The West Jersey Football Conference’s Top Games: Week 5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In this article, we preview some of the West Jersey Football Conference's top games going into Week 5 of football here in the great, Garden State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, October 4</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Seneca (4-1) at Hopewell Valley (5-0), 6pm<br><br>Offensively Seneca appears to be the [player_tooltip player_id='212049' first='Anthony' last='Tirico'] show. After a very strong freshman campaign last fall, Tirico has built from that going 57-99 for 721 yards with 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. This season, however, Tirico is more of a ground threat than ever before. He leads the team in all three major rushing categories, flashing 68/427/8. Tirico's favorite target is two-way star, senior [player_tooltip player_id='1040420' first='Jamar' last='Warthen']. Warthen leads the team in all receiving categories (20/272/3) and is a big contributor on defense. Warthen leads Seneca with 54 tackles (34 solo), with 9 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 interceptions. Flanking Warthen on defense is a rising 2027 classmate of Tirico, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1515034' first='Chase' last='Horner']. Horner has made 30 stops - good for third on the team - has made 2 tackles for loss and blocked a kick. <br><br>After an outstanding 10-1 season last year, Hopewell Valley is back to willing a lot of games and is looking to finish the job this year. Knowing that we will <em>probably </em>preview them again down the road, our focus today is on the offensive side of the ball, where senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1054139' first='Milan' last='Desai'] has flourished in the role thus far. Desai has gone 58-91 for 945 yards with 13 touchdowns to just 1 interception. A contributor as a rusher, he has slashed 23/113/4 on the ground. The lead bulldog on the ground is [player_tooltip player_id='1022243' first='Ben' last='Decore'], a returning starter. So far Decore has gone for 698 yards and 8 scores this year on 96 carries. Complementing Decore's ground game and serving Desai well in the passing game are his two favorite targets, seniors [player_tooltip player_id='218563' first='Justin' last='Klotz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1022244' first='Owen' last='Lengle']. Klotz leads the team with 24 receptions that have garnered 368 yards and 6 scores; while Lengle leads the team in yardage (411) and scores (7) on 19 receptions. Adding another element to account for, both DeCore and Klotz have returned kickoffs for scores. Lastly, Lengle is the team's place kicker, going 29-29 on PATs and 2-3 on FG, with a long of 27 yards.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Camden (4-1) at Winslow (5-0), 6pm<br><br>Coach Rob Hinson appears to have Camden back and roaring this season as they Panthers are off to a 4-1 start, as their only loss was to parochial Holy Spirit. Camden seems to be playing whack-a-mole with opposing defenses, as when you take away one weapon, they have zero hesitancy getting the ball to someone else. The easiest way for me to illustrate the manner in which they spread the wealth is by charting it:</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Passing</td><td>Yards</td><td>TD:Int</td><td>Carries</td><td>Yards</td><td>TD</td><td>Receptions</td><td>Yards</td><td>TD</td><td>KO TD</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1086008' first='Mahki' last='Brunson']</td><td>64-119</td><td>906</td><td>11:6</td><td>39</td><td>309</td><td>1</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1021187' first='Christian' last='Braxton']</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>75</td><td>489</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>21</td><td>2</td><td>n/a</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1515038' first='Jaiden' last='Steele']</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>42</td><td>324</td><td>3</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='313583' first='D'Hani' last='Cobbs']</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>16</td><td>220</td><td>1</td><td>n/a</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='533699' first='Ibn' last='Muhammad']*</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>11</td><td>143</td><td>2</td><td>n/a</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1515039' first='Wasi' last='Muhammad']</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>9</td><td>130</td><td>0</td><td>n/a</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1228164' first='Malik' last='Redd']</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>n/a</td><td>20</td><td>352</td><td>6</td><td>2</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">*[player_tooltip player_id='533699' first='Ibn' last='Muhammad'] is the only offensive player who has made significant contributions on defense with 2 sacks and 1 safety.