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PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ethan Krauss, Shawnee, Sr.
In a game earlier this season against defending Group 3 champion Scotch Plains-Fanwood, six words were uttered from the Shawne sideline that really summed up this season.
“Get the ball to Ethan Krauss.”
The Delaware commit set a program record for points in just three years and this season alone, he finished with a jaw-dropping 120 points. Krauss scored 85 times and was just two goals away from matching the state’s leading scorer. He also has 35 assists for the Renegades.
At the end of the season, Shawnee made history and won the Group 3 title for the first time ever. The Renegades are just the third South Jersey program to win an overall state championship. The confidence to get there and finish the job started with that regular season win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Krauss was a big reason why his team got revenge.
“This game was really personal for us considering the fact that we lost to them in the state championship game last year,” said Krauss, who finished with five goals and two assists. “Coming up here and getting a win shows that we can get back to that state championship game and win it this year. We haven’t come up and gotten a win in the north in a while, so we not only put on for ourselves, we’re also did it for South Jersey.”
Shawnee did not shy away from competition this season and Krauss helped his squad pick up some big wins. The senior had five goals in a one-goal game against Lenape, seven goals in a comeback win over Ocean City, four goals against Wall, three goals and three assists against Cherokee. That all happened before Shawnee really even hit full stride.
The Renegades ended the season on an 11-game winning streak.
Krauss scored 44 goals during that run, which was highlighted by regular season wins over Monroe, Bergen Catholic and Haddonfield. The senior was also brilliant in the playoffs with two goals and two assists in a South, Group 3 final win over Moorestown, He added a hat trick and one assist in the state championship game against Chatham. It took an entire year to get there, but Shawnee made it back to the Group 3 final and finished the job this time.
Along the way, Krauss proved that he’s the best offensive player in program history. He also cemented his legacy as one of the best ever in South Jersey by leading Shawnee to a state title.
“We just felt defeated after that game. But last year was our first time in (the state championship game) and we didn’t really know what to expect,” Krauss said after an 11-8 win over Chatham. “This year we came back, we knew what to expect and we knew we were gonna win this game.”
COACH/TEAM OF THE YEAR: Don Green Shawnee
Shawnee put together a challenging schedule in the regular season and that was designed to get this team ready for June. The Renegades picked up confidence when they beat Scotch Plains-Fanwood in early April and continued to go out and compete the rest of the way.
“The mindset is that we can’t have the state final be the big game,” Green said of his team’s schedule this year. “We need to have a lot of big games along the way so that the state championship for us is just another team and just another game.”
Shawnee acted like it when it did make it to the state final, beating Chatham, 11-8.
The South Jersey squad came out ready in that game and played with a lead the entire game. Chatham made a run to get back into the game late, but Shawnee made sure that it never got close enough. With the win in the group championship game, Shawnee won its first-ever Group 3 title and became just the third program in South Jersey to win an overall group title.
Krauss led a veteran offense that also relied on seniors Shane Conlon, Nick Goeller and Joe Vricella. Rookies Thomas McAneney and Tyler Rotkowitz also stepped up along with sophomore Cael Stielau to make this attack hard to slow down.
Senior Vaughn Feudtner was all over the field as a long-stick midfielder and stepped up for a defense that also had Sam Beamer, Josh Peluse and Max Pettine playing physical lacrosse and making life miserable on opposing offenses. Senior Jimmy Potter was one of the better goalies in the state and stepped up in big games down the stretch for Shawnee.
