A journey which began in early December for teams across the state comes to an end on Monday.
The NJSIAA State Championships will be played on Monday, with state champions set to be crowned in the Public, Non-Public, Public Co-Op, and Girls groupings. All four games will be played at the Prudential Center in Newark, with the Public final set for 1 p.m., the Non-Public at 3:15, the Co-Op at 5:30, and the Girls at 7:45.
From the Morris/Sussex area, there are two teams that will play for state championships in their respective groupings in Delbarton (Non-Public) and KJS United (Public Co-Op). Let’s take a look at each team’s respective matchups as we get set for Monday’s games.
Delbarton looks to break seven-year title drought
Delbarton (21-1-1) vs. Christian Brothers (22-6), Non-Public final, 3:15 p.m.
Delbarton is a program that historically is used to winning state titles on a regular basis. It has won 13 state championships, including 10 since 2002.
But the last time it won it all came in 2018, and this seven-year stretch is the longest this program has gone without a state title since a 10-year gap between its 1992 and 2002 titles.
It has come so close only to come up short in recent years. It reached the 2019 and 2022 finals, and lost a heartbreaker in overtime to St. Augustine in the 2023 final.
For the third time in four years, it finds itself in the championship game, and it has high hopes of finishing the job this time around. The Green Wave established themselves as the state’s consensus top team in early January when it took down Christian Brothers and Don Bosco in the same week, and it has gone all year without losing a single game to an in-state opponent.
It hasn’t been without its scares, though. Its played four overtime games and has gone 3-0-1 in those games, with a pair of wins over this CBA squad, including in the Gordon Cup final, as well as a win over St. Joseph of Montvale in its last game in the semifinals.
The Green Wave have so much depth at the forward position with Egor Andreev (18 g., 19 a.), Jack Gerne (18 g., 17 a.), Aidan Pasic (17 g., 14 a.), Dante Rodriguez (18 g., 21 a.), and Jack Ross (13 g., 21 a.). George Cote (.933 sv%) has been rock solid all season in between the pipes.
These teams have met three times this year, and all three have been won by Delbarton. It won, 5-4 in overtime on an Egor Andreev goal on Jan. 9, before rolling to a 6-0 win on Jan. 29. But the Gordon Cup final once again went to overtime, and although Delbarton surrendered a 3-1 lead, Andreev played the hero in OT once again.
As deep and talented as this Delbarton team is, so is CBA. Dominic Szczygiel (27 g., 44 a.), Nicholas Desiderio (34 g., 29 a.), Anthony Brereton (21 g., 37 a.), Logan Kenney (25 g., 24 a.), and Michael McCabe (11 g., 27 a.) make up an extremely formidable offensive group. It also has Rocco Morenzi between the pipes who played well in the Gordon Cup final, and has given up just two goals in two games in the state tournament to this point.
It’s extremely difficult to beat the same, good team, four times in one year. Much like the Gordon Cup final, CBA will throw everything it can at the Green Wave. But in the end, expect Delbarton to find a way like it has all year.
Prediction: Delbarton 3, Christian Brothers 2.
KJS United looks to win first title as tri-op
Kinnelon-Jefferson-Sparta (14-8-2) vs. Marlboro-Holmdel (19-9), Public Co-Op final at 5:30 p.m.
It all began back in the summer of 2020, when Kinnelon, a solo program, opted to merge with Sparta-Jefferson United to form KJS United.
The first two seasons were a struggle for this program, as it went 9-21-4 during that time. But since then, this program has found its footing in a big way, finishing in first place in the Halvorsen Division each of the last two seasons, with a Halvorsen Cup last winter, prior to having a strong year in its first season in the Mennen Division this year.
Of the three schools, there is just one state title among them- when Kinnelon beat- ironically- Jefferson in the 2008 Public B final. Kinnelon last appeared in a state final in 2009 when it fell to Ramsey in the Public B final, while Jefferson has not been back since that 2008 final, and the players from Sparta will be the first from a Sussex County school to appear in a state championship game.
Both teams playing in this championship game have taken very unconventional roads to get here. KJS United was a dominant team in December, before a rough January led to it being just an eighth-seed in the North, Non-Public tournament. But with a roster that got a huge boost with the return of Eddy Brown from injury, this team has found its early-season form again, as it has dispatched of ninth-seeded Hoboken, top-seeded Pascack Regional, fourth-seeded West Essex-Caldwell, and 11th-seeded West Milford by a combined score of 26-7 in the state tournament.
Marlboro-Holmdel on the other hand, went into the South bracket riding high after a Handchen Cup title, and defeated Red Bank Regional and Ocean Township-Shore in the first two rounds. That win over Ocean, though, was marred by an end-of-game brawl which resulted in the disqualification of several players for its next two state tournament games. But even though it has been without those players, this team has fought through, as it upset top-seeded Toms River 2-0 in the semifinals, before downing Gov. Livingston-New Providence in the final, 4-2.
KJS United’s strength is its team speed, which has overwhelmed opponents throughout the state tournament. It has one of the most dynamic players in the state in Braydon Sisco (48 g., 21 a.), who if even given just a small amount of space, can make teams pay. Eddy Brown (12 g., 12 a.) and Cormac Gibbons (13 g., 9 a.) have been solid scorers this year, while Brian Sisti (.911 sv%) has been impressive in net. It lost a key defenseman in Jake Prunty (19 g., 26 a.) in the semifinals to an injury, but was still able to knock off West Milford in the final despite his absence.
Marlboro has some strong forwards as well, with Cameron Estok (15 g., 40 a.), Alen Grigorian (18 g., 26 a.), and Sasha Saks (18 g., 18 a.). David Furman (.935 sv%) has been great all year in net, but sophomore Nick Silacci has stepped in in the last two state tournament games and has been outstanding.
This is a really difficult game to pick. A case can be made for either team- both have had outstanding state tournaments and seasons. But KJS’ Braydon Sisco has been on a goal-scoring run in this state tournament very reminiscent of Morris Knolls-Hills’ Luke Dickerson last winter, and right now, it’s hard to pick against a talent like that.
Prediction: KJS United 4, Marlboro-Holmdel 3 OT
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