By Rich Fisher, Contributing Editor
Top photo: The 2025-26 Mercer County CYO Scholar-Athlete team consisted of (from left ) Lillian Sagarese, Timothy Holland, Luca Landolfi, Matthew Angiolino, Victor Heffentrager, Sloane Woods, Mikayla Rommell and Lindsay Ditta. Photo by Rich Fisher
With Father Roy Aris Ballacillo providing a message on how life’s small things can make the biggest impact, the Mercer County CYO kicked off its 74th season of basketball and cheerleading Nov. 7 with its annual Opening Day Mass in the Msgr. Toomey Annex in Yardville.
The Mass, celebrated by Father Ballacillo, parochial vicar of St. James Parish, Pennington; St. Alphonsus Parish, Hopewell, and St. George Parish, Titusville, included music by cantor Rosemary LaMachia and organist Joann Sciarrotta for the 34th consecutive year; player Parker Sirak from Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish, Hamilton, served as reader. An awards ceremony followed the Mass, honoring last year’s graduates for their academic and athletic skills.
‘Look for Opportunities’
Father Ballacillo began by welcoming “the future of the Church and our future basketball stars,” and hoped there may be another LeBron James among them.
After reading from the Gospel of Luke, Father Ballacillo said to the large crowd that, “Luke tells us you cannot serve both God and money. So, at first we might think his message is only about money. But he is speaking about something much deeper. He is speaking about what takes place in our hearts.”
“Money is not evil, possession is not evil, success is definitely not evil,” he continued. “But the real question is ‘Who is the master?’ Are they serving God’s purposes or are they controlling our lives. Whoever is trustworthy in small matters will be trustworthy in big ones.”
Father Ballacillo suggested that most of our lives are lived in doing the smaller things, like delivering a kind word or doing an honest day’s work.
“(That applies) even in sports, in basketball,” he said. “Little things, like a prayer that is said when nobody sees, a generous act that nobody will know.
“We have looked for opportunities to show our love for God. These begin with the small things we do every single day. The way we spend our time and use our resources, and especially how we treat other people is what really matters to us.”
Father Ballacillo went on to say that because our culture measures success by wealth, popularity and influence, “our young people are very much confused, so they need our help. God measures success differently. He looks at humility, integrity, compassion, generosity and faith.”
Awarding a Job Well Done
CYO Athletic Director Quincy Walzer distributed the various awards. The major prizes went to Female Athlete of the Year Olivia Angiolino, Male Athlete of the Year Joseph D’Uva and Volunteer Coach of the Year Bryan Rogers.
Angiolino, whose father James is athletic director at Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, led Hamilton Square’s St. Gregory the Great basketball team to the Big School league championship. She was the Large School Most Valuable Player and was MVP of the CYO All-Star game.
Now a freshman in Notre Dame, Angiolino will miss basketball season after suffering a serious knee injury playing soccer in the fall. But winning her award helped ease the sting a little.
“This feels great,” she said. “I wasn’t really expecting it because I came to St. Greg’s three years ago and I was really just trying to be a good teammate and bring all I had to them.”
Olivia said she would always cherish her time at the CYO, as she met some of her best friends through playing basketball. And she liked the values stressed by the organization.
“You play like a team,” she said. “You play with the person next to you and just be there for a friend. If they make a mistake, you pick them back up and I think that’s what a true Christian does.”
D’Uva was unable to attend the Mass due to illness, but as his coach for the St. Gregory the Great Blue team, Rogers provided some insight to the player.
“This was very well deserved,” Rogers said. “Joseph put a lot of time in to get better. He really works hard. He loves basketball, he’s a great kid and really a heck of a player.”
D’Uva led St. Gregory the Great to first place in the Big School Division as well as the playoff title. He earned regular-season and All-Star game MVP honors.
Strong Foundation
Rogers, the principal in Steinert High, Hamilton, is stepping away after five years coaching St. Gregory the Great. He guided the Blue squad to regular-season and playoff titles last winter.
“It’s been the great,” the former Steinert girls basketball coach said of his time at the CYO. “The support from St. Greg’s and CYO has been awesome and the kids have been great.”
Rogers played for St. Gregory the Great as a youth and recalled many great battles during the games. He felt it laid a strong foundation for future years in both athletics and spiritually.
“This Mass is great to kick off the season,” Rogers said. “They do a great job as far as instilling … the faith. St. Greg’s has been a really special place.”
Also honored were the CYO Scholar-Athletes. They were St. Gregory the Great Parish’s Matthew Angiolino and Sloane Woods; Lindsay Ditta and Luca Landolfi from St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton; Victor Heffentrager and Mikayla Rommell from Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish, Hamilton, and Timothy Holland and Lillian Sagarese from St. Paul Parish, Princeton.
Following Mass, opening day kicked off with the following results:
Boys Freshmen
St. Gregory the Great’s Blue defeated St. Paul’s White, 22-8, as Christopher Rowan scored 12 points. Gabriel Topley’s 12 markers led St. Ann’s White past St. Gregory the Great’s White, 13-10.
Girls JV:
OLS defeated St. Gregory the Great’s White, 22-13, as Mya Frange tallied seven points.
Boys JV:
OLS defeated St. Paul’s as Noah Elliot led the way with 17 points. St. Gregory the Great’s Blue got 14 from Austin Talar in a 49-29 win over St. Raphael-Holy Angels.
Boys Varsity: St. Gregory the Great’s Blue defeated St. James behind Michael Sullivan’s 18 points.
