South Jersey Football Preview Part I

This is a week where there are several byes for South Jersey high school football teams but there are still several key games, many with playoff ramifications. Here is part one of our top weekend games.

Burlington Township (2-1) at Hightstown (1-2), Thursday, 7. This is a battle of Group 4 teams, with Burlington Township competing in South Jersey and Hightstown in Central Jersey. Burlington Township will attempt to rebound from last week’s 47-0 loss to unbeaten Lenape. Sophomore Semi Robertson has rushed for 181 yards (4.5 avg.) and 3 TDs. Senior Kedan Pegram has made the most of his three receptions, with two of them being TDs. Hightstown senior Matt DeCristofaro has rushed for 171 yards (17.1 avg.) and 2 TDs. The Rams are coming off a 7-6 loss to Lawrence.

Rancocas Valley (3-0) at Washington Township (0-3), Thursday, 7. While this looks like a mismatch on paper, Washington Township has been competitive in all three games, losing to Hammonton (22-14), Atlantic City (26-14) and Shawnee last week, (19-6). The Minutemen, under first-year coach Lamont Robinson, will face one of their biggest challenges against a Rancocas Valley team that has beaten Hopewell Valley, Hammonton, and Trenton by a combined 133-23 margin.

Absegami (1-2) at Eastern (3-0), Friday, 6. If Eastern wins, the Vikings will match their win total from the previous three years combined. Not to diminish what Eastern has accomplished under first-year coach John Doherty, but the three wins are over teams with a combined 1-9 record. The schedule gets much tougher next week when the Vikings visit South Jersey’s top team Timber Creek. Absegami, coming off last week’s 42-3 loss to St. Joe, can still be a playoff team in South Jersey Group 4, where just six teams have winning records at this point.

Collingswood (1-1) at Buena (2-1), Friday, 6. After losing its opener in overtime to Pleasantville, Buena has won two in a row, including last week’s 40-14 win over Middle Township. Collingswood is coming off a bye last week. The Panthers rebounded from an opening 38-6 loss to Haddonfield to defeat Delran, 57-29.

Delsea (1-2) at Holy Spirit (2-1), Friday, 7. Delsea beat Paul VI 49-7 last week for its first official win. The Crusaders also beat Cedar Creek on the field, only to have the game forfeited after the Crusaders discovered they had an ineligible player. The Crusaders are still expected to earn a South Jersey Group 3 playoff berth. Delsea junior running back Aidan Borguet has rushed for 572 yards (10.8 avg.) and 5 TDs. Holy Spirit rebounded from a 42-26 loss to St. Joe to beat Lower Cape May, 46-7 last week.

Florence (1-1) at Holy Cross (2-1), Friday, 7. Holy Cross rebounded from a 38-7 loss to Haddonfield to beat Cinnaminson, 22-12 last week and remain in the hunt in the WJFL Liberty Division. Florence is coming off a bye. The Flashes lost their opening game to surprising Burlington City before defeating Clayton the next week. Both teams figure to challenge for a playoff berth with Holy Cross in Non-Public Group 2 and Florence in Central Jersey Group 1.

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