By Nitin SrinivasanSports Editor

The audience was loud and the atmosphere was electric in the Vincent Maglio Gym, as the Falcon basketball team prepared to take on the CBA Colts in the Non-Public A South quarterfinals on Friday, March 5. Fans began pouring into the gym a full hour and a half before the game was scheduled to start, in order to wit-ness one of the most anticipated games in St. Joe’s history.

Coming into this game, the Falcons were winless against CBA since the Jay Williams era in the late 1990s, and the Colts have ended the Falcons’ runs at the state title during three of the last four seasons. This year, however, the Falcons, who were without star sophomore Quenton DeCosey, emerged victorious in front of a sellout audience that included Jay Williams.

“CBA beat us two out of the past three years,” said senior guard Steve Rennard. “For us, this game was all about revenge and heart.”

The Colts scored the first point of the game on a free throw, giving them their only lead of the game at 1-0, before the Falcons ended the quarter on a three from senior Nick Contino, who finished the game with 14 points, for an 8-7 lead. The Falcons got off to a hot start in the second period with an 8-0 run, but the Colts fought back to narrow the gap to 25-22 at

halftime. Senior co-captains Rennard,

who finished with 14 points, and Andrew Morgan, who had a game-high 18 points, led the way offensively in the third quar-ter. With stellar performances on the boards from senior Bobby O’Grady and junior Rob Asha-mole, the Falcons outscored the Colts 18-11 in the period.

Neither team scored for the first minute and a half of the fourth quarter, until Contino made a three pointer that bounced off the back rim and high above the backboard before falling through the hoop. CBA tried to fight their way back into the game, but could never cut the lead to single digits, as the Falcons seemed to have an answer for every Colts bas-ket. The Falcons received two huge layups on consecutive plays from senior Eric Peterson, a jumper from the right cor-ner from Rennard, and a three pointer and two free throws from Morgan, as the Falcons broke the

Colts’ press defense time and time again. Morgan hit another free throw to seal the Falcons’ 60-49 victory.

As soon as the game was over, one could see Brother Michael Yerkes S.C. rushing to the Fal-con’s bench to congratulate Coach Dave Turco.

“I told Coach that I admired how he was able to motivate and manage his team to a great vic-tory,” Brother Mike recounted later.

Basketball, however, was not the only way the Falcons were superior to the Colts. The largest Falcon Flock ever assembled at a St. Joe’s basketball game was in attendance, earning praise even in an article on gmchoops.c o m a b o u t t h e g a m e . Although the CBA student section, deemed the “Colt Crazies” made a respectable effort in supporting their team, the Flock drowned out all of the Colts’ cheers through their sheer size, spirit, and volume.

By Alex GanescuAssociate Editor

A significant change is coming for students who hold provisional licenses or have yet to earn their privilege to traverse the roads of the Garden State. “Kyleigh’s Law” plans to introduce reform in the regulations of the Graduated Driver License Program (GDL), by modifying the present curfew, requiring a decal on every vehicle driven by a provisionally licensed driver for identification purposes, and enforcing other rules that stu-dents are already familiar with.

Kyleigh’s Law received its name in honor of a Kyleigh D’Allesio, 16, who died in a car accident in West Morris in 2006. After investigation, police officers concluded that the cause of the accident was distraction due to an unlawful amount of passengers in the vehicle. In New Jersey, passen-gers must be from the provisional license holder’s household, plus one additional person.

The law would make the use of any electronic device while driv-ing illegal and shorten the curfew from 12 AM to 11 PM.

“The bad guy [drunk driver] is traveling earlier in the night,” commented Robert Berger when questioned about this aspect of Kyleigh’s Law. “There has been a trend in recent years for intoxi-cated drivers to drive earlier in the night, in order to avoid the police. As a result, there have been more encounters between drunk drivers and kids who are driving at this time.”

Kyleigh’s Law restricts the passengers a provisional license holder may carry to “only one pas-senger in the vehicle besides his or her dependents,” unless there is a parent or guardian in the vehicle. The law will also remove a provi-sional driver’s right to plea bargain if they violate a driving law.

The bill was passed unani-mously in the New Jersey Assem-bly and signed by former governor Jon Corzine on April 16, 2009. The law is set to takes effect on May 1, 2010. The plea bargain amendment, however, has passed the General Assembly pending consideration by the Senate Trans-portation Committee.

Other points of Kyleigh’s Law include a mandatory brochure to

be sent to parents of provisional license and permit holders, as well as a mandatory parent/teen orientation. One pending amend-ment also includes an extension of the permit holding time from six months to a full year before a driver is eligible for a provisional license.

One topic of great contention in this law is the “age decal” that will be implemented starting May 1. Essentially, a bright colored sticker, or other identifier, will be required on the front and rear license plate of any vehicle operat-ed by a provisional license holder. Many feel that such a measure would allow police to discrimi-nately target teens to pull over, even if they are doing nothing wrong at the time.

Unfortunately for many provi-sional drivers, the bill includes no grandfather clause; that is, even if a driver received his provisional license before May 1, he will be forced to abide by the new regu-lations until he receives his unre-stricted license.

At a hearing at the Superior Court in Morristown on March 5, attorney Gregg Trautmann filed a

lawsuit against this new require-ment. He argued that the decals were a violation of private infor-mation, and that they are a “Scar-let Letter” that would put teens in danger from sexual predators and other people wishing to do them harm.

Trautmann declared this provi-sion unconstitutional because it violates “equal protection” rights of in state drivers. Judge Robert Brennan dismissed Trautmann’s lawsuit under the grounds that driver licenses are a privilege offered by the State of New Jersey, and thus are subject to the motor vehicle regulations and cannot be deemed unconstitutional.

“I am opposed to this decal law,” says Tim Dillon ‘10. “It endangers the lives of teenage drivers – especially girls.

Dillon’s Facebook page, ‘New Jersey Teens Against Teen Driving Restrictions and Kyleigh’s Law,’ has over 12,000 fans at the time this article was written.

Assemblyman Peter J. Barnes III, a sponsor of this law, has a different take on the age decal law, which he advocated.

“Statistically young drivers get

into more acci-dents than any other age group on the road. The age decal does not do anything new; it merely helps police officers enforce the law as it stands now [regarding limitations on passen-gers],” he commented.

A teen found breaking this decal law will be forced to pay a fine, but will not have any points added to his or her license. If the age decal infraction is in conjunc-tion with a moving violation, then it is up to the judge’s discretion as to whenever or not to have the violator’s license suspended or revoked.

Students are encouraged to research this topic at length, because Kyleigh’s Law will be implemented as of the first of May, and it will affect the lives of many students taking to the roads.

By Michael BenderStaff Writer

Top quizbowl teams from across the state gathered at Princeton University on Feb-ruary 13, to see who would emerge victorious at the New Jersey National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) Cham-pionship. After 11 rounds and several hours of tough com-petition, the Falcons emerged on top, defending their state championship title.

The team, comprised of seniors Nitin Srinivasan, Anthony Fontanetta, and Aar-on Knowlson, and sophomore Alex Frey, have been training all year for the event, attending practices over the summer and throughout the school year. Without exaggeration, they have answered thousands of questions at these practices, not to mention the endless hours each has invested out-side of practice in preparation for competitions. The fruits of their time and effort speak for themselves.

At Princeton, the team scored over 300 points in every match and broke the 400 point

barrier twice. They won each of their first 9 matches by over 100 points. Then, in the semi-final match against Livingston, one of the top schools in the country, the Falcons recovered from a 100 point deficit to win 340-285.

The squad then faced rival Bergen County Academies in the finals and once more made an amazing comeback, cor-rectly answering the match’s last six questions to pull off the victory.

“I’m very proud of the col-lege bowl team,” commented moderator Mr. Edward Pow-ers. “They demonstrated their skill and discipline in their two comeback victories. They’ve worked hard to get where they are.”

The team is now preparing for nationals, where it hopes to maintain its tradition of excel-lence.

IT’S A REPEAT!College Bowl Brings

Home State Title

Down Go the CraziesRecord Crowd as

Falcons Defeat CBA

Kyleigh’s Law: Bringing Big Change to Teen Drivers

The Falconpage 5

Healthcare DebateBehind the Flock

page 4Vol. LII Number 5 The Student Newspaper of St. Joseph High School March 2010

Photo by staffJay Williams, ‘99, poses with two sophomore members of the Falcon Flock. “I’m very proud

of the college bowl team”—Edward Powers,

moderator

Kyleigh’s Law

2 THE FALCON March 2010

By Ryan LangtonAssociate Editor

Ey-oo-ah! Looks like it’s time for another one of Brother Mike’s Movie Reviews. Brother has got little time so keep all eyes on Brother and let’s do this.

