“I’m glad the process ended the way it did.  I’m very excited to start the next chapter of my life.,” said Reber.

By signing his letter of intent, Satchell will become the third brother in his family to play collegiate football.  Satchell also seemed very excited for the academic opportunities attending Georgetown will offer.

“It shows football does have an avenue for a good education,” said Satchell.

The day culminated a long process of recruitment for the three athletes.  Regan seemed eager to work hard heading into his college career in both football and academics.

“I think Bucknell will give me many great opportunities.  But in the end, I’ll go as far as my hard work takes me,” said Regan.

From left to right: Satchell, Regan and Reber pose before signing their letters.

This is all a Cougars fan needs see to remember one of the all-time great games when East took down top-ranked Eastern at Eastern in overtime, 60-58. This was one of those games that could be labeled an instant classic.

The first quarter was evenly matched for both teams. Gary Hettinger (’13) started the scoring with two free throws. Eastern scored down five straight points, but their run was halted by a Schlessel three which tied the game. The Cougars were down 11-8 towards the end of the quarter, but Hank Davis (’13) hit a three to tie the game at 11 to end the scoring in the quarter.

The second quarter started with a Gurkin bucket on which he was fouled and made the free throw to give the Cougars a three-point lead. Schlessel heated up in the second, as he hit two threes, the second of which put the Cougars a 22-15 lead. The Cougars led 24-19 as they went into their last possession in the half. Jake Silpe (’15) handled the ball as the Cougars readied to take the shot when he encountered some tough defense and momentarily lost control of the ball on the ground. However, with about two seconds remaining he regained control of the ball on the floor and passed it to Davis who drained a three to give the Cougars the 27-19 lead heading into the locker room.

The Cougars picked right up where they left off to start the third, scoring the first five points of the quarter on two Schlessel free throws and a Schlessel three. However, Eastern refused to go away despite the Cougars’ strongest efforts. After a Davis layup gave the Cougars a 38-27 lead, the Vikings scored four straight points. Then, Gurkin scored on a nice feed from Silpe to give the Cougars a nine-point lead. The Vikings answered mightily as they pressured the Cougar offense which caused troubles. Eastern scored six straight points to end the quarter as the Cougars held a slim three-point lead heading into the fourth.

Gurkin started the fourth quarter with a bang as he rejected an Eastern player which led to a Schlessel layup on the other end to give the Cougars a 42-37 lead. With 5:50 left and the Cougars leading 42-39, Gurkin hit a beautiful hook which elicited an electric reaction from the crowd. After another Eastern bucket, Schlessel hit a floater to keep the lead at five. After yet another Eastern basket, Schlessel hit another floater to give East the four-point lead at 48-44. Eastern then went on a 5-0 run to take a 49-48 lead. With 1:06 left, Eastern hit a free throw to extend the lead to two. The Cougars answered back, as Silpe took it to the hole himself, hitting a leaner to tie the game at 50. However, Eastern scored on their next possession, making the Cougars’ hopes look dim. With only about 10 seconds left, Silpe had the ball in his hands to determine the outcome of the game. As he drove into the lane and put the ball up to the basket, his shot missed. However, Gurkin made a spectacular play to tie the game up at 52 by tipping the ball into the basket on the rebound with only two seconds left. It appeared as though the clock had run out during regulation and the game would be going to overtime. However, Eastern was granted one last chance by the officials as two seconds were added onto the clock. Eastern missed the last-second desperation heave, so the game went into overtime.

