Week in Sports: Connor Walsh Leads Bulldogs to Victory

Game of the Week: Haddonfield @ Red Bank Catholic – Girls Tennis, Oct. 25

It was déjà vu for the Red Bank Catholic Caseys on Tuesday afternoon, as they repeated their success of 2010 by defeating the Haddonfield Bulldogs in the NJSIAA/Star Ledger Tournament of Champions semifinal round for the second consecutive year, this time, by a score of 3-2.

In the match’s first singles contest, Red Bank Catholic’s Dana Tanenbaum defeated Haddonfield’s Taylor Ng, who very recently won the title of state singles champion. The three sets, which Tanenbuam won 2-6, 6-2, and 6-0, gave the Caseys their first point of the match. The second point for RBC came in the second doubles matchup, where the Caseys’ duo of Kerrin Clark and Jenna Giordano overcame Haddonfield 3-6, 6-4, and 6-0.

While the Caseys were defeated by top-seeded Millburn in the Tournament of Champions in the final round on Wednesday, their semi-final match with Haddonfield was certainly a memorable one.

Athlete of the Week: Connor Walsh, Running back, Rumson-Fair Haven High School

As the Bulldogs defeated Raritan High School for their seventh consecutive win on Friday night, they clinched the A-Central title outright and came one step closer to their second undefeated season in four years. Senior running back Connor Walsh played a pivotal role in the 33-3 victory, recording two touchdowns of 53 and 54 yards, respectively, on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter.

While Walsh wasn’t able to get much going aside from his two long runs, the two scores were still enough to give the senior a finishing line of 101 yards on six carries. With the help of fellow senior Connor Riley alongside Walsh, the Rumson-Fair Haven backfield has become one of New Jersey’s elite running games, racking up more than 1,100 yards in 2011.

Game to Watch: Middletown South vs. Shore Regional – Girls Soccer, Oct. 29

After losing to the Cougars of Colts Neck in the third round of the Shore Conference Tournament on Monday, the Eagles of Middletown South look to bounce back in one of their final regular season games of 2011 against Shore Regional High School on Saturday.

Both Middletown South and Shore Regional currently hold an 11-3 record. While the cutoff date to make the tournament has already passed, and this game will likely have no bearing on the seeding of either team, it will certainly make its mark as a crucial contest as both teams look to regain momentum heading into the postseason.

The Eagles, who earlier in the season clinched their first division title since 2002 with a win over Marlboro, look to juniors Bridget Skinner and Ashley Pankey to lead them past Shore Regional, and as far into the 2011 State Tournament as possible.