. But the ultimate symbol might have been the freshman who ended up being the game's hero - and not just because she netted the winner with 1 minute, 2 seconds left in regulation. Clearview midfielder Gianna Bowe's go-ahead score helped seal a 10-8 win over Lenape on Tuesday in the South Jersey Group 4 semifinals. But Bowe, a freshman midfielder standing a littler taller than 5-foot, was a warrior in the draw circle.

Highlights of Tuesday's contests can be found at: www.philly.com/rally Baseball SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2 FIRST ROUND Barnegat 5, Collingswood 1 SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 3 FIRST ROUND Ocean City 10, Woodrow Wilson 1 SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 4 FIRST ROUND Atlantic City 5, Clearview 4 CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1 FIRST ROUND Burlington City 5, Henry Hudson 2 Florence 10, East...

Jordan Rizzo was looking for an inside pitch. He found two of them. "That's what I was working on during practice [Sunday]," Rizzo said after leading Williamstown to a 9-1 victory over host Cherry Hill West on Monday in the first round of the South Jersey Group 4 tournament. Rizzo, a junior first baseman, hit a pair of home runs, and senior Mike Mosley pitched a two-hitter for ninth-seeded Williamstown (14-8), which advanced to face top-seeded Washington Township (22-2)

Jordan Rizzo was looking for an inside pitch. He found two of them. "That's what I was working on during practice [Sunday]," Rizzo said after leading Williamstown to a 9-1 victory over host Cherry Hill West on Monday in the first round of the South Jersey Group 4 tournament. Rizzo, a junior first baseman, hit a pair of home runs, and senior Mike Mosley pitched a two-hitter for ninth-seeded Williamstown (14-8), which advanced to face top-seeded Washington Township (22-2)

Records through Saturday. Monday: Cherry Hill East (13-13) at Washington Township (21-2) in first round of South Jersey Group 4 tournament, 3:45 p.m. Tuesday: Ocean City (13-7) at Buena (18-5), 4 p.m. Wednesday: Audubon (17-5) at Sterling (16-4), 3:45 p.m. Thursday: St. Augustine (15-7) at Gloucester Catholic (20-4), 4 p.m. Friday: Paul VI (13-7) at Bishop Eustace (15-6) in first round of Non-Public South A tournament, 4 p.m. - Phil Anastasia

Through Saturday. PITCHING WINS 7 - Andrew Fisher, Cherry Hill West; Keith Wallace, Bishop Eustace; Kevin Baxter, St. Augustine; Andrew Schorr, Audubon 6 - Billy Grubb, Washington Township; Mark Scarpa, Washington Township; Jason Cavanaugh, Haddonfield; Beau Hall, Ocean City; Dan Schurer, Moorestown; Andrew Biggs, Millville; Pete Perez, Burlington City; Jon Mackie, Holy Cross; Justin Smith, Hammonton; Zach Youngberg, Delran...

The Inquirer TOP 10     BASEBALL Team   Record Last week's rankings are in parentheses.   1. Bishop Eustace (9)   17-6 The Crusaders have gone 17-4 since starting the season 0-2. 2. Cherokee (1)   18-4 The Chiefs have pitchers Colin Perro and Sean Kelly rested for the South Jersey Group 4 tournament. 3. Washington Township (2)   21-2 Junior Matt Long has a 5-0 record on the mound.

BASEBALL Team Record Last week's rankings are in parentheses. 1. Bishop Eustace (9) 17-6 The Crusaders have gone 17-4 since starting the season 0-2. 2. Cherokee (1) 18-4 The Chiefs have pitchers Colin Perro and Sean Kelly rested for the South Jersey Group 4 tournament. 3. Washington Township (2) 21-2 Junior Matt Long has a 5-0 record on the mound. 4. Millville (3) 14-6 The Thunderbolts hope to ride righthander Andrew Biggs all the way to the South Jersey Group 4 finals, just like last year.