Brooklyn’s Finest— Ooh, this was a good one. This movie was about three Brooklyn cops and problems that come with being a police officer. It was full of action and suspense, and of course my man Richard Gere. Wesley Snipes also did a terrific job in this film. Brother thought it was intense. HHH

Cop Out— Hey look! Another cop movie! Brother doesn’t even remember what this movie was about because it was so ridicu-

lous. There was some action, but most of the time it was a bunch of cops trying to act funny and coming off as stupid. Bruce Wil-lis is in it, which makes it a little more bearable. HH

The Wolfman— Now this movie was interesting, creepy,

but interesting. Brother liked this one because it was a lot like the original, only much more grue-some. You have some crazy half-man, half-wolf being mauling a bunch of villagers, and people shooting guns with silver bullets. It’s insane! Anthony Hopkins is excellent in this movie too. HHHH

She’s Out of My League— Oh boy. Okay, to put it simply, it’s a terrible movie. I would tell you about the plot, but there was none. The movie was sup-posed to be a comedy, except it wasn’t funny! The knucklehead responsible for putting this movie together should be drawn and quartered. Brother would give it no stars, but I’ll give them credit for trying. H

By Alfonse MugliaEditor-in-Chief

The world is constantly chang-ing. Mind-boggling, I know. But here’s another idea that might make you think a little more. What it took to survive in the world of our parents is not what will lead us to success in life. One of the greatest challenges we will face in our immediate futures is figuring out how to put ourselves on the path toward success.

Over the past few months, I have made my own observations regarding differences between our society and past ones. The most obvious distinction I have noticed thus far is the power of networking and what it will mean to getting ahead in society. Face-book is the premier example. As much as every teenager hates to hear it, social networking websites are no longer places for people to post pictures of themselves from a good angle (not that it was ever meant for that purpose, anyway).

The creators of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. knew exactly what they were doing – becoming rich by using the Internet to help other people use the Internet more effectively. No one, however, could have pre-dicted the magnitude by which

these networking groups have expanded.

My realization came this fall as I watched countless peers change their “profile names” on Facebook, claiming that they did not want colleges knowing things about their personal life. I couldn’t help but wonder, why not? What’s the point of social networking groups if you’re not allowing yourself to be networked? Isn’t the reason people make accounts is so that others know who they are? Do they have something to hide?

Whenever anything is pub-lished about Facebook, teenag-ers cringe, because we want to keep our favorite website to our-selves. It is our little secret, on which we’re pretty much free to do whatever we want, and I’m guilty of that idea too. I wish we could keep Facebook our little secret.

As more adults use Facebook and more news stations talk about the site, it has become obvious to me that we can’t. I’m here to tell you that this transition could be a good thing – if we know how to take advantage.

Regardless of how much soci-ety may change, I like to believe that one key to success will remain constant: it’s all about who you know. With Facebook, millions of people could know who you

are instantly.That’s the power of network-

ing! Your path toward reaching success in life can start today with a click of the mouse. There are people our age and only a few years older who are already using social networking sites to make a name for themselves. Some students are creating groups on Facebook to speak on behalf of a cause, while others are posting blogs that express their opinions on various issues. The opportunity to network yourself is out there.

I’m also here to encourage you to take this idea of networking one step further. Use the approach-ing summer months to do some self-networking the old-fashion way – get a job, volunteer locally, join a summer program, travel the world. Go out and meet the people who could someday put you on the path toward success, while having some pretty cool experiences, making countless friendships, and enjoying life along the way. Now, that’s the beauty of networking.

eDITORIaL

The Power of Social Networking

The Falcon welcomes articles from students, parents and fac-ulty members for consideration for publication. All articles are subject to editing. The opinions expressed in The Falcon do not necessarily represent the opinions of faculty or administration. Opinions expressed in any column except those of the editors are not necessarily those of the editors.

Graphics and Printing by Media Trends, Metuchen, NJ

(732) 548-7088

Published by the students of St. Joseph High School

145 Plainfield Ave., Metuchen, NJ 08840

732-549-7600 ext 261 www.stjoes.org

Volume LII, No. 5 March 2010

Editor-in-Chief:Alfonse Muglia

Managing Editors:Martin Pico

Edward Zukowski

Associate Editors: Michael Cash

Alexander Ganescu Ryan Langton

Mark Lee

Sports Editor: Nitin Srinivasan

Staff Writers: Michael Bender

James Bogdanowicz Charlie Bruno

Mike D’Ambrosio Leonel Delgadillo Michael Henton

Sean Finan Christian Goldy Michael Henton Daniel Kozub

Himanshu Patel William Scarano

Alex Schiffer Mike Syslo

Jonathan Teters Brian Whiteside James Ziemba

Photographer:William Scarano James Ziemba

Comic Editor:Rob Luceri

Associate Comic Editor:Joseph Graham

Faculty Moderator:Dr. Robert Longhi, ‘81

Principal:Mr. John Anderson, ‘70

President:Mr. Lawrence Walsh, ‘68

COmIC ReLIeF

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bROTheR mIke’s mOvIe RevIeW

By Rob Luceri

but the best part of this year was

beating CBA

March 2010 THE FALCON 3

By Brian WhitesideStaff Writer

Everyone is required to do community service at least once during their high school experi-ence. As one gets older one real-izes that community service is an amazing opportunity. Every year seniors are selected by the Rotary Club for recognition of their hard work and dedication to their community.

Twenty seniors have received the award for the current school year. These people exemplify the definition of a well-rounded student.

They are Patrick Keenan, Brian Whiteside, Nicholas Bevi-

lacqua, Matthew Pagano, Leonel Delgadillo, Richard Ortegon, Edward Gorman, Edward Zukowski, Ryan Downey, Antho-ny Muscio, Zachary Riti, Spen-cer Thielmann, Justin Chung, Robert Luceri, Matthew Lester, Andrew Vajtay, Matthew Knep-per, Matthew Galinski, Paul Nyi-tray and Vincent SanMiguel

Justin Chung, the winner for the month of March, for exam-ple, has been a very dedicated student not only in his studies and swimming, but helping out in the community as well. One of the main organizations he is involved with is the Elijah’s Promise program. This well known charity is involved with

soup kitchens, clothing dona-tions, and even its own cater-ing service. Justin has been deeply involved with the soup kitchen.

“Working in the soup kitchen has been such a rewarding expe-

rience,” he said. “It really is amazing to see that I am truly helping others.” In addition to working in the soup kitchen, Justin has also done computer work for Elijah’s Promise and helped them plan their first-ever walkathon.

With recognition from the Rotary Club, Justin, and several other award recipients were treated to an award breakfast at the Crowne Plaza in Edison. Each student had to prepare a speech, which they delivered before the recipients from other schools and their guests.

“Overall I’m just extremely

happy and honored for being recognized by the Rotary Club,” commented Justin. “It was just great to be around people that like to partake in the community just as much as I do.”

senIORs OF The mOnTh

Students Rewarded for Community Outreach

By Himanshu PatelStaff Writer

Local sports broadcasting network MSG launched a new program this school year in order to broadcast high school sport-ing events throughout the Met-ropolitan area. The new network, appropriately called MSG Varsity, is available to Optimum subscrib-ers and provides 24/7 coverage and analysis of various games on television and its website.

As a perennial state power in many sports, St. Joe’s signed up for the program and developed a new club in charge of organizing the broadcasting of events. In order for highlights of a game to appear on the network, a St. Joe’s student must tape the game and send the footage to the network. For bigger contests, however, like the basketball games against St. Anthony’s or CBA, MSG Varsity sent their own crew members to the Vincent Maglio Gymna-sium.

These crew members inter-viewed players and coaches,

while breaking down game film for analysis. The network covers most of the major sports on the high school agenda, including basketball, hockey, swimming, football, and soccer.

The program, however, is about more than showcasing local athletes. It also aims to teach high school students interested in tech-nology or sports broadcasting about what it takes to televise an event.

Kevin Waters is the school’s liaison with MSG Varsity. “My favorite part is working with the students and watching them grow,” he commented. “When we first started, many of the schools we worked with had never used a camera, MAC, or Final Cut Express. To see them go from

novices to shooting, editing, and uploading their own pieces of con-tent is very rewarding. This learn-ing experience is what the MSG Varsity program is all about!”

Mr. Peter Miniscalco, modera-tor of SJTV, is in charge of this exciting new opportunity for the Falcons.

“The program is a great learn-ing experience and a fantastic way to promote our school spirit and community through the country and beyond,” he remarked.

