Sam Carchidi | Eustace, Washington Twp. set for an early showdown

It won't take long for a showdown among the region's best high school baseball teams.

Bishop Eustace and Washington Township, expected to be among the teams battling for the No. 1 spot in The Inquirer's South Jersey baseball rankings, will open the season against each other Monday afternoon at Township.

Both teams have key returnees from strong 2006 squads, especially Eustace, which returns six starters from last year's 23-7 powerhouse that finished No. 1 in South Jersey.

Among Eustace's veterans: righthanders Matt Grabowski (7-2, 3.10 ERA last year) and Chris Monaco (7-0. 3.32), and senior outfielder Mike Plakis, who batted .456 with 13 homers last spring.

Yes, there will be success in the post Billy Rowell/Dewey Oriente era.

Rowell, a shortstop, was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the ninth overall pick in June's draft, while Oriente, a hard-hitting outfielder, is a college freshman who went to Villanova but has since transferred to St. Joseph's. Remarkably, Rowell is rated as the 47th-best prospect by Baseball America, which projects that he will be in the majors in 2009 - at age 20.

Rowell and Oriente will have brothers who could make an impact on Eustace's varsity this year: junior outfielder Dante Oriente and freshman shortstop A.J. Rowell.

By the way, The Inquirer's preseason top 10 will appear Sunday.

Eustace and Washington Township aren't the only teams among the South Jersey elite. Cherokee, which has one of the area's best pitching staffs, Seneca, Gloucester Catholic, Sacred Heart and West Deptford are among the teams that fall into that category.

Former Eastern standout Vince Vukovich will toss out the ceremonial first pitch when the Phillies open their season Monday against Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park. It will be one of the many ways the team will remember Vince's dad, John Vukovich, who died of brain cancer earlier this month.

Vince Vukovich, 26, was a former outfielder in the Phillies' minor-league system.

Over the years, I had countless conversations with John Vukovich - who was a huge scholastic sports fan - about his son. No father could have been more proud.

Now that 6-foot-10 Duke sophomore Josh McRoberts has declared himself eligible for the June 28 NBA draft, Brian Zoubek figures to be the beneficiary and will be given a chance to win the starting job.

Zoubek, a 7-1 freshman from Haddonfield, was used primarily as McRoberts' backup this season and he averaged 3.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 7.3 minutes per game.

Shawnee's Julian Sanders, The Inquirer's South Jersey player of the year, will be on his senior class trip to Florida and will not be able to participate in Saturday's 3 p.m. Basketball Club of South Jersey all-star game at Rutgers University-Camden. His roster spot has been taken by Bishop Eustace's 6-4 Nick Schlosser.

John Tezik has replaced Bruce Lazaruk as Riverside's football coach.

Lazaruk, a Riverside grad who has also had head coaching stints at Rancocas Valley and Hammonton, coached the Rams for 14 years and put together a 47-88 record, including a 2-8 mark last season. Lazaruk's tenure was highlighted by a 7-3 season in 1998.

Tezik, an assistant boys' basketball coach at Riverside the last two seasons, was a football assistant at Willingboro for 10 years and an assistant at Neshaminy for one season. He was a head football coach at Upper Moreland in 2004, compiling a 3-9 record.

In basketball, Tezik assists Paul Collins. Collins, a former assistant at Willingboro (30 years) and Camden (part of one season), was a Riverside football assistant last year, and he will also serve in that role under Tezik.

Tezik will be trying to start a revival. Riverside has had just three winning seasons since 1975.

Winslow Township's Mike McBride and Seneca's Bill Fisher have been named the head coaches of the Adam Taliaferro Football Classic, the South Jersey senior all-star game that will be played June 28 at Rowan University at 7 p.m.