Welcome Deacon Matthew Pfleger - Our Lady of Good Counsel

6 | The Good Counsel Courier Vol. 4 | Issue 2 | April 26, 2012
www.olgcnj.org
6th grade JV
Boys Basketball
The 6th grade JV Boys won
the Burlington County CYO JV
Big Team Championship, Sunday
night, March 4, 2012 at Holy Cross
High School by defeating St. Mary
of the Lakes 43-36.
All these boys played with
their hearts and souls to win this
championship. We are all blessed
to have a gifted group of athletes.
Bottom row from the left are Andrew
Gallagher, Matt Ingersoll, John Kueny,
Aidan Brown, Colby Clayton. The middle
row is Jake Topolski, Vincent Lamina,
Hunter Corragio, Brett Gallagher, Nick
Procacci, Brandon Sheppard, Lucas
D’Antonio. In the back row is Principal
Jerry McGowan, Phil Sobosinski, Brock
Jablonski and Coach Jerry Lamina.
Missing is Asst. Coach Joe Procacci.
The Mighty Macs - Revisited
By Father Jim O’Neill
Our parish had eight basketball teams during this last season. To my
pleasant surprise, the basketball playoffs were rather exciting. I was able
to attend several of the games including all four of the championship
games. The most exciting game, for me, was the 5th grade girls
championship win. After the game a woman I didn’t recognize called out
to me, “Jimmy.” My extended family calls me, “Jim.” Only my immediate
family and a few other relatives call me by the more familiar, “Jimmy.”
She explained that she’s my Uncle Tom O’Grady’s sister, Kathy. Uncle
Tom’s wife, Sue, is my mother’s sister, my godmother, and one of the
Mighty Macs. Of course, Kathy would know me as “Jimmy.”
Kathy O’Grady LaRosa was there watching her granddaughter,
Katie English, play in the finals for Good Counsel. When I explained to
Katie that we have the same Aunt Sue who played for the Mighty Macs
and that the movie was just released on dvd, she was astounded. So, was
I. After the game and at the banquet, I talked with Katie’s mother, Joanne,
who is younger than me and looks very much like our common first
cousin Susan O’Grady DiMaio. Joanne is related to Susan via Uncle Tom
while I’m related via Aunt Sue.
The connection continues beyond the discovery that Katie English,
a 5th grade basketball player, and I share the same Aunt Sue, a Might
Mac, from the first women’s collegiate championship team. Katie’s
great-grandmother, Margaret O’Grady, turned 95 around Thanksgiving.
Growing up, I saw Margaret many times at Forsyth parties. Katie was at
her great-grandmother’s birthday party with my first cousins who are also
her mother’s first cousins. They had sprung Margaret from the nursing
home where my grandmother lived until she passed from this life. My
mother continues to visit Little Flower to see her siblings and Margaret.
She’s going to visit Katie’s great-grandmother again on April 13th.
Our players pictured here with Fr. Jim and Mrs. Sullivan are as follows: Top Row Left
to Right--Katie English, Lauren Monahan, Ashley Benson, Isabelle Kuzy, Brijit Corej,
Gloria Hopkins, Maura Gallagher, Bottom left to right, Grace Hill, Victoria Sciortino,
Olivia Hansen, Daniella Hernandez, Ava Antonucci, Olivia Coffey, Grace Kelly, and
Sarah Burghardt. Coaches: Denise Monahan and Dave Benson
Fifth Grade Basketball
The 5th grade girls basketball team finished the regular season
with a record of 8-3 and won the JV Small Championship. They won
the deciding game defeating St. Mary’s by a score of 21-10. Our girls
scored 13 points in the second half and held St. Mary’s to only 3 points
during the same timeframe.
The girls displayed great attitude, effort and togetherness all season.
Our team was very grateful for the support we received from our
school, parents, family and friends.
Father Jim lead us in prayer before our Championship game and
we were cheered on by many OLGC fans at Holy Cross high school. It
was an exciting night and all the girls celebrated a well deserved team
victory. Three representatives from our team, Victoria Sciortino, Maura
Gallagher and Olivia Hansen, were named to the All Star Team.