FIRST GAME

1) Wagner
2) Graf
3) T. Diaz (c)
4) Nace
5) Lynch
6) Wright
7) Lantini
8) DiRomauldo
9) A. Diaz
10) Stom
11) Romisitis
12) Van Der Merwe (replaced by Ducker)
13) Hoban (replaced by Walsh)
14) Allen (replaced by Palumbo)
15) Pastava
 
Scorers:
 
Hoban T
Palumbo T
Stom C, 3P
 
On August 25, the Devils traveled to Sea Girt for the annual Monmouth Tournament.  Competing in the Premiere Division against Met NY Div. I teams, the team acquitted itself well going 1-1.  Twenty-three players made the trip, although only 9 forwards were available.
 
The first game was against Manhattan/NY who finished 4th in Div. I last Fall.  The story of this game in a nutshell was South Jersey's pack completely decimating the opposition.  The tone was set early on  when the smaller Devils took a lineout and drove it at will for 15 yards.  In addition, early on some huge hits by Tom Diaz resulted in turn-over ball.  South Jersey completely dominated set piece and open play.  Sadly, the backline was looking ring rusty and never kicked into gear enough to turn the possession into points.  In the 8th minute, completely against the run of play, NY kicked a penalty when South Jersey was caught offside in front of the posts.  In the 19th minute, Stom answered with a well-slotted penalty kick and the scores were level at 3 with time expiring in the half.
 
On the last play of the half, a crunching tackle from Stom and Van Der Merwe caused the NY center to spill ball.  Hoban sensed an opening up the weak side as he cleaned up the tackle.  He set off on his own and burned the grass 50 yds for a try under the posts which was duly converted. 
 
The second half started off similarly with a penalty kick by Stom in the 10th minute after immense pressure was put on NY by the South Jersey forwards.  But for a myriad of dropped passes, the Devils surely would've been comfortably in the lead at this point.  Unfortunately, the timing among the backs was lacking and points went a-begging.
 
At the 15 minute mark, Wright stole his umpteenth lineout ball (no mean feat as the opposing jumper was at least 4 inches taller) which was moved quickly to the backs.  Poor passing resulted in a turnover however which NY used as a base to launch quick strikes resulting in a try for the replacement scrumhalf after he wriggled over from a ruck near the posts.  Incredibly, with 5 minutes to go, the Devils had only a 3 point lead. 
 
The lead was never really in danger though as the forwards repeatedly cleaned up the backs' errors and won possession.  A penalty in the 17th minute steadied the ship somewhat but it took a try at the final whistle to make things safe.  A lineout inside the NY 10m line was well won by the forwards.  For perhaps the only time in the entire game, the backs moved the ball efficiently with the result that Palumbo dotted down in the corner for a quality try.
 
Final Score SJ 21 NY 10
 
SECOND GAME
 
1) Wagner
2) Graf
3) T. Diaz (c)
4) Nace
5) DiRomauldo
6) Wright
7) Lantini (replaced by Lynch)
8) Hutchinson
9) A. Diaz
10) Stom (replaced by Ferreri)
11) Accardi (replaced by Palumbo)
12) Van Der Merwe (replaced by Ducker)
13) Paranto (replaced by Hoban)
14) Logan (replaced by Allen)
15) Pastava (replaced by Walsh)
 
The Devils moved to the Championship Bracket with the win over NY.  In the second game, they faced NERFU Div. I runners-up Mystic River. Kick off did not occur until nearly 3 p.m. at the peak of the heat.  The onfield temperature must've been near 100 degrees which made things unpleasant for the players on both sides.
 
Due to the strong turnout of backs, the selectors opted to give quality playing time to as many players as possible. Of course this affected continuity but it was certainly in the best interests of the club as they try to develop depth.  A strong side was fielded to start the game, however, and they stood toe-to-toe with a quality opponent for the first half.
 
The scoring account was opened in bizarre fashion.  Mystic was awarded a penalty at midfield in the 2nd minute.  They opted to kick for touch.  Wright, however, standing along the touchline made a great athletic play to tap the ball back infield.  Somehow the ball ended up in a Mystic runner's hands though and eventually a try was scored under the posts.  It was an unfair result but didn't discourage the Devils.  They fought back and earned a penalty 22m out in front of Mystic's posts.  Stom, however, pulled it in one of the few misfires with the foot he had all day. 
 
Substitutions began with 5 minutes remaining in the half.  At about the same time, Mystic started to show great nous in sensing where the Devils were vulnerable.  Noticing that the forwards were ranging well across field and supporting the backs in defense, Mystic switched gears to a pick-and-drive style of play that pinned South Jersey to the tackle areas and freed up space wide.  Just before half, Mystic kicked two penalties to make the score 13-0 at the break.
 
The second half was a learning experience for many of the young Devils.  They were given a taste of top quality opposition and will hopefully be better as the result.  The lack of replacement forwards took its toll as well as the half progressed.  The pack was feeling the heat from both Mystic and the broiling sun.  No longer able to cover the field as well as they had earlier, the forwards left the backs on an island and tries resulted.  Much credit needs to be given to Mystic, however, as they are a fine team and played really well.
 
Final Score: SJ 0 Mystic 39.
 
Despite the final result of the second game, Coach Wilson indicated to me that the day was a success and he was proud of his players' performance.  They competed hard all day long and only lacked execution, which is to be expected at this stage of the preseason.
 
The coach asked that I make mention of several players who performed well all day.
 
1)  Robb Wagner had his first start in the front row.  He played excellently in both the tight and the loose.  He looks like a future star in the making.
 
2) Gene Graf and Tom Diaz were rock solid and didn't put a foot wrong in either game.  The lineout throwing by Graf was particularly excellent and lineout possession was a strength in both games.
 
3)  Brent DiRomauldo had a strong day in the loose with many powerful runs.  He also showed soft hands in the lineout.  His versatility in playing lock and #8 was also displayed well.
 
4)  Rennie Lantini, prior to being injured in the second game, was a bundle of energy and stout on defense.
 
5)  Mark Paranto, playing in his first game of 15s, did exceptionally well on defense and appears to have great potential.
 
6) Brian Logan, also playing his first game of 15s, showed a real knack for getting his hands on the ball and tackled well above his weight.  The coach says Brian is being moved to the forwards based on his aggressive display.
 
7)  Last to be mentioned will be player of the tournament, Phil Wright.  He was everywhere for all 88 minutes of the two games.   At times it appeared he was a one man show.  He dominated the lineouts, caught restarts, made countless necessary tackles in the midfield and won untold amounts of ball in the loose.  Coach pointed out one sequence that he asked me to relate.  Late in the second game, after the result was way beyond a doubt, Phil made a tackle on halfway.  Mystic crunched it up again a few times before the scrumhalf cleverly kicked from the base to acres of space.  Despite making a tackle seconds before, Phil somehow beat everyone back to the ball, shook off two tacklers and then calmly cleared the ball to touch near halfway.  He played like that all day.  A great individual performance.