South Jersey Football Playoff Preview: Part I

The South Jersey football playoffs are upon us. Teams will play three rounds to win a sectional title. The public school champs will then play a fourth game, called a Bowl Game. That will be the Central Jersey champions against the South Jersey champs.

Here are some of the playoff games with interesting storylines:

South Jersey Group 3
No. 5 seed Timber Creek (3-5) at No. 4 Wall (5-2), Friday, 7 pm.
Timber Creek is better than its record indicates. The Chargers have played one of the toughest schedules and it should prepare them for the postseason. Freshman Donovan Leary took over in last week’s 12-7 win over Atlantic City and completed 14 of 24 for 182 yards and one touchdown. Senior receiver Jayvin Little has been a force all season with 41 receptions for 888 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Daeshaun Polk has a team-high seven sacks. Wall has a strong defense. The Crimson Knights have recorded three shutouts.

No. 6 Triton (5-3) at (3) Woodrow Wilson (6-2), Saturday, 1 pm.
A few weeks ago Woodrow Wilson was considered one of the top teams in South Jersey. Then the Tigers lost their last two games to Delsea and Willingboro. Both of those teams are sectional title contenders. Wilson will bring one of the more dynamic offenses into the playoffs. Senior quarterback Nick Kargman has completed 59.9 percent of his passes for 2,833 yards and 30 touchdowns. Triton won at least a share of the WJFL National Division with last week’s 31-0 win over Pennsauken, the Mustangs most impressive win of the season.

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South Jersey Group 2
No. 7 Collingswood (6-3) at No. 2 Camden (7-1), Saturday, 3 pm.
Collingswood has achieved a rare feat with two, 1,000-yard rushers. Senior Michael Jenkins has rushed for 1,115 yards (8.8 avg.) and nine touchdowns. Classmate Jaquan Paige has rushed for 1,024 yards (5.9 avg.) and six touchdowns. Paige, a top linebacker, averages 8.2 tackles per year. Camden senior quarterback Monte Williams has gotten better as the season progressed. Williams has completed 55.2 percent of his passes for 1,046 yards and 12 TDs. Senior Ramer Nock rushed for 617 yards (8.8 avg.) and 10 TDs. This is one of the top defensive teams in South Jersey. Senior defensive lineman Tidiane Bamba has a team-high 9.5 sacks for the Panthers who have won seven in a row since an opening loss to three-time defending Maryland state champion Wise.

No. 5 Cedar Creek (4-4) at No. 4 Pleasantville (6-2), Friday, 7 pm.
This is a rematch of a regular season meeting when Pleasantville won 38-22 on Sept. 29.  Pleasantville lost opening night to Haddonfield, 20-6, and the only other loss was a 19-13 defeat to Buena. Senior Mohamed Toure, a Rutgers commit, has rushed for 582 yards (6.8 avg.) and eight touchdowns. He also averages 7.0 tackles per game and is tied for the team led in sacks with three. Cedar Creek has played one of the toughest schedules in South Jersey. Besides Pleasantville, the other losses were to Camden, Woodrow Wilson and Delsea. All four are in the playoffs and many expect those teams to challenge for a sectional title.

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Author: Marc Narducci; Photo by Marc Narducci