SJ Sports: Double Duty

Whether it’s been on the football field or on the basketball court, Shawnee senior Bill Kurtz has been a major winner. Kurtz has been a leader for the Renegades in both sports for three years. This year, he accomplished a rare double by winning South Jersey Group 4 titles in both sports. Kurtz quarterbacked the football team in the fall and ran the point for the basketball team in the winter. Both positions in their respective sports need an individual whose will matches his talent. It is no surprise that Kurtz fit both positions perfectly.

“I always played point guard and I always played quarterback,” said Kurtz. “It’s something that I’ve been doing ever since I was a little kid. I feel like I belong in the leadership role and I think I do everything I can to help the team win.”

Shawnee’s football team earned its first-ever sectional title with two dramatic playoff comebacks while the basketball squad overcame a “rebuilding” season to add yet another championship banner.

Tim Gushue coached Kurtz on the football field and Joe Kessler worked with Kurtz on the basketball court. Both coaches knew that Kurtz was a natural leader from the first day of practice. “He seems to be at his best when his back is against the wall,” Gushue said of Kurtz. “He has leadership ability and he has great resilience. He just wouldn’t let us lose. That’s what really makes him special.”

As a senior Kurtz threw 19 touchdown passes and averaged 18.7 points and also set a single-game school record with 10 three-point field goals in a season-high 36 point effort against Woodrow Wilson.

Kurtz’s magical finish to his high school sports career began in the fall with the football team. Shawnee lost two of its first four games, a start that usually spells doom for teams with postseason aspirations in Group 4. However, Kurtz rallied his teammates during the second half of the season and the Renegades won their next four games to earn a Group 4 playoff birth.

After an opening round 26-0 win over Egg Harbor Township., the Renegades went into No. 1 seeded Toms River North as underdogs in the semifinals. Shawnee trailed 21-0 entering the fourth quarter, but Kurtz led a furious rally that resulted in a 24-21 overtime win. He threw three fourth quarter touchdowns to force the overtime.

When the Renegades trailed Washington Township., 10-0 at halftime in the championship game the following week, Kurtz spearheaded another fourth quarter comeback as Shawnee captured the Group 4 championship, 14-10.

The Renegades were no strangers to championships in basketball. Kurtz was in the backcourt as a sophomore and junior when Shawnee captured back-to-back sectional crowns and a state title in 2001. With many of Kurtz’s top teammates lost to graduation, few expected the Renegades to make it three South Jersey titles in a row. But after picking up three close victories over Eastern, Winslow Township and Egg Harbor Township by a combined total of 10 points, Shawnee found itself back in the sectional final.

Upstart Rancocas Valley was the only team standing in Shawnee’s way of a three-peat. The Renegades went on to win by a count of 57-52 and Kurtz led Shawnee with 19 points. Kessler always felt secure knowing Kurtz was running the offense for his team. “He really is a true basketball player,” said Kessler. “He really ran the show for us this season.”

Kurtz is looking to play basketball in college. Several Division II and Division III schools have expressed an interest in him, but Division I programs such as Lehigh and Columbia may also offer Kurtz an opportunity to play basketball on the college level. Wherever Bill Kurtz winds up, you can bet his future teammates will follow his lead.

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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Author: SJ Sports Club-Ed Benkin