Maplewood Bests South Orange in Free-Throw Contest

"Let's get ready to rumble!"

That very well could have been the call of the announcer (Maplewood Deputy Mayor Fred Profeta) as dark clouds gathered overhead, thunder sounded, and raindrops threatened to postpone the first-ever YouthNet Free-Throw Invitational Tournament between elected officials from South Orange and Maplewood.

But the skies cleared, the court dried and—in the view of Maplewood fans—the angels sang, as the contest got underway and Maplewood defeated South Orange by a close margin of 10-9.

The battle was between four elected officials from South Orange (Janine Bauer, Nancy Gould, Mark Rosner and Michael Goldberg) and four from Maplewood (Vic DeLuca, Kathy Leventhal, Fred Profeta and Jerry Ryan). Each official was given 10 shots at the basket. Everyone scored at least one point, and good sportsmanship was exhibited all around.

The finale was actually quite exciting: Maplewood's Profeta needed to score two points to tie up the contest and three to win, going into the final round with a score of South Orange 9, Maplewood 7. By his sixth toss, Profeta had tied the score, but it took his 10th and final shot to bring the victory home for Maplewood.

Afterward, Maplewood was presented with a tiny trophy. A YouthNet Coffee House followed the event. No word yet on the final amount raised.