OTHER NOTABLE STORYLINES: Cherokee (14-5) made history this season and won its first-ever South, Group 4 title under first-year head coach Ryan Walsh. The Chiefs lost to Eastern in the regular season, but evened things up with a one-goal win in the South, Group 4 sectional final. Cherokee fell behind at times in that game, but battled back to get the job done. Miguel Lontok, Nathan Bialy, Sean Cole, Luke Ellis and Ryan Hoffman were the guys Cherokee relied on all year on offense but getting Matt Baselice healthy at the end of the year made a big difference. Junior Sean Hoffman played a major role at the faceoff X for this team. On defense, senior goalie Jacob Ellis played really well behind long poles Ryan Fuhs, Jacob Wood, Radbill Rex and Harrison Dante. Cherokee made it to a Group 4 final back in 2009 when the state tournament did not have sections. This year was the second time Cherokee made it to the state championship game and it has a trophy to show for it. Cherokee dropped a few close games earlier in the year, but down the stretch this team won eight straight to make it to the state final.
-Eastern (16-5) put together one of the best seasons in program history and it came one game away from winning its first-ever sectional championship. The Vikings lost their season-opener to Shawnee, but then rattled off 11 straight wins after that. That run included a one-goal win over Cherokee, which came back in the sectional final and evened the score. Last year, Eastern was the No. 2 seed in the sectional playoffs, but the Vikings did even better and got the top spot this spring. Eastern has a lot coming back next year and expects to be the frontrunner in the South, Group 4 title race. The defense helped set the tone this year, relying on Jon Brennan, Thomas Keating, Michael Brennan, Connor Henry, Justin King, Brady Ferrick and Jaxon Kates. Jared Goldstein anchored that group and was a veteran presence in net. Sam Zak led the offense with 65 goals and Chase Huggard was an offensive leader with 48 goals and 48 assists. Kevin Duffy took most of Eastern’s faceoffs, but he also had 23 goals this season. Jacob Feeney, Christos Koutzis and Bruce Magladry also played well for the Vikings.
-Moorestown (14-8) picked up steam later in the season and made it to the South, Group 3 final. The Quakers made it to the championship game thanks to a double-overtime goal from Ryan O’Connor in the semifinals against Ocean City. Moorestown was right there in the title game too, but lost by a goal to Shawnee. Monmouth commit Cole Pitcher helped Moorestown get itself back into the championship conversation this year and led the team with 59 goals. This is one of the best programs in South Jersey and it has a storied history. Moorestown expects to keep things trending upward as it moves forward and reestablishes that standard.
-Haddonfield (11-6) made history last year when it won its section and played in the Group 1 title game. This year’s team came up short of that benchmark, but played well and was one of the best teams in South Jersey. Senior Johnny Mink led the defense, while Blaise Coley and Nolan Tully paced the offense. Haddonfield picked up an impressive win over Mercer County champion Hun in April and also knocked off Moorestown later that month.
-Bishop Eustace (12-6) won the National Division thanks in large part to the play of Liam Higgins, who scored 71 times this season. The senior was the leader of a young offense. Higgins scored 60 times last year, but topped that number this spring in a huge offensive year. The senior was third in the conference in goals scored behind Krauss and Cherry Hill West’s Cooper Legato, who scored a career-high 77 goals this year for the Lions.
The teams below were selected by coaches from the conference, not NJ.com. These teams are independent from NJ.com’s All-State and All-Group teams. Again, these teams are selected by coaches from the conference.
ALL-AMERICAN DIVISION
1st Team
A-Nate Bialy, Cherokee, Jr.
A-Blaise Coley, Haddonfield, Jr.
A-Cole Pitcher, Moorestown, Jr.
A-Ethan Krauss, Shawnee, Sr.
M-Sean Cole, Cherokee, Sr.
M-Marcus Devita, Haddonfield, Jr.
M-Nolan Tully, Haddonfield, Sr.
M-Chris Worton, Haddonfield, Sr.
M-Nolan Samson, Lenape, Sr.
D-Johnny Mink, Haddonfield, Sr.
D-Sam Beamer, Shawnee, Sr.
D-Vaughn Feudtner, Shawnee, Sr.
G-Ben Blum, Lenape, Sr.
G-Jimmy Potter, Shawnee, Sr.
2nd Team
A-Liam Humphrey, Lenape, Sr.
A-Nick Goeller, Shawnee, Sr.
