South Jersey Week 9: Recap

The last week of the regular season was exactly what you expected. Hard hits and big plays that lit up the scoreboard on a chilly Friday night. Scroll down below to take a look at the scores from the regular season finale. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Notre Dame 28 , Nottingham 34</strong></span> Nottingham rallies from behind to win the Mercer County title. Notre Dame controlled this game in the first half with a 13 point lead heading into halftime. The momentum quickly shifted when <em>Junior CB Q McMillan (Nottingham)</em> returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown. McMillian had a great overall performance. He had 3 INTs and caught 13 passes for 127 yards. This game ended in a final Hail Mary pass from Notre Dame that was batted down as time expired. Nottingham will remain undefeated entering the Group 2 playoffs and Notre Dame will play their first round playoff game against Donovan Catholic. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Willingboro 14 , Haddon Heights 6</strong></span> This game was a defensive battle. Willingboro opened up with a quick 5 yard run by <em>Senior RB Nasir Abney (Willingboro)</em>. That was their only score of the game. Haddon Heights rushing attack brought them back in this game. <em>Senior RB [player_tooltip player_id="206982" first="Jackson" last="Ferrante"] (Haddon Heights) </em>had 20 carries with 89 yards and one score. Also, Senior QB Ryan DiOrio (Haddon Heights) was efficient on both the ground through the air. DiOrio had 7 carries for 26 yards and score and went 8 for 19 and 114 yards to help his team to victory. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>(No. 15) Donavon Catholic 28, (No. 5) Red Bank Catholic 7</strong></span> Donavon Catholic proved they were the more physical team entering this game. This team played with a huge chip on their shoulder after finding out they had to forfeit four games. <em>Senior RB Nunes Bakula (Donavon Catholic) </em>was dominate on the ground. Bakula had 20 carries for 148 yards and one score and Senior QB [player_tooltip player_id="198099" first="Jalin" last="Butler"] (Donavon Catholic) had 14 carries with 86 yards and one touchdown. Donavon Catholic only attempted one pass this game and Red Bank was outmatched. DC will play Notre Dame in the first rounf Non-Public A  playoffs. Meanwhile. RBC will take on Morris Catholic in the first round Non-Public B playoffs. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Delran 54 vs Burlington City 14</strong></span> <em>Senior RB Zach Palmer- Smith (Delran</em>) had another monster performance to lead his team to blowout win Friday night. Palmer- Smith has broken the school record in rushing yards from scrimmage (1,474). He had 9 carries for 154 yards and three touchdowns that were all in the first half. His offensive line did a great job blocking until the whistle because without them that record will not be possible. Defensively, Senior DE [player_tooltip player_id="27968" first="Kenny" last="Fletcher"] (Delran) had a great performance. Fletcher had two sacks and two tackles for loss. Delran will prepare for the Group 3 playoffs next week. &nbsp; &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Williamstown 14 vs Ocean City 31</strong></span> Ocean City will enter the postseason undefeated. The Red Raiders played well on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they did a great job limiting Williamstown high powered rushing attack. Ocean City played physical and made Williamstown work for every yard. In fact, Ocean City has only allowed 35 points in eight games. Offensively, Ocean City did enough due to excellent field position throughout this game. Ocean City will take on Mainland in the first round South Jersey Group 4 playoffs. &nbsp;