South Jersey Football Rankings: Lenape, Williamstown showdown set

The rematch is set.

Lenape is the No. 1 team in the Inquirer Top 10 rankings. The Indians are the No. 2 seed in the South Jersey Group 5 tournament.

Williamstown is the No. 3 team in the rankings. The Braves are the top seed in the sectional tournament.

The West Jersey Football League American Division rivals will meet for the second time this season on Friday, as Lenape visits Williamstown with the sectional title on the line.

Williamstown beat Lenape 28-21 on Sept. 27.

The teams are the last two South Jersey Group 5 champions. Lenape won the title in 2017 and Williamstown took home the crown in 2018.

One of them will claim more hardware on Friday night.

Here’s the New Top 10, with last week’s rank in parentheses:

1. Lenape (1): 9-1: Xavier Coleman ran for two scores and caught a pass from Brady Long for another as the Indians beat Hillsborough 28-17 for their fifth straight victory. Hazma Bruce added an insurance touchdown for Lenape, which advanced to a highly anticipated rematch with Williamstown.

2. St. Augustine (2) 7-3: Austin Leyman’s 80-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Davis with little more than four minutes to play lifted the Hermits to a 20-15 victory over Seton Hall Prep in the Non-Public 4 quarterfinals. It was a signature win for St. Augustine, the first for the Hermits over one of the North Jersey non-public powers that have served as a roadblock to the advancement of the South Jersey program. Kanye Udoh ran for 127 yards for St. Augustine, which has won six in a row after a 1-3 start. St. Augustine visits top-seeded St. Peter’s Prep Friday night in the state semifinals.

3. Williamstown (3): 10-1: Turner Inge ran for three scores and Quinn Hart returned a kickoff for a touchdown as Williamstown beat Vineland 34-14 in the sectional semifinals. The Braves, now 22-2 over the last two seasons, will have history on their side in the South Jersey Group 5 title game. Williamstown is 6-0 all-time vs Lenape, per research by sports historian Chuck Langerman.

4. St. Joseph (4) 8-1: The Wildcats are trying to schedule a non-league game for Thanksgiving weekend to account for a lack of competition this month. St. Joseph’s last game was a 22-19 win over Holy Spirit on Nov. 2. The Wildcats were off consecutive weekends because of a double-bye in Non-Public 2 tournament play, largely because of teams declining to compete in the tournament. St. Joseph hosts Morris Catholic in the semifinals on Saturday, and likely will meet the Holy Spirit-Hudson Catholic winner in the state final the weekend of Dec. 5-8. That’s because Holy Spirit, the likely other finalist, has an annual Thanksgiving game vs. Atlantic City. Under that scenario, and barring the scheduling of a non-league game, St. Joseph would play just two games over the final five weeks of the season.

5. Penns Grove (5): 11-0: Nasir Robinson ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns as the Red Devils won their 24th game in a row, beating Woodbury 54-7 in Saturday’s South Jersey Group 1 semifinals. Robinson, a junior nicknamed “Hollywood,” has set the school record for rushing yards in a season with 1,396, per Langerman’s research. Tyionne Brewer added 128 rushing yards and two scores for Penns Grove, which has tied the school record for consecutive games without a loss, set in 1962. The Red Devils host Paulsboro Saturday in the sectional finals.

6. West Deptford (6): 9-1: Tyshawn Bookman ran for three scores and returned an interception for another as the Eagles beat Delran 56-17 in the South Jersey Group 2 semifinals. Aaron Graeber added a pair of touchdowns for West Deptford, which has averaged 55.25 points in a four-game winning streak. The Eagles, seeking their eighth sectional title since 2002, host Hillside Friday night in the championship game.

7. Willingboro (7) 10-1: Chris Long ran for one score and caught a pass for another as the Chimeras won their 10th game in a row, edging Buena 30-28 in the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals. Au-Shaun Davis threw a pair of touchdown passes as Willingboro tied the school record for wins in a season, set in 1985 and tied in 2001 and 2010, per Langerman’s research. Long, a Temple recruit, is closing on the South Jersey record for receiving yards in a season. Long has 1,383. The record is 1,434 set in 2013 by Timber Creek’s Adonis Jennings, who also played at Temple. Willingboro will host Salem Friday night in the sectional title game.

8. Woodrow Wilson (8) 7-2: Devin Kargman threw four touchdown passes to Malik Harvey as the Tiers rolled to a 42-0 victory over Holmdel. Kargman passed for 449 yards, a state record for passing yards by a sophomore, according to Langerman. The previous mark was 444 by Pennsville’s Dylan Cummings in 2011. Kargman has 34 touchdown passes, one short of Cummings’ sophomore state record. Woodrow Wilson hosts Somerville in the South Jersey Group 3 finals on Saturday.

9. Shawnee (9) 8-2: The Renegades won their eighth South Jersey Group 4 tournament game in a row, beating Millville 27-18 in the sectional semifinals. Nate Summerville and Dom Frigiola caught touchdown passes from Matt Welsey and Jake Barnett added a touchdown run for the two-time sectional champions. Shawnee hosts Ocean City in Friday’s South Jersey Group 4 title game. The teams have met just once, when the 1996 Ocean City team – regarded as one of the best in Cape-Atlantic League history – finished an 11-0 season with a 27-7 victory over Shawnee.

10. Hammonton (10) 9-2: Caleb Nartley caught a pair of touchdown passes from Ryan Barts and ran for another score as the Blue Devils beat Middletown South 32-29 to advance to the Central Jersey Group 4 title game. Barts was 6-for-8 passing for 121 yards and three scores as Hammonton won its seventh in a row. Hammonton hosts Jackson Memorial in the sectional final on Friday night.

Under consideration (listed alphabetically): Camden (7-2), Cedar Creek (8-2), Cherokee (5-5), Holy Spirit (5-4), Kingsway (6-5), Mainland (8-1), Ocean City (8-2), Paulsboro (8-2), Pleasantville (8-1).