A-Tommy McAneney, Shawnee, Fr.
M-Sean Hoffman, Cherokee, Jr.
M-Miguel Lontok, Cherokee, Sr.
M-Ryan Dickson, Lenape, Jr.
D-Rex Radbill, Cherokee, Sr.
D-Jake Wood, Cherokee, Jr.
D-Daniel Chaplick, Haddonfield, Sr.
D-Ty Smith, Lenape, Sr.
D-Remy Blank, Moorestown, Sr.
D-Josh Peluse, Shawnee, Sr.
G-Jake Ellis, Cherokee, Sr.
G-Ryan Foley, Haddonfield, Sr.
ALL-NATIONAL DIVISION
1st Team
A-Liam Higgins, Bishop Eustace, Sr.
A-Nolan Eilbacher, Camden Catholic, Sr.
A-Ethan Turley, Cherry Hill West, Jr.
A-Garin Stiefel, Paul VI, Sr.
M-Frank Semiraglio, Bishop Eustace, So.
M-Jack Baylouny, Camden Catholic, Sr.
M-Cooper Legato, Cherry Hill West, Sr.
M-Luke Brocious, Paul VI, Jr.
M-Jared Hollis, Paul VI, Jr.
D-Hugh Leahy, Bishop Eustace, Sr.
D-Lukas Becker, Cherry Hill West, Sr.
D-CJ Compagnola, Paul VI, Sr.
D-Stephen Gresch, Paul VI, Sr.
G-Ben Troung, Camden Catholic, So.
2nd Team
A-Mike Ciampi, Bishop Eustace, Jr.
A-Matthew Hughey, Bishop Eustace, So.
A-Zach Hart, Paul VI, Jr.
A-Nate Marnoch, Paul VI, Sr.
M-Brady McDonough, Bishop Eustace, So.
M-Alexander Scibilia, Bishop Eustace, Fr.
M-Pat Kelly, Camden Catholic, So.
M-Keith Taylor, Camden Catholic, Sr.
M-Cole Raudenbush, Paul VI, Sr.
D-Alexander Hess, Bishop Eustace, Fr.
D-Ben Quach, Cherry Hill West, Jr.
D-Owen Silvey, Paul VI, Sr.
D-Josh Chery, Winslow, Sr.
G-Ryan Hughey, Bishop Eustace, So.
ALL-PATRIOT DIVISION
1st Team
A-Chase Huggard, Eastern, So.
A-Sam Zak, Eastern, Jr.
A-Nick Marco, Rancocas Valley, Jr.
A-Noah Locantore, Seneca, Jr.
M-Colin Inman, Cherry Hill East, Jr.
M-Jaelin Benson, Eastern, Jr.
M-Jon Brennan, Eastern, Jr.
M-Christos Koutzis, Eastern, Jr.
M-Zach Fearon, Seneca, Jr.
D-Michael Brennan, Eastern, Fr.
D-Thomas Keating, Eastern, So.
D-Braedon Smith, Rancocas Valley, Jr.
D-Randell Bailey, Seneca, Jr.
G-Jared Goldstein, Eastern, Sr.
2nd Team
A-Sean Murphy, Cherry Hill East, Sr.
A-Brian Flanders, Rancocas Valley, So.
M-David Myers, Rancocas Valley, Sr.
M-Ryan O’Dare, Rancocas Valley, So.
M-Jake Hasson, Seneca, So.
M-Tom Mikulski, Seneca, Sr.
M-Ryan Cook, West Deptford, Jr.
M-Nick Senatore, West Deptford, So.
D-Javi Miller, Cherry Hill East, Jr.
D-Connor Henry, Eastern, So.
D-Will Bilodeau, West Deptford, Sr.
G-Alex Guardino, Rancocas Valley, Jr.
G-Chase Mikulski, Seneca, Jr.
G-David Wright, West Deptford, Jr.
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Brandon Gould can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrandonGouldHS.