South Jersey Football Games of the Week
This is the first-ever NJSIAA public school state championships. There are just three teams from the seven-county South Jersey area alive. Here is the preview.
State Group 1
Woodbury (11-2) vs Mountain Lakes (11-1), Saturday, noon at Rutgers. Woodbury has won five in a row since a 21-20 regular season loss to Salem. Included in that was a 22-7 win over that same Salem team in the Group 1 state semifinal. Woodbury senior quarterback Bryan Johnson has thrown for 2,159 yards and 24 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 282 yards and four scores. Junior Anthony Reagan Jr., son of coach Anthony Reagan, has rushed for 933 yards and 15 touchdowns, while senior JaBron Solomon has 54 receptions for 873 yards and 13 touchdowns. Mountain Lakes beat Weequahic, 29-23 in the other state Group 1 semifinal. Nico Dunn rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns to lead the comeback win in a game Mountain Lakes trailed, 20-7 at halftime. Mountain Lakes runs the Wing-T offense, so stopping the potent ground game will be key for Woodbury.
State Group 3
Delsea (12-0) vs Old Tappan (11-1), Saturday, 3 p.m. at Rutgers. Delsea is coming off a 20-14 state semifinal win over Camden. The Crusaders run the Wing-T and teams know what is often coming, but it is still difficult to stop. During the Crusaders’ 44-7 South Jersey Group 3 win over Hopewell Valley, Delsea didn’t attempt a single pass. Junior Wayne Adair leads the ground attack. He has rushed for 1,229 yards (11.0 avg.) and 18 touchdowns. Senior Jared Schoppe has rushed for 1,160 yards (5.9 avg.) and 24 touchdowns. Old Tappan has won five in a row since a 30-22 loss to Ramapo. The Golden Knights beat West Morris, 21-6 in the state Group 3 semifinal. Senior quarterback Tommy Caracciolo has thrown for 1,896 yards and 24 touchdowns. Classmate Aidan Heaney has rushed for 1,491 yards (8.8 avg.) and 24 touchdowns. Junior Evan Brooks has 41 receptions for 833 yards and nine touchdowns for the well-balanced offense.
State Group 4
Millville (11-2) vs. Northern Highlands (9-3), Saturday, 6 p.m. at Rutgers. Millville beat Mainland, 18-14 in the state semifinal and then came back four days later and defeated Vineland, 35-16 on Thanksgiving in the 151st meeting between these two Cape Atlantic Schools. Junior Jacob Zamot has thrown for a single-season school record 2,917 yards. He has also thrown 25 touchdown passes. Sophomore Lotzier Brooks has 58 receptions for 976 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior Na’een Sharp has rushed for 1,160 yards (6.4 avg.) and 13 touchdowns. Northern Highlands beat North Hunterdon, 21-20 in overtime during the state Group 4 semifinal. The win wasn’t secured until the Highlanders then blocked a North Hunterdon extra point after it had scored an overtime TD. Senior Charlie Sparago has rushed for 867 yards and eight touchdowns. Northern Highlands has used two quarterbacks this season, sophomore Nate Johnson and junior JR Walley. Both have thrown 11 touchdown passes. Johnson played most of the game against North Hunterdon.
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Author: Marc Narducci
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