Pennsville inducts eight luminaries with strong ties to the community into the high school’s Athletic Hall of Fame

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Dawn Curry never was the kind of player who’d get all excited about personal records. She was more into winning the championships and the winning experiences with her teammates than any numbers that went on the scoreboard.

Even now, 15 years after finishing a brilliant high school playing career with one of the most unique statistical lines you’ll find in sports, she’s unfazed by it all.

But the record is clear. The former Pennsville High School multi-sport star, Class of 2008, is a card-carrying member of the exclusive 100-1000-100 Club.

That would be more than 100 career goals in soccer, 1,000 points in basketball and 100 hits in softball. She was only three soccer assists shy of adding that jewel to the crown.

“When I playing in high school you took it game-by-game,” Curry said Thursday night prior to being inducted into the PMHS Athletic Hall of Fame. “Coming in my freshman year I didn’t expect that, that wasn’t my goal at all. And even when I got close to the milestones I would tell people just don’t tell me because it’s just more pressure.

“I’m a very modest person. I don’t really like talking about it too much. People would talk to me about it and I used to joke with them saying, ‘that’s my twin sister, Fawn, not me.’ I just didn’t like all the spotlight even though a lot of people do say stuff to me about that.

“I’m not saying I take these milestones for granted or anything, but it’s just my work ethic in high school and even prior to that is kind of reflected in my accomplishments.”

Curry had the spotlight shown on her one more time Thursday night as one of five former Pennsville players, two former coaches and a team for the ages in the fifth class of Hall inductees.

She was joined on stage by Lou Berge Jr. (Class of ’82), Judy Cafaro Bradford (’74), John Doran Jr. (’88), Mike Wariwanchik (’95), former coaches Horace Carl and John Maniglia, and the undefeated 1993 softball team. The unique aspect of this year’s induction class is all of the honorees still have active connections to the community.

“It’s just an honor and privilege to be sitting on stage with this group of people here,” said coach Herb Bacon, who accepted the induction on behalf of “Team of the Century” softball team and an inaugural member of the Hall. “And I have kind relationships with everybody seated here. Great memories.”

For the record, Curry scored 113 goals in her soccer career, 1,288 points in her basketball career and 117 hits in his softball career. Bacon called her “the Cal Ripken of Pennsville softball,” because she never missed a day of work in the four years she played.

She remembers getting her 100th goal at Salem, her 1,000th career point on a free throw at Salem in a Christmas tournament (and was confused why they stopped the game to recognize it) and believes her 100th hit came against Clayton. .  

When she allows herself to think about it, the milestone that gives her the most pride is the one in soccer because that was “my baby” in high school and the hardest one to achieve. She went on to play college soccer at Holy Family in Northeast Philly.

“You see people score 1,000 points in basketball, 100 hits in softball (of which her team had four), which is great as well, but I just don’t think you see (100 goals) as much and I definitely put more work into the soccer than I did any other sport,” she said. “But it wasn’t just about what I did or how I performed during my games. It was a joint effort. I was surrounded by greatness.

“It takes a village in sports, like it takes a village in life, and even though I would trade in my individual accolades for more state championships, I hope that my hard work along my journey inspires some little girl like those before me inspired me when I was just a little girl.”

Here are the 2023 inductees

Lou Berge Jr.

Whether it was on the football field, as a manager for the boys basketball team or on the baseball field, Berge gave his all to his teammates and coaches. During the course of his four years in high school he earned nine varsity letters.

He was an all-county, all-conference and all-South Jersey Group II offensive tackle as a junior on an 8-1 football team. His senior year the football team was undefeated, conference champs and SJ Group II champs and he was all-county, all-SJ and all-state. He also was named the Brooks-Irvine Club’s SJ Offensive Lineman of the Year and at that time his No. 72 jersey was retired at PMHS.

If not for an eagle-eyed assistant coach, his legacy as a standout lineman might never have been materialized. 

