A Record-Setting Season For Kingsway Football
It was quite a football season for Kingsway, which ended with a 10-3 record following last week’s 35-27 loss to Washington Township in a Group 1 state semifinal.
According to South Jersey historian Chuck Langerman, Kingsway set a single-season record for wins this season. The previous record of nine was accomplished in 1994 and 2001.
To put the accomplishment in perspective, Washington Township (13-0) has won all but two games by 11 or more points. The two exceptions were a 39-36 regular season win over Kingsway and the aforementioned eight-point state semifinal game.
That three-point regular season loss to Washington Township placed Kingsway in second place in the West Jersey Football League Classic Division behind the Minutemen.
Kingsway was the No. 3 seed in South Jersey Group 5. After a 23-14 first-round win over No. 6 Pennsauken, the Dragons then had to win two difficult games on the road.
They beat No. 2 Southern Regional, 28-7 in the semifinal and No. 1 Atlantic City, 38-21 in the championship game.
And then despite being shorthanded, they gave a Washington Township team which set a single-season school record for wins, all it could handle.
In the sectional final win over Atlantic City, leading rusher Cole DeNick, who scored 26 touchdowns this season, was injured. He missed the state semifinal against Washington Township. Starting receiver-cornerback Mason Bryan also missed the state semifinal.
After two great struggles against the Dragons, Washington Township had great admiration for Kingsway’s performance.
“With DeNick not playing, I thought their quarterback played one of the better games all year,” said Washington Township coach Mike Schatzman, whose team will play Passaic Tech in the state Group 5 championship on Friday at MetLife Stadium.
That quarterback was David Oravetz, who completed 21-of-26 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
Kingsway coach Mark Hendricks had nothing but admiration for his team after such a strong effort for the second time this season against Washington Township.
“Our guys left it all out there,” he said. “I am proud of (two-way lineman) Jordan Hernandez, he’s a warrior as are guys like (running back-linebacker) Musa Jackson and (receiver-linebacker) Andrew Wands.”
The Dragons’ only other loss was a 26-21 defeat at Camden, a team that will be playing in the state Group 2 championship against Shabazz on Dec. 3 at Rutgers University.
The best win of the year was in the sectional final over an Atlantic City team that entered the contest on a seven-game winning streak. That was the third sectional title in school history. The Dragons also won in 2001 and in 2021.
Hendricks has guided the Dragons to the last two sectional titles.
Jackson headed the defensive effort with a Pick-6 against Atlantic City
That was the game in which DeNick was hurt. He had rushed for 168 yards in just 10 carries before the injury.
Since the 2021 season, Kingsway has become one of the more consistent winners in South Jersey.
Over the past five seasons, the Dragons have gone 39-20 while annually playing a challenging season.
This is a team this season that was impressive in defeat and even more so in victory.
Photo: Kingsway's Cole DeNick running against Camden Eastside earlier in the season / Marc Narducci
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Author: Marc Narducci
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