By David Weinberg
Up until a few years ago, the only cowboys Bill Ward was familiar with wore stars on their football helmets. His knowledge of bulls was reserved for Michael Jordan. The closest the Buena Vista Township resident had come to a rodeo was driving past Cowtown on Route 40 on his way to the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
“I knew absolutely nothing about the sport,” said Ward, the varsity wrestling coach at St. Augustine Prep.
That all changed during Covid.
Unable to play baseball or wrestle during the pandemic, younger son Luke accompanied his mother, Valarie, to a local ranch to try horseback riding.
Luke, now a 14-year-old freshman at St. Augustine, has developed into one of the top young cowboys in the country.
This year, he repeated as chute dogging champion at the New Jersey High School Rodeo Association event, then placed 16th out of 150 competitors at the National Junior High Finals Rodeo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa.
In addition, he teamed with Linwood’s Maddie Allen, 11, to earn sixth place in their heat in ribbon roping at Nationals.
“I really enjoy it,” Luke said. “I’m probably going to focus on wrestling and baseball in high school, but I can also see myself competing (in rodeos). It’s a lot of fun.”
He said he’s found that his wrestling background comes in handy in chute dogging.
In that event, a competitor races out of a chute with a steer, then tries to wrestle it to the ground in a matter of seconds.
Luke qualified for the finals by taking third in his heat in 4.29 seconds.
Hence the term, “grabbing the bull by the horns.”
“Being involved with wrestling definitely helps,” Luke said. “You have to have the same mindset in chute dogging.”
Teamwork is the key in ribbon roping.
In that event, Luke chases a calf out of the chute while aboard his horse, Cooper, lassos it, then jumps off and corrals it while Maddie grabs a ribbon off its tail and sprints across the finish line.
Maddie also competed in barrel racing, placing 16th in her performance/heat in 16.43 seconds.
The nationals capped a busy summer for Luke.
He competed in the U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16-under National Wrestling championships in Fargo, North Dakota in July while also playing baseball for the Heavy Hitters travel team.
Luke will be wrestling for his dad this winter at St. Augustine and is also planning on playing baseball for the Hermits.
It will be no surprise if he winds up wrestling in the state championships at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this winter or swatting home runs in the spring.
After all, he knows how to take the bull by the horns.
H.S. football playoffs ready to start
Ten high school football teams from Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland Counties qualified for the state playoffs this season.
Action in the public-school groups began Friday with the non-Public divisions set to start at a later date.
Atlantic City, the second seed in Central Jersey Group 5, will host a playoff game for the first time since 2012 when they take on Eastern Regional (7) on Friday.
Absegami (8), Cedar Creek (3) and Ocean City (4) are in the Central Jersey Group 3 field. The Braves will play at top-seeded Somerville Friday while the Pirates are home against No. 6 Triton. The Red Raiders will play host to No. 5 Allentown.
Oakcrest and defending state Group 4 champion Mainland Regional are in South Jersey Group 3 this season. The Falcons (6) will visit Holmdel (3) while the Mustangs (2) will be home at the Mustang Corral against Barnegat (7).
In other games involving Cape-Atlantic League schools, Bridgeton (8) will visit top-ranked Toms River North in South Jersey 5, Millville (1) will take on Red Bank Regional (8) in Central Jersey 5 and Middle Township (8) will play at Camden (1) in South Jersey 2.
Holy Spirit and St. Augustine Prep have qualified in the non-public tournament. Their first-round games will be announced at a later date.
Local NFL update
Green Bay wide receiver Bo Melton (Cedar Creek) had one tackle on special teams and no receptions in a 30-27 win at Jacksonville. For the season, he has four receptions for 54 yards and five carries for 34 yards.
Arizona cornerback Max Melton (Bo’s brother), had eight tackles and a tackle for loss in a 28-27 win at Miami. For the season, he has 32 tackles, including 17 in the last two games.
Buffalo defensive tackle Austin Johnson (St. Augustine, Galloway Township) had one tackle and a pass defense in a 31-10 win at Seattle. He has eight tackles this season.
Tennessee defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson (Absegami) was waived by the Titans Monday but is expected to be re-signed to the practice squad. Anderson played 38 defensive snaps in four games for the Titans this season.
David is a nationally recognized sports columnist who has covered Philadelphia and local sports for over 40 years. After 35 years with The Press, he has served as a columnist for 973ESPN.com and created his own Facebook page, Dave Weinberg Extra Points.
Send comments to weinbergd419@comcast.net.
