West Deptford

Veronica McGinniss, one of the top girls' soccer players in West Deptford history, has returned to her alma mater as the girls' soccer coach. McGinniss replaces John Cobb, who recently resigned. A 1998 graduate of West Deptford, McGinniss played soccer at the University of West Florida, where she earned all-conference honors. For the last seven years, McGinniss has served as a volunteer assistant at West Deptford. - Marc Narducci  

West Deptford wrestling coach John Craig pointed to the little things: the character his team showed, the poise, the intelligence, knowing what the team needs and delivering it. It's those little things, Craig said, that allowed for the Eagles' biggest accomplishment in more than 30 years. Friday night's 36-28 win over Haddonfield improved West Deptford's dual-meet record to 14-0. More than that, the win, one of many close ones for the Eagles this season, sealed the team's first Colonial Conference Patriot Division title since 1978.

In an early-season test of wrestling skills and wills between ranked teams, West Deptford piled up bonus points and emerged with a 42-26 victory Wednesday night at St. Augustine Prep. West Deptford (2-0), ranked No. 6 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, recorded pins at 152, 215, 103, 112, and 119 pounds, and a forfeit victory at 171, against No. 7 St. Augustine (0-1). "We preach bonus points, so I'm not surprised by them," West Deptford coach John Craig said. "That was something we had to do in order to win this match.

West Deptford senior Erika Sprague was one of 20 students across the nation to be awarded a $2,000 scholarship by Major League Baseball players in recognition of their community service. Sprague is a three-year member of West Deptford's Key Club, an international student-run service organization. Through Key Club, Sprague became involved with the Action Team, a youth volunteer organization linked with the Volunteers of America as well as the Major League Baseball Players Trust.

Something strange happened to the West Deptford boys' soccer team less than two minutes into Tuesday's tournament game at Deptford. The Eagles surrendered a goal. But something familiar happened after that: The No. 9 seed in the South Jersey Group 2 tournament found a way to overcome that adversity and emerge with another road victory. Senior Joe Mingrino scored two goals, both in the second half, as West Deptford rallied for a 3-1 victory over fifth-seeded Deptford in a semifinal of the South Jersey Group 2 tournament.

West Deptford's game plan backfired last night at Haddonfield in an important Colonial Conference girls' basketball game. The Eagles, who could have tied the league-leading hosts with a win, played an aggressive defense from the start, hoping to cause turnovers and putbacks. However, when starter Brianna Williams acquired her third foul with 7 seconds remaining in the first period, the strategy fell apart. Haddonfield (5-1 overall, 4-0 conference) defeated West Deptford, 53-39, behind the shooting of senior two-guard Annie Maloney and sophomore point guard Emily Grabiak, as well as the rebounding of senior forwards Rachel Oakley and Fran Nicoletti.

Even though it faced a surprising 18-17 halftime deficit in last night's entertaining Colonial Conference football contest against upstart West Deptford, Collingswood High never altered its game plan. "We went out in the second half," Collingswood tailback Gerry Gatelein said, "and stayed with what we had been running - and drove it down their throats. " Collingswood went out and scored 28 unanswered points in the second half and defeated visiting West Deptford, 45-18, before 2,000 spectators.

This time, Tony Urban wanted to finish what he started against Haddonfield. The West Deptford junior lefthander pitched a six-hitter and struck out 10 as the Eagles tightened the race in the Colonial Conference with Tuesday's 8-2 victory over host Haddonfield. Earlier this season, Urban started and pitched four shutout innings against Haddonfield, but a high pitch count forced him to leave the game after four innings and a 4-0 lead. Haddonfield came back to win, 13-4. "I want to finish every game, and first one with Haddonfield was early in the season and I just threw too many pitches," Urban said.

If Donovan Casey were a basketball player, he would like the backdoor cut. If he were a football player, he would prefer the end-around. Casey is a baseball player, so his idea of misdirection involves an inverse order of pitch selection. "My change-up is my favorite pitch," Casey said after leading Sterling to a 7-0 victory over West Deptford in a key Colonial Conference Liberty Division game Thursday. Casey, a junior righthander, pitched a four-hitter with nine strikeouts.