The West Jersey Football Conference’s Top Games: Week 4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In this article, we preview some of the West Jersey Football Conference's top games going into Week 4 of football here in the great, Garden State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thursday, September 26</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Holy Cross Prep (4-0) at Riverside (3-1), 5:30pm<br><br>Holy Cross boats an undefeated record as they travel to Riverside on Thursday. With many players to highlight, we start with junior rusher [player_tooltip player_id='1476882' first='Christian' last='Shio'], who leads the team with 51 carries for 241 yards and 2 scores. Additionally, Shio has made 24 stops on defense, two being tackles for loss, and 1 being a sack. Another versatile weapon is senior receiver [player_tooltip player_id='267508' first='Emmanuel' last='Doku']. Doku has caught 20 passes for 381 yards and 3 touchdowns, contributed on defense with 10 tackles (1 for a loss), returned a kickoff for 79 yards for a score, and made 3 of his 4 PATs. Lastly, linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1036997' first='Devin' last='Smith'] is having an incredible kickoff to his senior season, having made 52 tackles (30 solo) with 6 tackles for loss. <br><br>Riverside is led by a formidable rushing attack. The lead dog appears to be senior [player_tooltip player_id='1476884' first='Xavier' last='Parnell']. Parnell has toted the rock 47 times for a team high 413 yards and 3 scores. Right behind him is [player_tooltip player_id='1476886' first='Alton' last='Howell'], a sophomore. Howell has made 45 rushing attempts for 240 yards, also scoring 3 times. [player_tooltip player_id='1476887' first='Dean' last='Potts'], a junior, quarterbacks the team and has made two touchdown passes while rushing for 3 more. Defensive, Potts is having a disruptive year with 12 tackles - 6 for a loss with 4 sacks.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, September 27</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Winslow (4-0) at Millville (4-0), 6pm<br><br>I typically try my best to stay away from repeating teams in our game of the week segment, but this matchup between two undefeated, South Jersey powers is just too good. Further, this game will go a long way to determining the WJFL -American Division champion.<br><br>Two athletes that Millville must limit are juniors [player_tooltip player_id='606231' first='Nakeem' last='Powell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='211802' first='KaRon' last='Ali']. Both used in numerous ways, Powell has caught 11 passes for 178 yards and a team high 4 touchdowns. A contributor on the ground, Powell has rushed 6 times for 24 yards, completed a pass for 43 yards, made 6 tackles to go along with 1 forced fumble and 1 interception, and returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score. Moreover, Ali is having an outstanding season in his own right. Ali is the team's second-leading rusher in all categories, slashing 34/204/2 so far, while also catching two passes for 6 yards. Defensively, Ali has made 18 tackles (16 solos), 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. <br><br>With Millville, I could go for the usual suspects ([player_tooltip player_id='218554' first='Lotzeir' last='Brooks'], [player_tooltip player_id='825247' first='Jayden' last='Jones'], [player_tooltip player_id='819147' first='Jamal' last='Wallace, Jr.'], [player_tooltip player_id='829409' first='Darian' last='Blachewicz']); however, I am electing to cover a few younger prospects that may be both sleepers to impact the game and also the Tunderbolts of the future. [player_tooltip player_id='1476890' first='Darnell' last='Williams'] is a sophomore defender who is off to a strong start, making 14 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Offensively, lining up opposite of all-everything receiver Brooks, is sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1476891' first='Reggie' last='Holley']. Holley is the Thunderbolts' second-leading receiver with 10 receptions for 125 yards and 1 score.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Mainland (3-1) at St. Augustine Prep (3-1), 6pm<br><br>As Winslow and Millville compete for WJFL - American Division bragging rights, Mainland and St. Augustine link up as 4 of the 5 teams in the division are competing head-to-head this weekend. Defending Group III champs Mainland are up their usual, although it appears they are opening up the passing game a bit more this year. Led by junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='855776' first='John' last='Franchini'], they are off to a 3-1 start. Franchini has gone 24-39 for 572 yards with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception thus far. His favorite target? That is none other than fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id='1097477' first='Jake' last='Blum']. Blum has made 6 grabs, all touchdowns, for 307 yards. I also have to shout-out kickers when I can, and Mainland has a good one in [player_tooltip player_id='1036993' first='Nate' last='Kashey'], who could be the difference in a tight game. Kashey is 14-14 in PATs and 1-1 in FGAs, nailing a 31-yarder.