Joy & Sadness in Toms River

I missed some time over the last few weeks when I had hip replacement surgery so in the category of “better late than never” I wanted to comment on a couple of things I missed while out:

On the positive side was the remarkable achievement by Toms River North in winning a second straight NJSIAA Group 5 football championship.  The Mariners dealt with the loss of standout Micah Ford for a few games early in the season and while not as dominant as last year rolled through the playoffs to finish a two-year run in which they went 26-2.  Ford, a Stanford commit, goes down as one of the greatest players in Shore Conference history and is truly deserving of all the accolades they have gone his way.  Congratulations to head Coach Dave Oizerowitz and his staff…they had to deal with all the pressure of trying to repeat and navigated the challenge in grand fashion.

On a down side was the passing of P. David Correll, who is best remembered as the “Voice of the Indians” but was much more than that.  Dave spent more than four decades teaching history at Toms River High School South and even in retirement was the leader of the Indians spirit squads while his booming voice continued to be heard on Friday night when his beloved Indians had a home football game.  There are a million stories about Correll but any parent who attended an orientation before their child was to enter South as a freshman left knowing this man was the true heart and soul of the school.