St. Helen’s Hurricanes wins CYO Division B

In a game that went down to the last second, the St. Helen’s Pee Wee team won the Catholic Youth Organization Division B championship over St. Gregory by a score of 22-21.
The Hurricanes, all third-graders, were led by center Ryan Middlemiss who had eight points, forwards Shane Mugnolo and Patrick Catapano who had four points, guards Joey D. Campanella and Chris Florio who had two points and forward Joe “Campy” Campanella who also chipped in with two points.
At the outset, it looked as if the Hurricanes were going to blow away the fourth graders on St. Gregory’s team. The Hurricanes took an early 12-0 lead in the first quarter by playing tenacious defense. They also pushed the ball hard up the court and were able to score on a few fast break lay-ups. The score was 12-4 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Hurricanes kept applying pressure by using their 1-1-1-2 half-court press. It worked so well it kept the St. Gregory’s team off balance and was due to the tremendous efforts of guards Chris Florio, Joey D. Campanella, Anthony Lampasona, Sal Puleo and Chris Scanlon.
St. Helen’s rebounding was also a force with the frontcourt of forwards Patrick Catapano, Shane Mugnolo, Anthony Ambrosino, Andrew Baglino and Joe N. Campanella and center Ryan Middlemiss snaring every board that came their way. The score at halftime was 14-6. The Hurricanes’ lead widened at the end of the third quarter to 22-8.
The fourth quarter was as exciting as can be. The St. Gregory’s team scored six quick points on the extraordinary efforts of their point guard who led all scorers with 17 points. They then scored a three-pointer to make it 22-17.
With less than 10 seconds left and the score at 22-21, the St. Gregory’s team missed two key free throws that could have tied the game. The ball was then stolen by the St. Gregory’s team with four seconds left on the clock. They gave the ball to their point guard who then launched a three-point shot with two seconds to go. The ball hit the backboard, rolled around the rim from the left side to the right and fell to the floor. The buzzer sounded and the St. Helen’s team won with a final score of 22-21.
“Congratulations to the St. Gregory’s team who played so well,” said St. Helen Coach Paul Middlemiss. “Our kids played their hearts out today and all season. We began our practices in late August and worked hard all year. In the last two years, this team has played over 90 games and, in both years, played one year above their grade level. I cannot believe that this group of third graders was able to win five playoff games against tough fourth grade opponents. We have a lot to look forward to over the next five years. I am so very proud of their accomplishment.”
Coach Joe Florio added, “I am very proud of these boys because win or lose, they always play hard, try their best and never give up. This is a very special group of boys that will be able to look back at this year and be proud of their accomplishment, especially since all of them are good friends off the court and many of them play on other sports teams together: baseball, soccer and bowling.”
The coaches acknowledged the support from parents and from the St. Helen’s CYO program, especially Joe Quagliariello, John Panico and Nick Loprinzi who run the program.
“Their tireless efforts, and the efforts of their families, are what have made the program so successful,” said Middlemiss