Top Players From WJFL

The West Jersey Football League produced a number of playmakers that had a great impact in the 2020 high school season. From quarterbacks to running backs to defensive playmakers, the WJFL had a lot of standouts. Let’s take a look at some of the top players from the conference over the course of the 2020 season. <strong>Sean Driscoll, Audubon: </strong>Driscoll led the WJFL in passing yards with 1,503 yards and 16 touchdowns. The junior had four 200-yard passing performances, and he led Audubon to a 7-1 record, winning the last six games of the year following the team’s lone loss to Cinnaminson. <strong>Jalin Brownlee, Camden: </strong>Brownlee ended his career at Camden in a strong way, finishing with 1,402 passing yards, good for second in the conference, with 15 touchdowns to five interceptions. He completed nearly 69 percent of his throws, and he led Camden to a 4-1 season, ending the year on a four-game winning streak. His top performances came in back-to-back games against Shawnee and West Deptford in October. Against Shawnee, Brownlee finished with a whopping 433 passing yards and five touchdowns, completing 73 percent of his throws. In the following week’s win over West Deptford, Brownlee followed with 313 passing yards and three touchdowns, all while completing 75 percent of his passes. <strong>Dan Merkel, Allentown: </strong>Merkel is known for breaking records in Mercer County. He broke the all-time passing record in the county with a career of 6,011 passing yards. The Allentown senior quarterback and four-year starter finished the season with 1,364 passing yards and 995 rushing yards with 21 total touchdowns. He capped off his football career with a 29-yard run as time expired in a 54-48 thrilling win over Hopewell Valley. He finished with 3,208 rushing yards in his career. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27903" first="Patrick" last="Smith"], Holy Spirit: </strong>Smith had a tremendous year for Holy Spirit in his last year before his next venture at the FBS level. He led the WJFL in rushing yards with 1,719 on 221 carries, and he had 16 rushing touchdowns, which tied for second in the league. Outside of the season finale against Atlantic City, where he was limited due an injury in a previous game, Smith ended up with 100 rushing yards in every game, including two games with 300-plus yards. <strong>Bhayshul Tuten, Paulsboro: </strong>Tuten led the WJFL in rushing scores with 19, and he totaled 1,229 yards on 131 carries as Paulsboro finished the season with a perfect 7-0 record. He added four TDs as a receiver, and he also had a kickoff return for a score. Tuten scored at least one TD in every game in the 2020 season, with a combined nine rushing scores in games against Haddon Heights and Sterling. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27891" first="Nasir" last="Robinson"], Penns Grove: </strong>Robinson was an electric playmaker that got it done in a variety of ways. The senior rushed for 1,295 yards and 13 touchdowns on 164 carries, he caught two TDs, had two sacks and one interception and finished with 69 tackles. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27928" first="Ahmad" last="Ross"], St. Joseph (Hamm.): </strong>Ross ran for 1,122 yards and 16 TDs on 165 carries. He averaged nearly seven yards per carry and 125 yards per game. He found the end zone in every game this season, with four TDs coming against Burlington Township in the season finale, and three apiece in victories over Cedar Creek and Millville. Ross had a sack and interception on the defensive end. <strong>Anthony Johnson, Burlington Township: </strong>Johnson caught 23 balls for 675 yards and eight TDs in a strong 6-1 campaign for Burlington Township. His 675 receiving yards were most in the conference. He finished with six receptions for 175 yards and three TDs in a 51-31 loss to St. Joseph (Hamm.) in the season finale. <strong>Jaheem Frederick, Atlantic City: </strong>Frederick also made an impact as a receiver with 29 catches for 649 yards (second-most in the conference) and six scores. He had eight catches for 211 yards and a TD in a game against Absegami in early November. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28023" first="Marcus" last="Johnson"], Woodrow Wilson: </strong>Johnson had 43 tackles, a forced fumble and made a conference-leading 16 sacks for Woodrow Wilson during the season. <strong>Jeffrey Jordan, Audubon: </strong>Jordan finished second in the conference with 13.5 sacks to go with 69 tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception. Some notable performances came against Cinnaminson (15 tackles), Paul VI (8 tackles, 2.5 sacks and an interception), Gateway (10 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery) and Gloucester Catholic (9 tackles and 3 sacks). <strong>Jahqir Haley, St. Joseph (Hamm.): </strong>Haley finished with 10 interceptions, which ranked as the best in New Jersey and No. 2 in the nation. He picked off rival Hammonton three times and Cedar Creek twice. Haley had an interception in every game but two, and he returned one for a score. <strong>Other Names: [player_tooltip player_id="27973" first="Devin" last="Kargman"], Woodrow Wilson; Matt Welsey, Shawnee; Gage Miller, Burlington Township; Steve Burkhardt, Gloucester; Marques Hicks, Camden Catholic; Gabe Abel, Ewing; Brandon Boria, Cherokee; Jake Schneider, Ocean City; Josh Bobo, Audubon; Ian Ver Steeg, Shawnee; Damir McCrary, Woodrow Wilson; Kenny Boswell, Overbrook; [player_tooltip player_id="27972" first="Zion" last="Cheeks"], Penns Grove; Aaron Forde, Ewing; [player_tooltip player_id="27977" first="Jihaad" last="Campbell"], Timber Creek; Jordan Carey, Woodstown; Aden Tomeo, Audubon; Brendan McGonigle, Ocean City; Harrison Kelley-Whitman, Audubon</strong>