Audubon football resurgence continued

Audubon’s football team didn’t win a division title or a sectional championship, but the Green Wave continued its recent upward progression in impressive fashion.

This season Audubon went 8-2 after going 7-1 last season.

How significant is this?

The 7-1 record last year was Audubon’s first winning season since 1985 when the Green Wave went 6-3-1.

This year’s 8-2 record was the most wins for Audubon since 1983 when the Green Wave went 9-2.

First-year coach Dan Reed did an excellent job this past season. The previous season Reed was Audubon’s offensive coordinator, so he has had a big hand in this turnaround.

This year, Audubon’s lone regular season loss was to Camden Catholic. Audubon finished second in the WJFL Constitution division to Camden Catholic. The Irish went 5-0 in division play, while Audubon was 4-1.

In the postseason, Audubon opened with a 34-14 Central Jersey Group 1 win over Gateway before losing to eventual sectional and regional champion Salem, 42-7 in the sectional semifinal.

Putting two excellent seasons together for Audubon is no small feat. While there have been several .500 records since 2005, this was the first time Audubon had consecutive winning seasons since posting five straight winning campaigns from 1981-1985.

What also has to be encouraging for Green Wave fans is that Audubon will return many of the key players next season.

The division that Audubon will compete in has yet to be decided as the WJFL switches divisions every two years.

Regardless of division, Audubon will return one of the more impressive quarterbacks, current junior Scott Lynch, who played for the Green Wave as a freshman, transferred to a school in Florida and returned to Audubon this past season.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Lynch completed 57.8 percent of his passes for 2,002 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also rushed for 375 yards (7.5 avg.) and three touchdowns.

Two running backs had big sophomore seasons for the Green Wave. DJ Bryant, who was named an all-conference defensive back, rushed for 635 yards (5.9 avg.) and nine touchdowns. Classmate Luke Hoke rushed for 418 yards (8.9 avg.) and five touchdowns.

Junior Billy Lindemuth had 32 receptions for 631 yards and seven touchdowns. Hoke added 36 receptions for 633 yards and nine scores. All the above-mentioned players were first-team all-conference selections.

So the offense should again be explosive.

Other returning next season who earned all-conference honors include current junior tight end Charlie Brady, and junior defensive back Zach Beebe,

The Green Wave will have some key players to replace on the offensive and defensive lines, but the team should be highly competitive next season.

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The expectations will likely rise, but that is what happens when a team goes 15-3 over two seasons and bring back many of the key players.

Author: Marc Narducci