East-Central... a split decision

R-S Central at East Rutherford (Men)

R-S Central hit nine more free throws, Arnie Twitty played a huge factor for 17 points and East Rutherford rarely got more than one shot down the floor. Those are the reasons why R-S Central (15-5, 5-1) grabbed the regular season sweep.

The Hilltoppers, who won 79-70 on Friday saw three first half ties and one in the second half, but for most of the game, it was the Hilltoppers in front.

Central raged out to a 31-20 lead on Ty'J Cooks' dunk and then a Tyion Watkins steal, which lead to a missed layup by Tyler Whiteside was then cleaned up a thunderous one handed jam by Wilkins.

Still, East wasn't going away as Christian Walker hit a baseline jumper for an 8-2 run for a 33-28 half time lead for Central. Five straight points by Josh Searcy tied the game at 33. Elijah Carson and Twitty hit key 3's to keep a 56-46 lead at the end of three.

East cut the lead back to eight twice in the fourth, but Central's Jacob Knox hit a bug corner 3 and Twitty spun inside for a bucket to end both threats.

Central's Zyrion Wilkins was nearly unstoppable as he scored 28 points, 18 of those in the second half, while Josh Searcy scored 19 of his 21 in the second half for East. Central goes to South Point on Friday and then East Gaston on Tuesday, while East (12-7, 2-3) host Chase this Friday and Shelby on Tuesday.

R-S Central at East Rutherford (Women)

The Lady Hilltoppers came out on fire, but the Lady Cavs blitz overwhelmed Central in a 88-57 East Rutherford (16-2, 5-0) win.

Central (9-11, 3-3) grabbed a 20-12 lead with eight different scorers, but Shyon Randolph caught fire for East in the second quarter as she canned all 16 of her points in the first half. Randolph splashed the one that took the lead in the second quarter at 31-29 and East never took the foot off the gas pedal. Osha Makerson and Kendra Ross took over in the second half combining for 30 second half points.

Jada Logan did not play and she may not after seeing that she didn't have to start the second half of 2A Southwestern Conference play. East Rutherford's Osha Makerson and Kendra Ross have now surprised 1,000 points in their high school careers. The take away is that East has the potential to do some damage in the playoffs when that time comes. A lot of people in the county saw it in person this past week. Central just couldn't maintain pace nor did they have the size and depth to match.

Super Bowl

Nick Foles vs. Tom Brady...There really is no comparison. Still, the Eagles do have a couple of things on their side. The Eagles have the better defense and overall pass rush. Plus, Philly has nothing to lose this weekend. The die hard fan base might be angry if Philly loses, but the pressure should all be on New England. The Patriots are expected to win.

However, the Patriots were here last year and got it done again. If Philly is to make the upset bid, they can't let New England up off the mat should the Eagles be up late in this one. I will say that Patriots defense has gotten much better as the season has went.

The Eagles might be the better overall team, but the fact that the Patriots have a ton of Super Bowl experience, the adjustments that the coaches have made in every facet of New England's game since the start of the regular season. The crown shall remain in Boston. New England 30, Philadelphia 17