The MSG team is growing quickly, as a multitude of activi-ties already have been filmed and sent to the network. With more sports to be played this year, the school’s participation is expected to grow. Every Falcon team now has a place to share its story.

www.msgvarsity.com

Photo by Alfonse Muglia march winners Rob Luceri (L) and Justin Chung (R)

By Leonel DelgadilloStaff Writer

After a long hard day, most Americans come home and won-der whether they should make something to eat or go out to a restaurant. There are, however, millions of Americans who live in hunger and are unsure how they will get their next meal. Globally, over 1 billion peo-ple live in a state of poverty and hunger. Campus Ministry recently hosted an event called “Simple Meal” in order to raise awareness for this important issue and collect donations to help feed those in need.

The “Simple Meal” consisted of a glass of water, a slice of bread, and a bowl of soup that was served in the cafeteria on Tuesday, March 23. One of the night’s main goals was for the individuals taking part to reflect upon the issue of hunger in the world. Ms. Marion Dellataco-ma, who organized the event, remarked that she felt the night was a way to “truly unite our-selves with the poor.”

Another significant aspect of the event was its Lenten theme, with the colors purple and white clearly visible. The entire reli-gious season of Lent is generally associated with self-sacrifice and service to others.

The donations obtained went to Catholic Relief Services, an organization whose mission is to end global poverty and hun-ger. The group not only uses donations to help those in far off places, but a portion of the money remains in New Jersey to help those in our local Diocese of Metuchen.

“It was such a privilege to be able to help out and know that my efforts were helping to end a serious social issue that affects millions in our country,” commented senior volunteer Matt Luciola.

This act of solidarity served as a connection to an entirely different way of life. “Simple Meal” served to demonstrate that although global hunger is a problem, everyone can make a small contribution towards its alleviation.

By Mike D’AmbrosioStaff Writer

The Semi-Formal, an annual affair, provides freshmen and sophomores with the opportunity to enjoy a night of food and danc-ing with their dates and friends. This event has been going on for over fourteen years, and it has become a respected tradition at St. Joe’s.

This dance gives underclass-men a chance to experience how to dress up and behave in a formal environment. In a way, it is prepa-ration for the junior and senior proms in their futures.

In the past, the dance has typi-cally attracted more freshmen than sophomores. In hopes of improving sophomore attendance, Mr. Brian Jenkins, ’98, Student Council Moderator, approached the sophomore Class President, Santino Cozza. Many meetings were held with the sophomore and freshmen class representa-tives in an effort to come up with some ideas to increase sophomore participation.

One suggestion, from Santino, was to make the event an informal dance instead of a semi-formal.

“As Class President, it is my job to represent the majority of

the sophomore’s desires. Since the people wanted change, I had to do everything in my power to make the people happy,” he explained. Unfortunately, the response from the student body and the admin-istration was mixed.

In an effort to overcome the stalemate, freshmen and sopho-more class officers had a meeting with Principal John Anderson, ’70, to obtain some guidance. Mr. Anderson suggested that each representative and officer of these classes cast a secret vote. This vote was not supposed to be based upon their personal opinions or preferences but rather what they thought their class wanted.

The outcome of the voting process was to continue with the tradition of a semi-formal. As a result, the semi-formal took place on March 27 as scheduled with some improvements. For example, the sophomore class was allowed to select the caterer and the DJ for this year’s event. In addition, the price for the dance decreased ten dollars from the original price of sixty dollars.

Despite the conflicts leading up to the night, the event proved to be a success, like countless years before.

By Christian GoldyStaff Writer

Many of you may be won-dering why a storage trailer suddenly appeared in the parking lot by the cafeteria. After asking several people who could not provide me an answer, I finally received one from, of all people, my mother. The time had come for the Mother’s Club Annual Basket Raffle and the storage trailer was holding many of the 300 baskets raffled on Fri-day, March 26, in the Vincent Maglio Gymnasium.

The theme of this year’s event, which was sold out weeks beforehand, was Mardi Gras. Doors opened at 5:00 PM, and many student vol-unteers served refreshments, ran baskets to the winners, and helped transport baskets to the winners’ cars.

The Mother’s Club has been very busy since September put-ting this event together. Paula Roselli was the Canvassing Coordinator, while publicity

was handled by Diane St. John Weindl. Denise Addona was in charge of the decorations, which were then used for the Freshman/Sophomore Semi-Formal the night after the raf-fle. Co-Chairpersons Michelle Buccigrossi and Catherine

Hoagland took care of entrance tickets and tables. All of these women, and countless more, have worked hard to make the event successful.

Tammy Leonard, as Basket Chairperson, handled the most coveted job of all moms. She is the one who did most of the shopping for basket items. It is reported that Ms. Leonard’s shopping extravaganza started on “Black Friday,” and she has worked her way through every one-day sale, outlet mall, and coupon event in the North-east.

“This event would not be successful without all the vol-unteers in both the present St. Joe’s community and alumni,” commented Ms. Joan Caravano, the club’s co-president.

Proceeds from the event will be used to finance projects or purchases to benefit St. Joseph High School. In the past, the Mother’s Club has funded scholarships, the renewal of the messaging system, library upkeep, and other items.

Semi-Formal: A Tradition ContinuedmOTheRs CLub baskeT RaFFLe

Tricky Tray Fever Hits St. Joe’s Moms

MSG Varsity Comes to St. Joe’s Simple Steps to Help End Hunger

“Overall, I’m just extremely happy and

honored for being recognized by the

Rotary Club”

—Justin Chung, senior

This event would not be successful without all the volunteers in

both the present St. Joe’s community

and alumni.

—Ms. Joan Caravano, co-president

4 THE FALCON March 2010

By Ryan LangtonAssociate Editor

In 1960, Brother Michael Yerkes took his vows and became a member of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Fifty years and countless Revolutionary War re-enactments later, he is still going strong. Brother Mike sat down to talk about his beginning as a Brother and to reflect on his 50th anniversary of brotherhood.

RL: When did you know you wanted to become a Brother? How did you know?

BMY: I knew that I wanted to be a Brother around the end of high school, probably my senior year. There were many Brothers at my high school, Cardinal Hayes, over in the Bronx, and I really admired and respected them. They were my inspiration for going into the brotherhood.

RL: Where did you go to school while you were training to become a Brother?

BMY: I went to school down in Mobile, Alabama at Springhill College. After two years in Ala-bama, I came here to Metuchen, and I took what they call my First Vows at the chapel in 1960. Then,

I went back to Mobile and fin-ished up studying history. After I graduated from Springhill, I came back to Metuchen and started teaching fifth graders at St. Fran-cis. Then I worked in New York and taught grammar school at St. Joseph’s in the Bronx. Those days were interesting because that was back when I taught all subjects the whole day, not just history: English, math, science, and the whole nine yards.

RL: When did you make the transition to teaching high school?

BMY: In 1964, I went to Bishop Reilly High School in Queens, and I was there for seven years. I actually taught Mr. Andy O’Reilly, the track coach here, at that school. I then traveled back to St. Joseph’s in Metuchen, which was now a high school, in 1971 and I have been teaching history ever since.

RL: Why did you want to

teach history over all the other subjects?

BMY: I always liked history throughout high school and col-lege. English was good as well, but I enjoyed history the most because it was so interesting. I have been teaching all different kinds of history for 48 years, including American, Ancient, European, and even Russian his-tory. It never gets old!

RL: How does St. Joe’s com-pare to the other schools you have taught at?

BMY: Oh, I love it here. I continue to teach because the students here are the best. If you cannot teach here, then you can-not teach anywhere, because this school is like heaven in regards to its students. Now those kids from the Bronx, they were a handful.

RL: How has your life changed since becoming a Brother?

BMY: Well back in the day brotherhood was much stricter, but since then the rules have been relaxed. Personally, I like to think that over time and through experi-ence I have become a more faith-ful person and a better teacher.

RL: Now that you have been a Brother for fifty years, what do you like most about being a Brother?

BMY: The community life that comes with being part of an Order is excellent. I have met some great men that have helped me throughout my years as a Broth-er. When I was in formation, the older Brothers would give me tips and help me, and even today I still learn from the other Brothers around campus.

By Alfonse MugliaEditor-in-Chief

Fan buses. Seven Nation Army Chant. The Rollercoaster. Green Man. Gatorade Clap. Welcome to the world of the Falcon Flock, where sports-loving stu-dents demonstrate their enormous school pride by giving their classmates an edge on the court through the power of the “6th man.”

