The Falcon's Nest 1

  Image taken by Geoff Magliocchetti , The Jefferson Chronicle The Jefferson Township High School Varsity Baseball Team had a successful season this past year, making it to the Elite Eight in the crazy and unique last dance tournament. It was a great event and new experience for Jefferson, playing teams they never played and making every game more important than ever. Once your team lost a game, your season was over. With the 2020-21 season fast approaching, how will Jefferson be as good as last season, losing Zack Roskowsky, John Knox, and Justin Cece who are key players on the Jefferson squad? The team hopes to continue with their success, as one of the players has high hopes for the upcoming season.  I asked Tyler Ruban, a Varsity baseball player that is a Senior this upcoming season, some questions about next season and how Jefferson was so successful last season. Ruban is a Varsity baseball player on Jefferson who is a prominent infielder that loves the game. I asked him how he th

On Friday, October 2nd, the Jefferson Falcons football team faced off against West Milford. After a long game the Falcons were able to win 21-0. Before the game we interviewed Falcons starting DE and LT Riley Kandel. Kandel proved his confidence in his team before the game when he said, “Yes, I think we are going to win, we spent many weeks preparing for this team.” The Falcons are a team ready to win a championship, their players and coaches all share this same goal. Kandel believes that his team has improved on their defensive line and their linebackers. Those two spots were areas of need last year that were improved nicely over the offseason. As for Kandel himself, his goal is to start every game and make a positive impact on the team every play that he is out on the field. This is a Falcons team that made the playoffs last year and if things go the way the team thinks its gonna go, then they are in for an exciting year.

A young student athlete, Sean Mazzacano, enters the turf as a Sophomore playing for the Jefferson Falcon Football Junior Varsity team this season. He and the team all practice hard every day prepping for the big game on Friday night. Mazzacano and the Falcons are prepping for the big game against West Milford on Friday night, Oct. 2. “On Monday we watch film, Tuesdays are full pads, and the other days in uppers and helmets. It goes from a hard to easy practice,” Mazzacano explains. Mazzacano is ready for the big game and is prepared to be thrown into the game at any moment. Mazzacano says, “Yea I think I am ready, I think I will get playing time and be ready whenever the coach needs me.”    Being a student athlete is stressful during the pandemic but it will make him stronger. “It is at times stressful, but I know in the future it will help me be stronger mentally and physically,” Mazzacano says. Mazzacano is an offensive linemen and an inside linebacker on defense. He is number 53 on

  Photo taken by: Ali Sanchez Jemela Selimi plays on the Jefferson Field Hockey team. She is one of the strongest defense players but during one of the most recent games, she got hit in the eye with a ball and immediately had to be taken off the field. This interview was taken over the phone because of the Covid-19.  Jemela Selimi is a starter of three years for the field hockey team and has had a very solid four years experience playing for the JTHS field hockey team. During a tough game against Hackettstown, the Falcons were defending their goal, they had all of their sticks down waiting for a girl on the opposing team to take her free hit. Seeing her winding up for a big hit and BOOM. The ball goes flying straight at Selimi’s face like a bat out of hell. She immediately puts her hand up to her face and everyone can see she scrunches her face like she is in immense pain. She answers back to the ref “I’m ok.” As she turns around, her teammates see blood pouring down her face and neck.

          Photograph by Corey Sipkin Welcome to year five of the New York Knickerbockers’ rebuild. It’s been a long half-decade for James Dolan and his Knicks ever since their last playoff appearance in the fabled 54-win 2013 season, amassing a grand total of one appearance south of the 11-seed in the Eastern Conference in that span (including two last-place finishes). Since that season, six head coaches have come and gone, two general managers were given the axe (as well as long-time president Steve Mills) and three “franchise-saviors,” Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis, fled for their lives and two of them never even glanced back - more on that later. Where are they now? Well, things have changed. The cross-town rival Brooklyn Nets are the big cheese in the big apple, with former New York free-agency hopefuls Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving dodging the dumpster-fire in Madison Square Garden and signing max deals to play in Barclays Center last summer.  Long-t

  Photo Taken by:Laura Grant After a COVID prohibited season, Andrew Grant, a Senior at Jefferson Township High School, prepares for his final lacrosse season with new roles and expectations.  Growing up, Grant has always been athletic, playing three sports as a kid - football, basketball and lacrosse. His passion was always lacrosse. He began playing in second grade and fell in love with the game and hopes to carry on his love through college. While this season may be different than the rest with new COVID guidelines, Grant is making sure he leaves Jefferson Township High School with a stellar lacrosse season. Prior to the postponed season, Grant’s Sophomore year, the team went an impressive 15-6, winning the Pooley Division. In that season, Grant tallied four goals and an assist. This year, Grant hopes for more opportunities. Grant has played all year round to prepare and improve on his Sophomore season. “I play travel lacrosse all year round working every week with them preparing f