<br><br>Winslow, on the other hand, is back in the limelight after crushing Millville in a game that had much anticipation that led up to it. Two prospects not yet covered that are worth mentioning are [player_tooltip player_id='402235' first='Nyqir' last='Helton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1515040' first='Ben' last='Carter']. Helton, a junior, actually leads the team in receptions (15) and receiving yards (255), while also having scored 4 times and recovering a fumble on defense. Carter, on the other hand, is one of the defensive linemen that will look to apply pressure in the backfield all evening long. Carter has made 29 stops (25 solo) to go along with his 1 forced fumble, 5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks on the season.</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Atlantic City (3-2) at Vineland (3-2), 6pm<br><br>Atlantic City looks to take a big step forward this week as they visit Vineland. This season [player_tooltip player_id='1515041' first='Khajuan' last='Roseborough'] has taken it upon himself to morph into a bonafide dual-threat quarterback. Through the air Roseborough is just under 60% passing for the year (51-86) for 831 yards with 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Additionally, Roseborough leads the Vikings in all three rushing categories, having accumulated 46/398/6 thus far. It is hard to mention Atlantic City football without bringing up Rutgers commit [player_tooltip player_id='675553' first='Sahnye' last='Degraffenreidt'] who is up to Degraffenreidt things posting 19/310/5 thus far - which leads his team in all receiving categories; however, [player_tooltip player_id='1270705' first='Vish' last='Turner'] looks like a reliable underneath target, having made 11 catches thus far for 127 yards very early in his career.<br><br>Somewhat slept on, Vineland has an opportunity to take the title of "area's best" away from Millville, after they were stunningly blown out last week. First, however, they must go through Atlantic City. Vineland is starting a freshman at quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1515045' first='Elyjah' last='Calderone']. Unquestionably Calderone will go through some growing pains, but he is off to a valiant start going 33-80 for 501 yards with 5 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, while also scoring 3 rushing touchdowns. Calderone breaks the lineup at the game's most important position; however, he is doing so with at least three other 2028 graduates in the rotation. Supporting young Calderone on defense are seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1515046' first='Mason' last='Afanador'] and [player_tooltip player_id='909747' first='Noah' last='Cruz']. Afanador, a member of the secondary, has made 23 stops on the year so far, including 1 tackle for loss, 3 fumble recoveries, and 2 interceptions. In front of him at linebacker is Cruz. Cruz leads the team in tackles with 31 and has made 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, and recorded a safety.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Saturday, October 5</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Schalick (3-2) at Paulsboro (4-1), 11am<br><br>Schalick, looking to build on an impressive 2023 season, appears to be riding the back of [player_tooltip player_id='995082' first='Reggie' last='Allen'] in 2024. Allen is the team's leading offensive threat, leading them in offensive all-purpose yards, touches, and scores amassing 55 touches, 492 yards, and 5 scores thus far. Allen is also Schalick's top defender, has made 35 tackles while also making 2 tackles for loss and 1 sack. Fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='1515047' first='Riley' last='Papiano'] has a team-high in tackles (45), sacks (3) and tackles for loss (4), while also having recorded a safety. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='910849' first='Aiden' last='Torres'] is a major contributor too, having made 2.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, and 16 tackles.<br><br>Chalk-full of playmakers of their own, Paulsboro seems to enjoy getting the ball to sophmore receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1466302' first='Jeremiah' last='Carr']. Carr leads the team in receptions by nearly 4x, totaling 23 thus far, and has accounted for 314 of 537, or just under 59%, of the offense's total receiving yardage. Lastly, each of the team's 5 receiving strikes have gone to Carr. On defense, junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1515048' first='Sawyer' last='Cabanas'] leads the team with 30 tackles (22), while also making 2 tackles for loss and 1 sack. He his complimented by fellow 2026 graduate, lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1515051' first='Jason' last='Yandach'], who is tied for the team lead with 2 sacks. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->