<br><br>St. Augustine appears committed to a heavily-relied on ground game that features [player_tooltip player_id='1085730' first='Julian' last='Turney'], a senior. The team's leading rusher, by far, has rushed 72 times so far this season. Of those 72 attempts, 5 have gone for scores and he has totaled 431 yards. Looking to match Kashey kick-for-kick will be sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1476892' first='Luke' last='Tanzola']. Tanzola has gone 11-12 in PATs, but is 3-3 in FGAs, with his longest make being from 34 yards out. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cedar Creek (3-1) at Holy Spirit (3-1), 6pm<br><br>With a quarterback situation seemingly afoot at Cedar Creek, the Pirates can rest easy(ier) because they have the [player_tooltip player_id='402188' first='Aamir' last='Dunbar'] lining up in their backfield. The stead-force at 'back leads the team by nearly 60 carries, boasting a team-high 73 attempts for 509 yards and scoring 6 times. Defensively they are highlighted by a prospect that broke on the scene last year, junior [player_tooltip player_id='995371' first='Justus' last='Peyton'], and one new on the block, fellow junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1476893' first='Jajuan' last='McIntosh-Ward']. Peyton leads the team with 37 tackles (24 solos), an impressive 9 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, while forcing and recovering a fumble. McIntosh-Ward is not far behind him with 25 tackles (16 solo), while also making 5 tackles for loss and 1 sack. <br><br>Holy Spirit, on the other hand, boats a few prospects that get in done, and get it done well, in their respective roles. A back that I was surprised by his nimbleness in the camp circuit, [player_tooltip player_id='819146' first='Jahcere' last='Ward'] headlines the backfield with 7 scores on a team-high 51 attempts for 283 yards. The senior is complemented by junior [player_tooltip player_id='994277' first='Emir' last='Hicks'], who has produced 215 yards and 1 score on 44 attempts. Fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id='284061' first='Emanuel' last='Gerena'] is, easily, Holy Spirit's top target in the passing game, leading the team with a 13/226/2 slash line. Lastly, [player_tooltip player_id='1281466' first='Nicholas' last='Medina'] seems like a one-man wrecking crew as he has made a team-high 21 tackles (19 solos) on the season. Further, Medina has made 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 6 sacks.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Saturday, September 28</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Oakcrest (3-1) at Absegami (2-2), 12pm<br><br>Two players who are having monster seasons thus far for Oakcrest are a pair of juniors: [player_tooltip player_id='212386' first='Donovan' last='Linthicum'] and [player_tooltip player_id='971268' first='Jaleel' last='Williams']. Being a bit more familiar with Linthicum, we start there. The outstanding linebacker is, again, off to a very fast start with 45 total tackles (28 solo). Of those stops, an impressive 13 have come for a loss. Taking more of a role on offense this year, the "Blonde Polamalu" edges out his teammates with 23 carries for 286 yards and 3 scores. Williams, on the other hand, is just behind Linthicum in carries, producing 130 yards and 3 scores on 22 carries. Profiling as more of a threat in the secondary, Williams has been credited with 19 stops, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and returned 1 for a score.<br><br>Absegami, or 'Gami as I learned this summer, is led by quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='341835' first='Kendall' last='Armstrong IV'] - who also has the best name for a quarterback since his arm's strong. Armstrong's rocket of an arm has converted 36-68 attempts for 660 yards with 8 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. Defensively, 'Gami's most disruptive player appear to be junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1476898' first='Logan' last='Simpson']. Simpson has been credited with 7 tackles for loss and 1 sack this season. Joining him in the backfield is another prospect with a great name for his position, sophomore lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1476901' first='Elias' last='Blocker']. With few offensive linemen proving capable of blocking Blocker, he has 3 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, and forced one fumble.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->