The 2009-2010 season witnessed the Falcons soar to new heights, recaptur-ing the GMC crown and defeating archrival CBA on their way to a 23-4 record. The season also saw what should mark the permanent establishment of the Falcon Flock – the school’s student section – as the most dedi-cated and spirited fan base in the area.

Friday, March 5, 2010 is a day the true Falcon faithful will not soon forget. As the team took care of business on the court against CBA, the Flock’s season-long effort to create an electric atmo-sphere in “The Mag” reached its culmination.

Several individuals, whose examples of school pride should never die, made this journey pos-sible. Are the contributions of some of these people exagger-ated a bit? I don’t think so. If you stood in the Flock on March 5, you understand this excitement.Recent History (2006-2009)

Sean Ohnmeiss ’09 and John Nolan ’09 are hailed as the found-ers of the present-day Flock. “I remember as an underclassmen shaking my head,” Nolan said. “There was basically no school spirit at St. Joe’s, and little-to-no organization of a student sec-tion, even for big-time games. As someone with a strong love for both basketball and St. Joe’s, I wanted to change that. It took a lot of sweat equity, but luckily there were so many great guys in

the Class of ‘09 that together they helped me lead the revolution.”

In 2006, Nolan created a MyS-pace page (now a Facebook group) for the Falcon Flock, on which events for approaching games are publicized. As a junior, Ohnmeiss

assumed the role of orchestrating chants. The transformation didn’t happen overnight, but by the 2008-09 season, attendance at games had significantly increased. With increased passion as well, the rejuvenated Flock began to create its identity as the epitome of school pride.Passing the Crown

The Class of 2009 had elevated the Flock to new heights, and when the time came to pass control at the beginning of the current school year, senior Tim Moc-

zula was given the nod to lead, with senior Alfonse Muglia given control of the Facebook group.

“Leading the Flock meant a lot to me,” commented Moczula. “I can remember in grade school going to watch my brother’s vol-leyball game and hearing the ‘Can you beat this Falcon team?’ chant and thinking it was awesome.”

The Flock’s news leaders were eager to assume their positions; however, they couldn’t do it alone. Other leaders would have to emerge if the Flock was to main-tain the high precedent established by the Class of 2009.Senior Leadership in the Class of 2010

The Class of 2010 embraced the challenge with open arms, and when the Falcons opened their season at home against Wood-bridge High School on December 21, the Flock was in full force. As the year progressed, the section developed a core of dedicated seniors who attended every home game. Jonny Tam inherited from Jon Langton ‘09 the position of “conductor” of the arm-waving, feet-stomping, oohing-and-ahh-

ing “Roller Coaster,” which has distracted many opponents at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Colin Harrity led the Flock at all hockey games throughout the winter. Some senior members even traveled to Mount St. Mary’s Academy to support our sister school’s basketball team, earning the nickname “Mount Flock.” There are too many seniors to list here who gave the Flock its identity as a group of passionate, outrageous fans whose commit-ment to being a part of the Flock came before all other social com-mitments.Underclassmen Pride – The Body Painters

The Flock viewed body paint as an essential addition to help the crowd appear intimidating. Thanks to the generous dona-tion of the Athletic Department and Finance Office, buying paint proved to be no problem. The dif-ficulty lied in finding the bodies interested in painting. With the majority of seniors preferring to yell and jump from their seats a few rows higher, the responsibility fell upon the underclassmen, who enjoyed grabbing the attention of photographers at important games throughout the year. With “F-A-L-C-O-N-S” spelled across their chests, these painters made an appearance at every game, mak-ing their own contribution to the Flock’s identity.The Mascot (and Green Man)

What’s any legitimate student section without a mascot? Well, the Falcon Flock had two and gradually learned that few oppo-nent could claim to have a single mascot.

Prior to the home opener, sophomore Mike Syslo reluc-tantly agreed to wear the heavy,

Falcon mascot costume, yet, by the game’s completion, he eagerly embraced the responsibility for the balance of the year. Wherever the Flock traveled, the mascot followed.

“Being the Falcon was awe-some because I really got to go crazy at games,” commented Mike. “I think the fact that we were the only school in the GMC to have a mascot was quite an accomplishment.”

Finding a permanent home for the Green Man costume, gra-ciously lent by senior David Ortiz, proved to be more challenging. With sophomores Eddy Lubow-icki, Tim Dunn, and Bryan Pro-haska trying the costume, senior Matt Pagano emerged as the suit’s most frequent bearer.

“Being the Green Man was pretty amazing. The Falcon Flock is the best student section in NJ and to be a key contributor is a great feeling,” remarked Matt, who added that the ridicule received from other fans only made him prouder to wear the suit.The Future

Basketball games this season gave students the opportunity to let loose, while respectfully cheering for their classmates. The determination of the recent senior classes to create an electric atmo-sphere at basketball games have carried over into day to day school life, where at times school spirit was at all-time highs.

With the 2009-2010 season in the past, however, the Flock’s perpetuity depends upon the con-tinued commitment of the student body to create a special “6th man” advantage. Are future St. Joe’s classes up for the challenge?

Edited by John Nolan ‘09

Photo by staff The Flock gears up for “The Rollercoaster,” led by senior Jonny Tam, under the opponent’s basket.

Photo by staff sophomore mike syslo proudly wore the Falcon costume throughout the year.

Photo by Ryan Langtonbrother mike has been teaching history for 48 years.

By E.J. ZukowskiManaging Editor

Keeping up with the latest innovations in technology is a constant struggle for all schools, especially with the economic recession. Although some improvements have been made in the past few years at St. Joe’s, there is still much that needs to be brought up-to-date.

The library, in addition to housing the school’s vast col-lection of books, also serves as a media center for many students who rely on it to do research, type papers, and do homework. The school provides students access to such databases as Encyclopedia Britannica and The Discovery Collection on the library computers. Despite these resources, some students find that there just aren’t enough computers available for use dur-ing heavy-traffic times like break and lunch. Even on the best days, they find that at least a few of the computers aren’t working.

“Louis [Haber], our tech expert, usually corrects the computers quickly and very efficiently,” commented librar-ian Patricia Brennan, who also acknowledged that “he is work-ing on older computers. New computers are a needed purchase to keep up with the current tech-nology.”

Some of the computers in the school, like those in the library, are nearly eight years old. Haber, the school’s System Administrator, explained, “other than the ones in the three com-puter labs, all of the computers in other rooms are reused ones which the leases have run out on.” This means that almost all of the teachers are using computers that are nearly four years old.

Mr. Haber’s top priority, how-ever, is upgrading the school’s faculty and student network. “We really need the entire net-work infrastructure revamped. The switches in it are too old” he said. “A new infrastructure would last for ten years.”

Some teachers have chosen to supply their own technology for use in the classroom. Dr. Robert Longhi, ’81, for example, has purchased a laptop, three desk-tops, a projector, and even a large TV himself. “I use these various technologies to some extent in all of the subjects I teach,” he explained. “For example, using the desktops and the projector can be instructional for introduc-ing students to the proper way to research information.”

Al though much of the school’s hardware is out of date, it has made some strides forward in purchasing software licenses for students. Starting this year, math students have had access to Acellus, an online program that teaches students through videos and practice problems.

The program has proven so successful, in fact, that there are plans to expand it. “Next year, the whole school might have access,” remarked Math Depart-ment Chair Linda Muratore.

Technology is an integral part of a modern education and needs to be emphasized. Hopefully, the school will be able to best serve the students by being able to balance adopting new programs with keeping the hardware up to date.

An Interview with

Behind the Falcon FlockThe behind-the-scene fanatics that helped make the basketball season one to remember

Computers Highlight Need for Technological Improvementsbrother

mike Yerkes s.C.

50 YeaRs OF bROTheRhOOD:

March 2010 THE FALCON 5

“Kyleigh’s Law” certainly sounds good at first glance. After all, it suppos-edly protects young people on the roads. Why would anyone be opposed to this bill? Well, they wouldn’t if it worked. Not only does this bill not make the roads any safer, it allows teenagers to be targeted and discriminated against.

The orange hang tags that teen drivers will be forced to use will do absolutely nothing to make them safer. A significant portion of the affected population will altogether disregard them and will only be affected if they are unlucky enough to be pulled over. The other portion who do abide by the new policies won’t change their driving habits because of a little piece of plastic. The tags will only lead to an increased rate of teenagers being pulled over. Even if a teen with extra passengers is driv-ing perfectly, all a police officer has to do is spot that orange eyesore and the driver could potentially lose his license. Aren’t laws supposed to exist to prevent harm? Is this bill really going to protect anyone or is the purpose of following it just for the law’s sake?