If it seemed as though the game could not get any more exciting, it did in overtime. The extra session started off slow, but an Eastern travel with 3:18 left allowed Schlessel to hit a three for the Cougars on the ensuing possession to give the Cougars the 55-52 advantage. Eastern responded by knocking down two free throws on the next possession to cut the lead to one. Eastern hit another layup to take the late lead at 56-55. Then, Gurkin responded right away by hitting a huge three from the top of the key to give the Cougars a 58-56 lead. Eastern responded once again by hitting a shot from a very close distance after a mad scramble for the basketball to tie the game at 58. The Cougars failed to take the lead on the ensuing possession, so Eastern had the opportunity to win the game as they inbounded the ball with 20.3 seconds left. The Vikings missed a wide open three which would have given them the late lead with about seven seconds left. It looks as though the game will head into double overtime. Well, Jake Gurkin, Jesse Gold and Marc Schlessel had something different to say about that. Gurkin gathered in the rebound off the miss with four seconds remaining. He passed the ball quickly to Gold who displayed the vision of a true quarterback in gunning the ball downcourt into the arms of a streaking Schlessel who was open heading towards the basket. Schlessel caught the ball gracefully as he laid it in the net to give the Cougars the win. A sea of red flooded onto the court to celebrate. Game. Set. Match. 60-58. Cougars win one of the greatest high school basketball games anyone in attendance has ever seen.

Player of the Game: The whole game was unreal, a case could be made for everyone. Schlessel with his 27 points and the heads-up play on the winning basket by speeding downcourt and having the discipline to still hit the shot, Gurkin for his 17 points and 10 rebounds, Gold for his unbelievable pass on the winning play and Davis for his huge eight points off the bench and the buzzer-beater to end the first half.

Bottom Line: Everyone wins.

Key Stats

Schlessel-27 points

Gurkin-17 points, 10 rebounds

Davis-8 points

Both teams felt secure about their chances heading into the game.

“We’re a well-rounded team.  I have confidence in my offense and my defense,” said junior Head Coach Josh Warren.

Both teams cheered loudly after pre-game warmups to show pride as their coaches concluded drawing up their game plans for the day.

“It should be very different from last year,” said senior Head Coach Austin Weitz, remembering the blowout loss the Class of 2012 suffered at the hands of the Class of 2011 last year.

Both teams came out intense and ready from the outset.  The seniors won the coin toss and started with the ball.  Their drive, featuring a heavy dosage of Running Back Becca Taub (’12) stalled on the junior 30-yard line.  Once the juniors gained possession, they used a bevy of running plays which lead to a 35-yard touchdown on a reverse handoff to the speedy Emily Johnson (’13). Johnson also kicked the extra point to give the juniors the 8-0 lead.

The seniors started with the ball on their own 45-yard line after an excessive celebration penalty on the juniors.  The first 20 minute quarter ended with the seniors driving the ball into junior territory.

Lindsey DuBoff (’12) struck right back for the seniors as she ran the ball in for an 8-yard touchdown.  Alexa DiPiero tied the game at eight by converting the kick for two points.

On the next possession, the juniors stuck with their game plan as Emily Johnson rushed for a 50-yard touchdown on a reverse on one of their first plays from scrimmage on the drive.  She again converted the kick to give the juniors a 16-8 lead, which is how the score would stay until the half.

Warren felt good about his team’s chances heading into the second half.

“Our girls are playing great.  They’re having fun.  We have the lead.  That’s all that matters,” said Warren.

The senior defense came out with a vengeance to start in the second half as they prevented the juniors from scoring on their first possession of the second half, led largely by Tytrese Neal’s sure tackling.  The seniors started with the ball on their own 46 on the following possession and they became creative in their play-calling with a flea flicker that resulted in a big gain as Quarterback Christine Goins (’12) launched a pass to Wide Receiver Lexi Denenberg (’12).  Taub capped off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.  Followed by a kick from DiPiero, the seniors tied the game up at 16-16 as the scoring finished in the third quarter.

The juniors struck first in the decisive fourth quarter, as Quarterback Brooke Rose (’13) ran the ball in from four yards out for the touchdown.  A Johnson kick gave the juniors the 24-16 advantage.  The senior offense stalled on the ensuing possession as they failed to convert a 4th-and-32 to give the juniors possession as time dwindled.  The juniors drove to within the senior 10-yard line but were stopped short of a touchdown.  However, a Johnson field goal gave them a two-possession lead, effectively putting the game out of reach.  The senior offense failed to put anything together on the next possession and Rose was able to kneel the ball twice to let the clock run out with the juniors on top.

