South Jersey Football Playoff Preview

The South Jersey high school public school playoffs begin this weekend. South Jersey teams are either listed in the South or Central bracket.

Teams need to win three games to earn a sectional championship and five to win a state title. Here is a preview of the 10 Groups involving South Jersey public schools.

Defending champion: Glassboro.

Top seed: Schalick (9-0)

Favorite: (1) Schalick. The Cougars, led by QB Kenneth Bartee, are the appropriate top seed with a 16-8 win over Central Jersey No. 1 seed Paulsboro.

Outlook: With Glassboro moving to Group 2, this is considered wide open. While Schalick is the favorite, (2) Delaware Valley (7-2) should seriously contend, but beating the Cougars will be extremely difficult.

Defending champion: Haddonfield.

Top seed: West Deptford (9-0).

Favorite: West Deptford. Led by RB Cole Paskiewicz (1,152 yards rushing, 17 TDs), the Eagles have a potent ground game.

Outlook: Beating West Deptford will be difficult. Haddonfield is the second seed and could reach the sectional final, but the Bulldogs will have to show improvement after losing 28-0 to West Deptford in the regular season.

Defending champion: Cedar Creek.

Top seed: Seneca (6-3).

Favorite: Seneca, which has lost in the sectional final the previous three years, is the team to beat led by dual-threat QB Anthony Tirico, who has 59 career TD passes and 50 career rushing TDs.

Outlook: There are several teams who could make a case for contending, and one of the best projected games could be (4) Timber Creek against Seneca in the second round. Timber Creek is a true dark horse.

Defending champion: Winslow Township.

Top seed: Shawnee (7-2).

Favorite: (2) Winslow Township (5-3). The Eagles have played the toughest schedule and that should benefit them.

Outlook: Winslow Township is the two-time defending state champion and while not as strong as last year, the Eagles are clearly the team to beat.

Defending champion: Kingsway.

Top seed: (1) Washington Township (9-0).

Favorite: Washington Township is the defending state champion, and the addition of Winslow Township transfer QB Jalen Parker makes the Minutemen difficult to beat.

Outlook: Last year Washington Township was Central Jersey Group 5 champion, and the Minutemen should prevail in South Jersey, likely beating (2) Southern in the sectional final.

Defending champion: Burlington City.

Top seed: Paulsboro (7-2).

Favorite: Paulsboro takes a four-game winning streak into the tournament, including a win over No. 2 South Jersey Group 2 seed Haddonfield.

Outlook: This looks like Paulsboro’s year. The Red Raiders looked especially impressive in last week’s 26-0 win over defending sectional champ Burlington City. No. 2 Salem and No. 3 Woodstown should contend.

Defending champion: Camden.

Top seed: Glassboro (8-1).

Favorite: Glassboro. The Bulldogs are the two-time defending state Group 1 champion and are poised to continue the success in Group 2.

Outlook: If any other team wins this section, it would be a major upset. No. 2 Rumson-Fair Haven is the biggest challenger to Glassboro.

Defending champion: Holmdel.

Top seed: Hopewell Valley (8-1).

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Favorite: (2) Camden. The Panthers (5-3) are the defending state Group 2 champions and played a tough schedule to prepare them for this tournament.

Outlook: Just like Glassboro in Group 2, it would be a major surprise if any team other than Camden emerged as champion.

Defending champion: Brick Memorial.

Top seed: Brick Memorial (8-1).

Favorite: Brick Memorial, a finalist last year, is considered the team to beat this year.

Outlook: (3) Atlantic City (5-3) played a tough schedule and enters with a four-game win streak. The Vikings are our pick to win it.

Defending champion: Washington Township.

Top seed: Old Bridge (8-1).

Favorite: Rancocas Valley (9-0).

Outlook: Old Bridge has won eight in a row since opening with a 42-35 loss to Shawnee. Rancocas Valley beat Shawnee 36-6. The Red Devils, with quarterback Zach Merhar having thrown 30 TD passes, haven’t played the most difficult schedule, but have still been dominating and should prove to be the class of CJ Group 5.