One of the effects of the bill would be to rename provisional licenses “pro-bationary licenses.” I find this seem-ingly minor change quite revealing; teen drivers are essentially being treated like criminals. Why do beginner drivers have to be more clearly exposed on the road than convicted drunk drivers do? First-year drivers are more likely to make a few mistakes, but should they really only be treated with the same leniency that people convicted of DUI are? What have they done to deserve these infringements on their ability to drive? Should an entire portion of the population face unreasonable restric-tions because a few of its members died accidentally? Statistically, teens are more likely to get into crashes, but is that reason to discriminate against them? The entire method of reasoning is flawed and to apply it to any group violates their constitutional rights.

To be frank, I’m not surprised the bill passed unanimously. Voting against any sort of legislation with the word “chil-dren” in it is political suicide. People’s brains shut down when anything per-taining to protecting minors comes up. “He doesn’t care about our children” is right up there with “soft on crime” on the list of most damning things a candidate can be called. Even if the allegation is completely unfounded, the accusation alone is often enough to sink a campaign. Despite all that, however, I’m not above pointing out the irony of former Governor Jon “Who needs a seatbelt?” Corzine signing a bill to

regulate teen’s driving habits.Finally, calling the bill “Kyleigh’s

Law” is in itself disingenuous. The eponymous Kyleigh D’Alessio freely chose to enter the car with three other teens. Had she been following the cur-rent law and been hit by a car containing an illegal amount of passengers, that would be one thing, but I somehow doubt, were she alive, she would spon-sor a bill designed to restrict an activ-ity that she chose to engage in. I can understand that the idea of protecting children is comforting to Kyleigh’s grieving parents, but it’s naïve to think that even she would have supported such extreme measures.

Hopefully, Mr. Trautmann’s appeal will put an end to these discriminatory new policies, but it could take months or even years. While it’s not that much of an inconvenience to put up the tag, we shouldn’t have to. It’s really a matter of principle; should we be treated like criminals because a group of woefully out-of-touch legislators think they know our driving habits better than we do?

By Eugene J. TyrrellEnglish Teacher

To say that I support the current health care reform bill would be inaccurate. The truth is the current bill is timid and doesn’t go far enough. The American people, and I mean all the American people, deserve nothing less than a single payer health care sys-tem, the same sort of system that other democratic indus-trialized nations enjoy.

A single payer health care system is one where the gov-ernment pools medical and financial resources in order to insure the medical needs of its citizens. Norway, Japan, The United Kingdom, Swe-den, Iceland, Spain, Kuwait, Denmark, Portugal, Finland, Italy, Hong Kong, and The Netherlands are among the countries that currently have a single payer health care system. Australia, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Israel, Switzerland, and France, are among the countries with uni-versal health care.

All of these countries have one thing in common – their citizens enjoy greater longev-ity than the citizens of The United States.

As the rest of the United States struggles in The Great Recession, health insurance companies enjoy record profits while they burden the American people with higher premiums, higher deductibles and higher co-pays. Most

employers are cutting their contributions to employee health care plans, which is creating an enormous burden on the American people. Yet all too often, when Americans attempt to use their health care insurance, these same companies will either turn them down claiming some small print shadow reason such as a pre-existing condi-tion, or they will nickel and dime the consumer making the individual clear several hurdles of bureaucratic paper work and jargon or sit through countless hours of computer generated virtual menus that force the exasperated con-sumer to endure mind numb-ing hours of wasted time that only lead to a low level gate keeper who will then deny their claim. Often policy hold-ers will surrender to the will of the insurance corporation and sink further into financial hardship believing that they cannot beat a system that is rigged against them.

One place that the insur-ance industry is more than willing to spend a massive amount of money is with its’ nefarious propaganda cam-paign. Here, the industry has been quite effective through advertising relentlessly through right wing extrem-ist outlets such as talk radio and the Fox News Network to hypnotize poor misled souls such as those attending the “Tea Parties” that their freedoms are at risk. What

freedoms? I didn’t know that going into bankruptcy has to do with the Pursuit of Happi-ness. Another place that the insurance industry is willing to pay millions for is lobby-ing government officials, here they corrupt both the Demo-crats and the Republicans to sabotage the interest of the people.

Currently the United States has two health care systems that approach universal health care; Medicare and Medic-aid. Medicare, which provides health insurance to citizens over 65 years old has been an effective system, while Med-icaid has been a disaster. It has created a system where the poor of this country flood the emergency rooms of hospitals for all of their coverage and thus create a painful backlog to those citizens with standard health insurance, causing us to wait several hours for minimal services and then be billed an astronomical sum when those serves are rendered.

Without a doubt the Unit-ed States of America is the greatest nation in the world, providing its citizens with a great standard of living; but the American dream may be slipping away with its shrink-ing middle class. Universal health care is a key to secur-ing the middle class of this nation. President Obama and Congress must look out for the needs of the many instead of the few. The American people deserve nothing less.

I’m JusT saYIng...Health Care Debate Hits St. Joe’sTeachers Weigh in on the Fiasco in Washington, D.C.

The Health Care Reform Fiasco

Kyleigh’s Law Protection or Discrimination?

Why America Needs Universal Health Care

By Mr. Tom ScaranoAP Government &

Politics Teacher

The health care reform fiasco continues to dominate politics at all levels of gov-ernment. President Barack Hussein Obama labeled health care coverage a crisis in need of immediate action. The President’s words were an attempt to rally us to action and, of course, to stop those evil insurance companies.

If the crisis is so severe, why it is that almost all of the provisions of the 2000 plus page bill do not take effect until after 2012? That is the year that the President would be up for reelection. So why the massive bill now? The answer lies with a socialist radical named Saul Alinsky and his rulebook “Rules for Radicals.” The answer is, of course, never waste a crisis, even if you have to create one. Saul Alinsky and his commu-nity organizing tactics have served as a guidebook for Mr. Obama.

The answer also lies with the socialist and Marxist ties that President Obama has

engendered and his asso-ciation to known Marxists. There is documented evidence to show that his long-time mentor and father figure in Hawaii, Frank Marshall Davis, was an enthusiastic and active member of the Com-munist Party. After coming to Chicago, Obama for 20 years attended the church of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, an ardent and vocal advocate of Black Liberation Theology. Black Theology is a move-ment with its roots planted firmly in Marxism. Obama also had extensively docu-mented contact in Chicago with Bill Ayers, former mem-ber of the Marxist-influenced Weather Underground, and a self-identified Marxist. The nationalization of health care is simply a fulfillment of Marxist goals.

The question is relatively simple; who should control your health care decisions – the federal government or you? Our government does not give us rights. Our Found-ing Fathers wrote our Consti-tution to protect us from the government. Any government that gives us rights can take

them away.Lastly, we know from

experience that nationalized health care will not work. Massachusetts and Tennessee are states that have attempt-ed universal health care. “It would reduce costs” was their rallying cry. In reality, costs have increased dramatically. Nationalized health care has been a disaster in European countries and Canada. Recent-ly, the Premier of Vancouver flew to the United States to undergo heart surgery because of the failure of the Canadian health care system.

Although over 85% of Americans are happy with their health care, most of us realize that there are issues which we need to address. Health care costs need to be addressed. However, does anyone really believe that our Federal Government can control costs? We have trillion dollar deficits. That fact alone should frighten any American. The deficit in the first year of the Obama administration has tripled. We agree that action must be taken to control costs. The current plan just won’t do it.

Commentary by e.J. Zukowskimanaging editor

Over 2,000 athletes met in the city of Vancouver, Canada to participate in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. These games turned out to be everything that the Olympics should be. Records were made and then broken, America had an excellent showing, and the host country Canada finally ended its own curse

of not winning any gold medals at a Canadian Olympics. In retrospect, this international contest in British Colum-bia was one to remember.

The fact that the games turned out to be such a success is impressive, consid-ering the tragic accident that happened just hours before the opening ceremony. Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed during a warm up run on the newly built track, which resulted in his untimely death. Many believed that the games would be overshadowed by this tragic event.

As the Olympics continued, however, the excitement of the games, especially for Americans and Canadians, quickly changed the mood. This change of dis-position was originally caused by the first ever Canadian gold medal won on Canadian soil. Our northern neighbor went on to win the most gold medals

overall, fourteen. The American team had several

excellent performances as well. The major event that attracted the atten-tion of most of America was the men’s hockey team. They stormed through the tournament beating powers like Finland and even upsetting Canada, the team highly favored to get gold, in the preliminary rounds. It looked like a possible gold medal was in America’s future. This, coupled with the fact that this year is the 30th anniversary of the U.S Men’s Hockey Team’s “Miracle on Ice,” led to even more of a buzz surrounding the American team.