  Picture taken by Rebecca Weber Following his two interception game against West Milford, Andrew Weber comes into this unusual zoom interview feeling at his best. The Varsity football cornerback almost matches his career interception total just one game into his Senior season.  Weber says, “I knew the quarterback was more of a runner” so when he saw the defensive lineman on his tail he knew the ball was his to get. Weber is a three sport Varsity athlete with his best being basketball. He is a two-year basketball Varsity player and played a significant role off the bench last season for the Falcons after losing some significant Seniors.  He specializes in rebounding and his ability to shoot. He looks to take a bigger role coming into this next season and improve on the 23-7 record last year.  He is a part of the Varsity baseball team where he can do almost everything, whether it is infield, outfield, or pitcher. On top of that, he can hit the ball but his ultimate goal is to help the

           *Crowd cheering*... “Hike”... Another sack for Jefferson sophomore Michael Gould.         Two years later, Gould has built up a name for himself in Jefferson Township football and throughout Morris County and the state. Heading into his Senior year, all eyes will be on him as he has been the one that has been there before for Coach Venturino and looks to lead the team to another winning season.     Senior linebacker and running back Gould has earned the reputation of being a leader, high energy player,  hardest worker on the field and it shows - just watch him lift and train with his father Michael Gould and brother Christian Gould, a Freshman at Jefferson. When asked how he stayed ready for when the season would be given a green light to go, his response showed the true leadership.“It hasn't changed anything, I held workouts with my dad and we invited the whole team,” Gould said,. also adding that  it had a positive impact on the team because you could see who really ca

  Two 3-0 teams game gets postponed after a few positive Covid-19 tests from the Tennessee Titans. Now the game will be kicked off on October 25th, 2020 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had elbow surgery throughout the offseason and told reporters that this is the first season that he has not had elbow pain when throwing the football. This obviously is key to the Steelers and their success because Roethlisberger quarterbacking this offense is special and adding no elbow pain will only help this Pittsburgh offense. Mike Tomlin along with the rest of Pittsburgh were frustrated when hearing that their game against Tennessee was postponed to a later date. “I’m disappointed because we were planning to play and we’re not getting the opportunity to,” Tomlin says.   Expect to see Pittsburgh attack the ground game early and often in this game. When they are forced to throw the ball they will have to lean on the play of their second, t

  Jefferson Falcons takes a hot start to the 20-21 season as they defeat West Milford 21-0 with a lock down defense on 10/2/20.      The Falcons new starting quarterback Theo Fisher is a returning Junior as well as the successor to graduated Senior Matthew Johnson. The Falcons offense was running well on both sides of the ball. Fisher threw for two touchdown passes, one to Senior Joey Altumura and returning Junior Rory Coyle.      The Falcons defense managed to slow down West Milford momentum with three interceptions. Falcons took a sloppy start to their 3rd offensive drive as the Jefferson offense picked up two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, one of which occurs on a 35 yard scramble touchdown from quarterback Theo Fisher.      West Milford punishes Falcons for their execution as they score with their enhanced field position.     When I asked Senior lineman Nick Morcos what he thought Jefferson's biggest advantage over West Milford is, he responded, " I think our offen

  Photo by Coach Montgomery After spraining her left ankle twice Freshman year and missing her first high school season, Sarah Paz is stronger than ever and is ready to conquer all her Senior year. Paz had a trip down memory lane on a sunny Sunday, reminiscing all of her favorite high school soccer moments. “Enjoy it, have fun, before you know it, it’s Senior night and it’s all gone,” Paz said nostalgically.   Paz has been playing soccer since she has been able to walk. She says it is a way to connect with her family in Brazil, as to why it is so special to her. Soccer also has the power to make the team a family, nobody is ever alone and there is always a helping hand nearby. Paz described it as, “happy feeling, happy memories.”  After a two week delay, the Jefferson Township Falcons started their season off strong with a win at Morris Tech. Last season Jefferson beat MT 2-1, Paz said that they would be going into this game with a winning mindset to make sure they would keep the strea

