Thanksgiving Football Preview Part I
Thanksgiving football, an afterthought in many regions, is still a big deal in South Jersey. There are great games the next few days, many involving teams that will play in championships the following week. Here is a look at some of the top games.
Wednesday
Rancocas Valley (9-1) at Burlington Township (6-3), 5. A win would give Rancocas Valley sole possession of the WJFL Capitol title. Burlington Township has been idle since suffering a 41-0 loss to Highland in a first round SJ Group 4 game on Nov. 10. Rancocas Valley is coming off a comeback 15-14 win over defending champion Millville in a SJ Group 5 semifinal. The Red Devils will face Lenape in the finals. RV’s Iverson Clement has rushed for 1,238 yards (6.8 avg.) and 12 TDs. Junior Bryce Mangene has completed 54.2 percent of his passes for 970 yards and 10 TDs. Burlington Township junior Danny Grozozski has completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 1,330 yards and 11 TDs. Senior Kadin Pegram has caught 16 passes for a 22.1 average and 4 TDs.
Penns Grove (9-1) at Pennsville, (4-5), 6. Penns Grove would clinch a share of the WJFL Diamond title if it wins and Salem loses to Woodstown. The following week, Penns Grove will meet Paulsboro in the SJ Group 1 championship. The Red Devils are coming off a 36-0 semifinal win over Gateway. Pennsville has been idle since a 41-28 loss to Paulsboro on Nov. 11 in a SJ Group 1 quarterfinal. Penns Grove junior Tyreke Brown has rushed for 523 yards (10.3 avg.) and 12 TDs. He has caught 41 passes for 1,093 yards and 14 TDs. Pennsville senior Nicholas Bard has rushed for 1,465 yards, 7.8 avg. and 17 TDs.
Cherry Hill East (0-9) at Cherry Hill West (0-9), 6 This is one of the great rivalries in South Jersey. The fact that both are looking for their first win this season, just adds to the drama. Cherry Hill West has played much better than its record indicates, with five losses by a TD or less.
Pennsauken (3-6) at Bishop Eustace (5-4), 7. Despite its record Pennsauken was a playoff team and gave top seeded Moorestown a major scare before losing a 16-13 South Jersey Group 4 first round game. Eustace has rebounded from a 2-8 season and will look to avenge last year’s 26-10 loss to the Indians.
THURSDAY
Winslow Township (4-5) at Timber Creek (9-1), 10. Timber Creek saw its 25-game win streak snapped with last week’s 41-30 South Jersey Group 3 semifinal loss to Delsea. This will be the final game for Timber Creek standout QB Devin Leary, who is headed to North Carolina State. Leary has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 2,587 yards and 28 TDs. He has thrown 102 career TD passes. Winslow Township has won three of its last four games. Led by junior QB Prince-dru Bey, who has thrown 22 TD passes, Winslow Township could be a program to watch next season.
Shawnee (7-3) at Lenape (9-1), 10. Both teams will compete in sectional finals, with Shawnee in Group 4 and Lenape in Group 5. Shawnee senior Colin Wetterau has completed 125 of 199 passes for 1,918 yards and 16 touchdowns. According to area historian Chuck Langerman, he could become the first quarterback in Shawnee history to throw for 2,000 yards. Receiver Daevon Robinson has caught 42 passes for 562 yards and five TDs. Linebacker Dan Falzone has 102 tackles. Lenape senior JoJo Kellum is on fire. Kellum has rushed for 1,504 yards (9.3 avg.) and 28 TDs.
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Author: Marc Narducci
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