Unfortunately, America lost to Canada in the finals, but one can still find many good things to look at in America’s Olympic performances. This year was full of American athletes who defied expectations and serve as excel-lent role models. Whether it is Apolo Anton Ohno in speed skating or Sean White in the halfpipe, one need not look far to see an example of Olympic excel-lence. The 2010 Olympics exceeded all expectations and was truly a beacon of hope in less than hopeful times.

The Olympic experience contin-ues to be about more than just medal counts and victories. It is about quality entertainment, individual sacrifice, and national pride. This Olympic tradi-tion will live on as we look forward to the Summer Olympics in London in 2012.

Olympics Exceed Expectations

Commentary by Ryan Langton associate editor

6 THE FALCON March 2010

ACADEmIC TEAmS UPDATE

By Alex GanescuAssociate Editor

The Computer League recently finished their sea-son for the 2009-2010 school year. Although the programs and computer science topics posed a significant challenge for the team, the foundation for a strong 2010-2011 year has been firmly planted in all of its younger members.

Senior Nitin Srinivasan, co-captain, was able to secure the first and only perfect ten on the third contest in February, a

personal best in his two years in Computer League.

Junior members Anthony Zsamba, George Ozga, Alex Ganescu, Dennis Connors, and Jack Naughton and sophomore Vincent Saulys hope to take the experience they gained this year to new heights when they take on a fresh set of chal-lenges in the upcoming school year.

The team participated in their fourth and final contest on March 29 with praise-worthy results across the board.

By Sean FinanStaff Writer

For the second year in a row, the members of the Science National Honor Society hosted the Middle School Science Bowl for sixth, seventh, and eighth grad-ers. This year, over 129 students competed in the event, a signifi-cant improvement upon last year’s turnout of 97 contestants.

The first round consisted of a written test made up of 75 mul-tiple choice questions and an optional essay question (used as a tie breaker). All students who took part in the competition received a certificate of participation and a T-shirt. The top three individual test scores were awarded a plaque. The first, second, and third place winners also received $100, $50, and $25, respectively.

The top five teams advanced to the championship round, uti-lizing buzzers in a Jeopardy-like competition. Topics included biology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth science, math, and computer science. The top three teams received plaques for their schools.

Throughout the day, the guests were treated to scientific experi-ments carried out by members of the Science NHS. Additionally, the Science NHS gave tours of the labs and science wing.

Ms. Jeanne McNamara, the NHS advisor and primary organiz-er of this event, commented, “The competition is a great way for prospective St. Joe’s students to see the labs here at the school and have a fun day with science.”

The competition was a huge success, thanks to the efforts of Ms. McNamara and the student volunteers.

By Charlie BrunoStaff Writer

Not to be outshone by the success of the winter athletics, the Math League continues to prove itself a viable force in the state of New Jersey. The squad continues to perform well in a variety of mathemat-ics competitions.

The team scored 70 out of a possible 75 points in the Catholic Advanced Math Contest on February 4. Led by seniors Nitin Srinivasan, Matthew Galinsky, and Aaron Knowlson, the team maintains a first place standing in the Northeast Catholic Confer-ence.

The team followed up the effort by scoring 23 out of a possible 30 points in the New Jersey Math League Compe-tition. This test was forced to be rescheduled to March 1, following a snow day on February 25. The team is tied for third in Middlesex County and continues to be one of the top 25 teams in the state.

Moderator Ms. Linda Mura-tore is pleased with this year’s results. “The team continues to perform well, year after year,” she commented. “I’m very proud of the students and all of their hard work.” The success of Math League is a testament to the strong math program at St. Joe’s. Rooms 119 and 118 (junior varsity) are filled every Thursday with students eager to compete.

The students are even being recognized on a national level. On February 9, thirty students took the prestigious Ameri-can Mathematics Competi-tion. Seniors Alfonse Muglia and Nitin Srinivasan, along with junior standouts Craig Barretto and Michael Valdez, scored well enough to con-tinue in the competition and test their mathematic prowess in the American Invitational on March 16.

The Math League continues to prove that excellence is not only a habit on the court or on the field, but also in the classroom.

By Michael BenderStaff Writer

The chess team was deep in thought on March 5-6, as they attempted to out-think and out-maneuver their opponents at the NJ States Chess Tourna-ment. This two day long, five round event marked the end of the 2009-2010 chess season.

The team had a success-ful season, winning seven of its ten matches and defeating perennial rivals, like North Brunswick. This remarkable performance qualified the team for the Shore League Play-offs. Unfortunately, they were paired against the skilled and highly ranked High Tech team, which eliminated the Falcons before they could qualify for the second round.

Not deterred by this loss, the team – comprised of senior Anthony Fontanetta, juniors Michael Bender, Evan Tar-dosky, and Patrick O’Connor, and sophomore Jason Hill – set their sight on the state tourna-ment.

The squad began the tour-

nament a little shakily, losing their first two matches. They were able to recover, however, securing wins in the next two matches and losing the third match by only one game. This performance earned the team two points out of a possible five, an improvement upon last year’s total.

“We played well during the regular season,” remarked moderator Wayne Fischer. “I would have liked the team to have done a little better at the Shore League Playoffs and at States, but we have a young team and can look forward to an even more successful season next year.”

With the season now over, the team will begin to prepare for next year. They hope to use the remainder of the school year, as well as the summer, to hone their skills and master new tactics so they can outplay their opponents in the future. With four of the five members of the varsity team returning, the team should be well pre-pared to put these skills into use.

By Mark LeeAssociate Editor

Two teams consisting of mem-bers of the Science NHS and Sci-ence League represented St. Joe’s in the annual National Science Bowl held on February 27 at the Princeton Plasma Physics Labo-ratory.

The competition used rules similar to those of Jeopardy, utiliz-ing buzzers and a unique scoring system. A range of science-related questions were asked, includ-ing General Science, Biology, Astronomy, Earth Science, Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Computer Science. Over 32 teams partici-pated, with the winners earning the privilege of competing in the national tournament in Washing-ton, D.C. later in the year.

The “A” Team consisted of Shahil Patel, Martin Pico, Michael Bender, and captain Mark Lee. Performing superbly, the team made it to the sixth round, defeat-ing Bensalem and Sayreville. They also outperformed the other Catholic school teams, besting the likes of CBA and Notre Dame High School. The “B” Team, con-sisting of Ryan McCadden, Her-mandeep Dhmai, Ryan Langton,

and captain Gabriel Blanco, performed admirably as well.

“All things consid-ered, I think [both of our teams] improved on last year’s perfor-mance,” commented moderator Ms, Jeanne McNamara. “Our “A” Team lost to the even-tual 1st and 3rd place winners of the tournament. It’s a tough competition, but I hope that

the current members will continue to participate and take us further in the competition.”COmpuTeR League

Challenging Year Concludes

maTh LeagueFalcons Lead Region in Catholic Conference

Chess TeamChess Season Comes to Close

‘A’ Team shines at National Science Bowl

Photo by Ms. McNamara proud participants of st. Joe’s middle school science bowl.

Photo by Ms. McNamara Top students of 2010 in the st. Joe’s middle school science bowl.

Photo by Ms. McNamara Local students had their knowledge put to the test on march 13 at the annual middle school science bowl. schools competed against each other for prizes and bragging rights.

Photo by Ms. McNamara The 2010 science bowl team met great success at the annual con-test held in princeton, nJ.

Photo by Ms. McNamara Team members ready to buzz in.

mIDDLe sChOOL sCIenCe bOWL

Contest Honors Talented Youth

March 2010 THE FALCON 7

By Alfonse MugliaEditor-in-Chief

The winter track team’s Shuttle Hurdle Relay squad traveled to Boston on Saturday, March 13, to participate in the Nike Indoor Championship. The Falcons, who qualified for this national meet by posting what was at the time the nation’s 3rd fastest time, brought home a 9th place finish.

(Pictured from left to right) Juniors Chris Troche and John Matera and seniors Tim Moczula

and Zach Sikanowicz made the trip. The trip was the culmination of a season of great success for the team, who earned gold in every race against state competition: New Jersey Catholic Track Con-ference Relays, Greater Middle-sex Conference Relays, and Non-Public A State Relays. Senior Rob Luceri and Andrew Cinko served as alternates throughout the year. Individually, Troche earned a 5th place finish at the Non-Public A State Championships, qualifying for the Meet of Champions.

Photo by Mrs. Moczula

WInTeR TRaCk & FIeLD WRap-up

St. Joseph High School

Falcon SportsBy Nitin Srinivasan

Sports Editor

After a season filled with many successes and a few bumps in the road, the Falcon basketball team earned the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Champion-ship for the first time since the Jay Williams era. After two pre-vious heartbreaking losses in the championship game, the Falcons handily defeated Monroe to bring home the county title.

