Knights' Korner

Wall Ice Hockey: A much needed slow week for the Knights, just having one game since their thrilling shootout thriller against Point Boro. It was good for them to take a step back, have a deep breath and be mentally ready to go against Howell (2-6) on Wednesday. Ready? They certainly were ready. They beat the Rebels 6-2 as the usual suspects  were guilty for Wall with seniors Tom Panico, Troy Klahre and sophomore Jeff Morgan bringing them to 10-0-1 on the season. Panico had a hand in all but one of the goals, with a hat trick and two assists. That treble took Panico to 14 goals on the season. Even though he has missed some games for his club team this year, he sits second on the team in goals and points behind Morgan. Speaking of Morgan, his one goal and four helpers took him to 20 goals and 21 assists this season, leading the team in both. Klahre had 23 saves on 25 shots, now 125 saves away from the career 1,000 save milestone. They’ll take advantage of a few precious days of rest before having three games next week, two away.

Wall Boys Basketball: Wall dropped two of their three games this week, taking them to 4-4 on the year. The Knights had another consolation WOBM game and boasted a balanced attack with their three star sophomores carrying the load, but fell just short to Freehold Township 63-58. Brenden Barcas led the Knights with 15 points to go along with three rebounds, an assist and two steals. Barcas has showed this year he’s more of a scoring guard than a facilitating guard, but fellow sophomores Ryan Janeczek and Trent Mitchell still get their touches. Janeczek had 14 points and four rebounds while Mitchell had 13 points and seven boards. The Knights put up 58 points, but mostly doing their damage in one on one situations, having just three assists on 17 made field goals.

Three days later, the Knights played a winless Pinelands team, winning 55-51. Senior Kevin Waters had his big breakout game for the season, dominating the game with 18 points and 14 rebounds. When the big man in the post turns up with a game like this, paired with Mitchell’s 15 points and Barcas’ 13, Wall can be a tough matchup for anyone. They had much more cohesion on offense, with 8 assists on 18 field goals. Alan Burdge came off the bench with four points, three assists and four steals. The Knights needed Burdge’s intensity, defense and leadership off the bench, helping them grind out the victory.

The next day Wall had a tough one against traditional powerhouse Neptune, even though the Scarlet Fliers are struggling. The Knights got outscored in every quarter, losing 67-46. Barcas had another good game, the young man proving to be Wall’s most consistent player. He had 13 points, but no assists. Janeczek was the only other Knight in double figures, with 10. Wall has another three games next week, looking to improve on the decent start to the 2012/13 season.

Wall Girls Basketball: The Lady Knights are enjoying a very good start to the year, at 5-2 after beating Pinelands 66-55. The girls Pinelands team is a tougher match than the boys team, having three wins this season. Sophomore Amy Maynard had a Wall girls basketball record of 21 rebounds. She seemed to bring down anything in sight, an astounding game for her. After that, they had a tough 49-38 loss to B North opponent Neptune.

Wall Wrestling: Wall dismantled rival Manasquan Thursday night 51-9, taking them to 2-1 on the season. Sophomore Jack Wishart had an amazing match, pinning his opponent in just 11 seconds. Another huge performance was from senior Dan Kinsella, wining a major decision 14-2, doing everything but pinning his adversary. Freshman Brett Donner won his decision 21-8 and junior Tom Wishart won his decision 4-2. Wall won every match they had, only losing in a forfeit at 285.