S.J. football notes: Delsea embraces the expecations
Delsea's remarkable run of success in the postseason has many positive implications for the program.
Delsea's remarkable run of success in the postseason has many positive implications for the program.
But Crusaders coach Sal Marchese admits the team's crowded trophy case always creates a lot of pressure for his players.
"These kids deal with a lot," Marchese said after Delsea won its fourth consecutive South Jersey Group 3 title with a 21-12 win over Camden on Saturday at Rowan University.
Delsea has won 13 titles since the start of the state tournament in 1974, including seven in the last 11 seasons.
"These kids know what's expected of them," Marchese said. "It's not an easy situation for them. They come in every year and know they need to work even harder than the team did the year before.
"But these kids, they embrace that. They know the tradition, they know the expectations from the community and they work as hard as they can to be successful."
Special win. Cedar Creek coach Tim Watson said his team's 28-27 victory over West Deptford in the South Jersey Group 3 final carried extra significance.
Watson said he's tried to model his program on West Deptford, which has won six sectional titles and appeared in 10 sectional finals since 2002.
"This means even more because of who we beat," Watson said. "That's a great program with a great coaching staff. That's a program we've tried to emulate."
Tough break. St. Joseph senior lineman Derek Lomax sustained a dislocated ankle without any broken bones in the first quarter of his team's victory over Hudson Catholic in the Non-Public 2 final on Sunday.
Lomax, who has an offer from Army, was scheduled to meet with a coach from Lehigh after the game.
"It just broke my heart," St. Joseph coach Paul Sacco said. "He was on the field saying, 'I'm sorry, coach, I'm sorry.'
"He's a great player and a great young man. He'll come back from this."
Tough break II. West Deptford junior Quran Dozier, who led the team this season with 18 touchdowns, sat out two games with a knee injury but returned for the sectional final.
Dozier carried the football for eight yards on the second play of the game and aggravated the injury. He sat out the rest of the game.
WJFL Division alignments for 2016. Ewing athletic director Bud Kowal, the president of the WJFL, said Monday the league likely will announce division alignments for the 2016-17 scheduling cycle this week.
Kowal confirmed there were 11 official appeals after the tentative division alignments were sent to member schools.
Kowal declined to comment when asked if the league adjusted any division alignments as a result of appeals.
The projected alignments had Hammonton and Kingsway moving up to the American division while Paul VI advanced to the National division and Camden and Catholic Catholic jumped up to the Constitution division, among several other changes.
Mini-Max winners. Fourteen seniors from South Jersey high schools have been named winners of the Mini-Max awards from the Maxwell Football Club.
The athletes will be honored at a banquet in Princeton Junction on Jan. 17, when the Maxwell Club's New Jersey High School Player of the Year will be chosen from among the Mini-Max winners.
The athletes were nominated by their coaches and selected based on criteria that included football performance, academics and community service.
The local winners are Kevin Lanners of Bishop Eustace, Domal Parker of Camden Catholic, John Lass of Cherry Hill East, Dante Moore of Egg Harbor Township, Joe Fogy of Florence and Each Bernard of Hammonton.
Also, Wale Mastiff of Kingsway, Cole Eyes of Lenape, Mike Admiring of Moorestown and Jim Brady of St. Augustine.
Also, Mike Welsh of Shawnee, Derek Lomax of St. Joseph, Cameron Chambers of Timber Creek and Rich Stinson of Williamstown.
On the rise. Clearview coach Mark Deal says junior running back/cornerback Gayer Sharper is beginning to generate attention from college recruiters.
Sharper carried 63 times for 782 yards (12.4-yard average) and 14 touchdowns this season for Clearview. He also was a top defensive back for the Pioneers.
Deal said the McCarthy Report, a scouting service that provides information on high school players to 75 colleges, plans to rate Sharper as New Jersey's No. 1 cornerback in the class of 2017.
Brooks-Irvine banquet. The Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club will hold its 71st annual awards dinner Monday at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Cherry Hill.
The club will honor the All-South Jersey team as well as college players of the year, scholar-athlete award winners and the high school coach of the year.
Tickets are $55. Contact banquet chairman Bill Sonsini at 856-858-8712 during business hours for more information.
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