The Falcons opened up their season on December 19 with an impressive victory over Union at the Hoop Group Showcase. The team then headed down to Georgia, where they fought well and achieved a 1-2 record at the St. Pius X Christmas Classic, while gaining valuable experience against high-level competition from around the country.

After they returned, the Fal-cons rolled to a Red Division title and earned the number one seed entering the GMC Tourna-ment with a perfect 15-0 record against county foes, including an especially commanding 83-39 victory over Piscataway, avenging last year’s defeat in the county championship. Other Red Divi-sion opponents who fell prey to the Falcons’ dominance included Old Bridge, South Brunswick, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, and J.P. Stevens.

Throughout the season, the Fal-cons also played extremely well

against non-county opponents. In addition to their victories over Union in the season opener and Sandy Creek during their Christ-mas tournament, the Falcons also handily defeated Moore Catholic on January 18. In fact, the team’s only losses during the regular season came in closely contested games to state powerhouses St. Anthony’s on January 20 and Plainfield on February 12.

The Falcons entered the GMC tournament with the top seed and handily defeated Old Bridge in their first round matchup, led by a 30-point performance by senior guard Steve Rennard. The team then faced some resistance while playing Cardinal McCarrick and Spotswood in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, but the Falcons came away with double-digit victories nonetheless.

The championship game took place on Sunday, February 28, after being rescheduled due to inclement weather. St. Joe’s, led by Rennard, sophomore Quen-ton DeCosey, and senior captain Andrew Morgan, got off to a hot 10-0 start and never looked back.

DeCosey led the way with 18 points, while Morgan and Ren-nard had 17 and 14, respectively, en route to a 65-45 St. Joe’s vic-tory. Rennard and DeCosey were both named to the All-Conference team after the game, and Rennard also took home the GMCT MVP trophy. The University of Penn-sylvania-bound guard finished his high school career with 1,478 points, good for third highest in St. Joe’s history.

“We knew it was our year,” commented Rennard. “We had the experience to go far: a lot of veterans and seniors, as well as a good group of juniors.”

The Falcons’ strong perfor-mance throughout the season earned them the fourth place seed in the Non-Public A South division in the state tournament. In their quarterfinal matchup, the Falcons defeated the CBA Colts 60-49 in front of a sellout crowd at home. The Falcons’ season ended on March 8 in a heartbreaking 62-59 semifinal loss against top-ranked Camden Catholic, who went on to win the state championship.

Although the team’s run at a state title was cut short in its semifinal matchup, the Falcons enjoyed a successful season in which they finished with a 23-4 record, including a perfect 19-0 against GMC opponents. The team looks forward to next year with high hopes, where they will strive to defend the county title and win the state championship.

By Charlie BrunoStaff Writer

N o t e v e n c o n s e c u t i v e Nor’easters could stop the Fal-cons from extending their state record to 32 consecutive Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) titles. In a meet that was resched-uled four times and moved from the prestigious Denunzio Pool at Princeton to the Gregg Ander-son Recreation complex at North Brunswick, St. Joe’s took care of business and recorded the 32nd notch in their championship belt on February 13.

The Falcons dominated from start to finish, taking home one-third of the possible 66 medals. Contributing to four of those med-als was junior Shane Tonery, who

became the sixth St. Joe’s swimmer in the last ten years to win two indi-vidual medals by taking home gold in both the 100-yard breaststroke and 200 individual medley.

“I went in knowing the breast stroke would be close, and the I.M was mine for the taking. We did what we had to do.” Tonery commented. “Maybe next year we can redecorate the county record board.”

St. Joe’s dominating 596-332.5 point win over second place East Brunswick was due in large part to a sweep of the relays. Senior John Wieczorek did his part with a first place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, and played a key role in the 200 freestyle and medley winning relays.

With the county title all

wrapped up, it was time to focus on the state tournament. Facing a three-year drought for state tour-nament titles, this senior class was especially thirsty for victory. After a win against St. Peter’s Prep, the Falcons suffered a heart-wrench-ing loss at the hands of longtime rival, and eventual state cham-pion, Christian Brothers Academy on February 22.

Nonetheless, Coach Steve Whittington, ’92, had to put it all in perspective.

“Our guys really rose to the occasion and nearly pulled off an incredible upset. We had some great swims, and the guys swam their hearts out,” he commented on the 87-83 loss. “To see the squad pull together like that shows what this team is all about.”

By Christian Goldy Staff Writer

The Falcon Winter Track and Field team began the season seek-ing to defend its state champion-ship title. Although the Falcons were unsuccessful in this goal after graduating several key members of last year’s team and suffering some injuries to rising stars, they certainly enjoyed successes and performed well as a team.

The Falcons finished 4th in the Greater Middlesex Confer-ence (GMC) Relays and went on to take 6th in the Non-Public A Relays at the Bennett Center in Toms River. The team concluded their county competitions at the end of January with a 7th place finish at the GMC championship held at the Bennett Center.

Senior Jonathan Marques defended his GMC title in the 400. Marques, along with fellow senior Ryan Maccie and junior Chris Troche represented St. Joe’s at the Meet of Champions in late February.

The successful Shuttle Hurdle Team also performed well through-out the year and has proven itself

to be one of the best in the state. Comprised of various combina-tions of seniors Tim Moczula, Zachary Sikanowicz, and Rob Luceri and juniors Chris Troche, John Matera, and Andrew Cinko, the team won the Non-Public A Relay Championship and posted the ninth best time in the country at the Nike Indoor Champion-ships.

“The team had a good season and performed to their level of ability,” commented Coach Gary Trojanowski, ’72.

The keys to the team’s success were strong leadership from senior members, stellar performances from returning members, and large improvements in runners. Accord-ing to Coach Trojanowski, Sikano-wicz was the most improved run-ner, contributing in hurdles and high jump. Coach Trojanowski went on to say that senior distance runner Alfonse Muglia’s leader-ship was invaluable to the team’s success.

The Falcons look forward to the spring season with high hopes, as the experience gained through the winter will help in their quest for the county and state titles.

By Alex SchifferStaff Writer

The Falcon hockey team had high hopes entering the season, although they knew that the road to success would not be easy.

“We came out this year as a young team, but a hard-working one, with the determination to succeed,” said junior defenseman Oni Sutich.

The Falcons’ hard work ended up paying off in the long run, fin-ishing the season with an overall

record of 15-7-2 and a conference record of 11-2-1. The Falcons were runners up in the NJIHL Southern Conference as well as the county conference.

The team opened their season in dramatic fashion, going 7-1 through their first 8 games. The Falcons blew out Old Bridge 8-0 in the first round of the division playoffs before losing an intense game to Paul IV 3-2 in the confer-ence championship. The Falcons’ run at a state title ended with a heartbreaking 6-1 loss to Glouc-

ester Catholic on March 3. Although the Falcons did

not bring home a championship this year, they did redeem them-selves from last year’s disap-pointing 4-15-4 season. With a strong group of underclassmen, including the returning varsity members and members of the JV team that won the Skyland Conference Championship, the team hopes to improve even more for next year and perhaps bring home a title or two.

hOCkeY WRap-up Solid Season Overshadows Late Season Loses

Basketball Wins County Championship

Falcons Continue GMC Swimming DominanceCome Up Just Short in State Title Run

By Daniel Kozub Staff Writer

The Falcon bowling team’s sea-son may have ended abruptly after the team began the year with a hot start, but their hard work helped them turn around last year’s disap-pointing season.

Led by seniors Brandon Cotro-neo, Matt Snyder, and Paul St. Marie, and junior Joe Campos, the team got off to a hot start and was even ranked as high as 7th in the state in late January, en route to an 11-4-2 regular season record. The team performed quite well in games against GMC opponents during the regular season, before losing to Piscataway in the first round of the GMC tournament.

“Although we did not do well in GMC’s, it was a good year

overall,” commented head coach Wayne Fischer.

The team also performed well in several tournaments in which they competed over the course of the season. The highlight of the team’s season came with a first-place finish at the Joe Romer Tournament on February 1.

The Falcons received some strong individual performances that, coupled with their strong bond both inside and outside the lanes, were key to their improve-ment this year. Campos finished the year with a 215.6 average and was selected to the All-GMC Red Division team and the All-Con-ference team. Cotroneo closely followed with a 212 average and was also selected to the All-GMC Red Division team.

bOWLIng WRap-up

Hurdlers Go National

“We knew it was our year. We had the experience

to go far.”—Steve Rennard, senior

8 THE FALCON March 2010

St. Joseph High School

Falcon Sports

By Michael Henton Staff Writer

With spring fast approach-ing, the golf team is diligently preparing to defend their title as White Division Champions. Coming off an impressive sea-son that ended with a record of 20-1, the team is looking to redeem itself after falling just short of the Greater Middlesex Conference Championship.