“The first day of practice my sophomore year (the coaches) said I want all the backs there, all the receivers over here and all the linemen over there by the blocking sleds,” Berge said. “I started my job over to the ends and receivers, I get about halfway there and I hear coach say “Berge, where the hell you going? Get over here, you’re a lineman.

“I was an offensive tackle for three years and played linebacker. I spent a lot of time blocking and tackling that seven-man sled instead of catching passes.”

His 1980 baseball team went 20-3 and was conference champs and he was named to the All-Delaware Valley Team by the Philadelphia Inquirer after batting .419 as the team’s catcher. The next year the team went 25-0 and swept all the titles.

Baseball went 20-3 again in 1982. Louie batted .614 and he made all the “all” teams. He also was named the Salem County Player of the Year. 

Judy Cafaro Bradford

While many would consider her to be a “natural-born athlete” Judy used her time in school to develop many skills. She played tennis as well as lettering in three sports.

She played three years of varsity field hockey. She was a co-captain for two years, team MVP for two years and three times all-conference first team. As a basketball senior she was team MVP, second team all-conference, second team all-county and honorable mention all-state. Then, she was the MVP of the school’s first varsity softball team.

At the 1974 Win or Lose Dinner, she was awarded the Girls PTA Sportsmanship Award in addition to three MVP honors.

She went on to make an immediate impact at Cumberland County College, earning MVP honors in field hockey and basketball and was a starter on the softball team.

In her professional life she devoted more than 40 years before her passing in February 2022 to the Pennsville Recreation Department, making sure the department served many children and families in many ways. She also helped take care of Riverview Beach Park to make sure it remained the “Jewel of the Township.”

“First of all, I’d like to say thank you, they recognized her character and her heart,” husband Skip Bradford said. “It always stood out to other people as well as her humility. Even now I smile just thinking of how she would respond to achieve such an award today.

“She never wanted to be in the spotlight no matter how much she deserved it and I know she would be so humbled but honored to be acknowledged for her achievements today.”

Dawn Curry

Curry was an outstanding athlete in a career that spanned four years in three varsity sports. Among her most impressive feats is joining the unique 100-1000-100 Club.

Inspired by the players who came before her, she scored 113 goals in soccer and assisted on 97 others (almost a 100-100). She scored 1,288 points in basketball. She completed the unique trifecta with 117 hits in softball.

Her 2007 soccer team was declared South Jersey Group I champs. To cap off her senior year she was named Salem County Female Athlete of the Year and was a Wendy’s High School Heisman State Finalist.

John Doran Jr.

A wrestler through and through, John used his first year in high school to start making his name. He was undefeated as a freshman on the sub-varsity and that was the springboard to another undefeated year and state title in 1986. In 1988, wrestling at 119, he was runner-up in the district and region tournament and finished sixth at the state. His high school record was 89-6.

He went on to post a 32-3 record at Gloucester County College.

Doran cites his successes with the Pennsville Youth Program and Seagull Wrestling Club as highlights of his career and adds that winning the state title in 1986 was his most memorable moment. He went on to coach at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling Academy for three years. 

He was inducted into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2022.

Mike Wariwanchik

A bear of a man, Wariwanchik starred in football and wrestled for the Eagles and threw the discus and shot in track until his senior year.

On the football field he was an all-conference offensive tackle in 1993 and an all-conference offensive and defensive tackle and the all-South Jersey defensive tackle in 1994.

He was just as dominating on the mat as a wrestler. As a heavyweight you wouldn’t think this would be an issue, but he often found himself having to shed pounds to go from 300-pound lineman to make the weight limit.

No problem. As a junior he was the district runner-up and third-place finisher at regionals. He was a state champion as a senior, going 28-0 (with 21 pins) to move his career record to 68-18, and was South Jersey Wrestler of the Year. He will inducted into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame next month.

