SOUTH JERSEY FOOTBALL GAMES OF THE WEEK

This is the first full week of the South Jersey football season. Last week was what is known as ‘Week Zero.' This is now ‘Week One’ with much fuller schedule. Here are some of the games of the week.

Thursday Sept. 2

Burlington City (0-0) at Audubon (0-0), 4. Burlington City didn’t play football last year, opting out due to the pandemic. This is the debut game for new Burlington City coach Kadin Booker, who wasn’t appointed until a few days before practice began on Aug. 9. Booker was offensive coordinator at Roman Catholic last year and was to be the offensive coordinator at Burlington City, but he was hired after coach Ray Robinson took an administrative job. This is a meeting of first-year coaches with former Audubon offensive coordinator Dan Reed taking over for the Green Wave. Audubon has had a quarterback battle in the preseason. Sean Driscoll, a converted receiver, threw 17 TD passes last season, but in the preseason was battling with Scott Lynch, who began his career at Audubon, played last year in Florida and returned to the Green Wave this season. This has to be the top QB duo in South Jersey.

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Lenape (0-0) at Cherokee (0-0), 6. These are members of the Lenape School District and long-time rivals. Last season both were in competing to be the No. 1 team in South Jersey when Lenape won a classic 31-28 victory in the Bracket A semifinal. While there were no official NJSIAA playoffs last season, the top teams in the West Jersey Football League were put in four-team pods. Lenape and Cherokee were in Bracket A. After beating the Chiefs, Lenape then lost to Holy Spirit, 21-7. Cherokee junior Brandon Boria rushed for 888 yards (8.7 avg.) and 11 touchdowns and figures to be among the top running backs in South Jersey.

Delran (1-0) at Delsea (0-0), 7:30. Delran opened with an impressive 27-14 win over Willingboro as Zack Palmer-Smith rushed for 162 yards and three touchdowns. The Bears are a viable contender in a the WJFL Colonial Division, with the likes of West Deptford, Haddonfield and Willingboro among the other challengers. Delsea lost its opener 15-12 to Timber Creek last year before winning its final five games. Senior Jaden Stewart, who rushed for 341 yards (8.3 avg.) and 4 touchdowns, leads what should be one of South Jersey’s top rushing attacks for Delsea. 

Friday Sept. 3

St. Joseph Academy (1-0) at Holy Spirit (0-1), 6. St. Joseph Academy opening with last week’s 31-18 in over Philadelphia’s Northeast Philadelphia in the Battle at the Beach at Ocean City. Cohl Mercado scored two touchdowns. Holy Spirit also opened its season at the same event and fell, 28-7 to powerful Dematha Catholic of Maryland. Last year Holy Spirit opened its season with an 18-6 win over St. Joseph. This week’s game will have major ramifications for the South Jersey rankings. Both teams have the capability to finish No. 1 after Holy Spirit was the top team a year ago while posting an 8-0 record.

Saturday Sept. 4

West Deptford (0-1) at Woodrow Wilson (0-0), 1. West Deptford is looking to bounce back from last week’s 18-3 loss to Paulsboro. The defense played well but the only offense was a 40-yard Brady Clark field goal, showing he is among the top kickers in South Jersey. This will be the first game for Woodrow Wilson coach Brandon Bather, who replaced Preston Brown, now director of player personnel at Temple. The Tigers went 3-3 last season and have several Division I athletes.

Author: Marc Narducci