West Jersey Football League Games of the Week, Week 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With as much football action as our Great Garden State has this coming weekend within the high school ranks, here are a handful of games – and as a fan what I am looking for in each one – throughout the West Jersey Football League this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thursday, September 11</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>West Deptford (2-0) @ Collingswood (2-0)<br><br>Things way go swell at home, but it is a different game on the road. After two convincing victories (51-14 and 42-7) at home, West Deptford takes their program on the road for the first time this season to take on another 2-0 team in Collingswood. <br><br>For Collingswood to keep the good times rolling, they ought to stick to their strong ground game that features two backs who have nearly split the carries. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1540509' first='Terrence' last='Goffney'] has rushed for 155 yards on 29 carries while scoring twice. Complimenting him is senior [player_tooltip player_id='1466288' first='Caden' last='Luby']. Luby has nearly identical numbers to Goffney, slashing 30/173/2 on the ground thus far. Luby would likely have more touches, but it seems as though he is the heartbeat of Collingswood's defense. Luby leads the team in tackles with 20 (10 solo) and 5 tackles for loss, while also forcing a fumble. As Goffney and Luby compliment each other, a pair of brothers look to reign in on West Deptford's attack. [player_tooltip player_id='1883012' first='Ryan' last='Prater'], sophomore, and [player_tooltip player_id='1405069' first='Razyr' last='Prater'], freshman, are making big contributions thus far with a sack and 3 tackles for loss each to this point in the campaign.<br><br>Perhaps it is a product of lopsided scores, but it seems that West Deptford has a number of ball carriers they trust to tote the rock. With 10 different ball carriers already, three have totaled 12 or more rushes thus far. Leading the attack is junior [player_tooltip player_id='1267838' first='Zamir' last='Davis']. Davis, to this point in the season, has ran 21 times for 278 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. As noted, I imagine his days were cut short with such wide margin of victories. Davis has also made his impact felt on defense, intercepting 2 passes and recovering a fumble in two games. Joining him on defense is linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1883013' first='Kameron' last='Simpkins']. Simpkins may be third on the team with 11 tackles; however, he has managed 3 sacks thus far. Additionally, fellow 2027 graduate [player_tooltip player_id='1412222' first='Al' last='Dayrell'] looks to be a playmaker. Aside from his 13 tackles (8 solo), 5 have been for a loss, 2 have been sacks, he has forced a fumble, and recovered one for a score as well.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, September 12</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Kingsway (1-1) at Timber Creek (1-1)<br><br>If there is one thing I know about Kingsway football, it is that Mark Hendrick's program is that they are a playoff fixture and can compete with anyone - no matter where they end up in the South V bracket. After upsetting Donovan Catholic on the road in week 1, they lost a heartbreaker in a thrilling game at Camden. They now, for the third straight week, are on the road as they travel to another perennial playoff team in Timber Creek - who have split their first two games that were both on the road.<br><br>Timber Creek should expect strong defensive performances from [player_tooltip player_id='1883014' first='James' last='Redd'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1532426' first='Brody' last='Conway']. Conway is the Chargers' team leader in tackles with 25 on the season and is counted on to stuff the run and make his linemen right. Redd does a nice job complimenting Conway defensively, having made 12 tackles thus far. Redd's 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss both lead the team. Furthermore, Redd is second on the team in all major rushing categories, having gone 19/122/1 across two games. <br><br>For Kingsway, the offense appears to be focused around senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='501876' first='David' last='Oravetz']. Oravetz has gone an extremely efficient 30-38 passing for 517 yards with 5 touchdowns and 1 interception, while also leading the team in all rushing categories (20/37/1). His two favorite targets appear to be senior [player_tooltip player_id='1105272' first='Christian' last='White'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='1533535' first='Cole' last='DeNick']. While both have exactly 8 catches, DeNick has a few more yards (170 to 153), while White has 2 touchdowns to DeNick's one.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cheerokee (2-0) at St. Augustine (2-0)<br><br>Out of all the games this weekend, his is, perhaps, the most enticing matchup. Both teams off to an undefeated start competed in a close game and won to start there season, and then managed to comfortably win their second.<br><br>For St. Augustine [player_tooltip player_id='852416' first='Roman' last='Coney'] is a one-man wrecking crew. Coney has nearly 4x the offensive yardage of his next closest teammate. Thus far, Coney has ran 40 times for 346 yards and scored 5 times. A strong running game is complimented best by a strong defense. Two of St. Augustine's top defenders are [player_tooltip player_id='829432' first='Damari' last='Simeon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1883019' first='Kenny' last='Taylor']. It seems that Simeon, now a senior, has been on our radar for a decade now. In his final campaign, Simeon is off to a fast start. Of his 7 tackles, 5 have been made for a loss and he has also been credited with 1.5 sacks. With the level of disruption Simeon has brought about, sophomore linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1883019' first='Kenny' last='Taylor'] has been a big beneficiary, leading the way so far with 17 tackles (3 for a loss).<br><br>For as great as Coney has been, the argument can be made that [player_tooltip player_id='1880326' first='Brendan' last='Markovsky'] is off to an even hotter start. Markovsky has accounted for more than half of Cherokee's ground game, running for 385 yards on 29 carries and 6 scores. A freshman off to a torrid start to his prep career is linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1883025' first='Jonah' last='Lee']. Lee currently leads the team with 2 sacks thus far, while also being just off the pace for the team lead in tackles. Supporting Lee's rookie season is, I suspect, older brother [player_tooltip player_id='1552381' first='Micah' last='Lee'] - a senior. Lee leads the team in both tackles (15) and tackles for loss (6). </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Millville (0-2) at Mainland (1-1)<br><br>This one ought to be a good one, too. Two outstanding programs that always have deep playoff runs square off. Aside from their common thread being consistent playoff teams, this year they have another thing in common: falling to the hands of Atlantic City. <br><br>For state runner-up Mainland, it seems as though the usual suspects are back at it and ready to run it back. [player_tooltip player_id='1097477' first='Jake' last='Blum'] is off to a strong start having ran for a score, caught a touchdown, and returned a pick the other way for six. Back under center is [player_tooltip player_id='855776' first='John' last='Franchini']. Now a senior, Franchini is 8-12 for 59 yards with 3 TD tosses. <br><br>Two juniors have big shoes to replace in Millville. Now a freshman at Alabama, Lotzeir Brooks is gone and [player_tooltip player_id='1476891' first='Reggie' last='Holley'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1562026' first='Jaden' last='Days'] have nothing but opportunity ahead of them - both of which are seizing it thus far. Days is the Thunderbolts top target so far, slashing 9/156/2 - better for half their total passing yardage and all their passing touchdowns. Ont he other hand, Holey has gone 4/77 when targeted, but is second on the team in rushes (12) and yardage (102), while scoring both his team's touchdowns on the ground. Defensively, all-world lineman [player_tooltip player_id='825247' first='Jayden' last='Jones'] is making plays and wreaking havoc everywhere, in all phases. Jones has the team's only sack, but has also forced a fumble, recovered another, and intercepted a pass that he returned for a touchdown.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->