Led by standout junior Kevin Waitikowich, the team will look for leadership from captain Ryan Downey and fel-low-seniors Tom Herring and Mike Dauigoy after losing six

members to graduation.The Falcons look to start the

season off with a win at home against Sayreville on April 1, before competing in the Cherry Valley Invitational two weeks later.

“A lot of schools will prob-ably underestimate us because of the 6 lost seniors, but in my opinion we are a lot deeper than they realize,” remarked Coach Ryan Lechner.

The squad, consisting of 15 golfers from all grade levels, truly possesses the depth and combination of leadership and talent necessary to surpass last year’s success.

By Michael CashAssociate Editor

With the end of the winter sea-son, the Vincent Maglio Gymnasium becomes the home of the volleyball team in the spring. Graduating only three seniors and returning nine var-sity players from last year’s squad, which finished the season with a record of 36-10, the Falcons eagerly plan to attack this season and be the last team standing.

“Our goal is to win it all. We want to bring the state championship title back to St. Joe’s this year,” said senior captain Bobby O’Grady, who won a state championship with the 2008 team his sophomore year.

For the first time, the Falcons received national recognition for their efforts. ESPN RISE ranked this year’s team 16th nationally in

the preseason rankings. With such high hopes and expectations this year, the team began to defend its hype by easily defeating Hunterdon Central in their first scrimmage of the season. The Falcons also trav-eled to Marlboro High School and St. Peters Prep for preseason scrim-mages.

Between all of the hype, skill level, and desire to win, this year’s team has the opportunity to rival the success of the 2008 team, which broke a NJ state record for most wins in a season and also culminated their dominant season with a state championship.

This year’s squad has the oppor-tunity to break that record, as they will be competing in over 50 match-es this season. They hope to emerge victorious when competing against rivals and powerhouses such as St

Peter’s Prep, East Brunswick, and Southern Regional, as well as when they travel out of state to Rhode Island to compete in a tournament with teams from New England.

“As long as they stay focused on their goal and continue to work hard, a new banner will be going up in the gym, as well as a new state record,” commented head coach Miguel Cabrita, ’91.

The regular season begins on April 1, with a quad match in the morning, followed by a trip to East Brunswick to challenge their GMC rivals later that afternoon.

By Alfonse MugliaEditor-in-Chief

The Falcon baseball team is gear-ing up for a run at its third consecu-tive Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) championship, and, with twelve seniors on the varsity roster, the squad looks to combine talent, experience, and camaraderie to find success come late May.

“St. Joe’s has been a part of two county championships the past two years, and now it’s time to strive for a state championship,” commented senior Phil Gianakos, a three-year starter.

The Falcons will be led by a deep pitching staff, anchored by four seniors who will continue their baseball careers at the next level: Gianakos (Temple), Victor Diaz (Mississippi State), Anthony Par-enti (Naval Academy), and Jared DeBrizzi (Kean).

Centerfielder Shane Alvarez (Kean) and infielders Paul Nyitray (Caldwell) and Austin Tomaszewicz (Fairleigh Dickinson) have also com-mitted to play at the college level.

These senior leaders, along with fellow seniors Alec Gonzalez, Jim-my Lindsay, Alfonse Muglia, Eric Peterson, and Rob Sammarco, will

bring great experience and steadiness to the Falcons. Meanwhile, Juniors Matt Hratko and Tom Antuofermo highlight a talented underclassmen group that will be called upon for much needed contributions through-out the season.

“The only thing that can stop our team from winning a championship is ourselves,” remarked Diaz, who added that the experience the team has gained from playing together the past four years will be invaluable. “We’re a family.”

In order for the Falcons to find suc-cess come May, all members of this family will have to come together.

By Martin PicoManaging Editor

Returning with faster shots, smarter play, and another year of experience, the Falcon ten-nis team looks to start off the season with a spirit of deter-mination.

Coming off a 7-15 season, the team is hungry to perform well in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament and qualify for states, something the team hasn’t done in the last three years.

With six returning varsity members, the team has the experience necessary to per-form well this season. Led by senior Frank Osolnick, who has the chance to be one of the top players in the county this year,

the Falcons hope to soar to new heights and make this season a competitive one.

The key to the team’s suc-cess lies in the players’ abilities to play each point individually. “In a match, which is as much a mental battle as a physical one, wining a game can be a daunt-ing task. But, if you concentrate on each point, making a solid stroke each time, match wins will come,” commented Coach Jarrett Dewelde, ’96.

Opening their season on April 1, the Falcons plan to start off on the right foot and become a dominating force in the White Division. In the meantime, the team looks to refine their skills and build the team chemistry necessary to push each other to new levels of play.

By Michael SysloStaff Writer

The Falcon lacrosse team will open its season on April 1 against Rutgers Prep, with Coach Marc Moreau and com-pany hoping to repeat last year’s success.

“I felt last year was a huge step in the right direction for the program,” commented Coach Moreau. “We fell just short of our ultimate goal: a state cham-pionship.”

This season’s goals include winning the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) regular sea-son title, defending the GMC Tournament crown for a second time, and capturing the Non-Public A state championship. Considering the tough schedule the Falcons will face, this will prove no easy task.

The Falcons will face top in-state talent in perennial powers Peddie, Bergen Catholic, Seton Hall Prep, Don Bosco Prep, and Immaculata. The squad is also

set to take on four out-of-state opponents: Bishop Guertin of New Hampshire (a Brothers of the Sacred Heart School), Palos Verdes of California, Central Bucks East of Penn-sylvania, and Boston College High School.

“All of these out-of-state teams are top teams in the areas where they come from,” said Moreau. “Every single one of these games will be an enormous challenge. Playing teams like these is how we will prepare for a run at the state championship.”

With returning Rutgers-b o u n d s e n i o r s A n d r e w D’Ambrosio and Nick Contino, as well as the county’s leading scorer in Kevin Cernuto (St. John’s University), the Falcons are up for the task. Juniors Slay Sudah, A.J. Proulx, and Ryan Loughlin and sophomore Eddy Lubowicki bring special skills necessary to attain the team’s championship goals.

By Ryan LangtonAssociate Editor

After getting off to a slow start in the winter, the Falcon spring track and field team hopes to regain the glory of last year and start the season off on the right foot.

The team will look for outstand-ing performances from all events to put together a solid season. After an impressive showing at the Nike Indoor Championships, senior hur-dlers Tim Moczula and Zach Sikano-wicz and junior Chris Troche hope for repeat performances during the season.

The sprint team returns with the same lineup from the winter season, with senior Jon Marques and sopho-mores Allen Smith, Evan Marques,

and Tim Dunn looking to lead in the 400 and 200 meter sprints. Marques will look to defend his 400 meter county title, while making a run of his own at the school record.

Juniors Mike Fernandes and Tom Cunningham will head the distance squad in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs, while junior Vince Buccigrossi will be the major contributor in the 800 meter. The Falcons will also look to many sophomores, including Luke Sprenger, Santino Cozza, and Mike von Ohlen to contribute in the distance events.

The field team hopes to be suc-cessful in all events, with senior Mark Bauer leading the way in the javelin, senior Leonel Delgadillo and junior George Ozga throwing discus, and senior Ryan Maccie in

shot put. “This season, a combination of

dedication, perseverance, hard work, and a sense of camaraderie are para-mount to the success of the team,” commented Fernandes. “The results will serve as a testament to how well we managed to do those things.”

The Falcons schedule will be a tough one, with many competitive meets throughout the year, highlight-ed by a meet against perennial power Old Bridge on April 8 in preparation for the Greater Middlesex County Championship.

“We have always been a competi-tive team within the GMC,” stated Coach Gary Trojanowski, ‘72. “We have plenty of talent and hopefully we will have another good sea-son.”

spRIng TRaCk pRevIeWRunners Begin Fresh Season

vOLLeYbaLL pRevIeW

Eyes on the Record BooksLaCROsse pRevIeW

Falcons Go for Third Consecutive

TennIs pRevIeWExperience Key to Successful Season

gOLF pRevIeW

Waitikowich Leads Young Golfers

basebaLL pRevIeW‘Family’ Strives for State Title

Check out page 7 for Winter Sports Wrap-up

Photos by Nick YipThe senior-dominated volleyball team looks to combine experience with talent to make this season one to remember.