Coach Horace Carl

Carl came to Pennsville in 1962 from Spring City, Pa. Three years after his arrival he was offered a position as assistant football coach under Lou D’Angelo. At the same time he was an NJSIAA registered high school basketball official and on the IABBO board until 1980.

He was the Eagles’ head football coach from 1979 through 1984. His 1981 team won the South Jersey Group II championship. He was named Coach of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer and South Jersey Football Club. Carl retired from teaching in 1992 and now lives near Baltimore.

Coach John Maniglia

Maniglia was a “Penns Grove guy” who came to Pennsville in 1979 and influenced a lot of students and athletes in his 35 years teaching and coaching in the district.

He was the head track coach from 1980-2014, then transitioned to assistant coach through 2021. He also coached basketball, cross country and winter track. He helped coach the cross country team when it won the 2006 Group I state title.

The spring track program won a combined three Salem County Championships and five conference crowns. During that time, the program produced 98 individual county champions, 69 conference champions, 33 South Jersey champions and eight state titleists. The school named its track in his honor in 2022.

“I know there are a lot of people out there who probably should be in before I got in, but I think it’s quite an honor to be inducted in 2023 with all these other people,” Maniglia said. “When I first started teaching here I’d always come over from the middle school and hang out in the high school faculty room with … all the Mount Rushmore people here at the school and I learned a lot just by sitting there and listening. It was quite an experience.

”When you start coaching, you don’t think about getting these kinds of awards. You think about the love of the sport, you think about trying to teach the kids about the love that you have you want to work hard out there every day. That’s what we tried to do out here for 40-some years, trying to instill the love of track in these kids out there. Our program was successful because of the student-athletes that we had, a bunch of great kids, that’s for sure. You couldn’t be successful without them.”

1993 Softball Team

The team is being inducted on the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest seasons in state history. The record says it went 26-0, but it was revealed Thursday night it actually was 27-0 after Woodstown wanted to make up a rain-out after the state tournament and it swept through their division, conference, sectional, the prestigious Hammonton Tournament, and, ultimately, the Final Four. Bridgett McCaffery O’Brien was the state Pitcher of the Year.

“I think I can speak for everyone up here, we expected to win every game that year,” O’Brien, a 2021 PMHS Hall of Famer, said. “That season was truly special. We so wanted to make Pennsville proud that year.”

The team was a consensus No. 1 by the state softball media and later was voted “Team of the Century” by the Courier Post. Ten players from that team were at the induction ceremony and they presented Bacon with two pieces of coach-themed wall art each player signed before heading into the auditorium.

“Everybody asks me, ‘Who was your greatest team?’ and I say I’m not answering that,” Bacon said. “(Emcee) Liz Pappas just read comment I tell people: If they’re voted the ‘Team of the Century,’ I guess they’re pretty good.”

PMHS Athletic Hall of Fame

2018: Lou D’Angelo, Ed Rieger, Herb Bacon, David Salberg, Betsey Salberg, 1982 Field Hockey team.
2019: Olaf “Butch” Drozdov, Carrie Foster McIntosh, Irvine Eugene “Gene” Foster, Robert “Bob” Gallagher, Leigh Garrison, Kimberly Griffin Hudson, John “Jack” Harford, John “Jack” Meyers Sr., Howard Wilbraham Sparks, Sophia Stavru, Gregzie L. White, Michael Jon Widger.
2021: Patricia Chance, David Hall, Bill Hyatt, Chris Widger, Bridgett McCaffery-O’Brien, Jeff Litherland (special recognition), Coach Greg Greenzwieg, 1960 Football team.
2022: Donna Martin Duber, Mark Freed, Ron “Boo” Bennet, Mark T. Jones, Kelli Griffith, Katie Kline.
2023: Lou Berge Jr., Judy Cafaro Bradford, Dawn Curry, John Doran Jr., Mike Wariwanchik, Horace Carl , John Maniglia, 1993 softball team.