          Photo taken by Scott Faytok, For Nj Advanced Media        The returning state sectional champions, Jefferson Township High School Varsity Boys Soccer, hope to break records this season with their new starting goalkeeper, Luke Hughen.       After some rough years, the 13 returning Seniors have really seemed to turn it around. From not having a banner in their school Freshman year, to winning a state final their Junior year really shows how far this program has come.       Interviewing the starting varsity goalkeeper, Luke Hughen, gave a great insight to what this team has done to turn the tables. Hughen sharess, “The hard work not only from the players, but the coaches as well has given everyone motivation to change the culture of this program.” Hughen and his team are satisfied with their season last year and trying to do it again this year.       The team has got the attention of all Morris County teams by the things they have accomplished over the years. “We work hard in p

        Coming off of a good run in the Last Dance Tournament and with a couple of strong Seniors graduating, the Jefferson Falcons Boys Varsity Team still has high hopes for the 2021 season.        The Boys Varsity team looks to have a winning season with a possible conference title and a run in the state sectionals. Head Coach of the  Falcons, Jason Kalish, talks about the team and their strategies and challenges going into the 2021 season. “I expect nothing less than a  banner for the year and it is a very realistic opportunity if everyone stays healthy and plays how we are capable of playing,” Kalish states.      The 2019 season was a very exciting year for the Falcons. They had a bunch of big time players and good young players for that year. The Falcons were expecting to put up a banner and have a good state run. Unfortunately the season didn’t go how the team planned. The next season was supposed to be another big year for the Falcons but because of the coronavirus, they did not

  The Jefferson Township Field hockey team lost a lot of key Seniors from the 2019 season. They have to work their way back on top and want to succeed in their 2020 season.       Junior Haley LaPlatte is a former three year player, with two years on Varsity. “Our team this year will face a lot of ups and downs and hard teams that we play during the fall season, even though our season is going through a very weird period of time, us girls always pull through at the end of the day and work hard,” LaPlatte said. The JTHS field hockey team is not cutting corners this year and will work hard no matter what type of challenges come  their way.      The JTHS field hockey team is not just a regular team, these girls really work on team bonding and getting to know each other so that it's not just a team on the field but a family. This is very good communication skills that everyone learns about each other. The more communication the more games will be won. The ball will move faster and smoot

  Photo from NJ.com    Kevin Leonhard is starting at center mid this season for the Jefferson Township Falcons. Leonhard was a major part in the success of the season last year ending with nine goals and nine assists along with a State Championship, the first in school history. Leonhard was a key piece that played into the success of the team. Most importantly though is the leadership Leonhard possesses.  With the loss of important Seniors last year, “chemistry was affected” Leonhard claims, but the returning players help overcome this. Leonhard is the staple in the middle of the field giving 100% to every play and expects his teammates to do the same. He was announced Captain of the team due to his knowledge and leadership.  Last year was Jefferson Soccer’s most successful season in history. The team finished with only 2 losses and 20 wins. The team at the end of the season was ranked 34 in all of New Jersey. Along with that motivation the team played with great chemistry. Leonhard

  Picture from Joe Soares     The Jefferson Township Falcons look to once again return to the playoffs following a breakout year last season. Joe Soares Senior linemen is getting prepared for his final year of high school football. Soares is more than ready for his upcoming season. When asked how the Falcons were looking this season Soares said, “We are coming together… I have been anticipating this for a while now and I am very excited.”      The Falcons open the season on Friday October 2nd against West Milford on Senior Night. When Soares was asked what are the keys to beating West Milford week one he responded, “The defense has to bring the juice (Energy/Excitement) and shut down West Milford’s quarterback. We must get take aways early and the offense has to get the run game going to open up the offensive options.” This is a very detailed description for a lineman; this is one attribute that Soares has that many linemen do not. He is smart and has football smarts.      The Falcons

  Taken by Jackie  Cheerleading tryouts were held with a lot of other first-year/second-year girls at  Jefferson Township High School gym. They were a  lot of good competition; Kayleigh Lizotte in fact was nervous and said the experience was scary but in the end Lizotte enjoyed her time during her season.  “I was definitely nervous going into the tryouts because I didn’t know what to expect, so I decided to go out there and try my best like always.” Lizotte was nervous because she didn’t know what to expect. The judges could be strict and demanding but whatever the case Lizotte has made up her mind to do her best.  “As things started to move on, I wasn’t as worried and nervous, I started to relax and feel comfortable. I was feeling happy and excited.” As the drills started to progress, Lizotte became more comfortable, she started to feel less tense, she was enjoying it and it showed in her performance because the judges couldn’t get enough.  “I started to try cheerleading because of my