Coach Warren summed up the feelings of the juniors very succinctly.

“We’re just happy,” said Warren.

Scoring Plays

First Quarter

Johnson 35-yard run (Johnson PAT good) 8-0 Juniors

Second Quarter

DuBoff 8-yard run (DiPiero PAT good) 8-8

Johnson 50-yard run (Johnson PAT good) 16-8 Juniors

Third Quarter

Taub 9-yard run (DiPiero PAT good) 16-16

Fourth Quarter

Rose 4-yard run (Johnson kick good) 24-16 Juniors

Johnson 23-yard kick good 27-16 Juniors

Similarly to last week’s game, both teams traded touchdowns on their first drives, East’s coming on an 82-yard run from Rob Taylor (’12) on the first play of the game.  From there, however, the game would be nothing like the team’s shootout with Cherokee.

The Cougars would score on their next drive to take a 14-7 lead on a one-yard Brian Regan (’12) run.

East would score one more time before the end of the half, completing a 28-yard pass from Jesse Gold (’12) to Taj Frazier (’12) with only 1:18 left in the second quarter.    After the touchdown, the team opted for two points, converting on a fake field goal pass from Colin Roualet (’12) to Matthew Satchell (’12).  The conversion would give the Cougars a 22-7 lead going into halftime.

Gold and Frazier led the Cougar passing game, combining four more times for a total of 80 yards during the game.

East would continue to widen their lead, scoring less than six minutes into the second half on a 52-yard touchdown run by Regan, his second of the game.  The extra point from Mike Suli (’12) would give the Cougars a 22-point lead.  They would cap their scoring later on with a 30-yard field goal from Suli, giving East 32 points for the day.

Toms River North would attempt a comeback, scoring 14 points in a row; however, the attempt would be ultimately unsuccessful, with the game ending 32-21 in favor of East.

The Cougars will look to finish of their season with a win against cross town rival Cherry Hill West on November 23^rd, the night before Thanksgiving, at 6 p.m. at West.  A win would be their first against West in five years, and would give them a final record of 7-3.

Ehrlich will be swimming at Harvard University, while Kotler and Taub will be playing lacrosse at St. Joseph’s University and George Washington University, respectively.

Kotler, Ehrlich and Taub (left to right) as they prepare to sign with their coaches and Athletic Director Dr. John Burns (far right) standing behind them.

“It was pretty surreal,” said East quarterback Jesse Gold (’12) who threw for two touchdowns, and ran for the two point conversion that gave the Cougars the win.  “It’s huge… a win like this is like a playoff win for us.”

The call to go for the win, and not just an extra point that would have given them a tie, came as somewhat of a surprise after star running back Brian Regan (’12) was hurt just a few plays earlier.  Regan, who ran for 277 yards, putting him over 1000 yards for the season, on 35 carries before the injury also contributed three touchdowns, one of which was a 25 yard run in the first overtime.  But despite the injury, coach Tom Coen was confident in the team’s ability to get the conversion, and the win.

“Those are things we practice all year, for situations just like that,” he said.  “I told the guys, we needed to win this game… it’s absolutely a signature win for us.”

The two point conversion was setup by a two yard touchdown run by Daishi Goto (’13), his first run of the game after filling in for Regan.  Before that, the game was a typical clash of two high-powered offenses, with 84 points being scored even before overtime.  The game also had its fair share of big plays, with three touchdown plays that were over sixty yards.

Two of the touchdowns for over sixty yards came from East, one an 89 yard touchdown catch from  Taj Frazier (’12), and the other a 66 yard run by Rob Taylor (’12).

The Cougars, now 5-3, are eligible for the state playoffs. However, a power point system determines who makes the playoffs, with only the top eight teams getting in.  Because the results are not ready yet, East will have to sit back and wait to see their post-season fate.  However, playoffs or not, one thing is certain: the Cougars did all they possibly could to keep their season alive.