West Deptford Sports Update

Eagles Continue to Make Playoff Noise

Find out how the West Deptford teams are faring in their NJSIAA championship quests.

West Deptford got past Delaware Valley in the opening round of the NJSIAA Group I playoffs behind a strong effort from Michael Reardon, the Star-Ledger reports. The attackman potted 6 goals and helped on three others in the 13-10 victory. Reardon, who returned only a few weeks ago from a shoulder injury that had sidelined him for the bulk of the year, is making the most of his shortened season, having notched his 100th career goal back in April. The next test for the Eagles will come Thursday, when they take on the Rumson Dawgs in the semifinal round. Top gun Rachel Krott had a hat trick, Paige Paratore threw in two more goals, and Christina Petito and Madelyn Waschko also found the back of the net for West Deptford in a 7-4 victory over …

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WDHS Varsity Baseball Schedule

Find out when you can support the Eagles baseball team this season.

Jakubowski Praised at Board Meeting for Coach of the Year Honors

The West Deptford School Board acknowledged the boys' soccer head coach for his many accomplishments during the 2012 season.

Recognition for service has been a common theme at West Deptford school board meetings in the past couple of months. On Dec. 17, long-time board members James Mehaffey and Donald Hicks participated in their final meetings. That same night, board president Chris Strano made sure to recognize other West Deptford staff as well, particularly in the form of one coach who has taken the school community by storm. Steve Jakubowski, a 22-year-old alum of West Deptford High School was given accolades by Strano and the school board for being named the South Jersey Times boys' soccer Coach of the Year. He was acknowledged as the school board approved Jakubowski to return as an assistant coach for the Eagles baseball team. Jakubowski got his coaching …

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WD Baseball Welcomes New Head Coach

The board of education names John Oehler as new head baseball coach for West Deptford.

West Deptford has no shortage of support for new head baseball coach John Oehler. Roughly a dozen players came out in support of Oehler, who was approved by the school board on Monday, Nov. 26. “The players are really excited to have a coach in place,” said West Deptford High School Athletic Director Tim Cammarota. Cammarota, who played a part in the selecting Oehler, said Oehler’s wealth of experience made him stand out among the candidates. The selection process took about six weeks to complete, with two weeks just for interviews. Selecting from what he described as a “strong candidate pool,” Cammarota called the process thorough and deliberate.    “He has a strong commitment to baseball,” said Cammarota. Oehler stood out in baseball as …

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Mike Rucci Leaves West Deptford, Takes Over at Gloucester Catholic

The two-year baseball coach is becoming just the third coach in 20 years for the Rams.

The Mike Rucci era began at Gloucester Catholic Monday morning, officially ending the baseball coach’s two-year stint at the helm at West Deptford. Rucci, a 2001 Rams grad, was named to replace 19-year veteran head coach Dennis Barth, who is taking a short ride up Broadway to take over as the new head coach of Rutgers-Camden’s baseball team. “Gloucester Catholic was good long before I was here, and it will be good long afterward,” Barth said in a video from the conference. “We’ve done special things…and all that’s going to continue under Mike.” Given his status as a Gloucester Catholic alum, Rucci said West Deptford athletic director Tim Cammarota expected the Eagles would eventually lose Rucci to the Rams program at some point. “He just …

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Report: Mike Rucci Headed for Gloucester Catholic Coaching Job

The Rams grad is reportedly leaving after a two-year stint with West Deptford to coach Gloucester Catholic's baseball team.

With the departure of longtime Gloucester Catholic head coach Dennis Barth likely to be announced formally on Monday morning, West Deptford may be out of a head baseball coach, according to a report from the Gloucester County Times. Two-year Eagles coach Mike Rucci is said to be the replacement for Barth, who is expected to take the head coach job at Rutgers-Camden, the Times reported. Rucci guided West Deptford to an upset sectional title in his first year, as the No. 10-seeded Eagles blew through the Group 2 field before downing Haddonfield in the championship game for the program’s first-ever South Jersey championship. But Rucci is a Gloucester Catholic grad himself, part of three championship squads, including the team that went 33-1 …

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Bryan Littel

10:07 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

That's actually something I've been gathering up, Ernest - needless to say, the coaching carousel has put that salary number in flux over the past couple months. Should have a final number soon for a separate story. And there have been plenty of academics headlines over the last couple years, including actual competition wins, like the high school's Phyiscs Olympics team: http://westdeptford.…   more ›

Eagles Baseball Exits Playoffs Quietly

West Deptford lost to Buena, 5-2, in the first round of the Group 2 playoffs.

One year after capturing the school's first-ever South Jersey Group 2 championship the West Deptford High School baseball team was unable to make it through the first round of the playoffs. Such has been the way things have gone for the Eagles this season. West Deptford got single runs in the first and second inning but was unable to keep pace with Buena, falling 5-2 in the playoff opener. Despite being the defending champions, the Eagles entered the tournament as underdogs, playing sub-.500 ball all season and barely qualifying as the No. 15 seed. West Deptford got RBI hits from Zach Moran and Ed Essig and found itself in a 2-2 tie entering the bottom of the fourth inning. Justin Geri—who pitched a complete game, striking out six—helped …

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Baseball Brackets Revised, West Deptford Gets Buena in Round 1

The Eagles head down to Atlantic County to open the South Jersey, Group 2 tournament Monday.

A late tiebreaker revision has flipped around a pair of seeds in the lower half of the South Jersey, Group 2 baseball tournament, and West Deptford's road trip just got a bit longer. Instead of a 10-minute drive to GCIT, the Eagles, now seeded No. 15, will make the hike down to Buena, the No. 2 seed, for an opening-round game Monday afternoon. West Deptford will enter the playoffs on the heels of a doubleheader sweep over Woodbury (7-0) and Lindenwold (11-1) Thursday.

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West Deptford Baseball Gets Final Seed in Group 2 Tournament

The Eagles are round-bound in the playoffs this year.

A handful of losses before the playoff cutoff date means the West Deptford High School baseball team faces an arduous route through the playoffs, with no shot at a home game at any point in the postseason. The Eagles, the defending sectional champs, drew the No. 16 seed in Group 2 and will take on top seed GCIT in the opening round Monday. If the Eagles can pull off the upset, they’ll have to hop on the bus in each subsequent round. Some familiar foes could lurk in the second and third round—Delran, who the Eagles beat on the road in the playoffs last year, could be a second-round opponent, and No. 4 Haddonfield looks like a lock to be around in the semifinals, should the Eagles manage a pair of wins.

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