  Matthew Abdinoor is ready to take on the new volleyball season after being cut short by covid-19.  “I’m pretty confident in this year we’ll be able to do pretty good,” Abdinoor exclaimed when I asked him how well he thinks his team will do this year. Abdinoor thinks that he will still be able to compete at his highest level even with covid striking and his second season cut short. “It sucks that we couldn’t play, but I’m Just glad that I’ll be able to play this year,” Abdinoor states. After Covid hit and Abdinoor's season ended short, he knows he is going to be rusty, but he’s just excited to get back on the court. Abdinoor is most excited about being able to see his team in action. I asked him what he was most excited about going into the new season. “I’m really excited to see my teammates again and to play with them.”  At the end of the day, Abdinoor is truly pumped to play some volleyball this Spring for the Falcons. “I’m really excited to see my teammates again and to play w

  Niko Karamonal, a Sophomore at Jefferson Township highschool, is facing the hardships of virtual learning both in school and outside while trying to cope with it. Like others, he is stuck at home with the responsibility of joining classes and learning necessary materials all through a screen.  Karamonal explains how the circumstances which we are learning under are not ideal and they are hard to get used to but they could be much worse. He says, “[virtual learning is] okay for the circumstances” given the learning conditions. School has also heavily affected many students based on how they choose to cope with it. Karamanol says that this way of learning is “harder to grasp,” especially since he further explained that he is a hands-on learner as opposed to learning through a screen. Karamanol says that “maintaining determination is about perspective” - which is a mantra that is guiding him through this time while giving him strength to continue on his path of learning.   People thro

  Photo taken by Coach Cannorozzie Alexis Febres is a Varsity starter for the Jefferson Falcons Field Hockey team. Coming from being conference champions from the prior season, the girls have expectations to meet. The field hockey team has their first game against Kitattiny at their field. Giving the other team the advantage. “... as seniors, we have all played four years together which has allowed us to become stronger and work together better.” This will help the girls in the fight for another conference win. The game against Kittatinny is a “win or lose,” both teams are equally matched so not sure how the game will go. Kittatinny will be playing on grass to their advantage, but Jefferson's team is more skilled.  Febres is confident that the girls will persevere because the team has been working so hard.  Although the girls have many strengths, they have weaknesses as well with the way they play. “If our heads aren't in the game, it could go south for us,” Febres stated. The

Sophomore Kaitlyn Perez kicked off her second high school field hockey season with a few setbacks.   In an online interview on October 2nd, Perez, a student-athlete from Jefferson Township High School, reveals what it is really like to play a sport during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perez highlights the struggles and the differences compared to a pre-social distancing season. There is not enough time for student athletes to get their homework done while also doing a sport. “The more work we have, the less effort we put into it,” Perez said. This can often leave students with lower grades than they are used to because they are rushing to get in all their work before the due date. Being a student-athlete only makes it harder because practices that are scheduled after school take away from their time to complete their work.   “There are a lot less opportunities for us to do team-bonding activities,” Perez says when asked about how the pandemic affects the team as a whole. Social distanci

In th e 2019 championship game, Freshman goalie, Haley Conrad, gets pulled up to play for the Varsity team for this very important game and helped them win by clearing out the opponents last shot. What led her to decide on being a goalie?  “Goalie is a hard position that no one wanted to do so I took upon doing it and accepted the challenge,” Conrad says.  Conrad had opportunities to play on different levels, not just Varsity. She was the Freshman team goalie, however the coaches saw her talent and had her play up for Varsity. Right now as a Sophomore, she is a swing for JV and Varsity.  “Varsity is a lot more complicated because I am playing against a lot more older and skilled players. Also there is a higher level game, it is more pressure,” Conrad says.  Being a goalie comes with lots of pressure, but Conrad does a good job with keeping her nerves in control.  “I always try and keep a positive mindset on the field. I try to focus more on the game so it takes away the stress.” Stayin

  Photo taken by George Perez On the turf behind Jefferson Township High School is where everyone gathers to support the Falcons. Students and families from all over town come and support our teams. Summer Sanderson of the Falcons is in her Sophomore year of field hockey. Sanderson plays for the Junior Varsity team with Coach Farris. This season has been extremely difficult so far due to the fact that she is playing her sport during a global pandemic. Sanderson said, “This season is so unlike any other that we have played, but I think the Falcons can overcome the challenges presented to them.”  The Jefferson field hockey team has pushed their season back from August to September. Because of the Coronavirus the school is trying to keep the student athletes, coaches and staff safe at all times. The student athletes are now only playing about half the amount of games they normally would. They are also ensuring that they are following the rules of social distancing and wearing masks or fac