(Battle by the Bay 2024. Photo Credit: Jason Smart-El (JSmart Sports Media)
ATLANTIC CITY — The Atlantic City High School Vikings beat their rivals, the Pleasantville High School Greyhounds 81-58, on Sunday, February 4, 2024, in the closing session of the Battle by the Bay high school basketball invitational classic.
Battle by the Bay was started in the mid 1990s as a showcase to help prepare the boys basketball team to compete in packed gyms in front of big crowds as they advanced in conference competitions. But it wasn’t just about seeing some of the top schools from around the region clash. The goal was to raise money for scholarships to help students pursue higher education. All the games are well attended. But the flagship match up happens on Sunday as the finale when rivals Atlantic City and Pleasantville meet in a grudge match.
(Battle by the Bay 2024. Photo Credit: Jason Smart-El (JSmart Sports Media)
“It’s something that both communities look forward to,” said Battle by the Bay Chair Wilbur Banks. “And with that being said, you have two communities who come together and they are able to support their teams and a lot of times what goes on outside is put to rest.” Banks said Battle by the Bay has raised more than $200,000 in scholarships for Atlantic City and Pleasantville high school students.
BATTLE BY THE BAY HISTORY
The story begins in 1995 when the current, then new, Atlantic City High School opened for its first full year. Donald Marsh came up with the idea. “We wanted to do something that would help Atlantic City High get ready for post-season play,” Banks explained.
(Battle by the Bay 2024. Photo Credit: Jason Smart-El (JSmart Sports Media)
Although Atlantic City was always considered a powerhouse program, the school had never won a state championship. “The last time we had a championship appearance was 1973 in Princeton,” Banks said. “That was my junior year.” Banks said Marsh and the others associated with the classic also wanted to find a way to help students raise money for school.
But what would be the draw?
“Atlantic City and Pleasantville, sister communities, had never played each other,” Banks said. “That was a first for the two communities to come together for bragging rights.” That was also the year that Pleasantville High School had a phenomenal team that won the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group II Title, Banks said. The Greyhounds would later go on to repeat in 1996. But that didn’t make any difference when it came to the rivalry. “You throw the records out the window,” Banks said. “That doesn’t even matter.”
Banks said the classic has continued for 28 years when accounting for the COVID-19 cancelation year. But this is one of the longest-running basketball events in the region, he said. “The credibility is there,” Banks said. “The viability is good, and the sponsors are staying with us.”
Battle by the Bay attracts elite basketball programs such as St. Augustine Preparatory School. And teams travel to the resort from New York, Pennsylvania and beyond. “You’ve got kids playing the games who weren’t even born when we started,” Banks said. “They grew up hearing about it. A lot of them were ball boys. I had no idea it would grow to this level.”
A HOUSE DIVIDED—IN FUN
The rivalry even pits the two high school principals against each other. But in a friendly way, because the Atlantic City and Pleasantville high school principals are a husband and wife team; Constance Days-Chapman, who is the principal of Atlantic City High School, and her husband, Dr. Lapell Chapman, who is the principal of Pleasantville High School.
Making the rivalry run even deeper is the fact that they are, respectively, Viking and Greyhound alums. Constance is an Atlantic City High School graduate and Lapell graduated from Pleasantville High School. “Battle by the Bay was something I was excited about as a student. As the principal, I’m still excited,” Constance Days-Chapman said. “It’s the only game I used to travel back home to when I was in college at South Carolina State.”
The classic also holds special meaning for Lapell. “I actually attended the first Battle by the Bay,” Lapell Chapman said. “I maybe only missed six or seven when I was in college and the military.”
With the two principals sharing the same home, the trash talk starts early and happens often.
“We go back and forth about who’s going to win,” Constance Days-Chapman said. “So, I’m happy to have the Vikings win the trophy and we expect to keep winning for many years to come.” Although Atlantic City has an overall winning record against Pleasantville, the Vikings hadn’t beaten the Greyhounds in Battle by the Bay since 2020. “The rivalry within our house only came in the last three or four years,” Lapell Chapman said. “We won the last two, and they got away with one this year. So, I’m up two-one.”
Still, Lapell said, both schools are winners. “Anytime we can give money to our students who are planning to attend college, it’s a great thing for both schools,” Lapell Chapman said. “It definitely makes an impact on the athletes who participate and the students who they offer scholarships.
